Rio Grande Botanic Garden

The Rio Grande Botanic Garden is located at 2601 Central just west of Rio Grande. Admission is $7 for adults and $3 for seniors and children under 12. The admission to the Botanic Garden also covers admission to the aquarium. Winter hours are 9:00am to 5:00pm daily.

The Rio Grande Botanic Garden is a wonderful place to visit when you are thinking about landscaping your yard because many of the plants are native to New Mexico and even Xerascape plants. They also have many ideas for hardscape that you may find interesting. One of my favorite parts of the Garden is the area for children, which is a huge model of a garden, so when you enter, you feel the size of an ant. Even adults shouldn’t skip out on this part.

A trip to the Rio Grande Botanic Garden can last all day, especially if you visit the aquarium. I have gone to the Zoo, the Aquarium and the Garden in one day (you can ride the train from the Zoo to the Aquarium and buy a ticket that includes everything), but I was exhausted by the end. There is also so much to see at both places that I wasn’t able to see everything I had planned. However, it would be an eventful day, just plan on being there early and give yourself plenty of time.

During the winter, around the holidays, the River of Lights is held at the Botanic Garden. There are thousands of beautiful lights and a Poinsettia garden, which is beautiful. I have enjoyed this every time that I have gone, mainly because I love lights. Children would definately enjoy the exhibit, however it is something anyone can appreciate.

The Botanic Garden is a site to see year round. The entire area is covered with different types of plants. The pictures shown here are from my visit to the Japanese Garden in the late fall. I was impressed with the size of the exhibit and the beauty of the whole place even during this season. The Japanese Garden is toward the back of the park. I spent so much time at this exhibit, that it was almost dusk when I was leaving. Some of the lights were being set up for the River of Lights, so I took some pictures of those as well. It would have made a wonderful evening to visit the garden in the afternoon and then stay to see the lights after dark.