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(352) 733-0111

Gardens and Outdoor Spaces

Visiting Hours & Welcome Centers

UF and Uf Health has a number of outdoor spaces to give our visiotrs time to pause, reflect and heal.

Garden of Hope

Located between the cancer hospital and heart & vascular and neuromedicine hospitals, the garden provides relief to the senses through its use of water, sunlight and natural foliage.

Give to the Garden
A view of the lakes and paths that make up the Garden of Hope.

Wilmot Gardens

Open year round, Wilmot Botanical Gardens provides a peaceful and verdant respite for patients, faculty, staff, and the public. They boast a collection of camellias unrivaled in north central Florida. The gardens also advance patient care, research and service with a vibrant therapeutic horticulture program.

Wilmot Gardens
Wilmot Gardens

Academic Health Center Campus

Sun Terrace

The Sun Terrace is a large open air courtyard on the North side of UF Health Shands Hospital, accessible from the first floor corridor from the atrium that passes the Food Court. There are several eateries on the Terrace, including Chick-Fil-A, Panda Express, Salad Creations, Einstein Brothers Bagels, and Starbucks. The Sun Terrace provides both shaded and unshaded seating, including large round tables for dining and park benches.

Academic Research Building Courtyard

The Academic Research Building Courtyard is accessible from UF Health Shands Hospital through the Founder's Gallery, which is east of Sun Terrace on the north end of the building.The Courtyard is a sloped hill, with broad steps and terraces covered with trees and grass. It is a quiet spot to eat and reflect or to lay in the sun.

Bartram Carr Woods Conservation Area

The Bartram-Carr Woods Conservation Area is a 9-acre upland hardwood located between the Academic Health Center and University of Florida's main campus. The space offers a respite from the hustle and bustle of the hospital and provides a recharge area for creeks that run to Lake Alice in the center of campus. There are rubber-paved paths that lead up and around the woods.

At the south entrance to the woods, just over the creek bridge, lies Health Center Park. This is a wide grassy space, sheltered by pine trees with sitting areas, picnic benches, and a covered pavilion along the edge of the creek.

University of Florida

Baughman Center

The Baughman Center, a place of private meditation and public celebration, is an intimate shelter available to all members and friends of the university community. The 96-seat, 2,000-square-foot structure incorporates gothic-influenced design, strategic placement, and environmentally appropriate materials.

Ben Hill Griffin Stadium

Also known as "The Swamp" Ben Hill Griffin Stadium is located on the northern edge of the university's campus, about one mile from Shands. The stadium is generally open to the public on non-game days, and is often used for jogging and cross training by exercisers from the campus and the community.

Florida Museum of Natural History Butterfly Rain Forest

Stroll through this 6,400-square-foot screened, outdoor enclosure with tropical plants and hundreds of living butterflies. Inside, view thousands of Lepidoptera species on the "Wall of Wings" and learn about butterfly and moth biology. See scientists working in the Rearing Lab and other research areas. Fee for Entry - view the FLMNH Butterfly website for more information.

Harn Museum Asian Wing

There are two Asian-inspired gardens incorporated into the new Cofrin East Asian art wing at the Harn Museum. Theses gardens provide elemental balance as well as a renewal of the human

The first garden is designed to provide peace and tranquility among bridges and ponds, sculptures, waterfalls, stones and exotic flora.

 Museum visitors will see beautiful plants including giant bamboo, Wild Azaleas, Trumpet Vines, Japanese and Coral Honeysuckle, Taiwan Cherry, Southern Magnolias, Bat-Leaved Passion Flowers, Confederate Jasmine, Armand’s Clematis and Japanese Maples.

The second garden is a meditative Zen garden of sand and stone. It provides for quiet contemplation and meditation.

Admission to the Harn is free.

Lake Alice

Lake Alice is a signature feature of the University of Florida campus. It is a proven sanctuary to alligators as well as many birds. At dusk, a colony of bats that roost in a nearby bat house emerges to cleanse the sky of much of the insect life that the lake nourishes. A dusk outing to view the impressive cloud of bats leaving the house for their nocturnal sorties is a popular local pastime.