Garden of the Groves

Garden of the Groves was created in the 1960s by the founders of Freeport and named for them, twelve acres of planting laid out around a series of small waterfalls and ponds fed by a recirculating system, with a hilltop chapel, a labyrinth copied from the pattern at Chartres, and a raised walk through the canopy. Something over ten thousand plants grow here, with a strong collection of native Bahamian species alongside the tropical exotics. It was flattened by hurricanes in 2004 and again by Dorian in 2019 and has been replanted each time, which the garden is fairly open about; some sections are visibly younger than others.

What you actually see

• The waterfalls - the ponds and cascades the garden is built around.
• The labyrinth - a walking labyrinth on the Chartres pattern.
• The hilltop chapel - the small chapel above the gardens.
• Native Bahamian planting - the local species alongside the exotics.

When to go

December to May is the dry season and coolest for walking. Mornings are best for birds and shade. There is a market with local craft and food on certain days, which is worth timing for.

Honest expectations

Hurricane Dorian did enormous damage in 2019 and the garden is still recovering, with replanted sections that will take years to mature; it is not the garden older photographs show. It is small and takes about ninety minutes. Grand Bahama's wider tourism infrastructure has struggled since the storm.

Nearby

Lucayan National Park is half an hour east; Freeport is fifteen minutes west.