 The Palm Springs Area Zoo
"The Living Desert" - Family Friendly Vacation Fun for Everyone
Planning your Palm Springs Vacation and looking for things to do that the whole family can enjoy? Plan a trip to the Palm Springs Area Zoo and Gardens known as "The Living Desert" located in Palm Desert California on a beautiful 1,200 acre park setting.
 This popular Palm Springs area attraction is a real people-pleaser. The zoo is a fun vacation thing to do to connect with the natural beauty of the Desert outdoors. It's family-friendly and perfect for kids of all ages - and adults too.
Desert aimals large and small including camels, giraffes, zebras, sand cats, foxes, hummingbirds, butterflies — you'll find it all here at the Palm Springs Zoo. The Zoo and Botanical Gardens are located about 20 minutes east of downtown Palm Springs in Palm Desert, California.
The Palm Springs Zoo
"The Living Desert"
The Palm Springs Zoo is home to more than 130 rare, threatened and endangered plant species from around the world, the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens offers interesting, inspiring and educational fun to more than 300,000 visitors each year. The Zoo is one of the most popular Palm Springs area tourist attractions, second only to the 
Palm Springs Tram Cable Cars
Palm Springs California Area Zoo
"Living Desert" Location:
47900 Portola Ave
Palm Desert, California 92260
Palm Springs Area Zoo
Phone: (760) 346-5694
Hours of Operation:
In-Season Hours:
October 1 - May 31
Open Daily 9:00 am to 5:00 pm -
Latest time for admission is 4:00pm.
Closed Christmas Day December 25
Summer Hours:
June 1 - September 30
Open Daily 8:00 am to 1:30 pm
Latest time for admission is 1:00 pm
Admission Cost/Rates
Palm Springs Area Zoo
In-Season Rates
Cost of Admission
General Admission $12.50
Seniors (62 and up) $11.00
Military $11.00
Children (3-12) $7.50
Children under 3 Free
Summer Rates
Cost of Admission
General Admission $9.50
Seniors (62 and up) $9.50
Military $9.50
Children (3-12) $5.25
Children under 3 Free
Beautiful Butterflies
and Happy Hummingbirds
 The Living Desert devotes a special building to showcase the natural beauty of butterflies and hummingbirds. This Palm Springs Zoo exhibit is well worth your time; it's called "Fanciful Fliers."
Within the setting of a peaceful garden, this special zoo exhibit is a gorgeous walk through nature in a 3,000 square foot walk-through that's filled with hundreds of fluttering butterflies and busy hummingbirds.
Variety of Beautiful Butterflies
at The Zoo for You
More than two dozen so possible species of butterflies in the garden are all from North America, many from our Desert Southwest. They are as colorful and unique as their names: Painted Lady, Luna Moth,Tiger Swallowtail, Orange-barred Sulphur, and Zebra Longwing.
The hummingbirds you'll find in this walk-through exhibit are all from the Desert Southwest region and include the Anna's, Costa's, Black-chinned, Rufous and Broad-billed Hummingbirds.
Take a close look when you position yourself between a humming bird and the sun and you will be delighted at the iridescent colors of the male hummingbird's gorget.
Plenty of Pretty Plants
Beautiful Botanical Gardens
The garden ecosystem of this living Desert exhibit includes over 60 species of butterfly plus hummingbird and butterfuly-friendly plants, many in bloom.
Your experience in the exhibit can be a guided tour with one of the Palm Springs Living Desert Zoo's trained hosts or if you prefer, you can sit on a shaded bench and enjoy the peace and tranquility of the garden with the gentle sounds of flowing water, the sights of beautiful plants and the delight of the fluttering butterflies and colorful hummingbirds.
The cost of entry to this exhibit is free for members and $2 for non-members. The exhibit is open daily from early October through to April 30 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The exhibit also includes a gift shop so you can create your own butterfly garden and hummingbird haven at home.
Visit the Palm Springs Zoo and Gardens, The Living Desert, on your next Palm Springs Vacation.
Address:
47900 Portola Ave
Palm Desert, Ca
Palm Springs Area Zoo
Phone: (760) 346-5694
Palm Springs Things To Do
for Your Palm Springs Vacation
 Ride the Palm Springs Tram - Cable Cars to the mountain top, the most poplar Palm Springs tourist attraction!
Take a Palm Springs Tour! Palm Springs Tours - Guided Tours...Complete Local Guide - Tourist Favorites!
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Palm Springs Area Zoo & Gardens
What to See at The Living Desert
Exotic Animals, Learning, Gardens
When you visit the African wildlife sections at The Living Desert's Palm Springs Zoo, you'll see some of the most unique and fascinating animals native to what most people think as the "wasteland" of the world: the desert.
 Here you'll see animals such as Arabian oryx, several species of gazelle, sand cats and fennec foxes - allw whom call the desert home.
Almost all the animals you'l see here are endangered species, largely because modern hunting equipment - jeeps, helicopters, telescopic sights and automatic weapons - has given man a tremendous advantage over animals in the desert.
The team of volunteers and professionals at the Living Desert has worked diligently for many years to increase the world's population of endangered slender-horned gazelles, sand cats, addax and Arabian oryx.
Did You Know?
A desert species, in general, has fewer members than, say, a jungle species, because the extreme and severe environment such as a desert climate cannot support large number of variety of animals. Because of this, human activity can push an already scarce desert species, such as the sand cat, to near extinction, as has occured in the deserts of Pakistan.
Not all African species in our collection are endangered. Aardwolves, camels, dik diks, hornbills, meerkats, rock hyrax, warthogs and zebras, everything from A to Z, can be found in the African animal exhibits at The Living Desert.
Discover Nature
Hands on Learning
In the Discovery Room at the Palm Springs Zoo's Living Desert, visitors of all ages can touch, feel, compare and learn about the unique qualities and interesting facts about deserts.
How does a turtle store water?
What does an owl eat?
Why do cacti have spines?
What is good about a rattlesnake?
Who needs sharp eyes?
How did native people get food?
What kind of bird weaves a nest in palm fronds?
You'll find skins and plant pods, fibers and feathers, horns and barbs, bones and stems, insects and live animals plus other natural paraphernalia in the Discovery Room at the Palm Springs Zoo's Living Desert in Palm Desert California.
In addition, puzzles, puppets, books, games, drawings, models and sculptures all help tell the story of the nature of desert.
This interactive room at the Zoo, called the Discovery Room, is staffed with people to answer your questions and is open daily from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.
Model Trains at the Zoo
Model trains became a part of The Living Desert in 1998 during the annual WildLights holiday program that takes place beginning the day after Thanksgiving and continues until the New Year.
This popular zoo display, model trains, runs full time during the Zoo hours. The model trains that run on small-scale tracks trains are known as "G" scale, and are approximately 1/2 inch to the foot, about twice the size of Lionel trains. These trains are the most popular "large scale" model train. The locomotives, rolling stock, track, switches and most of the equipment are made by LGB. In fact, the letters "LGB" stand for Lehmann Gross Bahn or Lehmann's Big Train. Made in San Diego California, the LGB trains are made by a family company in business for more than 100 years with
LGB, the world's first "G-scale" train, was born in 1968. The family history of LGB goes back to 1881, the LGB family has over 100 years of experience creating innovative products and serving demanding customers. LGB trains are one of the best selling big trains in the world.
Palm Springs Weather:
Sunny, Warm & Dry Year-Round - Plenty of Sunshine!
Palm Springs Weather Info: Monthly Avg Temperatures
| Monthly Average Temperatures |
Month |
Avg High |
Avg Low |
Mean Avg |
Precip |
January |
70 |
44 |
57 |
1.27 in |
February |
75 |
47 |
61 |
1.15 in |
March |
80 |
51 |
65 |
0.63 in |
April |
88 |
56 |
72 |
0.08 in |
May |
95 |
63 |
79 |
0.06 in |
June |
104 |
70 |
87 |
0.05 in |
July |
108 |
76 |
92 |
0.19 in |
August |
107 |
76 |
92 |
0.40 in |
September |
101 |
71 |
86 |
0.39 in |
October |
91 |
61 |
76 |
0.11 in |
November |
78 |
50 |
64 |
0.29 in |
December |
70 |
43 |
57 |
0.61 in |
Palm Springs Vacations, 350 Days of Sunshine
In Palm Springs, California, population 47,000, the sun shines more than 95% of the available sun hours or about 350 days a year!
Palm Springs is known worldwide for its great golf courses, beauty and tranquility — soaring palm trees, sensational mountain views, exceptional midcentury modern architecture, sunny warm weather, all set in an idyllic village nestled among awe-inspiring mountains and beautiful Palms.
Palm Springs is also popular for its world-famous Hollywood-influenced history where movie stars past and present have flocked year 'round, year-after-year, for vacation, relaxation and rejuvenation.
In addition, Palm Springs is well known for its abundance of midcentury modern design also referred to as Palm Springs Modernism. Palm Springs has hundreds of extraordinary midcentury modern homes, commercial buildings including banks, restaurants, apartment buildings, single family homes, gas stations — even the post office and library. In fact, Palm Springs is home to the greatest collection of midcentury modern architecture in the world.
 Palm Springs, California is located 100 miles east of Los Angeles and 110 miles east of San Diego in a desert valley setting known as a vacation paradise. The Palm Springs Desert Valley area includes 9 desert cities, the most widely known Palm Springs. With all 9 desert cities combined, Greater Palm Springs population is nearly 300,000 and growing. Yet it continues to be relaxing and tranquil with abundant natural beauty with awe-inspiring mountain vistas, blue skies and open spaces.
 Vacation Palm Springs offers spacious privately owned vacation home and condo rentals in Palm Springs that are perfect places to stay for enjoying the many pleasures of indoor-outdoor living that makes Palm Springs a world class (and year-round) resort destination. |
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