Shangri La Gardens was a personal retreat for H. J. Lutcher Stark, a wealthy lumber, oil, and real estate businessman from Orange, Texas. After collecting and planting azaleas and camellias for four years he opened gardens to the public in 1946. Unfortunately neither Stark or the public got to enjoy the gardens for long. A hard freeze in the 1950s killed many of the plants and the gardens were closed until 2008. The reopened gardens focus on nature and environmental awareness.
Admission to the gardens includes a small visitor center and film, a children's’ garden, six themed gardens, greenhouses, and a bird blind. An addition fee is charged for the boat tour through the wetlands.
The visitor center and film are accessible. The main garden path is paved and level – very accessible. Other paths are hard packed dirt, covered with a layer of small stones, and are fairly easy to push along. The visitor center and movie are accessible. The bird blind has hinged boards which can be moved out of the way to get a better view but many of them are too high to use from a seated position. We didn’t go on the boat tour but we were told that it is wheelchair accessible.
RVs will fit in the lot parked lengthwise across the spaces. It’s a bit of a walk to the gardens from the main lot but if you have a car or van there are a few accessible parking spaces close to the entrance. Garden
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