Springs Preserve

333 S Valley View Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89107, USA

Address:	333 S Valley View Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89107, USA
Phone:	+1 702-822-7700
Site:	springspreserve.org
Rating:	4.5
Working:	9AM–5PM 9AM–5PM 9AM–5PM 9AM–5PM 9AM–5PM 9AM–5PM 9AM–5PM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 5

Ethan Featherstone

Excellent half-day family excursion. We have been members for most of the last five or six years and keep going back. The staff is unusually plentiful and typically quite friendly and helpful. The gardens are well done and well cared for. The activities for kids are good-there is a variety of seasonally changing exhibits, and the seasonal butterfly museum is enjoyable. The animal shows, when they have them, are okay, but the people running their shows put their heart into it. We miss the bird show they used to do. We also miss the childrens playground, which has been under reconstruction that appears to have been stalled for six months or more. The fast-casual restaurant is decent-expect $10 entrees so its no McDonalds but you get what you pay for. Though I am not trained, the desert architecture of the buildings is interesting and could not have been cheap. They focus on environmental consciousness and energy conservation in many of their exhibits, one of which includes a demonstration home. There is ample space to explore if it gets crowded during an event - the outer reaches of the gardens receive less traffic and there are pleasant trails in the unlandscaped area where most people dont go. This is not akin to a childrens museum in that the activities are less concentrated; the museums and exhibits are spread out over a few buildings among nicely landscaped desert areas. Expect to walk. Since much of the Preserve is about being outdoors, summer can be a challenge unless you go right when it opens. Some of the areas and exhibits are getting a little old, worn down, or just do not operate properly due to age and use. The Preserve has been open around ten years now, and there have been some repairs and remodeling; by and large, it is well maintained. The Halloween event is great but crowded. The Christmas train event this year was excellent because it was so well staffed and organized-they only took a limited number of people at a time and moved us as a small group through various activities at a time. My kids had their best Santa experience ever-it was private and the Santa took the time to talk to each of my kids. It was well worth it. Overall, I gave it five stars for its value as a member despite some shortcomings.

F. T.

Just dont expext much. I decided to take some visiting family here today. I have lived in the area for several years and have heard good things about the Springs Preserve from other locals. This place has the worst signage I have ever seen. At forks in the road they have butterfly shaped signs that tell you to follow the butterfly signs to the butterfly exhibit but it doesnt tell you which direction of that fork to take. IF your lucky you can see the next butterfly sign in the distance but most of the time you cannot. We couldnt find signs or maps most of the time and all the other people we passed complained about the same thing when we asked them for directions. There are almost no staff members around to help. The 2 staff we found we asked where different exhibits were and they didnt even know. This place charges the same amount as many other large butterfly exhibits in other big cities and it is a ROOM! A tiny butterfly room with a small square path around the plants. Good plants and good (small) butterflies but dont expect anything like other exhibits if you have been to them. Almost 12$ for a flatbread and almost 12$ for a ham sandwich didnt bother me at all until the food came out. It was just mediocre at best. The kids chicken strips meal was the best thing we purchased. We knew they were having a beer festival at 4 pm so we went in the morning. They still charged us normal entry price. Even though the ticket lady said the park was running as usual that morning many of the preserve areas were shut down for festival set up. In the end we gave up trying to find the train to ride (or a staff member or a map) and by the time we saw the sign for it the kids were done wandering and we were on our way out. This place is so beautiful and they clearly put so much thought into the way it looks WHEN it was created. Great building shapes and realistic rock walls and terrain with good gardens but very poorly managed.

Sara Mancilla

Springs Preserve was fantastic. We went for the family membership package since the price was comparable to buying individual tickets for everyone for one visit. We saved the difference with the benefits that came with the package. We spent approximately five hours here. In that time, we barely got through a quarter of the exhibits, and we have full intentions of returning to see more. The landscape was very pretty, with different plants labeled by the walkways. The butterfly exhibit was small, but it was beautiful. The staff was extremely friendly and helpful. There were quite a few different species of butterflies that our children loved searching for on the convenient photographic diagram they provided. There were different plants throughout it too. The Extreme Parrot show was very cute. The show itself was more focused on younger children (very cheesy theme song, but with a good message for everyone, including adults), but even our oldest enjoyed watching the tricks performed by the birds. The Nevada State Museum was very well-kept with lots of different exhibits. There were dinosaur exhibits (which interested our future paleontologist), current animals (good for our future veterinarian), lots of flashy items (great for a toddler), and plenty of history and other items of interest, so different items to interest anyone. The cafe was good, although the kids "baby burger" was incredibly bland. The rest of the food was good though. Prices were high for the small serving for fish tacos, but my garlic buffalo flatbread was good and worth the price. We definitely plan to return. It is worth the price for the membership.

Danny Milstead

This has to be the worst place in the area for history. We ask a Security Person for directions and he sent us completely in the opposite direction. When we confronted him about it after we found out , all he could do is try and I repeat"try" to defend his action with a lie. The boomtown excibit was totally not finish and too modern for a history portrayal. Some of the displays on the first day, were broken and locked with pad locks. The Stage Coach had no portrayal of the era of which it was intended. The gardens were unkept and butterfly area was closed and appears to be closed endifintly. Probably should rethink this , close it and fix it. Sorry to say it looks very amateur and cheap. The ticket taker was not aware of the admission prices as we found out Bank Of America customers were free on Sunday ,and the train ride was included. But no one bothered to tell the staff. All in all I would have really been upset if I had paid the fees they wanted before we were alerted of the free day. We were very disappointed in the this park, given the hype it was given.

Brooke Gantman

I love the Springs Preserve! There is something to do for people of all ages. The Origins Experience is great for kids and pre-teens, and even the adults will enjoy looking at the animal exhibits! There are tons of things to do and learn about, and I guarantee that you will learn a lot of information about our desert while you are there. The volunteers are kind and very informative. The Preserve also has trails and walking areas around the property, which are great to walk on a nice day. There is also a wonderful building with a garbage truck inside (I forgot the name of it) which is a great place to teach kids about environmentally-friendly practices like recycling, renewable energy, and hybrid cars (they even have a Prius on permanent display!) A picture of grey fox is attached to this review. He/She was about to eat and was on the other side of the enclosure, but when he finished, he came right up to the fence and was about 2 feet away from us!