Gate & Garden Tour

What the tour is

The Gate & Garden Tour is the Laguna Beach Garden Club’s yearly walking tour of gardens in local neighborhoods. The 2026 tour, the 21st, was on May 2, 2026. The club lists the 22nd annual tour for May 1, 2027, and calls it a self-guided walking tour. It also calls the tour a major fundraiser for educational school gardens, local scholarships and community projects.

The club says it has been “Growing & Giving Since 1928”. Its history page traces the club to a garden party on October 26, 1928. Its mission is to advance gardening, horticulture, ecology and conservation through education and community projects, and the tour is one of the club’s ways to raise money for that work.

2027 date

The club’s home page gives May 1, 2027 and no start or end time. The club’s tour page gives Saturday, May 1, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., but it heads that text “The 2026 Walking tour”. May 1 falls on a Saturday in 2027, and the 2026 tour was on May 2, so the label looks out of date. Confirm the hours with the club before you go.

What the club’s tour page describes

These details are from the club’s own tour page:

• Hours: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Start: the Laguna Beach County Water District. The club describes the building as a Mediterranean Revival structure from 1927 and calls it the tour’s permanent host venue.
• Getting to the start: buses carry participants to the start of the tour, then you walk through a set of gardens in local neighborhoods.
• On the day: the club lists margaritas and Mexican food for sale, and says baked goods and refreshments are free. Plein air painters work in several gardens.
• Raffle and contest: a raffle of prizes from local artists and businesses, and a contest for the best garden party hat.

The club also says the tour has sold out in multiple years. That is the club’s statement, and it does not give attendance numbers.

The tour page also describes Laguna Beach’s Mediterranean climate as suited to gardens year-round, and it links a gallery of photos from past tour gardens if you want to see what the gardens look like before you buy a ticket.

Tickets

The club’s home page links to a ticket listing, but the link on the page still points to the 2026 tour. No 2027 ticket price is posted on the club’s home page or its tour page as of October 2026. Because the club says the tour has sold out before, check its site for the 2027 sale listing instead of waiting for the date.

Parking and getting around

The club describes buses to the start and a walking tour from there. Its pages do not say where visitors should park, and they do not list the gardens. For general parking around town, the parking guide covers the city’s lots, and the getting around guide covers the trolleys.

What else the club does

The club’s home page lists four strands of work. It describes “Educate” as speakers, classes, field trips and garden tours, and “Give” as support for school gardens, scholarships, community projects and environmental organizations. It lists “Serve” as service opportunities in the community and “Grow” as a welcoming atmosphere with fun experiences and friendship. The club also commissioned the Bee Mural on Third Street. Its general meetings feature guest speakers. The public art page covers other art you can see around town.

May in Laguna Beach

The May guide covers weather, the marine layer known as May Gray and what else is on that month. For another community event in the spring, see the Patriots Day Parade in March.