Hidden Teddy Bear Garden In Dallas: A Travel Guide

Wondering how to see the teddy bear statues in Lakeside Park? Here’s what to know before you go to Teddy Bear Garden.

Once upon a time, a family of four teddy bears moved to Dallas, Texas. They lived in Dallas for thirty years on a quiet waterfront stretch of Lakeside Park. They still live in the same outdoor spot. And now that a year-long bout of home renovations is over and the dust of construction has cleared, they can happily welcome guests again.

Here’s how to visit them.

Editor’s Note: This article contains photos of Teddy Bear Park, taken across six years. The ones where the teddy bears are on a paved path (instead of compact dirt) are the most recent!

About Teddy Bear Garden

For a while, the four teddy bears‘ corner of Lakeside Park was locally (and affectionately) known as Teddy Bear Park. Now, a new deep green sign, fixed to a lamppost-like pole, retitles this Highland Park highlight as Teddy Bear Garden (after flowering trees and stone steps were landscaped in).

Teddy Bear Garden starts in a fairytale setting. Picture a storybook world punctuated by exclamation marks of trees, a dash of a trail, and circles of lily pads atop a lake.

What To Expect At Teddy Bear Garden

• One ten-foot-tall granite teddy bear with soft features and a decorative black bow (I personally call this bear Mama Bear, but it could be a Papa Bear, an older sibling, an aunt or uncle, one cub that’s just a wee bit taller than the rest of the cubs – no one knows for sure).
• Three four-foot-tall granite cubs. One looks up at Mama Bear. One lifts its legs and paws in delight nearby. One plays near the stump of a tree.

• A small footpath (less than 200 feet long) passing a babbling brook, a teeny duck-filled pond, and the outskirts of a mansion. The mansion is billionaire Harlan Crow’s, and the gate doesn’t hide his Garden Of Evil, a personal sculpture collection of deposed communist dictators (Why would anyone collect that? Here’s why, apparently). Crow commissioned the teddy bear statues (built by artist Jerry Williams), too, and donated them to Lakeside Park in the late 90s.

Teddy Bear Garden, itself, is less than a half acre of Lakeside Park’s fourteen. The evening crowd is casual; usually, a few joggers detouring to rest their legs, one (or two) couples splayed out on a picnic blanket near the gentle curve of Exall Lake. Ducks quack. Geese congregate. Bullfrogs croak.

How To Visit The Teddy Bear Statues In Lakeside Park

To get to the teddy bear statues in Lakeside Park, head to 11 Willowood St, Highland Park. Then, parallel park on the side of the road closest to the lake.

You’ll catch a glimpse of Mama Bear from across the water. Follow the brown, wooden footbridge to her home.

Now, you’re in the garden of teddy bears, among four charming statues. Snap a few photos and spin around. Allocate thirty minutes to see Teddy Bear Garden unless you plan to linger longer (think: an intimate picnic for two or a cozy stroll through the rest of Lakeside Park).

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A goose waddles in front of me, then pauses and gently tips its beak (in a nod of sorts), motioning for me to move ahead.

When Mama Bear seems like a dot in the distance, I wave goodbye. Somedays, I wonder if she just might wave back.

Did you enjoy this travel guide to Teddy Bear Garden in Dallas? Have you ever been to Teddy Bear Garden in Dallas? Let me know in the comments below!