Leonora Curtin Wetland Preserve

In 2012 the Preserve will be open May 5 – October 28

The Leonora Curtin Wetland Preserve is a 35-acre nature preserve located on the I-25 frontage road south of Santa Fe. The preserve is adjacent to El Rancho de las Golondrinas in La Cienega. This rare natural cienega, or “marsh” in Spanish, hosts a bountiful diversity of plants and wildlife.

The Preserve contains three distinct plant communities or zones. They are: riparian/wetland, transitional, and dry uplands.

Leonora S. M. Curtin was an early ethnobotanist who came to New Mexico in the early 20th century. She became interested in plants with medicinal and nutritional values used by Native Americans and early Spanish settlers.

Hours of Operation

The Preserve is open on Saturday mornings from 9 a.m. to noon and Sunday afternoons from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.  Guided nature walks are offered every Saturday at 10 a.m.

Admission

Entry to the preserve is free. Donation suggested.

Group Rates and Special Access

To receive the group admission price or special access during off hours, please make a reservation at least one week in advance by calling or emailing the SFBG office at 505-471-9103 or info@santafebotanicalgarden.org. (We consider a group as 20 or more people. The group rate is $50. If you do not have 20 or more, the fee per person is $5.)

Preserve Address

27283 I-25 West Frontage Road
Santa Fe, NM

Directions from where you live >

Volunteer

The Leonora Curtin Wetland Preserve (LCWP) is fully staffed by trained volunteer docents.  Docents are adults of all ages, walks of life and educational backgrounds. There are currently 70 trained docents volunteering twice per month or more at the Preserve.

Each year, we offer a Docent Training Program to prepare volunteers to lead nature walks for the public or school groups. The docents’ responsibility is to help visitors to the Preserve and people in the community better understand and appreciate Santa Fe Botanical Garden and our very unique wetland Preserve.