spring river park and zoo

I was pretty disappointed with this zoo. It is free, but I felt a lot of the animals were sick or injured. I think there is a lack of funding. There is a few great animals to see, but overall I left just feeling sad. I don't want this to discourage anyone because after all it is free, but just be warned.

I have read other reviews, so I was not too shocked, but some animal CAGES were just too sad. I'd rather pay a small fee if that means that the animals have better living conditions. However there are some peacocks, chickens and roosters that just roam freely. I also liked that most displays included animals names and their adopted "parents". And please get the bears a second wood branch to climb onto!!!! The concrete is way to cold (even though I enjoyed their tussle over the sole existing one). There is a souvenir penny machine in the reptile hut - the prairie dog with a flying saucer is SO Roswell!

Love this place. It costs nothing to go there. In the summer they have a concession stand, carousel, and train. Costs are not high. They have a pond that kids 12 and under can fish in for free. You can take food to feed the ducks too.

Little known and out of the way, but a short drive from NMMI. Worth the visit, hope they get the train running again. Good to see the memorial for the German POWs who worked on it as well.

The animals all looked well fed and happy.Some a little too well fed.There are peacocks,chickens,ducks and geese out and about.The lake was nice and had tons of different waterfowl.They had families fishing in the lake and having a good time.Unfortunately the Train and carousel are closed til spring.Great area to spend the day.They had picnic area with grills.Parking was convenient but it is easy to miss entrance if you are not watching carefully.

We heard about this zoo last year on our way down to Carlsbad, but could not find it. We left early from Albuquerque to make certain we had time to find it this year. There are NOT good signs to tell you about where it is( there is 1 small sign, faded and can only be seen going in 1 direction). We found it and was happy we did. We saw a lot of chickens, peacocks and squirrels running all over the place. The animals seem content and all have plaques with their names on it and who donates to help keep them there. The prairie dogs were still out and very fat and they even have names for ALL of them(I personally could not tell one from the other). For a free zoo the city of Roswell should be very proud of their efforts to give all the animals a good, safe place to stay. They also have some unique animals that you don't expect to see in a zoo.

I did read previous reviews and kind of knew what to expect. But, I had no idea how sad it would make me feel. The animals are in very very small enclosures. They are extremely listless even on a cool fall day! And, they are all so over weight it is sickening! The black bear enclosure had two bears-one was quite a bit younger. It is literally going stir crazy-goes back and forth-tries to climb the wall- then starts the back and forth again. In the hawk enclosure, one just cried the whole time. It is very clean, but the animals are all just waiting to die....

Cute, small and free. I would have been willing to pay a modest fee. Sorry to any ranchers (as I know in the wild they can be a nuisance), but my girls were captivated with the prairie dogs!! There were a few other visitors at the time we visited, but in no way too crowded. The kids took their time to observe and read about the animals at a leisurely pace.

My teen and I liked this outdoor zoo situated by the river. It is small but you get close to the animals. It'ss free but it could use a fee to help care for these creatures.

With many trees, grass, river, golf course, pool, lily pond and more, this oasis in the desert is a good place to just relax.

This is a small zoo with a playground and a train and carousel. The train and carousel aren't open very often when we visit. The animals are limited except for the prairie dogs which are abundant. Stay on the paved paths so you won't trip on their holes. We have family in Roswell and have taken 3 generations of kids here to the playground to get the wiggles out after the long drive to get to Roswell.

This little zoo primarily cares for injured and orphaned animals. Many of the cages have signs telling visitors who has "adopted" the animal or bird. It costs nothing to visit. I was fascinated by the prairie dogs. They were everywhere. There is an adjoining picnic area and playground for children. Once you have tired of the UFOs and aliens, drop by here for a relaxing look at the animals and birds.

We truly enjoyed visiting here. The zoo was really free which was nice since we had 8 people. The carousel and train ride were only .25 per person-what a bargain. We enjoyed the free roaming chickens and peacocks as well as the zoo animals. It has a nice playground too. So many things to do here and no charge unless you do the rides.

We were just passing through Roswell and decided we wanted to do something the kids would enjoy before heading on to do grown up stuff in Santa Fe. So grateful to other Tripadvisor users for helping us find this great little zoo and park. My kids had a blast and even made some new friends. The zoo was very nice for a city park and there is no admission fee. I do agree that some of the animals could use bigger enclosures though. What I enjoyed most was the park. On weekend afternoons in the summer they have 25 cent train and carousel rides. They also have family friendly movies that they play on Saturday evenings at sunset. (we didn't stay for movie but read a posted flyer- may only do this in summer). They have a concession stand that has snowcones, popcorn, and a lot of other snacks. Didn't see anything priced over a dollar. The playground is large and picnic areas were clean. Everyone we met was so friendly. Would recommend stopping here if you are looking for a budget friendly fun stop for kids.

Nice little zoo. Surpised at the amout and variety of animals there. Nice lake, carosel and train ride. For a free zoo, it's not that bad for a free zoo, but I must admit, some of the caged exhibits were a little small. For a family of five, getting out not spending more than $5 made it easy on the wallet.