Living Desert Zoo and Gardens State Park
Under $25A native wildlife zoo and garden park showing Chihuahuan Desert animals and plants near Carlsbad.

Photo: Mega Hammond, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.
A desert reservoir park north of Carlsbad offering boating, fishing, camping, and birdwatching.
33 East Brantley Lake Rd., Carlsbad, NM 88221 · Carlsbad, NM
Brantley Lake State Park sits on a man-made reservoir in southeastern New Mexico, formed when a dam was built across the Pecos River. The official park page describes the lake as a green refuge in an arid landscape, with wildlife, plant life, and striking sunsets and night skies. Visitors can boat, kayak, canoe, fish, hike a short trail network, and watch birds. The campground includes developed sites with hookups, primitive shoreline and boat-in options, restrooms with showers, and an RV dump station. A visitor center with exhibits is also on site.
The closest stops to Brantley Lake State Park, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.
A native wildlife zoo and garden park showing Chihuahuan Desert animals and plants near Carlsbad.
9.8 mi awaySwitch it up: Attractions
Free evening ranger talk, then watch Brazilian free-tailed bats leave Carlsbad Cavern at dusk.
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Descend by trail or elevator into Carlsbad Cavern and walk the Big Room, then watch bats fly out at dusk in summer.
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A state park southeast of Roswell with a string of sinkhole lakes used for boating, fishing, and swimming.
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Browse exhibits and firsthand accounts of the 1947 Roswell Incident inside a 1930s movie theater downtown.
Transit: reachable by public transit
59 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums
A contemporary art museum in Roswell, New Mexico, that grew out of a local artist-in-residence program.
60 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums