Sunnylands is the former 200 acre Annenberg Estate, located in Rancho Mirage, California. It was completed in 1966 and used as a winter retreat for Walter and Leonore Annenberg until 2009. Significant property features include the main house, guest quarters, three guest cottages, a private 9-hole golf course, and 13 man-made lakes that now serve as a retreat and meeting center for U.S. Presidents, foreign dignitaries, and celebrities.
Despite wanting to build their getaway home in the California desert, the Annenberg’s preference for landscaping was lush greenery and flowering plants. Since transferring the estate to a not-for-profit organization, the terrestrial design is changing to an ecologically acceptable arid landscape. Although there is still much more transitioning to be done, the new planting design features desert flora that requires less water to thrive.
This view is from the private golf course with a man-made waterfall on the Annenberg Estate.