10 Nature Parks near Ixtapan de la Sal: Map & Photos

10 parks and reserves · within 60 km

There are 10 parks and reserves within 60 km of Ixtapan de la Sal in a straight line, an hour or a little more by road. The closest is Desierto del Carmen, 15 km away; the farthest, Cañón de Lobos, is 59 km. They are listed under the Pueblos Mágicos of Malinalco, Metepec, and Valle de Bravo, which make good bases.

Parks and reserves are best on weekdays and early in the day. Bring water, and check the opening hours, since some close one day a week.

Best months, when most of these towns are dry with comfortable afternoons: Jan, Feb, Mar, Dec.

The Nature Parks 10

Desierto del Carmen · Nature reserve · 15 km from Ixtapan de la Sal · Near Malinalco
A forested national park around a secluded Carmelite convent, with clifftop lookouts over the Malinalco valley.
Santuario Piedra Herrada · Nature reserve · 47 km from Ixtapan de la Sal · Near Valle de Bravo
The monarch butterfly sanctuary closest to Valle de Bravo, on the road to Toluca, open roughly November to March.
Corredor Biológico Chichinautzin · Nature reserve · 51 km from Ixtapan de la Sal · Morelos
Federal protected area of 37,302 ha, decreed in 1988: pine, oak and fir forest between Cuernavaca, Tepoztlán and Huitzilac, linking Zempoala and El Tepozteco.
Bosque Mirador · Nature reserve · 52 km from Ixtapan de la Sal · Morelos
About 22 ha of pine forest in Ahuatepec, north of Cuernavaca; a municipal protected area since 2016, next to the Chichinautzin corridor.
Parque Estatal Cerro de la Tortuga · Nature reserve · 52 km from Ixtapan de la Sal · Morelos
A 310 ha state park (2012) between Zacatepec and Puente de Ixtla, one of the last patches of tropical dry forest in south-central Morelos.
Parque Estatal Sierra Morelos · Nature reserve · 52 km from Ixtapan de la Sal · Estado de México
1,255 hectares of wooded hills and lakes on Toluca's northern edge: trails of up to 9 km, picnic shelters and an axolotl house under repair.
Bosque de Agua · Nature reserve · 54 km from Ixtapan de la Sal · Estado de México
The forest corridor between Mexico City, Toluca and Cuernavaca that feeds all three cities' aquifers; visit it at Zempoala, La Marquesa or Ajusco.
Reserva Estatal Sierra de Montenegro · Nature reserve · 57 km from Ixtapan de la Sal · Morelos
A 7,724 ha state reserve across Jiutepec, Yautepec, Emiliano Zapata and Tlaltizapán, with some of Morelos's best tropical dry forest left.
La Marquesa · Nature reserve · 58 km from Ixtapan de la Sal · Near Metepec
Pine-forest valleys on the Toluca–Mexico City highway, popular on weekends for horseback rides, trout and quesadillas.
Cañón de Lobos · Nature reserve · 59 km from Ixtapan de la Sal · Morelos
Dry-forest canyon between Cuernavaca and Yautepec, crossed by Federal Highway 138; 148 butterfly species and a favourite climb for road cyclists.