Reviews of Smokey Bear Historical Park (Park)

Dave Waldron

It's historical and fun. The Forest Service used the bear cub in such a powerful and positive way all of these years. So yea it was fun!

Anna-Marie Carroll

We love coming here whenever we're in the neighbourhood. The staff are always super friendly and sweet with our young kids. Our daughter loves colouring in the museum building and playing at the playground behind the grounds.

Ben Spiegel

This is not the most elaborate place around, but my kids liked it, and I thought it was a neat nostalgic stop. Don't visit expecting much, and you won't be disappointed. Smokey the bear is buried on site and there are coloring activities for the kids, which makes it a good stop while traveling. The restrooms are newly renovated which is a nice surprise.

Kimberly Hernandez

Completed the junior ranger program with my kids, earning them a very cool patch. Very informative. We were rushed for other reasons and would definitely go back when time permits! Took my 3, 6, 10, 11 year old, all were entertained

naomi cruz-chavez

Small and not as interesting

Vickie Lancaster

Enjoyed my visit. Interesting exhibits.

Birgit Maurer

Somebody started this with a whole lotta love. The museum is grand, the park area has been started with a lot if love, looks like a gardeners hand could work miracles there. (May have been time of the year when we were there...)

Deb Lamons

Awesome place!!! The employees were very informative and we also got to visit the very first Smokey Bear's grave site!!! So cool!!! So neat to see where Smokey is buried!!! This was one of the highlights of my trip!!! Thank you guys!!!

Mary Dennis

Nice

Richard Steinmetz

Great history and memorabilia.

Nathan Baggs

This is a must see.

Joe Ogden

Glad we stopped. Had a real good time and was a real nice walk. Great food in town, also.

Makayla Kuntz

Awesome very interesting and heartwarming and knowledgeable thank you

ben b

I went to the Smokey Bear days including Smokey Bear Historical Park. The museum was quite a fun experience as it was a combination of forestry, conservation and history. The museum is well designed with nice interactive displays that are well lit. It was surprising to find such a gem in the town.

Maer Reynolds

It's a interesting place to go and they tell you all about smokey bear too

parmyman1 1985

Great place to visit.

Tony Davis

The history of Smokey Bear (who is buried there) and the icon and advertising object.

David Sanchez

Good place to learn some history.

Abbigail Weaver

Not much to do

Kelli Kallenborn

Some people have written reviews here for Smokey Bear Museum and Gift Shop and apparently Smokey Bear Restaurant. Smokey Bear Historical Park does not sell anything, at least it wasn't on November 26, 2018. There was not even a space where things could have been sold in the peak season. Smokey Bear Historical Park is interesting, informative, and the displays are in good shape.

justin valley

Only you can visit the Smokey Bear Historical Park.

Jim Shields

Museum is informational, but the best part of it is the high-elevation garden in back that contains Smokey's gravesite. A walkway winds through a stand of evergreens and deciduous trees (aspens, etc). Also features a manmade spring, fountain, and pond. Stunning.

Tara Johnson

Wasn't able to go in as the 3-pound Chihuahua I was carrying in a bag on my shoulder it was not allowed. I prefer to frequent businesses and locations that are pet friendly. I was carrying this tiny dog and in messenger back so it's not like the dog would do any damage. Ridiculous and not welcoming at all.

chester hawkins

Wonderful place brought back some childhood memories.. Staff there was awesome

Michael Mann

Very neat and educational would have no issues visiting this again.

Kyle Benoit

Cool place to show your respect for a true American icon.

Edward Mertz

Great educational museum

krisnuda z

It is a good way to learn about fire prevention and Smokey, but too small.

Esther Zamorano

Lovely place! There's a peaceful and beautiful garden with trees and flower plants from the Capitan Mountains where Smokey Bear is resting in peace.

Goofner 123

It is a great place very cheap if you are in the area you should definitely stop by it has the first Smokey the bear grave sight and there is a great butterfly garden and the kid playground is soo cool . Another cool thing is the gift shop it is one of the coolest places I've been especially in captain .

Beth Rigall

Very informative video and lovely garden with Smokey the Bears grave and Memorial to fallen NM firefighters

Cassie Locke

Fun little walk thru

Bob Henze

Nice dedication the the burned cub that everyone fell in love with.

Jann Lyman

Lovely outdoor area with Smokey's grave, plus museum. Very nice.

chrissy frische

Pretty cool little roadside attraction. Cheap at only $2 and it goes towards a good cause.

Ron Sartin

Awesome historical site!

Steve Amaon

Nice facility with lots of interesting info on Smokey and associated subjects. Smokey's final resting place is on the grounds. Worth a stop.

Amanda Vollmer

It's a family tradition to go to this museum every time we go to New Mexico. (Which is not often) I'm 35 now and I still get just as excited as I did the first time I went. Lots of facts to read, trivia game, coloring pages, and a short film to watch. There is also a trail outside to walk. They also have a small gift shop as well. The staff is always friendly. It's a great place for people of all ages.

Jen B

If you grew up loving Smokey, you'll like it here. It's sweet and unassuming, and has a but of a vintage vibe (lots of old Smokey memorabilia), and I actually found myself feeling a little bit teary-eyed at sweet old Smokey's final resting place. The grave is in a lovely little nature walk area behind the museum. I grew up loving Smokey, and visiting this place made me feel like a little girl again. Recommended.

Windmill Acres

It's a neat little Museum and Park. We took my 7 year old Cub Scout there. It was a good place for him to learn about how to behave in the forest. Lots of good material but small enough that we were able to get completely through in about an hour, which is about all he can handle. From there we had lunch and actually went out into the forest. All in all, a good experience for him.

Erik Rasmussen

A must see, great part of history that we grew up with.

Larry Martin

Have a great time Smokey Bear's 75th anniversary

James Moseley

Serene.

Pat MacManus

Interesting.

S. Spence

Very informative about the Smoky program and the first bear.

Patty Wingard

Beautiful memorial for an important bear!

Rebecca Leonard

Grandkids love the playground...good swings..picnic tables in 2 pavilions...place should be spruced up...paint & new wood chips would be nice

Megan Rye

Great for the kids....no alive bear

Larry Gene

This is a great place for families to go to learn about Little Smokey the Bear. You will learn all about them rescuing him and getting him to safety,i encourage you to visit this mighty fine place!!,Larry Gene Pate

Kathy Rohr

Cute park and even has Smokey the bears gravesite.

diane wilson

Great value for a historical character.

Judy Carroll

Eh....neat history quick stop.

frank griffin

I like it very much brought the kid out in me

Dominique Ramos

Found this place by accident and was immediately impressed. Great staff, indoor and outdoor exhibits featuring info on Smokey and the region.

Karen Carter

Neat piece of history!

GEORGE YANEZ

Cute video of the Bear

Greg McKelvey

Nice place

donna transport

Small, but we'll done, nice little nature walk out back. Very informative both inside and out.

Barbara Finlay

Nice park, small but interesting. Walkway takes you by Smokey's burial place.

Oscar Jimenez

Small but good. Friendly and helpful staff.

Jens Fritsch

Great place to visit with your family. Really interesting and informative and fun

Sethuraman Palaniappan

It was a great place. We spent an hour there. Good to know about the smoky bear history.

Katie Klas

What a neat place. We happened upon it. Highly recommend.

Shelli Catron

Learned so much about Smokey Bear. I'm 40 & some of the information in there I never knew! Totally recommend, go check it out!

Diane Erickson

Great park with tree and plant identification, interesting facts about how specific plants and trees recover from fire. Smokey Bear is buried here. History of Smokey Bear.

Melissa Howell

Very neat place to stop! Adults and children will enjoy this informative and educational spot. There is an indoor/outdoor area and both are interesting. The inside is geared around Smokey’s story. I love this story and did not know there was a real Smokey. The outside has name plates for different vegetation and tree species so if you love to learn this kid of stuff you won’t want to miss out. Be sure to go through the gift shop and show your support!

Nourish TheDream

Wonderful place ! we got to see and pray at Smokey resting place

Maureenbrian Thomas

Interesting history of Smokey Bear. I didn't know he was real! Lovely gardens of the different areas of NM plants.

Kathleen Waldron

Interesting, small.

Joel Armendariz Jr.

Fantastic Historical Museum. Well maintained, great historical material & content and pleasant, professional staff. I'd definitely recommend taking the time to stop in and take in this wonderful piece of U.S. history.

Phil Tuten

Nice little historic center, very informative.

Michael Metz

Great place to visit. Lots to see and learn.

Faith FARQUER

Fun for kids has a park and picnic tables loved it.

Sherri Davis

Lots of great history! Bring cash though, they don't do cards..

Garcia Jose R

I enjoyed the park wish I would have had more time to explore the whole park

Heather Puckett

Awesome piece of history

Jayson Clark

Can't come to Capitan without hearing about the famous smokey the bear. Kids love it and behind the park is a playground for the kids.

Robin Allison

A nice stop. Museum is open for 7 days a week, so do not be fooled by the 'museum/Gift Shop sign,next door, that is NOT the actual museum. A 10 minute film plays on the 1/4 hour is short and to the point. Lots of photos and literature. The grounds have Smokey's gravesite and many native plants & trees. There is a coloring station for kids!

Tanner H

This is such a cool museum. It's small, inexpensive, but very interesting! We enjoyed walking through the inside, and then enjoying the walk out back through New Mexico's various biomes. Smokey's grave is special too. Many of us have grown up seeing his face on signs. He is known worldwide and it's great to be able to visit this location within view of where he was originally found and first named "Hotfoot Teddy."

Brian Veach

A lot of fun and very informative. Kids love it. We go every time we're up there.

HUFSTEDLER APPRAISAL

You gotta take the kids and visit the Smokey Bear Historical Park if your anywhere in the area. This is one of the best NM State Forestry Dept funded historical exhibits that ive ever been fortunate enough to visit.. Definately worth going out of your way for!

Kenny Wiewiora

Smokey is actually here!

John Dell

Great scenery. Love the history.

Bill Cox

Very informative and great family fun

Julie Wells

Interesting.

Mary Hogan

Nice little place! Great for kids, but even us adults got a lot out of the visit.

Morning Glory

Loved it! Brought back so many happy child memories. ❤

Joshua Hewitt

Great place. The museum lady was rude but the lady at the gift shop made up for it. She was so nice.

Randy Bouldin

Great place to bring the kids for the history of Smokey Bear

Jennifer Guthrie

This was a great stop on our road trip! The short film was really informative and the garden was really nice. Our grandson welcomed the break from the car and loves Smokey now.

Carole

I have an all new understanding of Smokey the Bear, what a amazing story. Good museum, well worth it to stop in.

Gerald Sinclair

Staff is amazing in knowledge. Good source for personal historic study. Nice people.

Hermione Gardener

If you're a Smokey Bear fan, and you happened to be visiting New Mexico, this is a Must. There is also a little Museum/gift shop attached that will interest you. Nice people. Heck, most of the tourist stuff in this state is so far apart, you may as well stop here, too, on your way to Lincoln to see the Billy the Kid stuff.

The Wanderer

Was very ineresting

Contessa Lowery

This is a neat place to stop and get a little history on Smokey bear and see his final resting place. It was a great teaching tool for my daughter as sadly she may not have ever known or learned about this iconic symbol. It's very small and only a few dollars. It's worth the stop if you're in the area or driving through.

Jerry Eastman

Smokey turned 75 this year and a visit to his park and gravesite is a certain must see in Capitan, NM. The museum is small and easily seen for a quick trip to better understand Smokey and his importance to saving our forest.

Kerri Burton

I loved it! Small but full of detail. Definitely glad we made the stop!!

Dina Afek

Very nice little museum and nature walk. Something positive with good information about few safety and some history.

Jason Myers

Good place great hostory

Steven R. Gundersen

Well worth the trip, nice drive, interesting history of Smokey. Lots of features.

Nicole Belding

Nice place to sit and have lunch. The kids loved the play structure. Next door is the smokey bear museum and garden. Both are definitely worth the visit.

Anthony Khan

Friendly knowledgeable staff. Kids had a great time.

alamobill1

Beautiful park!! We love Capitan!!

Holly Perkins

Very clean and taken care of

Sonii Gonzales

This museum and outdoor walk are more nostalgic than anything else. It brings back so many childhood memories. It is well worth the drive to go. I think that they have an amazing collection of memorabilia in there as well.

Scott Noah

This part of the country is beautiful and unique ...the plants in the garden were labeled, identified and well maintained. The history of Smokey the Bear was educational and the gravesite was a nice tribute to a bear that I revere. Smokey the Bear made America become aware of forest fires, preservering our beautiful national forests that Teddy Roosevelt preserved for all of us to enjoy. I think it's appropo that Theodore Roosevelt, the President, who did the greatest act for this country by recognizing the importance of this country's beautiful rich landscape and taking action to preserve it for all Americans, past, present and future. Teddy and another bear named Smokey helped protect those same forests. This was an honor to tour a great memorial of our history.

Orlando Lucero

Smoke dawg!

Michael Machuzak

Informative displays

Ashes Bijoux

Great place! I came to visit after going out to see the mountain he was rescued from! Wonderful true story of how a lil bear was able to help raise awareness about preserving wildlife & safty. Enjoyed learning more of the history around him!

James Weed

Learned from this visit

Innocent Lasagna

Definitely worth the drive from Rio Rancho. Very nice park, and gift shop. Learn something new everyday.

Ang Youell

I grew up with Smokey the Bear. We were headed to Roswell and running behind so couldn't stop at that moment. My hubby promised we would stop on the way home and we did. Thank you so,much for having this museum. It was not only informational about Smokey but the firefighters and others who hell to contain and stop the fires. It is a beautiful tribute to all. Being able to pay my respects to the original was a beautiful and heart warming surprise.

Sean Marshall

It was fun to learn about the history of the Smokey Bear campaign and about the Bear Cub who was rescued in 1950 who became the mascot of the campaign.

Kevin Huneke

Very interesting. Great displays about Smokey, fire fighting, and conservation.

Margaret Sammis

Fun place to learn about Smokey Bear

A Brookman

Smokey Bear memorial and scavenger hunt was a great way to spend an afternoon

Donald Higgins

Learned a lot about Smokey the Bear! My kids enjoyed it!

Major Hayden

We had a great time here. My kids are a little too young to know Smokey, but they enjoyed learning about him and how forest fires affect our world. The outdoor walk is really nice and there's a pretty big playground included. The fee was $5 total for a family of four.

Kim Sanders

This is a neat little place they have a museum ya can walk through then go walk outside they have a wildland firefighter memorial.

David Stillman

This Museum is a great tribute to Smokey Bear. His true name is Smokey Bear. The use of the term Smokey the Bear came what I needed to write the song. This place has an excellent Garden great pictures and memorabilia of smokey in his youth. They now have a memorial statue to honor Fallen forest fire fire men and women. This is a very informative site and the staff are extremely courteous and helpful.

Jose R Garcia

From what I saw everything was nice I wish I would have more time to tour the whole part though I will go back one day to do that

Cariann Gheen

Awesome memorial and history of Smokey the Bear. The real bear named "Smokey is buried here.

Kevin Hodges

Nice museum with an interesting history to talk about. It's a beautiful drive into Capitan, too, so this is an ideal stop for a day trip.

J Stroh

Super cool spot with Smokey Bear history

Georgia T

Cute little piece of history about Smokey Bear. A short stroll around the loop and we got a cool look at the history in the Ranger Station. The Smokey Bear Museum next door was neat too.

Anna Spitz

Wonderful place, would have loved to stay longer! Clean, peaceful and well maintained. Reasonable price as well. I'm looking forward to my return. The town also looks welcoming :)

Lynne & Steve Kennedy

If you can get here. See ol Smokys The Bears grave. Very interesting exhibits I did not know existed.

Anthony Biram

Nice place to go and learn and sure, take your kids for same.

james slowiak

Must see

Topher

Closed! As we walked away, one gentleman was coming back, told us "Come back next year for the 75th anniversary"... Guess we are too ahead of the curve for that one...

Jane Romatzke

This is the actual place littlecub Snokey Bear was found burned and charred in a forest fire. .

Scott Small

Well presented, great find

Pablo Lopez

Great learning experience

Deborah Cole

Sounds very interesting to check out didn't get to go and check it out when we there at Mama Bears RV park. But we will.

D Manley

Here is the final resting place of Smokey the Bear. A good history of Smokey and the fire prevention campaign built around his image is told here. Plus great old memorabilia from the 50's to the present.

Van Bender

The garden is awesome. Smokey bear museum next door was really cool. The new firefighters memorial in the garden was beautiful. Happy 75th birthday Smokey!

Kate Gillispie

I grew up with Smokey Bear and saw lots of ads with him on Saturday morning TV. "I love Smokey Bear!" and "Only YOU can prevent forest fires" are part of my core memories, but I actually learned a couple things. The park itself is small, but pleasant. The museum is also small, although the exhibits are sufficient to tell Smokey's story plus some activities for children, and the short film is well done. It doesn't require a large investment of time or money, so it merits a visit even if you are only slightly interested in fire safety or the bear.

Brian McKee

It only cost $2 and I learned a bunch. There's an interpretive garden outside, a perfect resource for traveling amateur botanists!

Ben Thomas

What a cool place for history on the most famous bear of all!

Jodineugenius

This was a fantastic stop. The history is well presented and the facility is very tasteful. Itvwas meaningful to be able tp pay my respects to Smokey.

Jeff Carpenter

Very nice little park. I didn't know the story of Smokey the Bear but this place explained it well in a very cheaply priced museum. The bear's grave site is located within a nice park that takes about 10 minutes to walk through.

Ruth Bly

Loved it, never new the true story before.

Patrick Doyle

Great little park. Friendly staff. Cool piece of American history. There is much more to the story than a cartoon bear. Stop by and learn about Smokey and pay your respects at his grave. Poor bear had a rough life.

James McKeown

Historically awesome

barbara charley

When I was little my parents took me to see "Smoky The Bear's" grave (then we,went to McDonald's)

Terence Rousseau

A wonderful little park and museum. Stop in if you're passing through.

Rachel Rael

Very nice.

Erica Wise

Cute little park, great for kids. Gift shop is a little sad, I'd definitely have more options. Not sure if it's because of the parade coming up and we just came at an off time.

Tom Harner

Everything you ever wanted to know about Smokey Bear.

Brandon Bartlett

Just a little park nothing Fancy

Virginia Gillaspie

Good information provided. Worth the $2 entry fee

Louie C

A must stop when going through Capitan, displays always changing and great staff.

Sting the Scorpion

Great place. Very well done. Great way to honor Smokey and learn his history.

Bret Dameworth

Great little piece of history to visit in the area.

Deborah Roun

Great learning activity

John Stachowiak

Really cool place to inform your kids on saftey and history... now I have a 4 year old that loves smokey bear and what he stands for

Denise Glezen

We really enjoyed being at Smokey the Bears

Thomas Wiczek

Go. Great history. Beautiful garden. Worth the drive. Alot of history on this road. Not a waste of time!!!