The Living Desert Zoo & Botanical Gardens

The Living Desert Zoo is by far one of the best zoos we have ever been to. In addition to the zoo, it is also a botanical garden. It is one of the top rated things to do on your trip to Palm Springs and we had so much fun we wanted to go back again! Here is what to expect on your visit and things to know before you go.

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Living Desert Zoo & Gardens
47900 Portola Ave, Palm Desert, CA 92260
The Living Desert Zoo & Gardens is open October 1- May 31st from 8am – 5pm daily and June 1- September 30th from 7am – 1:30pm. Last admission is one hour prior to closing. You will definitely need at least 2-3 hours at the Zoo. It is large and spread out and you wont be able to see everything if you plan for less time than that. Admission ranges from $17-29 per person. Senior and Military discounts are available. Children 3 and under are FREE. Tickets are cheaper online if purchased ahead of time than at the door. Parking on site is FREE.
Learn more and purchase tickets HERE.

We headed to the Africa section first. There are quite a few giraffes and at certain times of the day you can purchase food to hand feed them.

One of the coolest animal exhibits we saw were these baby naked mole rats. The nest is glass so you can see all of them piled up and moving around. They are like an ugly cute.

There is a petting zoo where you can go inside and brush/pet/feed the goats. Just make sure to watch out for any paper you have. One goat found the zoo map in Travis’ pocket and went to chomping.

The zoo is also a botanical garden. Throughout the zoo you will find different themed gardens to explore. All of these different gardens have plants native to specific areas of the desert. For example, there is a “Sonoran Desert” themed garden and a “Desert Oasis” garden. We loved seeing the different kinds of desert plants and cactus.

Keep an eye out for humming birds enjoying the desert plants. Also make sure to go inside the greenhouse and see a variety of indoor plants and succulents.

The zoo has a huge variety of animals to see and observe. There is an entire area for the wallabys (these are a smaller cousin to the kangaroo). You can walk through the exhibit and be up close and personal with them. Unfortunately on our visit we arrived too late and missed the exhibit, but we will be enjoying it next time we go.