17 Nature Parks near Malinalco: Map & Photos

17 parks and reserves · within 60 km

There are 17 parks and reserves within 60 km of Malinalco in a straight line, an hour or a little more by road. The closest is Desierto del Carmen, 7 km away; the farthest, Bosque de Chapultepec, is 60 km. They are listed under the Pueblos Mágicos of Malinalco, Metepec, Tlaltizapán, 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 17

Desierto del Carmen · Nature reserve · 7 km from Malinalco
A forested national park around a secluded Carmelite convent, with clifftop lookouts over the Malinalco valley.
Corredor Biológico Chichinautzin · Nature reserve · 29 km from Malinalco · 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 · 32 km from Malinalco · Morelos
About 22 ha of pine forest in Ahuatepec, north of Cuernavaca; a municipal protected area since 2016, next to the Chichinautzin corridor.
Bosque de Agua · Nature reserve · 32 km from Malinalco · 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.
La Marquesa · Nature reserve · 39 km from Malinalco · 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 · 41 km from Malinalco · Morelos
Dry-forest canyon between Cuernavaca and Yautepec, crossed by Federal Highway 138; 148 butterfly species and a favourite climb for road cyclists.
Reserva Estatal Sierra de Montenegro · Nature reserve · 41 km from Malinalco · Morelos
A 7,724 ha state reserve across Jiutepec, Yautepec, Emiliano Zapata and Tlaltizapán, with some of Morelos's best tropical dry forest left.
Parque Nacional El Tepozteco · Nature reserve · 42 km from Malinalco · Morelos
About 23,000 ha of volcanic sierra between Tepoztlán and southern Mexico City: pine and oak forest, dry tropical woods and the Tepozteco pyramid.
Parque Estatal Cerro de la Tortuga · Nature reserve · 43 km from Malinalco · 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.
Desierto de los Leones · Nature reserve · 45 km from Malinalco · Ciudad de México
Mexico's first national park: fir forest above the city around a 17th-century Carmelite convent with hermitages and a whispering chapel.
Parque Estatal Sierra Morelos · Nature reserve · 45 km from Malinalco · 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.
Los Dinamos · Nature reserve · 47 km from Malinalco · Ciudad de México
Forested canyon of the Río Magdalena, the city's last living river: waterfalls, climbing walls, trout and old Porfirian power plants.
Las Estacas · Nature reserve · 48 km from Malinalco · Near Tlaltizapán
A spring-fed river so clear you can see the bottom, inside a park where you swim, snorkel and float downstream.
Bosque de Tlalpan · Nature reserve · 50 km from Malinalco · Ciudad de México
A 253-hectare urban park on Xitle lava: running tracks, mountain trails, a duck lake and traces of Cuicuilco. Open daily.
Parque nacional Fuentes Brotantes de Tlalpan · Nature reserve · 50 km from Malinalco · Ciudad de México
National park declared in 1936, with Ajusco springs, a lake of ducks and turtles, trails and food stalls; about 8 of its 129 hectares remain.
Santuario Piedra Herrada · Nature reserve · 54 km from Malinalco · Near Valle de Bravo
The monarch butterfly sanctuary closest to Valle de Bravo, on the road to Toluca, open roughly November to March.
Bosque de Chapultepec · Nature reserve · 60 km from Malinalco · Ciudad de México
More than 800 hectares of forest in four sections: rowboats on the lakes, a free zoo, the castle hill and the city's great museums.