Living Desert

Living Desert Review

Come eyeball-to-eyeball with wolves, coyotes, mountain lions, cheetahs, bighorn sheep, golden eagles, warthogs, and owls at the Living Desert. Easy to challenging scenic trails traverse 1,200 acres of desert preserve populated with plants of the Mojave, Colorado, and Sonoran deserts in 11 habitats. But in recent years, the park has expanded its vision include Africa and a collection of stand-alone exhibits. At the 3-acre African WaTuTu village, there's a traditional marketplace as well as camels, leopards, hyenas, and other African animals. Children can pet African domestic animals, including goats and guinea fowl, in a "petting kraal." Gecko Gulch is a children's playground with crawl-through underground tunnels, climb-on snake sculptures, a carousel, and a Discovery Center that holds ancient Pleistocene animal bones. You can walk among butterfiles and hummingbirds within a small enclosure. Recently added is a cool model train that travels through many of California's historic towns. Yet another exhibit demonstrates the path of the San Andreas Fault across the Coachella Valley. The park holds a snack shop and gift shop. A garden center sells native desert flora, much of which is unavailable elsewhere.