Look south of Central Avenue along the east bank of the Rio Grande, where Tingley Beach anchors the Albuquerque Biological Park. The series of ponds began life in the 1930s as Conservancy Beach, built by diverting water from the Rio Grande; later the site was renamed in honor of Clyde Tingley, the 11th governor of New Mexico. In the 1950s the beach was closed to swimmers and for decades it was used primarily for fishing.
In recent memory the Association of Zoos and Aquariums awarded Tingley Beach the 2008 North American Conservation Award, and a renovation that began in 2004 reopened the facility to the public in November 2005. Today you stand where adults and children fish in separate ponds, where a model boating pond and paddle boats glide, and where nature trails thread the edges. There’s a gift shop and a restaurant nearby, and a narrow-gauge railroad that links this spot with the ABQ BioPark Botanic Garden, ABQ BioPark Aquarium, and ABQ BioPark Zoo.
Look now across the ponds, along the trail, and to the railroad that ties this place to the rest of the BioPark.