Living Desert Zoo and Gardens State Park - Carlsbad, New Mexico - Home for Desert Wildlife and Plants

Located on 1,500 acres at an elevation of 3.200 feet, the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens State Park is a living museum. Its indoor and outdoor displays feature more than 40 animals native to this part of New Mexico, as well as hundreds of desert plant species from all over the world.

Visitors are invited to experience a 1.3-mile self-guided tour through the Chihuahuan Desert. The terrain includes sand dunes, pygmy forest, and desert floors. Local residents of the zoo include mountain lions, bobcats, foxes, badgers, mule deer, elk, bison, and endangered gray wolves. There is also a walk-through aviary full of feathered friends, from songbirds to eagles, hawks, and owls.

In the Green House, succulents and cacti can be seen. Many varieties are available for sale, too, in the park's Gift Shop. The complete tour takes about 90 minutes. The cost is $3 per person, with children aged six and under admitted free of charge.

The Living Desert Zoo & Gardens State Park is located on the northwest edge of Carlsbad, New Mexico just off U.S. Highway 285. The gate hours are 8am to 5pm daily from Memorial Day through Labor Day and from 9am to 5pm the rest of the year, but closed on Christmas Day. Last entry to the zoo area is at 3:30pm.