Features include an avenue of giant sequoias planted in 1863, large square walled gardens, a waterfall, a fernery, ponds and walks up the hillside to viewpoints over the Holy Loch.

[1] The area once called "Innasraugh", meaning "the sheltered valley", was part of the hunting grounds of the Dukes of Argyll, belonging to the Campbells of Ballochyle.

[3] In 1849 the estate was bought by John Lamont, a wealthy sugar planter and slaveowner in Trinidad who had emigrated from Toward (near Dunoon) 48 years earlier.

[3][6] He arranged extensive plantings in the grounds, including more than six million trees around the estate, and added paths leading up a ravine one kilometre (5⁄8 mile) to the south on the east side of the road, making Puck's Glen a scenic attraction.

[3][9] The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) was looking for a place to take the large collection of plants which the botanist George Forrest had brought from China, and the high rainfall at Benmore was ideal.

[10] Benmore House was used by the Forestry Commission for apprentice training, then in 1965 Edinburgh Corporation took it over as a schools outdoor education centre.

In 1992, Historic Scotland designated the fernery a category B listed building, describing it as "a rare structure and important as an integral part of the gardens at Benmore".