living desert zoo and gardens state park

Be prepared to walk. LOTS of plants. Some cool animals. Many were not out moving when I was there. Staff very friendly! Worth the stop. Best part only 5 dollars. They also have a decent gift shop. Plus you get to see Carlsbad from above!

Stopped by after reading the reviews here. I was in Carlsbad on business and had a couple of free hours in the afternoon. I'm a sucker for penny smashers and like gardens, zoos, and the outdoors. The park exceeded my expectations. They did a great job with signage and the layout is nice. If you are the type who enjoys learning about local plants and animals more than being impressed by the quantity on display will you will enjoy this park. If you are the type who takes the time to read the signs and information posted you will enjoy this park. There are some great birds of pray that you are able to get close enough to to enjoy. The Javilina and bear were out as well as Bison, deer and Elk. Did I mention it is only $5...

Felt a little like Jurassic Park here for a bit. Either some of the animals were really camoflauged, or they weren't in there cages, or they found a really cleaver hiding spot out of view. Many of the animals we never saw. There could have been just an empy cage for all we knew. Wolf?, nope. Coyote? nope. Bear? nope. Porcupine? nope. Groundhogs? Yes actually! We saw plenty of those. The new reptile house was nice too. Nice small zoo, that we got to visit with family, just wished more of the animals were out and active...

Beautiful scenery. Nice walking zoo. Small but very nice. The people working there are very kind and helpful

There were 6 of us, age 2 to 60. We all loved it. Signage and brochure provided made it easy to find our way around. Started in visitor center with hands on activities for children. Many varieties of cactus and other desert vegetation, plus reptiles, mammals, and birds. We spent 3 hours on the 1.3 mile walking tour and the even the youngest was entertained. One negative was the lack of water fountains. The two that we came across were not operating. Would recommend carrying a bottle along. Worth the trip and admission.,

This is one of those under-the-radar NM attractions that doesn't get the credit it deserves. We loved both the zoo and the desert gardens. We're so glad we included this in our Carlsbad trip.

I loved the scenery and the animals are really cool! Although 20% of the animals were hiding... I would also like to say more things because this review isn't long enooooough.

Loved this zoo - bio park. Really worth the drive to Carlsbad. Even in December weather we got to see many animals. I could tell that the place was designed by a professional, so both the animals had a great habitat ant still be visible to visitors. They also had a penny souvenir machine.

We visited here in October and the weather was perfect, blue skies, sunny and just the right temperature to enjoy the day! We went on a weekday and only saw 4 other visitors when we were there! We had the place to ourselves to enjoy the beautiful plants and animals. It is a sidewalk path if I remember correctly, which is wonderful and easy to walk. Very clean! We especially liked the raven (he was surprisingly very intelligent and entertaining) and the mountain lions! They were fun to interact with, although they are fenced in of course! I think we got to see every animal, nobody was hiding that day like you sometimes find at a zoo. The prairie dogs were very entertaining as well. Very relaxed, peaceful and quiet. The staff were very friendly and helpful. We paid $5 and it was very well worth the price! I would highly recommend.

whenever we go to New Mexico, which is very often, we visit here. Never crowded, it is always a fun experience. There are great views and a wonderful variety of plants and animals.

We stopped here on the way out of town after the Caverns. This is mostly a rescue zoo and they had some great exhibits with local wildlife in addition to some good information about the environment in the desert Southwest.

Very informative short tour where you can learn a lot about desert ecosystem. Many well described plants and animals. You can see so many native plants in one place. In greenhouse you can see desert plants from other parts of the world. Since my previous visit 10 years ago number of animals has grown.

We visited Carlsbad Caverns on Christmas Eve, and decided to stop at this zoo on our way back to our hotel. We were staying about 3 hours drive from Carlsbad, so this was the only chance we'd get to see the zoo. They stop admitting guests at 3:30, and we rushed to try to make it in time - we arrived about 2 minutes too late. The ladies working the desk were SO KIND! When I explained to them how crazy we were trying to get there, how my young children were so looking forward to visiting the zoo, and that this would be our only chance to visit during our vacation - they graciously allowed us to go ahead and see it. On Christmas Eve, when I'm sure they were anxious to clock out and to get home to their families! They were absolutely lovely to my children, explaining the exhibits, telling them points of interest to look for - just really kind and wonderful given the circumstances. And we ran into a zookeeper a couple of times while walking through the zoo, and she was just as lovely! Talking to my kids about the different animals, pointing us in the right direction when we couldn't find an exhibit, helping us try to bribe a road runner with food to stand still in the walk in aviary so I could get a picture (LOL). Really and truly, it's the wonderful staff that made this such an enjoyable place. The exhibits are REALLY COOL! The scenery is breathtaking, and it's really cool to learn more about all the interesting plants and animals of the desert. The animals are definitely well-cared for and loved, and the grounds are meticulously well maintained. You immediately get the sense that the staff not only loves their jobs, but they are very proud of their zoo. This is definitely a place you should visit when you're in the area. I highly recommend it!!!

We were pleasantly surprised at the beauty of this attraction. The animals were fun to see, but the cactus and other plants were the main attraction, in my opinion. The price is very low. Take the time to go see it.

Prices are extremely fair, employees are kind and helpful and both the museum-like entrance and the zoo itself are clean, interesting, educational and peaceful! I thought it would have been a limited zoo but it had a lot of animals for us to see! This was a wonderful outing! Prices at the gift shop were also affordable and the very sweet employee even helped me greatly with my four excited young children by telling them stories and helping them to pick out their keepsake! This is definitely on our to do list when we visit again!