About the Garden

The Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden and Bird Sanctuary is a 16-acre native plant reserve and bird sanctuary. The Wildflower Garden, is located on Dakota Homelands and is owned, operated, staffed and maintained by the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board. (MPRB) Consult the MPRB website for complete information on the Garden including current operating hours, parking pass information, bus routes, programs offered at the Garden, plant and bird checklists. A locater map is also available on the Parks website.

Friends of the Wildflower Garden is an independent private nonprofit organization that provides volunteer and funding support.

Large image of trail map.

The Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden is the oldest public wildflower garden in the United States. Per its original charter, it is maintained in a natural rustic state, such as might have been encountered in early settlement times up to 1900.

The unpaved pathways total less than a mile in length and are covered with a cedar chip mulch except for the boardwalk section in the wetland. The paths encircle various parts of the different ecosystems. There is an elevation change of 80 feet between the low wetland in the Woodland Garden and the Hills of the Upland Garden. Paths are not easily wheel-chair accessible. A series of steps leads from the main (south) parking lot down to the entrance gate. The back gate (north) is at grade level on an old hard surface path from Wirth Beach Parking Lot. More detail is on the "Location/Parking tab."

The Wildflower Garden consists of three main ecosystems; a wetland complex referred to as the "Woodland Garden," upland hardwood forest and oak savanna with some open prairie, together referred to as the "Upland Garden." With over 600 plant species and more than 130 species of resident and migratory birds found in the Wildflower Garden, this delightful public native plant reserve is a true haven for the flora and fauna of our region, as well as for the many people who visit it.

In addition to native plants and birds, many other creatures call the Wildflower Garden home: Raccoons, chipmunks, rabbits, red foxes, woodchucks, red and gray squirrels, mice, shrews, voles, moles, bats, frogs, toads, turtles and snakes. Deer, turkeys, muskrats, opossums, mink and skunk have all been spotted nearby and may be visitors in the Wildflower Garden as well, although perhaps, unwelcome.