Visiting one of the best zoos in the United States: The Woodland Park Zoo

The Woodland Park Zoo is the main zoo in Seattle, and also a wildlife conservation organization and zoological garden. The zoo is a recipient of many awards, and ranks one of the best in the United States.

Some special things about the zoo, include the fact that it was the first zoo that the world's first immersion exhibit, a gorilla habitat, which opened in the late 1970s under the direction of zoo architect David Hancocks. Not to mention, the horticulture at the Zoo is amazing and well thought out. Not only do the plants enhance the environment of its surrounding exhibit, but the Zoo uses plants able to survive the climate and precipitation of Seattle. I saw bamboo nestled next to tea plants bordering the Asian otters, how cool and natural looking is that?

In terms of walkability, it is really nice and shaded. There were sufficient water fountains throughout the park, as well as places to buy some snacks. Food options however, are limited to one area so I would suggest bringing some snacks for the kids. For parents that have small children, Zoomazium is an indoor high interaction play area but it was closed when we visited. Parking is six dollars for the day. Stroller rentals are also available and all the trails were very stroller friendly, with no stairs as far as I recall.

The zoo itself is divided into some sections, each with their own distinct theme:

Entrance and Penguin Enclosure: We began our trip at the penguin enclosure which housed a colony of several dozen Humboldt penguins. This was a really cool exhibit, and you are really close to all the penguins to see them.

 

Two other exhibits that come in the way include the Living Northwest Trail which included a range of animals from Northwestern America. Exhibits include grizzly bear, mountain goat, elk, River Otter, Steller's Sea Eagle, and wolf. I didnt know but this area is modeled off a real trail in Alaska's Denali National Park. Then, there is another part of the zoo, known as the Tropical Rainforest. It includes a jaguar exhibit as well as an exhibit of gorillas, ring-tailed lemurs, red ruffed lemurs, and colobus monkeys. It is here that you find the amazing gorilla exhibit that is just amazing!

Then, there is a small place called Adaptations. It is a covered section with reptilian creatures and other really quirky creatures.

A very cool komodo dragon!

Of course no award-winning zoo with skimp on kangaroos. But there was more to the Australasia exhibit than that. We saw wallabies as well as a number of other creatures.

The Temperate Forest was probably by favorite. It had some rare creatures I have never seen, including a red panda, as well as the most spectacular flamingos. There was also a farm exhibit, allowing guests to pet domesticated animals.

The African Savanna section, as the name suggests, houses all the animals that are native to the grasslands of Africa. This section was at the far south side of the zoo, next to another parking lot. While the enclosure had some of the larger and more grand animals, including the Giraffe, the zebras and the African lion, we spent a shorter time here as it was the last stop for us. Most of the animals are in the open field and can be a bit far for younger kids to really appreciate. However, there is a really cool recreation of an East African village that kids can enjoy.

There is also a butterfly garden, a raptor center housing various birds of prey, as well as an indoor children's play area called Zoomazium, not to mention a carousel. Unfortunately, some of these were closed on the day we went, but we definitely will be back there again!