Last updated: September 8, 2026.

Sunnylands gives you a choice: a free garden visit you can take at your own pace, or a booked tour of the historic estate. If you want to see inside the house, get that ticket first. If a garden wander is enough, the free visit can be the whole outing.

Dates and booking

Checked September 8, 2026: Sunnylands announces reopening September 9 after its summer hiatus. Its regular ticket-release rule is 9 a.m. Pacific on the 15th for the following month, making September 15 the next release date for October tours. Check the official tour page for exceptions and available dates.

Choose the visit

Center & Gardens

The free public garden and visitor center.

Address: 37977 Bob Hope Drive, Rancho Mirage, CA 92270.

Cost and hours checked September 8, 2026: Admission and parking are free. Regular hours are Wednesday–Sunday, 8:30 a.m.–4 p.m. Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day, plus the annual summer hiatus. Check before going.

Time needed: Allow 60–90 minutes, longer if you want to linger.

Choose this for a flexible visit. You can shorten a garden walk without abandoning a paid tour. This admission does not get you into the historic estate.

Historic House Tour

A guided visit inside the Annenberg house.

Departure: Center & Gardens, 37977 Bob Hope Drive, Rancho Mirage.

Cost and hours checked September 8, 2026: $58.19 per person, at the time on your ticket. Minimum age 10. Tours follow the estate’s seasonal availability and summer closure.

Time needed: The tour is 90 minutes. Add the arrival and check-in time specified in your confirmation.

Choose this if seeing the interior is the point. Secure the ticket first, then arrange lunch and other stops around it.

Open-Air Experience

A guided shuttle tour of the estate grounds, without an interior house visit.

Departure: Center & Gardens, 37977 Bob Hope Drive, Rancho Mirage.

Cost and hours checked September 8, 2026: $30.11 per person, at the reserved departure time. Minimum age 10; seasonal availability applies.

Time needed: 45 minutes, plus check-in.

This is a different experience. If the house interior is what you want, buying the outdoor tour will not solve a sold-out house date.

If the house tour is sold out

If house tours are sold out, the free gardens can still make a worthwhile visit. Sunnylands has no waitlist. Same-day tour tickets may be available on site, but treat those as a possibility rather than the reason for the drive.

For house tours during Modernism Week, Sunnylands directs buyers to Modernism Week’s ticketing. Check the event-specific listing instead of assuming the normal monthly sale covers every date.

Make the garden visit fit the weather

November through March is the easier window for an outdoor walk. In September, October, April and May, check the heat forecast and favor the morning. June through August is outside the usual public season. The September reopening does not mean summer temperatures have ended.

Bring water and sun protection. If the walk feels too hot, shorten it. Keep any later booking loose enough that parking, check-in and a slower walking pace do not create a rush.

Review the operator’s visitor rules and access details before leaving. For a broader architecture itinerary, see our Modernism Week guide. If comparing this with a mountain outing, our Tramway guide explains the larger time commitment and current closure.

Featured photo: Mark Davidson / © The Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands. Sunnylands press photo.