The Garden of One Thousand Buddhas
A special place to visit for a moment of quiet reflection
The Garden of One Thousand Buddhas welcomes all visitors to find peacefulness and compassion in this Jocko Valley garden, which features over 1,000 Buddha statues arranged in the shape of a Dharma wheel.
Features: There is a large colorful Buddha statue at the center of the Dharma wheel, smaller Buddha statues lining the "spokes" of the wheel, and another row of statues lining the outer circle. Other large statues and points of interest are along the outer circle, and on the far side of the property there is a small pond and gift shop.
Accessibility info and site description: There are several accessible parking spots available, but no protected van-accessible parking. (Turn into the property through the gate, the main parking area and public restroom will be to the right, continue driving straight to find the accessible parking area). The walking path is gravel, about the width of a sidewalk, with grass on either side. Near the entrance, there's a few pieces of wood that intersect the trail, coming up off the ground several inches (see photos). The trail is wider along the outer circle, and narrows as you follow the statues toward the center. At the center statue, there is a brick path, but this area was roped off when I visited in March 2022 (unsure if this is temporary). Without access to the brick path, there is only a very narrow dirt trail around this inner circle. There is an additional public restroom on the far side of the property near the pond and gift shop. There are no benches along the trails, or anywhere that I could see. The distance from the accessible parking area to the entrance of the Dharma wheel is 350 feet, and another 200 feet to the center statue. I would estimate the total distance around the wheel to be about a quarter mile. There is no fee to visit, but they do accept donations.
My experience: This is such a unique, interesting place and I have been here a few times over the years. As much as I have enjoyed my visits, I want to point out some accessibility issues I have had here. My first time at the Garden, I was using my wheelchair and struggled getting through the gravel on the path. Even when I had help, it was quite difficult. My second time, there was still a lot of snow and there's no snow removal on the trails, so it may not be accessible until later in the Spring. During my most recent visit, I needed to take a break from walking and was disappointed to realize there are no benches here. I would have loved to have walked around the whole wheel and visited the pond, but without a place to rest, that just wasn't possible for me so we had to leave. Just something to keep in mind while planning your visit!
Overall, The Garden of One Thousand Buddhas is a special, peaceful place to visit. I would love to see accessibility improvements here in the future (benches, better paths) but I'm glad this remains free and open to the public!
For more information, visit www.ewambuddhagarden.org
