Sunnylands Center & Gardens opened its 16th season on Sept. 9, 2026, with free admission and free parking. The gardens on Bob Hope Drive are open Wednesday through Sunday, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Most of the year's calendar starts later. The free group wellness classes, the estate birding shuttle and the guided Historic Walk all begin in November. The first of those dates you can lock in arrives this Thursday, Oct. 15, at 9 a.m. Pacific time.
A few October programs are still left, two of the four estate tours have not started yet, and Yoga in the Gardens is returning on a much thinner schedule than in past seasons.
The Tours That Wait for November
Every tour of the 200-acre Annenberg estate leaves from the Center & Gardens with a guide. The Sunnylands tours page lists four options for the 2026–27 season. Two of them only run from November through April.
| Tour | Length | Group size | Price per person | Runs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Historic House Tour | 90 minutes | 7 guests | $58.19 | Wednesday–Sunday |
| Open-Air Experience | 45 minutes | 7 guests | $30.11 | September–April |
| Birding on the Estate | 90 minutes | 7 guests | $41.55 | November–April only |
| Historic Walk | 60 minutes | 10 guests | $28.03 | November–April only |
The two November-only tours show the estate in very different ways. Birding on the Estate is a shuttle tour led by a local birding expert. It focuses on the birds that live and nest on the property and the ones that pass through along the Pacific Flyway. The Historic Walk covers one mile on foot, entirely outdoors, and its guide talks about the estate's midcentury architecture and design and the Annenbergs' legacy. The Open-Air Experience, which has been running since September, is a shuttle ride that stops at the front door of the historic house. Along the way it takes in the estate's art and its golf course.
The small groups matter here. Most tours cap at seven guests, so each departure sells only a handful of tickets. That is why the ticket release date carries so much weight.
Oct. 15 Is When November Fills
Sunnylands releases each month's tour tickets on the 15th of the month before. That means November's Historic House Tours, Open-Air Experiences, birding shuttles and Historic Walks all go on sale at once, this Thursday at 9 a.m. Pacific. The ticket rules are:
- Advance tickets are sold online only at Sunnylands.org. You cannot buy them by phone, by email or in person.
- Sold-out tours have no waitlist.
- Some same-day tickets may be sold on site, but only if seats are left.
- Guests must be at least 10 years old.
- Group tickets for guided tours are not available.
The tours page has a "Set Reminder" sign-up that sends an alert before each monthly release. It also includes a note that matters at a working estate. High-level meetings at Sunnylands can occasionally cancel scheduled tours, even ones already ticketed, and refunds are issued promptly when that happens.
All tours are wheelchair accessible. The same 15th-of-the-month schedule continues all season, so December tickets go on sale Nov. 15 and January tickets on Dec. 15.
Why Yoga in the Gardens Went Monthly
The biggest change this season involves a free program, not a ticketed one. On Sept. 30, 2026, Sunnylands announced that Yoga in the Gardens will run once a month instead of weekly. Sessions now take place on the third Friday of each month from November through April, at 9 a.m.
The reason is traffic on the road outside. In its announcement, Sunnylands explained the change this way:
"Over the years, Yoga in the Gardens has grown into one of our most popular community programs, with attendance sometimes exceeding more than 400 participants per session. While we are delighted by the enthusiasm, the large number of vehicles arriving at the same time can create traffic congestion outside the Sunnylands entrance along Bob Hope Drive."
To put that in perspective, a Historic House Tour holds seven people. Some yoga mornings drew more than 400, all arriving by car at about the same time through one entrance on a major Rancho Mirage road. Sunnylands says it will work with local law enforcement to manage traffic outside the gate, and it encourages participants to carpool.
The rest of the program is unchanged. Sessions are still free and still last one hour. Instructors Stéfane Barbeau and Kristin Olson will lead them again this season. The first two dates are Friday, Nov. 20, and Friday, Dec. 18. Neither needs a reservation. With only six sessions in a season that used to offer one every week, each date will likely draw a larger share of the people who used to spread across many Fridays. That makes carpooling more useful, not less.
Saturday Tai Chi Is Now the Weekly Class
With yoga down to once a month, Tai Chi in the Gardens is the only free group class at Sunnylands that still meets every week. It starts Saturday, Nov. 7, and runs every Saturday at 9:30 a.m. through April 24, 2027. Sessions last 60 minutes and need no reservation.
For anyone who planned a winter routine around Friday-morning yoga, this is the main adjustment. The free weekly option has moved to Saturday mornings. Third-Friday yoga and Saturday tai chi fall on back-to-back days in November and December, on Nov. 20 and 21 and again on Dec. 18 and 19.
What's Left in October
The workshop calendar still has a few October dates before the November schedule takes over. Each paid workshop requires registration.
- Art Workshop: Blooming Cactus Tote Bags. Friday, Oct. 16, 1 to 3 p.m., $42.49 per participant.
- Art Workshop: Day of the Dead Mosaic Skulls. Saturday, Oct. 17, noon to 3:30 p.m., $71.97, ages 18 and up.
- Horticulture Workshop: Happy Worm. Sunday, Oct. 18, 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., $55.59, ages 18 and up.
- Birding: Accessible Birding Day. Thursday, Oct. 22, 8:45 to 9:45 a.m., a free bird walk led by Audubon California with no registration required.
Accessible Birding Day is the only free October bird walk on the calendar. It comes about a week before the paid Birding on the Estate shuttle tours start in November, and it is a no-cost way to try birding at Sunnylands before buying a $41.55 seat on the estate shuttle.
The September film series is over. Its free screenings ran on three Friday evenings in September, starting with The Hidden Life of Trees on Sept. 11.
What Runs All Season
Some things don't depend on any release date. Curating Canopy: Trees at Sunnylands, a photography exhibition, is back for a second season. It opened Sept. 10, 2025, and stays on view through June 6, 2027. The Self-Guided Audio Garden Walks are free whenever the Center is open. You use your own phone or tablet, walk at your own pace and don't need to register.
The Center stays open on a seasonal schedule from mid-September to early June. That gives the November-through-April programs about six months. For a Rancho Mirage household, the practical schedule is the 15th of each month for tour tickets, third Fridays for yoga and every Saturday for tai chi, starting the week of Nov. 7.
Living a short drive from the Bob Hope Drive gate means having a world-class garden and historic estate close by, and that kind of proximity is part of what a Rancho Mirage address is worth. If you'd like to know how your home's location and features play out in today's market, The Downs Team is glad to help. Request a Complimentary Home Valuation, and we'll walk you through it with the same local detail.
