Beverly Gardens Park: what to see and how to visit

Beverly Gardens Park runs for about 1.9 miles along two major Beverly Hills boulevards, Santa Monica and Wilshire. The long, narrow layout means it’s useful to choose a section or landmark as your starting point rather than assume the park is a single compact garden.

The City of Beverly Hills identifies the Beverly Hills Monument Sign, Lily Pond, Cactus Garden, Electric Fountain, Doheny Fountain and Alta Arden Pergola Garden as park landmarks. The Electric Fountain stands at the intersection of Santa Monica and Wilshire Boulevards; the eastern end includes the Doheny Fountain.

The park began as three blocks between Crescent Drive and Rodeo Drive, developed in 1907. Its central blocks had been set aside in a 1906 subdivision plat, and the park opened in 1911. It later expanded west and east to form the 23-block park seen today.

Beverly Gardens Park combines a long paved promenade with landscaped blocks, specialty gardens and fountains. Landscape architect Ralph D. Cornell developed the park in 1931 with green spaces, a 10-foot-wide paved promenade, benches, hedges and flower beds.

As you walk, look for gardens devoted to palms, roses, and cacti and succulents, as well as four pergolas and three fountains. The Lily Pond is another of the park’s named features. At the eastern gateway, the Doheny Fountain opened in 1931 and was designed by W. Asa Hudson.

For a shorter visit, pick a feature-rich stretch and take time to walk the promenade. If you have longer, use the park’s length to connect several landmarks; the full route spans about 1.9 miles, so plan your return or onward route accordingly.

Beverly Gardens Park is about a five-minute walk from The Crescent Hotel Beverly Hills, so it’s easy to add a park stroll to time in the city centre. The route data also puts Beverly Hills city centre about six minutes away on foot.

Once you reach the park, choose whether to follow the promenade toward a particular garden or fountain. The Electric Fountain is at the Santa Monica and Wilshire intersection, while the Doheny Fountain marks the eastern end. These landmarks give you clear points to orient a shorter walk.

For another green-space stop, Beverly Canon Gardens is about a five-minute walk from the hotel. You can also use this guide to parks in Beverly Hills to compare other nearby places to walk.

Beverly Hills has several types of public parking, including free one- and two-hour locations, metered spaces, monthly parking, valet, attendant-assist lots and special-event parking. Availability and rules can vary by facility, so check the official site before you go.

The city lists the Beverly Gardens Park Adjacent Lot at 450 N. Crescent Drive and the Public Gardens parking facility at 242 N. Beverly Drive/241 N. Cañon Drive.

Other listed city facilities include the Civic Center Parking Structure at 455 N. Rexford Drive and the Camden Drive Municipal Parking Structure at 438 N. Camden Drive. Mobile payment is available through Flowbird at the city’s parking facilities.

Check the posted terms and payment instructions when you arrive, and allow time to walk from your chosen space to the park. If you’re planning a broader day on foot, the Beverly Hills walking itinerary offers ideas for linking nearby stops.

Beverly Gardens Park works well as one part of a central Beverly Hills walk: take in a section of the promenade, pause at a garden or fountain, then continue to another nearby stop. The Beverly Hills Monument Sign and the park’s named gardens and fountains offer natural points to break up the walk.

For a more focused outing, choose either the eastern fountain end or a garden area and keep the visit within that stretch. If you want a longer route, follow more of the park’s 23 blocks before continuing into the surrounding city streets.