Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle
On our recent trip to Seattle, our friends were eager to do a zoo day for the kids. With how much our kids love animals we knew it would be a good fit. So we decided to check out Woodland Park Zoo.
Nestled in the middle of housing, the zoo seems a bit out of place as you arrive. But don’t let that fool you…this zoo is big! Plenty of walking to be done and animals to see once inside. They also offer a gift shop (we weren’t able to go because we stayed until closing and ran out of time…but we did get our zoo smooshed penny souvenir) and restaurants throughout the zoo. Many of the restaurants were closed at the time we walked through – guessing it was because of it being off season. There is also a giant playground for kids outside the zoo near some of the parking lots.
Parking
There are 3 parking lots around the zoo. The zoo itself is close to downtown so the parking can fill quickly. The first two lots we tried were full. Luckily we got parking in the 3rd one. You do pay hourly for parking in the lots as well with a fixed maximum day rate. If all parking is full, there is street parking around the zoo as well.
Tickets
If you purchase full price tickets 4 days or more in advance you can receive a 10% discount. The Zoo also offers discounts for military and persons with disabilities. If you have a membership with another zoo or aquarium check and see if you qualify for any discounts through your membership to this zoo. For example, we have a membership to our local aquarium in North Carolina and with our membership we get 50% discounts on tickets for most major zoos. Woodland Park Zoo was one of those included so we got a big discount which was a huge help for our family of four.
Note:
The Zoo does recommend you purchase tickets in advance but we waited and got ours at the Zoo and didn’t have any issues getting them.
Animals
The Zoo has many exhibits with animals based on their home geographical locations. Some of the exhibits are only open during warmer seasonal times but we were able to see most of the animals during our visit in early April.
African Savanna
Home to animals from East Africa. We saw the: Lions, Giraffes, Hippo & Patas Monkey. We didn’t see the Zebra & Ostrich.
Assam Rhino Reserve
We saw the the Rhinos. We didn’t see the Asian Brown Tortoise & Demosiselle Crane.
Australasia
Home to animals from the Pacific ocean area that includes Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea & Islands of the South Pacific. We saw the Kookaburra, Snow Leopard & Wallaroo/Wallaby. We didn’t see the Emu.
Molbak’s Butterfly Garden
Home to hundreds of free flying North American butterflies. This is a seasonal exhibit. It was not open yet during our trip in April so we unfortunately didn’t get to see it.
Humboldt Penguin Exhibit
Home to penguins from the desert coast of Peru. We were able to see them (it was my son’s favorite animal we saw) but I didn’t get any photos.
Living Northwest Trail
Home of many animals from the Northwest in the US/Canada. We saw the Gray Wolves, Lynx, River Otters, Snowy Owl, Steller’s Sea Eagle & Western Pond Turtle. We didn’t see the Brown Bear, Elk & Mountain Goat.
Temperate Forest
We saw the Chilean Flamingos, Hornbill, Kunekune Pig, Maned Wolf, Red Panda, Red-crowned Crane, White-naped Crane & the family farm are. There is also a Bug World but was closed for renovations during our visit. We also didn’t see the Partula Snail.
Trail of Adaptions
We didn’t make it thru this area during our visit but it features: Indian Flying Fox, Komodo Dragon, Meerkats & an Egyptian Tortoise.
Tropical Asia
We saw the Malayan Tiger, Sloth Bears, Asian Small-clawed Otter, Orangutans, Malayan Tapir, Warty Pig. We didn’t see the Langur & Siamang.
Tropical Rainforest
We saw the Jaguar, Gorillas, Poison Dart Frog, Saki Monkey, Toucan, Yellow Anaconda & Colobus Monkey. We didn’t see the Ring Tailed Lemur, Red Ruffed Lemur, Golden Lion Tamarin & Tarantula.
Woodland Park Zoo is located at: 5500 Phinney Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98103. For more information about the zoo and/or to plan your visit check out their website here: https://www.zoo.org/
There is plenty to keep you busy at this zoo all day! So many animals to see and fun little statues for photo ops. Some animals may not be out depending on the cold/weather. We didn’t see all the animals they have as some weren’t out when we walked by. But we would still love to go again during the summer to experience the butterfly exhibit!
If you’re in the Seattle area and have kids or just love animals then you should give Woodland Park Zoo a try!
