2 Best Sights in Outside Carlsbad Caverns National Park, Carlsbad Caverns National Park

More preserve than traditional zoo, this park contains an impressive collection of plants and animals native to the Chihuahuan Desert. The Desert Arboretum has hundreds of exotic cacti and succulents, and the Living Desert Zoo is home to mountain lions, javelinas, deer, elk, bobcats, bison, and a black bear. Nocturnal exhibits let you view the area's nighttime wildlife, a walk-through aviary houses birds of prey, and there's a reptile exhibit. The park also sponsors some great educational events. Though there are shaded rest areas, restrooms, and water fountains, in summer it's more comfortable to visit in the morning before the desert oven heats up. The expansive view from here is the best in town.

Pueblo pottery, Native American artifacts, and early cowboy and ranch memorabilia fill this downtown cultural center, along with contemporary art shows and an exhibit on Carlsbad's bats. The real treasure, though, is the McAdoo Collection, with works by painters of the Taos Society of Artists.