The Backcountry at the Garden is a dream backyard for any kid and kid at heart.
Spanning 4.5 acres, the Backcountry invites young visitors to explore, jump, run, and play in nature. Since 2022, kids have explored peek-a-boo trails, tree climbing, rock hopping, mazes, and native plants in a safe space. Monthly events, free classes, and camps add to the Backcountry as an adventure hub. It was built to inspire and connect visitors to the wonders of our natural world, especially kids who the Garden hopes will leave inspired to protect our planet.
Just like the natural world, the Backcountry is always changing. When visiting, you’ll likely find new features installed, a class being held, or new plants and living structures to learn about.
Five Backcountry Casitas, temporary outdoor playhouses built of natural materials, are scattered throughout the garden. Selected through a design competition, each Casita creatively incorporates natural materials to provide unique perspectives of nature. For example, children can pretend to be bees while climbing through a human-scaled pollinator home.
A 12-foot-tall red-tailed hawk spreads its wooden “wings” to create a semicircular seating area for children to take a peaceful respite. Nature-themed books are available in a little library inside the hawk’s torso. The Hawk’s Nest was created by Santa Barbara designer and builder Cody Westheimer.
The Backcountry was inspired by Richard Louv’s book Last Child in the Woods, which explores nature-deficit disorder in today’s children and their disconnect from nature. When parents are fighting an uphill battle against screens, the Backcountry is an accessible antidote. It’s all about unstructured play. I know that if I bring my 7-year-old son there, he’ll have a blast climbing up the knotted ropes on the hillside, trekking through a trail, or walking on bands. And I’ll have a great time, too.
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When parents are fighting an uphill battle against screens, the Backcountry is an accessible antidote.