Exploring the Abandoned Cisco Zoo – A Forgotten West Texas Curiosity

There aren’t many hikes where you can walk through the cages of an abandoned zoo.

But that’s exactly what we found when we visited friends in Cisco, Texas, and headed out to explore the Old Zoo Nature Trails.

It’s not a mainstream attraction by any stretch. Most people driving I-20 never even realize a zoo ever existed here. But for anyone with a sense of adventure, a camera, or a love for offbeat history, it’s a surprisingly fascinating stop.

The animals have been gone for nearly 90 years, but parts of their old enclosures haven’t gone anywhere. Rusted iron bars still wind around huge rocks, old concrete walkways and staircases lead through the trees, and remnants of stonework are scattered throughout the property.

And since we had our dogs with us, we couldn’t resist taking a few pictures of them behind the old bars.

For a few minutes, the Cisco Zoo had animals again.

Only this time, they got to leave with us.

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The History of the Cisco Zoo

The story of the old zoo is tied closely to the development of Lake Cisco, which was created after construction of a dam in the early 1920s. The lake became the centerpiece of an ambitious recreation area that eventually included swimming, cottages, and a small zoo.

The zoo appears to have gotten its start rather modestly. Historical accounts describe a deer being donated from nearby Gorman, followed by a bear and eventually other animals. What began as a few animals developed into a genuine local attraction.

What makes the zoo especially interesting today is how its builders incorporated the natural landscape into the animal enclosures.

Instead of creating rows of conventional cages on flat ground, they used the area’s enormous boulders, cliffs and natural rock formations as part of the habitats. Stone walls filled gaps between the rocks while iron bars enclosed the remaining openings.

You can still see much of that construction today.

Walking through the ruins, it isn’t difficult to imagine visitors standing along these same pathways nearly a century ago, looking through the bars at the animals on the other side.

The zoo ultimately closed sometime in the late 1930s, and there are several stories surrounding its decline. One of the most repeated involves the poisoning of a bear. Because some details of the zoo’s final years have been passed down through local stories rather than comprehensive surviving records, I’d treat some of those accounts as local lore rather than established fact.

What isn’t in question is what happened afterward.

The animals disappeared, the zoo was abandoned, and nature slowly began taking the property back.

What You’ll Find on the Old Zoo Nature Trails

Walking the abandoned Cisco Zoo is like exploring a ghost of what used to be. You’ll wander past:

Old cages and enclosures

Rusted wire fences sag under the weight of time, with concrete pads beneath them where small animals once lived. Grass and brush have crept through the gaps, softening the hard lines of what used to be a working facility.

Weather-worn structures

Small sheds, feeding stations, and wooden buildings sit quietly in various states of decay. Some still have faded paint or signage barely readable under decades of Texas sun.

Overgrown paths

You can still see the bones of the old walkways—the curves, intersections, and gathering areas—but they’re mostly hidden beneath leaves and soil. The local volunteers who opened the property as a hiking trail cleared just enough for safe passage.

A forgotten swimming pool

One of the more unexpected features is an abandoned concrete pool near the trail. It was part of the area’s recreation offerings long before the zoo fell into disuse. Now, it’s empty, cracked, and covered in graffiti. It adds to that “lost place” atmosphere that photographers and explorers love.

Quiet forest reclaiming everything

That’s the real charm here. Trees grow through old fences, vines crawl across roofs, and roots lift corners of concrete. Nature always wins, and this place proves it inch by inch.

From Abandoned Zoo to Old Zoo Nature Trails

Fortunately, the old zoo wasn’t completely erased.

The property eventually found a second life as the Old Zoo Nature Trails, allowing people to walk through the remains of the former attraction rather than simply watching it disappear into the brush.

Today, a large metal OLD ZOO NATURE TRAILS sign marks the entrance.

Once through the gate, you’re essentially walking through two places at the same time: a nature trail and the ruins of a nearly century-old zoo.

That’s what made this hike so different for us.

We weren’t simply looking at an abandoned building from a distance. We walked the old pathways, climbed the stairs, and passed directly alongside the remains of the animal enclosures.

Walking Through the Abandoned Zoo

The surviving cages were easily the most fascinating part of the hike for us.

Some sections consist of little more than a few rusty bars. Others are surprisingly intact.

The iron fencing twists around enormous natural boulders, while stone walls and concrete floors reveal where individual enclosures once stood. In places, small cave-like openings disappear underneath the rocks.

Nearly a century of weather has taken its toll. Bars are bent. Concrete is cracked. Sections of stonework have collapsed. Trees now grow alongside and sometimes seemingly right through portions of the old zoo.

But there’s still enough remaining that you don’t have to use much imagination to understand what you’re looking at.

One thing that really struck us was just how different these enclosures are from anything you’d see constructed for zoo animals today.

They are very much a product of another era.

Seeing them empty somehow makes that even more noticeable.

We Put a Couple of Animals Back in the Zoo

Of course, hiking through an abandoned zoo with our dogs created a photo opportunity that was simply too good to pass up.

Several of the old enclosures are open enough that the dogs could safely wander inside while we took pictures from the other side of the bars.

Suddenly, after decades without animals, the Cisco Zoo had residents again.

Exploring the Old Cages and Rock Shelters

Some of the most interesting structures are built directly into the rocks.

There are cave-like shelters beneath massive boulders, stone-lined openings, and narrow passages surrounded by the remaining iron fencing.

Standing there today, it’s fascinating to try to figure out exactly how each enclosure would have worked.

The old concrete stairs are another great surviving feature. They climb through the wooded hillside between stone walls and make it easy to picture visitors moving from one section of the zoo to another.

Watch Your Step While Exploring

This isn’t a polished museum attraction. You’re exploring an old site built into rocky terrain, with stairs, uneven surfaces, exposed stone, and aging structures. Wear good walking shoes, watch your footing, and keep kids and dogs close while exploring.

More Than Just an Abandoned Zoo

Even without the history, this would be an interesting little nature hike.

The trail winds through trees and around large rock formations, with plenty of shade depending on the time of day. But the ruins turn an otherwise pleasant hike into something completely different.

You never quite know what’s going to appear around the next bend.

A staircase.

A stone wall.

A twisted section of cage.

A cave.

Or another reminder that families once came here to spend an afternoon at the zoo.

We took our time exploring and photographing the remains rather than treating it as a hike where the goal was simply to cover miles.

That’s really how I’d recommend experiencing it.

Don’t Expect a Modern Hiking Trail

Anyone planning to visit should understand that the Old Zoo Nature Trails aren’t a perfectly manicured city walking path.

You’re exploring an old site built into rocky terrain. There are stairs, uneven surfaces, loose rocks, roots, and deteriorating concrete.

The surviving zoo structures are also approaching a century old.

Look at them. Photograph them. Appreciate them.

But there’s no reason to climb on fragile walls or old fencing just to get a picture.

And, especially during warmer Texas months, I’d keep an eye out for snakes and other wildlife around the rocks.

Exploring Downtown Cisco After Our Hike

The abandoned zoo wasn’t the end of our Cisco adventure.

After finishing the trail, we headed into town, where we discovered that Cisco has another historical story that’s almost too crazy to believe.

The Santa Claus Bank Robbery

On December 23, 1927, four men robbed Cisco’s First National Bank.

One of them was dressed as Santa Claus.

And that’s only the beginning.

A gun battle followed.

And the Santa story somehow gets crazier.

The Mobley Hotel — Where Hilton Got Its Start

Our final stop was the Mobley Hotel, another seemingly ordinary Cisco building with a pretty remarkable place in American history.

Conrad Hilton purchased the Mobley in 1919, making it his first hotel and beginning what would eventually become the Hilton hotel empire.

And that means this unassuming building in Cisco helped start a chain of events that eventually led to…

Paris Hilton.

Okay, there’s obviously a little more to the Hilton story than that.

But technically, without the Mobley Hotel, the world might never have gotten The Simple Life.

You’re welcome, America.

Cisco Turned Out to Be Quite the Stop

We originally came to Cisco to spend some time with friends, but ended up getting a pretty good history lesson along the way.

Within a relatively small area, we walked through the ruins of a zoo that closed in the 1930s, stood at the site of a 1927 bank robbery committed by a man dressed as Santa Claus, and visited the first hotel owned by Conrad Hilton.

That’s a lot of history for one small Texas town.

The Old Zoo Nature Trails were definitely the highlight for us. There’s something fascinating about walking through a place that has been abandoned for nearly 90 years yet still has enough left behind to tell its story.

And putting our dogs behind the bars of the old cages?

That was just a bonus.

Is the Old Zoo Nature Trail Worth Visiting?

Absolutely — if you enjoy unusual history, abandoned places, and stops that aren’t your typical tourist attractions.

Don’t come expecting a zoo.

Don’t even come expecting a traditional historical attraction with restored buildings and exhibits.

Come because almost a century later, pieces of the old Cisco Zoo are still sitting exactly where the animals once lived, slowly becoming part of the landscape around them.

That’s what makes this place interesting.

And while you’re in Cisco, make a little extra time for downtown.

After all, how many towns can give you an abandoned zoo, Conrad Hilton’s first hotel, and a murderous bank-robbing Santa Claus all in the same afternoon?

Places like the abandoned Cisco Zoo are exactly why we enjoy slowing down and exploring the small towns we pass while traveling the country. It isn’t a major attraction with flashing signs along the interstate. It’s a strange little piece of Texas history tucked into the rocks outside Cisco—and that’s exactly what made it memorable.

Sometimes the places we know almost nothing about before arriving turn out to be the ones we talk about long after we’ve left.

Looking for more unusual places we’ve discovered while traveling the country? Check out more of our Texas adventures/roadside attractions/RV travel adventures

Final Thoughts on Exploring the Abandoned Cisco Zoo

Our visit to Cisco started with something simple — spending time with friends — but it ended up introducing us to one of the more unusual places we’ve explored in Texas.

Walking the Old Zoo Nature Trails isn’t like visiting a restored historic attraction. There aren’t recreated exhibits showing you what everything once looked like. Instead, you’re walking among the actual remnants of the old zoo. Rusting cage bars still wrap around massive rocks, old stairways disappear into the trees, and empty enclosures give you just enough to imagine what this place must have been like when families visited nearly a century ago.

Of course, bringing the dogs along made the experience even more memorable. After all these years, we managed to put a couple of animals back in the Cisco Zoo — although these two were allowed to leave when we did.

Then Cisco gave us one more surprise after another. We went from exploring an abandoned zoo to standing at the site of a bank robbery committed by a man dressed as Santa Claus, before finishing up at the Mobley Hotel, where Conrad Hilton’s hotel empire got its start.

Not bad for an afternoon in a small Texas town.

Places like this are one of the reasons we enjoy getting off the interstate and exploring the communities we encounter while traveling the country. The Old Zoo Nature Trails probably aren’t going to appear on many lists of Texas’ biggest attractions — and that’s part of what makes them so interesting.

Sometimes the places we know almost nothing about before arriving turn out to be the ones we talk about long after we’ve left.

Keep Exploring With Us

Have you ever stumbled across an abandoned attraction or a piece of history you weren’t expecting to find? We’d love to hear about it! Drop a comment below and tell us about your favorite unusual roadside discovery — we’re always looking for interesting places to add to our travels.

And if exploring forgotten places, quirky roadside attractions, and small-town history sounds like your kind of adventure, keep following along as we explore America one unexpected stop at a time.