Springs Preserve Museums

We visited Springs Preserve in 2011 using our Garden Pass which gives us free access to gardens all over the US and even in a few other countries. This time we decided to pay the discounted price so that we could visit the museums that aren't included with the pass. According to the website the garden pass is good for the Botanical Garden and Trails only so that means to visit the Desert Living Center, Origen  Museum, Nevada State Museum, Waterworks Exhibit, Boomtown-1905, and the Butterfly Habitat pass holders must pay the extra price. 

We went too slow and only saw the Origen Museum and the Nevada State Museum. We'll have to go back next year! The Origen Museum covers human history of the Springs Preserve and Las Vegas which includes Native Americans, land auctions, the growth of the railroad, Hoover Dam, and a simulated flash flood. The Nevada State Museum features fossils, early settlers, the beginnings of Las Vegas and Reno, and a changing exhibit gallery. 

The museums are accessible but a long, paved uphill path must be navigated to get to the entrances. One exhibit in the Origen Museum is too high to view. We walked/rolled part of the way along the accessible, paved Exploration Loop Trail but didn't have enough time to go from the trail access point at the tram station to Boomtown, approximately 1/3 mile. The entire loop is 3.5 miles. The tram (trackless train) is accessible and I think it goes around the entire loop with a stop at Boomtown. 

We were directed to the south parking lot where there's an entrance to the botanical garden area. When entering note the location of this entrance/exit. We couldn't find it when it was time to leave and ended up walking/rolling along a road that didn't have a sidewalk. The parking lot is large enough for any vehicle. Preserve  36.17017, -115.19205