Filoli Estate and Gardens is a historic gem just south of San Francisco. The grand estate is known for its beautiful gardens, drawing crowds year-round. In the fall, you can take tours of the 100-year-old orchard, and during the winter, stroll through the garden’s beautiful light displays.
Fall at Filoli
Filoli’s gardens are unique because they bloom all year thanks to their dedicated horticulture team. The formal garden area stretches 16 acres, with a large walled garden that looks like it could belong in a fairytale. The estate is also perfect for enjoying the fall, with an abundance of fall foliage, and themed-events.
Filoli embraces each season for its unique features, and the fall is a particularly fun time at the estate. The historic estate’s Taste of Fall event starts this weekend, September 28. The event takes guests on a guided tour through the orchard and sample fruit and honey grown on the grounds. The weekly Saturday event is guided by the estate’s Horticulturists and resident beekeepers, and after, you can explore the house and the rest of the gardens. You can also check out Orchard Days, which allows you to explore the 100+ year-old orchard with cider and live music every weekend.
This year, the estate is also opening a brand new attraction, a special Halloween event. The mystery-themed event is spooky and interactive, incorporating multiple parts of the estate of a festive night.
About the Filoli Estate
The Filoli property covers 654 acres in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The Gentleman’s Orchard is over 100 years old and currently boasts over 600 apple, pear, plum, apricot, walnut, fig, and quince trees. Filoli continues to produce fruit butters, hard cider, honey, dried lavender, and culinary herbs. The house itself is an enormous mansion with 56 rooms across 54,256 square feet. Visitors can tour both the mansion and the estate’s surrounding land, which has a beautiful trail to view Filoli’s forests, redwood groves, and chaparral.
A long history in the Bay Area
The land Filoli sits on originally belonged to the indigenous Ohlone people in the Bay Area. After the Spanish occupation and mission system seized their land and decimated their populations, much of California was parceled out as a Mexican land grant in 1856, which was later divided up following the United States annexation of the state.
After the 1906 earthquake, many wealthy San Francisco residents headed south to escape the city. The stunning Filoli estate was built in 1917 by socialite and entrepreneur William Bowers Bourn II and his wife, Agnes Moody. The couple wanted to create a self-sustaining estate, and they lived at Filoli until their deaths in 1936.
The property was purchased by heiress and philanthropist Lurline Matson Roth with her husband, William “Bill” Roth. Lurline Matson worked closely with Bourn’s original gardener to continue beautifying the gardens.
Upon Bill’s death, Lurline Matson donated the Filoli estate to the National Trust for Preservation, which it still remains under today. Lurline famously said, “Filoli is too beautiful to be private,” and in that spirit, the property was opened to the public in 1977.
While the end of summer can be bittersweet, Filoli also has many charming events in the fall, and recently announced a special Halloween program to look forward to.
You can visit Filoli at 86 Cañada Road in Woodside, CA, with prior reservation from 10 am-5 pm daily. General admission costs $25, and there are reduced prices available for children, seniors, and students.
Written by Jamie Ferrell and Dana Flynn