ABQ BioPark unveils Children’s Fantasy Garden redesign for summer overhaul
Families have one last summer to visit the Children’s Fantasy Garden before it closes Sept. 8 for a $5.5 million overhaul with new climbing play, a troll forest and better access.
The current Children’s Fantasy Garden will close Sept. 8, giving Bernalillo County families one last summer to see the version that has delighted visitors since 2001 before ABQ BioPark begins a $5.5 million overhaul.
The redesign aims to keep the garden’s whimsical, nature-based feel while replacing aging features and improving accessibility. Hundreds of Albuquerque families, children and community members helped shape the concept, which centers on an immersive mythical world rather than a simple decorative display.
The new design adds a dreamland theme, a troll forest, a rainbow road, a geode-style pumpkin, climbing structures inside the castle and a dragon that may be repainted purple. The goal is to make the space feel more active for children and parents.
The closure begins a major construction period for the ABQ BioPark Botanic Garden’s Children’s Fantasy Garden. The Botanic Garden opened in 1996 and covers 32 acres, and the Children’s Fantasy Garden has been part of that landscape for more than 20 years. The current garden has included a dragon with smoke effects and a water feature inspired by Barcelona’s Parque Güell.
The project is being paid for with Albuquerque’s voter-approved 1/8-cent gross receipts tax, which went into effect in July 2016. City budget documents listed the garden renovation at about $5 million in a 2024 annual report draft, but the final estimate has risen to $5.5 million as the design matured. The broader funding cycle runs through 2031 and is still supporting major improvements at the zoo, botanic garden and aquarium.
The city’s current target is to reopen the Children’s Fantasy Garden in summer 2028.
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