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Favorite Zoos

Started by dvferyance, May 01, 2018, 01:05:59 PM

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dvferyance

I was wondering what do you think is the best zoo or which zoo did you enjoy visiting the most? I have been visiting several zoos across the county as I have been on a mission to see more of them. Here is what i have been to so far.
Cincinnati I would say this is a nice zoo. Plenty to see. What is interesting about this zoo is that it has some of the oldest zoo buildings still in use today.
Cleveland I was impressed by this zoo. My favorite was the rainforest. When I went in 2012 it was reasonable $10 admission with free parking don't know if that has changed now. The only negative about this place is there were a lot of steep and challenging hills to climb.
Indianapolis This is one zoo I could take a pass on. Way overpriced and seemed small for a big city zoo. The  only thing special about this place is the dolphin show and exhibit. Unless your a big zoo enthusiast and want to see lots of zoo I would recommend skipping this one.
Milwaukee A nice zoo a bit overpriced of course the only reason I have been to this one is because it's in my hometown.
St Louis This one I would say is the best I have been to. Plenty to see admission is free although you have to pay $15 for parking. The penguin exhibit was awesome. This is definitely one I could see myself going back to.
Como Park (St Paul) Small zoo but it's free there is also a conservatory here. If your looking for something free to do in the twin cities area I would recommend this.
Henry Vilas (Madison) Another small free zoo. Parking stinks though as the lot is small and street parking is a pain.
Lincoln Park (Chicago) Something fun to do that is free in Chicago. The only thing that stinks is this place is quite a distance from downtown you have to take a bus there. If your spending a day in Chicago going here chews up much of the day not much time to do anything else.


abefroman329

Quote from: dvferyance on May 01, 2018, 01:05:59 PM
Lincoln Park (Chicago) Something fun to do that is free in Chicago. The only thing that stinks is this place is quite a distance from downtown you have to take a bus there. If your spending a day in Chicago going here chews up much of the day not much time to do anything else.

Depending on where you are staying and how close it is to Union Station, it might be faster to take a Metra train to the Brookfield Zoo.  There is a lot more to see there than the Lincoln Park Zoo, including a dolphin show.  However, I believe it is not free to get in, and it costs more to get there ($5.50 each way vs. $2.25 each way to take a CTA bus to the Lincoln Park Zoo).

webny99

I've heard Omaha is one of the best in the nation.

-Rochester's Seneca Park Zoo is pretty nice, and keeps getting updated with new exhibits. However, it's very long and narrow, making for a lot of walking.
-The Minnesota Zoo in Minneapolis is above average (but also expensive). Too bad they no longer run the dolphin show.
-Como Park in St. Paul - second what was said in the OP; for being a free zoo, it's a decent one.
-Buffalo is OK, but nothing super special.
-Ditto for Cleveland.
-Winnipeg, MB, is basically a ghetto zoo. Some parts are OK, but large swaths need updates. 

SectorZ

Of the handful I've been to, I actually liked Virginia Zoological Park in Norfolk VA the most. The Smithsonian one in DC is also very good.

Oddly enough, I've never even been to the one that's 25 miles away from me in Boston. Mostly because it's in Roxbury.

Max Rockatansky

Hard to beat San Diego Zoo with all the extra stuff to do in Balboa Park walking distance away.  There is a really cool view of the CA 163 Freeway (old US 395) the western paddock displays.

jeffandnicole

Philadelphia's Zoo is the oldest.  I wouldn't call it the best, and because it's crammed into its neighborhood they can't expand out much.  So, they've decided to expand up, and built some walking paths for various animals to walk around on.  As much as people like looking at the tigers and various other animals walking 10 feet above your head, the animals like looking down at the people as well.

The Cape May (County) Zoo is noted for being an excellent free zoo, operated entirely with donations.

1995hoo

The Brevard Zoo in Brevard County, Florida, just east of I-95 at the Wickham Road interchange, is an interesting and fun place to visit. They don't have the same range of animals that some of the big zoos do, and they certainly don't have the more unique animals like pandas or elephants or the great apes like we have here in DC, but it's interesting for other reasons, the chief one being that you're allowed to feed some of the animals if you use the food they sell at the zoo. Feeding the giraffes is kind of wild because you're on this elevated platform and you have what looks like a large rectangular piece of unleavened bread. The giraffe comes and takes it from your hand–almost like you're a priest and the giraffe is receiving Communion. The deer also come and take food directly from you. There are also some aviaries in which you get to feed the birds, although the downside of this is you also stand a good chance of being shat upon by the birds (you need to wear an old hat when you go to the Brevard Zoo, and it is imperative NOT to look up with your mouth open when you're in the aviaries). We have not taken the zip line tour through the trees adjacent to the zoo. Maybe next time we're in Viera I'll try that. 

The first time I went to the Brevard Zoo was when we were visiting one Thanksgiving and the relatives decided to take the kids there. I wasn't all that thrilled about going at first, but it turned out to be a good worthwhile afternoon activity.
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US 89

Quote from: Max Rockatansky on May 01, 2018, 02:33:11 PM
Hard to beat San Diego Zoo with all the extra stuff to do in Balboa Park walking distance away.  There is a really cool view of the CA 163 Freeway (old US 395) the western paddock displays.

I loved the San Diego Zoo. It’s so big that just walking around in it is a workout in itself. The only place in it that I wouldn’t recommend is the aviary section, where a bird pooped on my brother’s leg. He wasn’t too happy about it. :-D There’s a sweet arch bridge (the Cabrillo Bridge) that carries El Prado over the CA-163 freeway right near the zoo, and IIRC, Park Blvd which the zoo is on is a historic alignment of US 80.

The Salt Lake City Hogle Zoo and the Albuquerque zoo are both nice as well, though I haven’t been to either in several years.

Max Rockatansky

Quote from: US 89 on May 01, 2018, 10:22:15 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on May 01, 2018, 02:33:11 PM
Hard to beat San Diego Zoo with all the extra stuff to do in Balboa Park walking distance away.  There is a really cool view of the CA 163 Freeway (old US 395) the western paddock displays.

I loved the San Diego Zoo. It's so big that just walking around in it is a workout in itself. The only place in it that I wouldn't recommend is the aviary section, where a bird pooped on my brother's leg. He wasn't too happy about it. :-D There's a sweet arch bridge (the Cabrillo Bridge) that carries El Prado over the CA-163 freeway right near the zoo, and IIRC, Park Blvd which the zoo is on is a historic alignment of US 80.

The Salt Lake City Hogle Zoo and the Albuquerque zoo are both nice as well, though I haven't been to either in several years.

US 80 and US 395 to be exact:

https://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~239590~5511893:-Verso--Road-Map-of-the-State-of-Ca?sort=Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No&qvq=q:caltrans;sort:Pub_List_No_InitialSort%2CPub_Date%2CPub_List_No%2CSeries_No;lc:RUMSEY~8~1&mi=70&trs=86

bandit957

I rarely visit the Cincinnati Zoo anymore, but starting around 1990, they began to prohibit visitors from chewing gum inside one of the buildings (because it had carpeting or something). If I ever visit the zoo again, I'm bringing bubble gum.
Might as well face it, pooing is cool

bandit957

Quote from: US 89 on May 01, 2018, 10:22:15 PM
I loved the San Diego Zoo. It's so big that just walking around in it is a workout in itself. The only place in it that I wouldn't recommend is the aviary section, where a bird pooped on my brother's leg. He wasn't too happy about it.

One time we went to the Cincinnati Zoo and a bird pooped on my aunt's head.
Might as well face it, pooing is cool

inkyatari

Brookfield Zoo outside Chicago.

I've only been to two others.. Chicago's Lincoln Park, and the Cleveland Zoo.

THe Cleveland Zoo was a letdown. When we went there they had a penguin exhibit, and we had to walk an ungodly distance that had no exhibits along the way, and when we got there, there were only two penguins.  We'd have felt ripped off if we had to pay for our tickets to the zoo.
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dvferyance

Quote from: abefroman329 on May 01, 2018, 01:18:55 PM
Quote from: dvferyance on May 01, 2018, 01:05:59 PM
Lincoln Park (Chicago) Something fun to do that is free in Chicago. The only thing that stinks is this place is quite a distance from downtown you have to take a bus there. If your spending a day in Chicago going here chews up much of the day not much time to do anything else.

Depending on where you are staying and how close it is to Union Station, it might be faster to take a Metra train to the Brookfield Zoo.  There is a lot more to see there than the Lincoln Park Zoo, including a dolphin show.  However, I believe it is not free to get in, and it costs more to get there ($5.50 each way vs. $2.25 each way to take a CTA bus to the Lincoln Park Zoo).
When I was there in 2014 it was free don't know if that has changed. I took the metra from Waukegan into downtown. Took almost 45 minutest to get there by bus and another 45 minuets back. Did not have much time to do anything else.

NWI_Irish96

Three best zoos I've been to:
San Diego Zoo
Washington National Zoo
Brookfield Zoo

Also, Grant's Farm, which is sort of a zoo and you get free beer at the end.
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jp the roadgeek

Really only been to one (twice on field trips): The Bronx Zoo.  It was enjoyable.
There's also Southwick's Zoo in Mendon, MA off of 495 about 45 minutes west of Boston.
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abefroman329

Quote from: dvferyance on May 02, 2018, 11:30:11 AM
Quote from: abefroman329 on May 01, 2018, 01:18:55 PM
Quote from: dvferyance on May 01, 2018, 01:05:59 PM
Lincoln Park (Chicago) Something fun to do that is free in Chicago. The only thing that stinks is this place is quite a distance from downtown you have to take a bus there. If your spending a day in Chicago going here chews up much of the day not much time to do anything else.

Depending on where you are staying and how close it is to Union Station, it might be faster to take a Metra train to the Brookfield Zoo.  There is a lot more to see there than the Lincoln Park Zoo, including a dolphin show.  However, I believe it is not free to get in, and it costs more to get there ($5.50 each way vs. $2.25 each way to take a CTA bus to the Lincoln Park Zoo).
When I was there in 2014 it was free don't know if that has changed. I took the metra from Waukegan into downtown. Took almost 45 minutest to get there by bus and another 45 minuets back. Did not have much time to do anything else.

Lincoln Park Zoo is free, Brookfield Zoo is not.  There was no need to go all the way downtown and then backtrack, you could have gotten off at an earlier stop and taken the bus from there.

ET21

Lincoln Park and Brookfield are the only two I've been too. Red line to either Fullerton or Armitage is your best bet for transit if you don't want to drive in Chicago, about a 15 minute walk east from there.
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Revive 755

My favorites:

1) Omaha
2) St. Louis - there are days I might have this one tied with Omaha
3) Oklahoma City
4) Dallas

Others I would be happy to revisit:
* Fort Worth
* Madison, WI - early morning before the parking issue gets too bad.  Small but nice.
* Brookfield - Not bad, but not as impressive after seeing Omaha and/or St. Louis, especially when admission and parking costs are considered.  Best during the free admission days in winter.
* Milwaukee - This one would rank higher if parking and admission were cheaper, given the size.
* New Orleans - Been years since I've been to this one, but I don't recall it being disappointing. Seeing a photo enforcement map of New Orleans and the story about parked cars getting speeding tickets makes this one less likely to be revisited.
Hoping to Visit Someday
* San Diego
* Houston
* San Antonio
* Orlando
* Detroit - I've heard mixed opinions on this one
* Toledo - Maybe when Ohio dumps photo enforcement.  I've heard there is a nasty speed reduction with cameras nearby

webny99

Quote from: SectorZ on May 01, 2018, 02:16:26 PM
Oddly enough, I've never even been to the one that's 25 miles away from me in Boston. Mostly because it's in Roxbury.

Is there something wrong with Roxbury?  :hmmm:

Rothman

Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

lepidopteran

Quote from: bandit957 on May 02, 2018, 08:46:20 AM
I rarely visit the Cincinnati Zoo anymore, but starting around 1990, they began to prohibit visitors from chewing gum inside one of the buildings (because it had carpeting or something).
I distinctly remember from about 1980, upon entering the insect house at the Cincinnati zoo.  They asked if we were chewing gum, because the place had new carpeting (and it's nearly impossible to get gum out of the rug).

texaskdog

San Diego is my favorite.
Colorado Springs is awesome.  You can feed & pet the giraffes on elevated decks and it is built into the side of a mountain.
San Antonio is nice too.
Minnesota is good, as mentioned the Como Park zoo is a great free zoo that is not overly crowded.
I would visit any of the above again.

thenetwork

- The Cleveland Metroparks Zoo is a great zoo (I'm orginally from Cleveland) and highly recommended.
- The Columbus Zoo is home to Jack Hanna, with a waterpark next door.
- The Toledo Zoo has really expanded over the last decade or so.

- There was a large zoo near Myrtle Beach Airport that my wife & I went to about 20 years ago that had a good variety of animals, and a LARGE collection of Alligators & Crocodiles.  I forget the name of it.

A couple of not-quite zoos I have visited over the last year that I would recommend:

- Dallas World Aquarium -- Downtown Dallas:  In addition to the fish, they have a large rainforest in addition to a lot of birds and some animals that don't necessarily swim or fly.
- Tracy Aviary -- Salt Lake City:  Pretty much all birds, but definitely worth a visit just east of Downtown.

Henry

I've been to both Chicago zoos, and I'm ranking Lincoln Park over Brookfield.

My wife's hometown zoo is the San Diego Zoo, and it's also a great experience for me.

L.A. and Seattle (Woodland Park) get honorable mention; there's also a botanical garden in the former, and an aquarium in the latter.
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