Enjoy a tranquil stroll through a garden brimming with azaleas, camellias and magnolias! The Bok Tower Gardens are filled with comfortable resting places and incredible vistas that everyone can enjoy! The Gardens' centerpiece, the "singing tower," is located 324 feet above sea level. It houses an English 60-bell mechanical carillon from which bell music recitals are heard daily. Fifty acres of quiet gardens surround the bell tower, along with 157 acres of woodland gardens, longleaf pine-turkey, an oak habitat, and a bog garden. There are family-friendly garden areas for kids to learn and play in and observe butterflies. One of the best spots for bird, wildlife, and wetland watching is inside the nature observatory known as "Window By The Pond." Visitors are also welcome to explore secret garden areas with Florida capstone rocks. Be sure to avail yourself of the family picnic areas, with tables, sandboxes and toys.
To get here from Tampa, take I-4 East and get off at Exit 55. Proceed south on Highway 27 for 23 miles. Two traffic lights after Eagle Ridge Mall, turn left on Mountain Lake Cut Off Road. At the caution light, turn right (south) onto County Road 17. Proceed on CR 17 for 3/4 miles and turn left (east) onto Burns Avenue. Proceed on Burns Avenue for 1.3 miles. On your left you'll see an entrance sign to Historic Bok Sanctuary. Turn left and proceed to the entrance gate.
The meandering garden is one of the greatest achievements of famed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. Tranquil resting places, shady recesses, picturesque vistas and expansive splashes of color create a contemplative setting for your personal renewal and enjoyment. There are also many family-friendly garden areas which give children the chance to learn about the gardens while playing in a vine-covered arbor or observing butterflies.
The acres of ferns, palms, oaks and pines create a year-round backdrop of 1,000 shades of green for the seasonal bursts of azaleas, camellias and magnolia blooms that form an ever-changing work of art.
One of the best spots to observe the Sanctuary's native birds, wildlife and wetland plants is inside the nature observatory known as "Window By The Pond." Situated on the edge of a pond, the small wooden building has benches that face a large picture window where visitors can observe birds, reptiles, butterflies and native species in their natural habitat.