When Sunnylands, the former winter home of Ambassadors Walter and Leonore Annenberg, reopens to visitors on September 22nd, there will be a new ticketing schedule and longer hours, after reaching a record 93,300 visitors in 2015-16. 

The Sunnylands Center & Gardens will now be open Thursday through Sunday from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., a half hour earlier than before.  Admission to the Center & Gardens, which includes nine acres of desert gardens, art and educational exhibits, a café, and a gift shop, is free. 

There are 3 tours requiring tickets (and guests on all tours must be at least 10 years old);

  • Historic House Tour - Tickets for the 90-minute Historic House Tour are $45 per person.  Visitors are taken from the Center on electric shuttles to the 25,000-square-foot home, where guides offer information about the Annenberg art collection, the building’s architecture and interior design, and the history of the estate as both a private residence and now, as a high-level retreat center. Tickets for this tour can only be purchased in advance and will now be released at 9 a.m. Pacific time on the 15th of each month for tours scheduled for the following month. For example, on Aug. 15, tickets will be released for tours in September; on Sept. 15, tickets will be released for tours in October. Previously, tickets were released twice a month in two-week increments;
  • Guided Estate Bird Tour -  Offered from November through May, the 90-minute bird tours are open to both experienced and novice birders. Bird tour tickets, at $35 per person, can only be purchased in advance and will be released on the same schedule as house tours, with the first ticket release on Oct. 15; and
  • Open Air Experience - Offered from Sunnylands’ September opening until spring, these are 45-minute shuttle tours of the Sunnylands grounds and golf course. The $20 tour, focused on sustainability, midcentury modern architecture, and Sunnylands history and current events, takes guests through the 200-acre estate viewing architecture, the grounds and outdoor sculpture. Tickets for the Open-Air Experience can be purchased only in person at the Center and only on the day of the tour.

To read the original Palm Springs Life Magazine article, please visit: http://www.palmspringslife.com/sunnylands-center-gardens-reopens-sept-22/

Sunnylands Center & Gardens:

Address:           37977 Bob Hope Drive

                         Rancho Mirage 92270
Telephone:        760-202-2222
Website:           www.sunnylands.org