Coastal Iris Trail at Ilanot Forest – Visitors Guide

Near Ilanot National Arboretum, you can find a lovely grove with Irises. And you can use a 1.5 km loop trail for hiking the forest.

Note: Today, we will visit the Coastal Iris trail. And if you want additional information about Ilanot, see Ilanot National Arboretum.

Map

Ilanot Forest (near Netanya) is by the old Tel-Aviv – Haifa highway (road #4), close to Dror Junction. You can enter the Ilanot National Arboretum by turning right from highway #4 north. And the easiest way to reach it is by entering “Ilanot forest” to Waze.

Directions for drivers: Link to Waze and Link to Google Maps
Directions for public transport: Link to Moovit

Interactive map of the area:

There is plenty of free parking on site. But this place is quite popular. And if you arrive later on a Saturday, entering Ilanot and finding parking will take time.

You can see the grove on the bottom right of the map above. Here is the map of the Ilanot forest.

Note: you can click on the maps to enlarge them.

Opening Hours

The Botanical Garden is open daily from 08:00 until sunset (the gate is locked at sunset).

Entrance Fee

Free.

Note: for additional basic information about Ilanot, see Ilanot National Arboretum.

When does the Coastal Iris bloom?

Iris Atropurpurea is a protected plant and unique species that can be met only in Israel and Syria. It starts to bloom in the middle of January and reaches its peak in the middle of February. The blooming lasts till the beginning of March.

Note: another great place to see the Coastal Iris is Nahal Poleg Nature Reserve.

Coastal Iris Trail

We start at the parking (#1 on the map) and head east.

At the end of the parking lot, you will see a sign pointing to the beginning of the trail.

After a short walk, you will see the grove entrance to your left (point #2 on the map).

The length of the Coastal Iris trail is about 1.5 km. This path begins and ends near the sign in the following photo.

You start hiking along the blue trail, and after a couple of minutes, you will reach a junction of blue and green routes (near point #7).

At this junction, continue along with the blue trail. And you will return using the green path.

We visited in the second half of February and did not see many Irises. At Nahal Poleg Nature Reserve, we saw considerably more flowers.

Unlike Ilanot National Arboretum, where you can find paved roads, taking a baby stroller to this trail can be problematic. As you can see, some parts of the trail are sandy. Therefore when hiking, use baby carriers.

Summary

It took us about an hour to complete the Coastal Iris Trail (at a slow pace). It is a short lovely and mostly shaded trail. And you can visit it independently or as an addition to Ilanot National Arboretum.

Note: another great place to see the Coastal Iris is Nahal Poleg Nature Reserve.

Have you ever been to Coastal Iris Trail at Ilanot forest? Tell us about your experience in the comments below.

Note: if you love similar places, check out agrotourism and nature.

That’s all for today, and I will see you in future travels!

Stay Tuned!

Additional Resources

Here are several resources that I created to help travelers:

• Trip Planner with Attractions and Itineraries is the page that will help you create your perfect travel route.
• What is the Best Time to visit Israel? To answer this question, we will consider the weather, prices, holidays, festivals, and more.
• Information and Tips for Tourists to Israel will answer the most common questions tourists have about Israel (including safety, passports, weather, currency, tipping, electricity, and much more).
• Israel National Parks and Nature Reserves include a complete list, top ten, map, tickets (Israel Pass, Matmon, combo), and campsites.
• If you are looking for things to do, here are the pages for Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Sea Of Galilee, Akko (Acre), Eilat, Nazareth, Safed (Tzfat), and Makhtesh Ramon.