You don't want to miss out on Richmond's Lewis Ginter gardens, with or without kids. We spent almost the entire day walking around checking out the gardens, cooling off in the splash pad, climbing 100 year old trees, digging in the sand, and looking for animals on the tree trail. The highlight for us in the children's garden was the huge treehouse which tons of kids were climbing on.
The gardens are open every day from 9 to five, but they stay open late on Wednesdays and Thursdays until 9 pm. If you need to cool off there is a cafe, tea house, and a library with toys located on the property. On Thursday and Friday mornings at 10:00 there is a free story time. The library also has a lovely reading room which is a great spot for older parents or grandparents to rest while waiting for the younger ones.
If you have a Norfolk Botanical Gardens membership, you can get into Lewis Ginter using the reciprocity program. If not, adults are $20 and kids 4-12 are $10. Kids under 3 are free. There is a discount for military and first responders. The garden is free for everyone every Juneteenth, Fourth of July, and September 2nd for their Community Day.
