These are the best zoos in the U.S.

Best for: variety with 650 kinds of animals

The fact that the San Diego Zoo’s actual name is the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance tells you everything you need to know about how the zoo treats animals and how it works to support wildlife all over the world. Here you’ll find 12,000 animals across a wide variety of species, including giant pandas. From home, watch webcams of those pandas (and red ones too), koalas and baboons to ramp up interest in a visit.

Time Out tip: Enhance the experience by visiting the Safari Park as well (which is where parking for the zoo is anyway).

Price: Adult $76, child 3-11 $66, which includes admission, a guided bus tour, Skyfari aerial tram and any regularly scheduled experiences.

Best for: A newly-renovated (2024) orangutan habitat

Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium is an impressive space with a lot of “largest things.” First, it houses the world's largest indoor desert, with three desert ecosystems from Africa, Australia and North America inside a massive dome, the largest glazed geodesic dome in the world. It also boasts the largest indoor rainforest in North America. There’s a strong conservation element and 160 acres of wildlife and immersive experiences. Finally, the Kingdoms of the Night is the world's largest nocturnal exhibit where you can enter a cave, a “nighttime” eucalyptus forest and (here comes another one) the world’s largest indoor swamp.

Time Out tip: Check out the all-white alligator on loan from the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans.

Price: Adult $27, child 3-11 pay $20, and senior 65+ pay $25. Pricing changes seasonally.

Best for: Care for animals that goes above and beyond

The Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance is one of only a handful of zoo in the U.S. with a full-time Animal Care Specialist devoted to creating enrichment programs for animals. For humans, there are literally dozens of programs each day to dip into and learn more about creatures like bats, flamingos, capuchins and zebras. You can visit more than 25,000 animals over the 80 acre campus.

Time Out tip: A baby giraffe was born March 7, 2025. You can see him on a webcam now in the indoor giraffe habitat (currently closed while he gets his legs under him) until he’s ready to meet the world. From home, you can donate $5 for a chance to vote on the baby’s name: Dagg, Thorn or Kujali.

Price: Adult $26, child 3-15 $19, senior 65+ $23. Pricing changes seasonally.

Best for: combining a zoo and aquarium

Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium is a 77-acre home for over 4,000 animals from 475 species, 20 of which are listed as endangered. Check out regions like the African Savanna and Forest passage, and don’t forget to see polar bears in the Water’s Edge area. The Aquarium is a two-floor, 45,000-square-foot tank with all kinds of swimming creatures including, yes, sharks.

Time Out tip: Watch the calendar for recurring events geared towards adults, like Sip & Swirl: Wine for Wildlife or the Adult Zoo Camp: Caturday in the Park.

Price: Adult $23, child $20, senior $21. Prices change monthly and rise on weekends.

Best for: a diverse collection of animals

Dallas Zoo is a 106-acre site that was first established in 1888. From humble beginnings with just two deer and two mountain lions, it is now the largest and oldest zoo in Texas, providing sanctuary to more than 2,000 animals from 406 species. Major exhibits include the Chimpanzee Forest, Gorilla Research Center, Giants of the Savanna, and Simmons Hippo Outpost—a two-acre waterhole habitat. You can catch a live bird show in the Wings of Wonder area.

Time Out tip: Don’t skip the House of Tiger and the House of Man. They’re both designed in the Thai pole house style with a central viewing platform from which you can see Sumatran and Malayan tigers.

Price: Adult $27, child and senior 65+ $23. Prices drop the earlier you can buy your ticket.

Best for: Overall dazzling size and scope!

Sprawled over 265 acres, New York’s beloved Bronx Zoo is one of the largest metropolitan zoos in the world. It’s renowned for its painstakingly reproduced habitats with more than 11,000 animals, of which the Congo Gorilla Forest—populated with western lowland gorillas, mandrills and okapis—is among its most visited. For a low-key experience, visit the zoo’s seasonal Butterfly Garden, where over a dozen types of gorgeously painted insects flit among meadow flowers and nectar trays. 

Time Out tip: You can’t leave without paying a visit to Peaches the warthog who starred on Animal Planet’s show The Zoo. He rolls around in the mud, makes his own mud wallows and can meet you in a wild encounter experience.

Price: Adult $29, child $21, senior 65+ 27. Flex pricing is in effect.

Best for: Being nationally recognized as The Greenest Zoo in America due to its efforts to reduce its carbon footprint through water, energy, and waste savings.

The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden celebrates 150 years in 2025. It started with just under 66 acres in the heart of the city and has since been extended to over 75. It's one of the oldest zoos in the country and offers a home to 1,896 animals from 500 species. It has a successful breeding program and was the first to breed California sea lions. It also breeds a number of other endangered animals, such as Masai giraffes, Malayan tigers, western lowland gorillas, Sumatran rhinoceros and South African cheetahs.

Time Out tip: Book a trip during April when the flowers erupt in beautiful colors during Zoo in Bloom—including the one of the largest tulip displays in the world.

Price: Adult $17-24; child, senior 62+ $11-18, depending on the date. Additionally, online tickets are usually 40 percent cheaper than buying at the ticket window.

Best for: Carefully designed habitats that meet each animal's needs.

Located in Washington Park in the heart of Portland, the Oregon Zoo is one of the most visited zoos on the West Coast. Across 64 forested acres, you can see more than 2,000 animals across 165 species. The zoo focuses on designing habitats to engage and stimulate animals and focus on their specific preferences. For instance, polar bears like to see long distances, so the Polar Passage was renovated to have a vantage point overlooking the zoo. 

Time Out tip: See three adult California condors. These spectacular and enormous birds can't be released into the wild until lead poisoning dangers can be eliminated.

Price: Adult $26, child 2-11 $21.

Best for: The country’s most diverse collection of tropical wildlife

Brookfield Zoo Chicago's 235-acre campus contains 3,500 animals of 500 species. The insulated, all-weather Tropical World exhibit teems with fascinating species, of which its primates are the stars. Hailing from three continents, the group includes spider monkeys and tamarins from South America, gibbons and orangutans from Asia, and colobus monkeys and lowland gorillas from Africa.

Don’t leave without visiting the Penguin Encounter room, where you can mingle with adorable Humboldt penguins for an extra $50.

Time Out tip: This summer, Tropical Forests will roll out, an addition to Tropic World. This 125,000-square-foot primate space will sympathetically emulate the homes of gorillas, orangutans, and monkeys, constituting one of the largest outdoor spaces for them of any U.S. zoo.

Price: Adults $30; child 3-11 $21, senior 65+ $25.

Best for: Its veterinary hospital that treats sick and injured animals

Established in June 1922, the Oakland Zoo is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the conservation of wildlife both locally and globally. It's home to more than 850 native and exotic animals on its beautiful 100-acre campus in the Oakland hills. It is recognized in particular for its leadership in animal welfare and its 17,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art veterinary hospital—the largest wild animal veterinary facility in northern California. You can tour the hospital for a $25 fee. Along with a wide array of animals on view, the amusement park area is pretty entertaining for the smaller set.

Time Out tip: Definitely dole out the $5 upcharge for the Sky Ride, an aerial open-air ride that takes you right over the tigers’ pen—they pace just waiting for you to fall. There’s also a traditional closed-door gondola, free with the price of admission.

Price: Adult $22-25, child 2-14 $21-$25, senior 65+ $21-25. Advantage reservations are required and prices vary daily, with the cost lower the further out you book.

Best for: Seeing animals that love the cold

We might not have much time left to view Arctic animals in their natural climate, which makes the Alaska Zoo in Anchorage a standout among the country’s parks. Populated by animals who have evolved to thrive in frigid conditions—snow leopards, polar bears, Canadian lynx, reindeer and musk oxen—the zoo is a snowy wonderland that also serves as a rescue facility for injured, abandoned or orphaned animals. The zoo’s history is absolutely wild. It began with a baby circus elephant won in a contest; its owner quickly realized that the warm weather creature would not do well in Alaska’s winter and housed her in a heated horse stall. So many people visited that the collection grew.

Time Out tip: Although it carries a hefty price tag, the Polar Bear Encounter (a flat $500 for four people) lets you go behind the scenes with the zookeeper to meet two polar bears for a half-hour experience.

Price: Adult $25, child 3-15 $12, senior 65+ $16. There are significant discounts for Alaska residents.

Best for: Its small size for small legs and small attention spans

The Blank Park Zoo is a nearly 50-acre park just south of Iowa's capital, Des Moines. While the zoo is on the smaller side, that can actually be an advantage—you won't be as worn out at the end of a visit. Despite its more compact size, when compared to some of the country's major zoos, Blank Park packs a lot in, including reptile exhibits, a petting zoo, a discovery center, an African boardwalk and an aquarium. 

Time Out tip: The Trumpeter Swans wafting on their own pond are beautiful and precious. In summer 2024, two baby swans hatched, the first in over a decade.

Price: Adult $20, child 2-12 $15, seniors 65+ $19.

Best for: The extraordinary Galápagos Islands habitat

The Houston Zoo, a 55-acre park, is home to more than 6,000 animals, belonging to about 900 different species, roaming various habitats. Aspiring ornithologists take note: the zoo boasts one of the country’s largest collections of birds, more than 200 species divided between three exhibits. True animal lovers can even have a sleepover at the zoo, and every ticket sold helps support over 40 wildlife conservation projects across the globe. The Galápagos Islands habitat, rolled out in 2023 for $70 million, differentiates the Houston Zoo from any other zoo in the world. The exhibit’s 2.5 acres house a penguin habitat, a sea cave, a 40-foot acrylic underwater tunnel and a 19,000-gallon aquarium, all geared to reveal the extraordinary wildlife, unique landscapes and oceanic environment of the islands.

Time Out tip: Get some adult time at the zoo with the annual Feast with the Beasts on May 2, 2025, a 21+ foodie event with gourmet bites, cocktails and live music, $149.

Price: Adult $39-45, child $39-45, senior 65+ $39-45. Pricing varies by date, and you must book online in advance.

Best for: Beautiful native gardens and a great array of animals

San Francisco Zoo & Gardens began in 1929 and its 100-acre site is home to over 2,000 wild animals from over 250 species. It is noted as the birthplace of Koko the gorilla. Major exhibits include the African Savanna with reticulated giraffes, the Primate Discovery Center with black howler monkeys, chimpanzees, macaques and mandrills and the Cat Kingdom with some very big cats.

Time Out tip: Build in time to walk to the beach afterwards and watch the waves.

Price: Adult $29, child 2-11 $20, senior 65+ $24.

Best for: Habitats that really try to replicate how the animals would live in the wild

The recipient of 65 awards, Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo is a wildlife conservation organization and zoological garden that strenuously recreates its animals’ natural habitats. Check out African lions, giraffes and zebras roaming the African savanna, brown bears, gray wolves and snowy owls populating the Northwest Trail and red pandas and Kunekune pigs in the Temperate Forest.

Time Out tip: In June, the two-day Tasting Flight event is a 21+ wine tasting experience with 60 wineries offering tastings along with your zoo entry. Tickets are $67 (or $47 for the designated driver).

Price: Varies from $22-27, depending on the date.

Best for: A spontaneous drop-in since there is no admission fee.

Founded in 1868, the Lincoln Park Zoo is one of the oldest zoos in North America—the fourth, to be exact. Spanning 35 acres, it has an abundance of critters to visit: about 1,100 over 200 species. The zoo is also an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and boasts one of the largest zoo-based conservation and science programs in the United States, with constant behavioral monitoring and initiatives set up around the world. 

Time Out tip: Get involved in meerkat madness. The zoo just had three new spring arrivals: Clover, Violet, and Dahlia.

Price: Free

Best for: Emphasis on realistic habitats for the animals

The Memphis Zoo provides a home to more than 3,500 animals representing over 500 different species. Located in Overton Park, the zoo was originally established in April 1906 on 76 acres. The beautiful entry gates remind us of the original Memphis in Egypt. If you’re a snake lover, come to the zoo’s Herpetarium. The zoo plays a strong role in conserving the rare Louisiana pine snake, spearheading a Species Survival Plan and field research for this slithery friend.

Time Out tip: This May, the Splash Park reopens; bring your swimsuit.

Price: Adult $26, child 2-11 $21

Best for: combining the awe of a zoo with the fun of a theme park

It only makes sense that the largest theme park in the world has an accompanying wonderland spanning 580 acres, filled with animals. Described as a zoological theme park, Disney's Animal Kingdom features exotic creatures like Asian tigers, African lions and western lowland gorillas, but there’s also a barrage of other experiences like a guided tour of an African savanna, a tropical jungle trek and rides and restaurants. Best of all, the park has grown its giraffe and elephant herds and transferred a white rhinoceros born there to reintroduce it to Uganda at the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary.

Time Out tip: The Animal Kingdom closes earlier than other Disney World parks so that the animals can sleep, but if you time your visit seasonally to be there after sunset, you can enjoy the light show on the Tree of Life, see amazing simulated bioluminescence in Pandora, and even ride the area’s one roller coaster, Expedition Everest, in the dark.

Price: Tickets start at $119/day and become more expensive seasonally. They become less expensive the more days you purchase.

Best for: A spontaneous drop-in since there is no admission

Spanning 90 acres within the Gateway City’s massive Forest Park, St. Louis Zoo is home to 16,000 animals, representing 500 species. Newest to the park’s naturalistic exhibits is the Primate Canopy Trails, a $13 million 35,000-square-foot outdoor expansion that opened in 2021. It added eight outdoor homes for primates to the existing Primate House. In 2027, the zoo's WildCare Park will open: a world-class safari park and conservation center. The zoo also operates a separate Wildlife Reserve where American red wolves are being conserved (there are only 20 left in the wild, sad to say).

Time Out tip: We never thought we’d write this, but you’ve got to see the bugs. The Insectarium is one of only a few places in the country that is dedicated solely to them, with 20 major exhibits and a “wing” —ha ha —devoted to butterflies and dragonflies.

Price: Free

Best for: Cooling off at seeing animals at the 23-acre Zoombezi Bay waterpark, open seasonally.

This is a large zoo with over 10,000 animals representing 600 species. Highlights are the Congo Expedition habitat and a world-renowned 100,000-gallon coral reef aquarium teeming with tropical fish. Kids will love experiences like visiting reindeer ($99) and bathing an elephant ($179). The zoo funds projects for animals across the world, including medical help for gorillas in Africa, coral conservation in the Caribbean and Pacific Islands and prairie habitat creation in North America.

Time Out tip: The North America Trek will open this summer, with 14 acres of creatures we share the continent with, like Mexican wolves, river otters, bald eagles, and black bears.

Price: Adult $35, child 3-9 $28, senior 60+ $33

Best for: The chance to see two giant pandas

The Smithsonian National Zoo is one of the world’s foremost panda conservation hubs and was instrumental in moving pandas from “endangered” to “vulnerable” on the world’s list of species at risk of extinction. Can you even imagine a world without pandas? Besides these great black and white friends, the zoo is home to 2,200 animals across 400 species. Founded in 1889, the zoo sits on 163 acres in Rock Creek Park.

Time Out tip: The lines to see the pandas are long and sometimes close early because of that. You’re advised to arrive early to increase your chance of getting to see Bao Li and Qing Bao who arrived at the zoo in October 2024 and, after a period of quarantine, met their American fans on January 24 of this year.

Price: Free

Best for: The chance to see big cats (the Big Cats of Arizona habitat will open soon on the Arizona Trail).

Founded in 1962, Phoenix Zoo is the biggest nonprofit privately owned zoo in the U.S. Across 125 acres, the zoo has more than 3,000 animals across 400 species and contains 2.5 miles of walking trails. The trails stretch between four themed areas: the Africa Trail, the Arizona Trail, the Tropics Trail and the Children's Trail, which includes a petting zoo. The zoo has been conservation-minded from the very beginning, and one of its most successful conservation projects was Operation Oryx, which helped save the Arabian oryx (a sort of antelope) from extinction.

Time Out tip: Not every zoo offers camel rides, so get yourself up over that hump! Rides are very reasonably priced at $8.

Price: Adult $38, child 3-13 $28; prices are lower online.

Best for: Unique experiences and seeing “dinosaurs”

The Zoo Miami cares for 2,000 animals, over 375 species on its 750-acre site, many of them tropical species well-suited to Florida’s balmy climate. Observe creatures such as jaguars, tigers, koalas and crocodiles. The zoo’s air-conditioned monorail is a great way to cover distance at the park, making four stops at the different habitats. Pay a little extra for fun interactions: parrots will perch on your arm to drink nectar ($5) or a greater one-horned rhino will do a photo opp with you ($35). A new 250,000-square-foot animal hospital is underway, and the giraffe feeding station is being improved (more gourmet meals?) Through September 14, 2025, admission to Dinos Among Us is included with your ticket with 25 life-sized animatronic dinosaurs roaring and impressing us.

Time Out tip: You can purchase Zoo Doo compost, inadvertently “made” by elephants, rhinos and bantengs at the zoo. Who else can say their green beans were grown in rhino dung?

Price: Adult $26, child 3-12 $22.

Best for: Hiking trails that pass through the zoo’s more than 50 desert gardens, which include beautiful and unusual cacti.

At the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens, check out more than 1,400 specialized species at this desert-themed zoo, where giraffes, gazelles, cheetahs and camels roam the sands. Plant lovers will appreciate the premise’s incredible variety of flora, spanning from native Coachella Valley species such as creosote, desert lavender and white sage to the Madagascar Garden’s baobabs, triangle palms and elephant trees. The nonprofit also collaborates with conservation organizations across the globe in initiatives like preserving and restoring a section of the Colorado Desert and building insurance populations of endangered desert animals and plants.

Time Out tip: Book a private two-hour “safari tour” with a personal guide and a private shuttle. It will give you all the views without any jet lag ($89 adult, $59 child, which includes park admission).

Price: Adult $40, child 3-17 $30.

Best for: The Orangutan Canopy, a 3,400 square foot habitat built to let these intelligent primates run as wild as possible.

Located in Swope Park in Kansas City, Missouri, Kansas City Zoo & Aquarium is home to over 10,000 animals within 200 species. Founded in 1909 and covering a 202-acre site, the zoo is divided into five zones: Australia, Africa, Tiger Trail, The Valley and the KidZone. Jane Goodall said that this zoo has “one of the finest chimpanzee exhibits in North America.” Visitors can take a safari boat ride across the lake to see zebras and giraffes in the zoo’s African Plains area. On its way is a new giraffe habitat in 2026.

Time Out tip: Don’t miss the adorableness of the Penguin March (April 19-20 and May 17-18), as they parade around the Helzberg Penguin Plaza, free with your admission.

Price: $19-22 for all guests.

Best for: Visiting the country’s only underwater dolphin viewing dome.

The largest privately funded zoo in the country, the Indianapolis Zoo lets you see 1,400 animals and 31,000 plants. With your admission, you get access to the gardens: a glass-enclosed conservatory, 25 separate garden areas, fountains, sculptures and 1.5 miles of winding pathways with river and city views. For animal experiences, you can go 17 feet underwater to see dolphins in a viewing dome, get mere inches away from Amur tigers in the forest habitat, and enjoy sights of orangutans and red kangaroos.

Time Out tip: Get your feet wet with the Dolphin In-Water Adventure ($275), which lets you wade into water deep enough to meet and touch a dolphin (the website says the dolphins especially seem to like being touched).

Price: Adult $16-26, child 2-12 $12-$22, discounts for seniors 62+. Pricing varies each day.

Best for: The chance to see some cold weather animals like moose and bison.

At the NEW Zoo & Adventure Park, visitors can view more than 200 animals from 90 different species around the world. From the height of a feeding tower, you can feed giraffes ($2), while there’s also a petting zoo, train and pond with swans. Interested in butterfly migration? The zoo is a certified monarch waystation to help support the butterflies on their journey back and forth to Mexico. The zoo’s name is interesting: it was actually established in 1952, but when the county stopped funding capital improvements, a nonprofit called the NEW Zoological Society started covering new exhibits and improvements, including a connected adventure park created in 2014 with ziplines and such, open seasonally.

Time Out tip: Walk through the Neil Anderson Canopy Tour, a half-hour experience that involves walking over a dozen suspension bridges among the tree tops and even over animal enclosures ($21 for adults, $14 for children 3-15, and $15 for seniors 62+).

Price: Adult $15, child 3-15 $10, seniors 62+ $11.

Best for: Disney-esque immersiveness. The 2-acre Asian Trek habitat lets guests watch tigers in two different habitats explore “temple ruins” or swim in a deep pool. 

With a stated mission of saving animals from extinction, the Zoo Knoxville has a fascinating history; it began with a donated alligator purchased on a Florida vacation and has gone on to see more red pandas born here than any other zoo in the world. It’s also the first to hatch critically endangered northern spider tortoises, along with other conservation firsts. The Kids Cove is inspired by a 19th-century Appalachian farm and lets kids hang out with goats and sheep.

Time Out tip: Sign up for adult zoo camp ($150) this summer—why let kids have all the fun? Yes, it comes with a T-shirt, lemonade, and snacks!

Price: Adult $27, children 3-12 and seniors 65+ $22.

Best for: One of the largest red panda habitats in the country

At the Fort Wayne Zoo, you can brush a goat for free or pay a little extra to feed it—or a chicken, giraffe or stingray. The carousel features endangered species to ride on, and there’s a sky safari, train and Crocodile Creek adventure ride. For the small people in your life, the exhibits are built at their eye level, so you don’t have to pick them up (although that’s nice, too; the zoo, until January 1 of this year, had "Children's Zoo" in its official name). The zoo is 40 acres and continually trying to improve things (for instance, an otter exhibit expansion gave them three times as much space to romp around and act otterly silly). 

Time Out tip: We’re partial to Flemish giant rabbits, the largest rabbit species in the world—so do us a favor and visit Dahlia and Sienna.

Price: Adult $15, child 2-12 $13.

Best for: The Zoo360 system which lets animals move above and around the zoo's grounds in see-through mesh trails, so they can better choose their experiences and mimic their roaming patterns in the real world.

The Philadelphia Zoo is the oldest in the country, with more than 150 years of experience in caring for animals and making strides in protecting and conserving wildlife, including fruit bats of Rodrigues and Brazilian golden lion tamarins. The zoo also works with Uganda’s New Nature Foundation to protect threatened species—and in the zoo itself, you’ll find more than 1,900 rare and endangered animals (earlier this month a Colobus monkey, native to Uganda, was born at the zoo). Rolling out this month are 13 new larger-than-life wildlife rescue climbable sculptures; climb aboard and document for Instagram.

Time Out tip: In July, sample more than 100 specialty brews at the zoo’s 21+ fundraising Summer Ale Festival, along with live music and food trucks. 

Price: Everyone over 2 is $19-29.

Best for: Seeing species indigenous to Hawai’i

Located near Diamond Head and Waikiki, the zoo’s origins were in the 1877 Kapiolani Regional Park, formed to display King Kalakaua’s collection of birds. In 1914, a monkey, bear, and African elephant joined the crew, and in 1947, the Honolulu Zoo was established. It’s now 42 acres focusing on Pacific Tropical ecosystems and the values of malama (caring) and ho`okipa (hospitality). You’ll see 1,230 animals.

Time Out tip: Try the Twilight Tours on Saturday nights when the gates close and most people leave the zoo. You’ll see some animals preparing to sleep while others are just starting to wake up ($30/25).

Price: Adult $21, child 3-12 $13.