Zoos to Visit on Your Family Vacation

The Riverbanks Zoo and Garden is located along Saluda River in Columbia, South Carolina. The lush 170-acre property has over 2,000 animals from 350 species living in spacious natural habitats. You’ll also find a magnificent botanic garden with formal gardens and dense woodlands overlooking the river, spectacular views of the valley, and several important historic landmarks. African Plains is a home to giraffe, ostrich and Grant's zebra. The Aquarium Reptile Complex has a 50,000-gallon tank for Pacific coral reef species, and exhibits for Komodo dragons, Galapagos tortoises, and false gharials. Ndoki Forest is home to African elephants, western lowland gorilla, De Brazza's monkey, meerkats, and many birds. The elephant enclosure has a huge pool.

500 Wildlife Pkwy, Columbia, SC 29210, Phone: 803-779-8717

Woolaroc is a Museum & Wildlife Preserve in the Osage Hills about 12 miles southwest of Bartlesville, Oklahoma. The zoo was established in 1925 on the Frank Phillips Ranch, a working ranch that has a goal of preserving the spirit of the American West. The 3,700-acre ranch is a wildlife preserve with more than 30 species of native as well as exotic animals, including elk, buffalo and longhorn cattle. Visitors can also see the Japanese Sika deer, water buffalo, North European fallow deer, llamas, Sardinian donkeys, ostriches, and pigmy goats. All animals roam freely through the vast space with open fields, woody hills, ponds, and lakes. Woolaroc is also a museum with a collection of American Indian and western art and artifacts.

1925 Woolaroc Ranch Rd, Bartlesville, OK 74003, Phone: 918-336-0307

The Roosevelt Park Zoo is located in Minot, North Dakota. It started modestly in 1920 featuring only the American Bison. Today the zoo is a 20-acre home to over 200 birds, mammals, and reptiles representing 80 species from all over the world. The zoo has the only reticulated giraffes and African Black Footed penguins in North Dakota. A favorite exhibit features the red panda, and visitors spend hours watching this charming animal climbing around its enclosure. The zoo also has a children's zoo, giraffes, an otter exhibit, the Japanese serow, and African penguins. Visitors can have a close encounter with giraffes and pelicans and hand-feed them.

1219 E Burdick Expy, Minot, ND 58701, Phone: 701-857-4166

Brandywine Zoo is a small zoo in Brandywine Park in Wilmington on the banks of the Brandywine River. Opened in 1905, the zoo has approximately 150 animals that live in 12 acres of natural enclosures and are mostly native to Asia and the Americas. Some of the animals in the zoo are river otters, Sandhill cranes, Andean condors, bobcats, South American llamas, capybaras, toucans, a two-toed sloth, and parrots,. There is also a small petting zoo for the kids. Brandywine Zoo is actively involved in worldwide conservation efforts to protect endangered animals such as Amur tigers, Andean condors, and lion tamarins. The zoo has also started a study of Delaware kestrel population.

Brandywine Zoo, 1001 N Park Dr, Wilmington, DE 19802, Phone: 302-571-7747

Brevard Zoo is a small, 75-acre zoo in Melbourne, Florida. This incredibly naturalistic park provides home to over 650 animals from 165 species from all over the world. Visitors explore different habitats via raised boardwalks that cut through shady, lush greenery. They can also kayak through restored wetlands in the Wild Florida exhibit or through the Expedition Africa, watching animals graze on both banks. Kids can splash in the Indian River Play Lagoon and get close to various animals in the touch tank in the Paws on Play area. Or even better, you can zip above the zoo along Treetop Trek, through a South America exhibit. You can also get a giraffe to eat from your hand, invite a large, brightly colored parrot to land on your shoulder, or even pet a rhino.

8225 N Wickham Rd, Melbourne, FL 32940, Phone: 321-254-9453

The Cape May County Park & Zoo, a small 85-acre zoo in Cape May Court House, New Jersey that opened in 1978, is home to about 550 animals from 250 species. The zoo is part of the city’s Park Central and is a popular local attraction. Besides animals such as African lions, black bears, howler monkeys, cheetahs, tamarins, giraffes, zebras and many others, zoo visitors can also enjoy a trackless train that can take them all over the zoo. There is also a carousel for kids that has seats shaped like the zoo’s most popular animals.

707 Route 9 North, Cape May Court House, NJ 08210, Phone: 609-465-5271

Located on Cheyenne Mountain at 6,800 feet above sea level, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is the only mountain zoo in the States. This highly respected conservation park near downtown Colorado Springs was opened in 1926. It has over 700 animals representing 170 species and is famous for the largest herd of giraffes in the world. It is also famous for its unique design that allows visitors to get very close to the animals They can feed the giraffes, watch massive grizzly bears swim with fish, enjoy the antics of red-necked Australian wallabies, ride a carousel, and go to the zoo’s summit via the Mountaineer Sky Ride.

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, 4250 Cheyenne Mountain Zoo Rd, Colorado Springs, CO 80906, Phone: 719-633-9925

Como Zoo is a Saint Paul, Minnesota zoo established in 1897 with the generous donation of three deer. Today, Como has 25 animal habitats with orangutans, giraffes, gorillas, lions, tigers, and many other animals.

The zoo operates together with Marjorie McNeely Conservatory in the heart of Como Park. Here, you’ll find huge anacondas, massive polar bears, zebras, amphibians living in various ponds, lemurs, and penguins. After visiting the animals, enjoy the fragrant display in the beautiful glass conservatory, or take the kids to ride the carousel or play mini golf.

Como Park Zoo and Conservatory, 1225 Estabrook Dr, St Paul, MN 55103, Phone: 651-487-8200

The Fort Wayne Children's Zoo is located in Fort Wayne, Indiana and was opened in 1965 on 40 acres in the city’s Franke Park. The zoo is home to more than 1,000 animals organized in four distinct biomes that represent different world regions: African Journey, Australia Adventure, Central Zoo, and Indonesian Rain Forest. The zoo is world-famous for its unique and innovative animal habitats, exhibits, and beautiful grounds. The zoo’s various paths meander through misty jungles, over grassy hillsides with grazing giraffes, and through African savannahs. The zoo is also known for its community outreach and animal visits to kids’ playgrounds, various nursing homes, and the Children’s Ward at Parkview Hospital.

3411 Sherman Blvd, Fort Wayne, IN 46808, Phone: 260-427-6800

The Fort Worth Zoo was founded in 1909 with just one lion, an alligator, one coyote, one peacock, two bear cubs, and a few rabbits. Today the zoo is home to over 7,000 animals organized in themed habitats spread over 25 acres. The main zoo exhibits are World of Primates with a tropical jungle in the atrium, the Penguins exhibit, Asian Falls with a boardwalk from which visitors observe free moving animals, Flamingo Bay, Raptor Canyon, Meerkat Mounds, African Savannah, Australian Outback with Great Barrier Reef, Texas Wild!, Parrot Paradise (a free-flight aviary), and the Museum of Living Art.

1989 Colonial Pkwy, Fort Worth, TX 76110, Phone: 817-759-7555