| Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium Pittsburgh, PA |
Our hometown zoo. We are members and
go there often. It has plenty of parking, although the roads
to get into it are not always clearly marked for newcomers (or the signs
are obscured by trucks). In the 70s and 80s, this was one of the first old-style "animals in cages" zoos to start the conversion to more natural habitats for the animals, but they sort of lost momentum at some point along the way. The Asian and African sections are examples of the habitat areas where most of the animals have some space to move around and compatible species can interact with each other. There are elephant babies to be seen, and those are often a high point for many visitors. Pittsburgh's aquarium is inside the zoo, and is sponsored by the PPG company. It is a small building with a variety of fish, penguins, etc. Other exhibit buildings include the Ape house, including a fair number of gorillas and orangutangs, and a Niches of the World, which has the snakes, reptiles, and night creatures. They have a Komodo dragon with a nice new enclosure (2004) for it. Children's land includes deer petting and kangaroo petting in addition to the usual goats and sheep petting. One item of uniqueness is that peacocks roam the grounds freely, including a couple of albinos. You may find them on the paths, inside exhibits, around the concessions, or even in the trees. This zoo has decent food for usual slightly elevated prices, as well as the usual assortment of gift shops. |
| National Aviary Pittsburgh, PA |
Yes, Pittsburgh is home to the NATIONAL aviary.
It is on Pittsburgh's north side and is not the easiest thing to
find, with all of the turns it takes to get there if driving. There
are lots of signs however. It is also supposedly within walking distance
from the major pro ball fields. There is not a lot of parking here, but it is free. Street parking is available, but also not in large quantities. You enter through and pay admission in the gift shop. They have various bird shows at different times of the day, and they show off some of the babies that they have. There are walk-through areas with different sets of birds in each, as well as a few outdoor exhibits. |
| Knoxville Zoo Knoxville, TN |
We went to this zoo in June of 2003.
As we arrived in mid-afternoon, parking was not a problem, but the lot
near the entrance seemed small. Other lots were available, though. This was a really nice zoo. Things of particular note to us included: - a large number of some large animals, about 8 giraffes, at least 5 rhinos. - water sprays at various points that visitors could get a mist on a hot day. - a pen of grasses and trees and othere plants with 100s of turtles - there was lots of shade on the paths to be walking through A kiddie area was under construction while we were there. |
| Philadelphia Zoo Philadelphia, PA |
We were there in July 2001. Getting
there is a bit of a pain, although it is very close to some main highways.
Parking is not good. It is difficult to see where the
lots are and in order to get to the zoo, you have to cross major 4-lane
streets. Getting back on the highways takes careful observation of
signs, and being familiar with the numberings and names. The zoo itself was very nice. It had nice habitats for most of the animals and wide pathways for visitors. Many of the pathways were sunny, though, so be prepared with hat, sunscreen, and lots of liquid. It has a small, but nice walk-through building of a bird habitat. My favorite was the huge area with lots of zebras. |
| Roger Williams Zoo Providence, RI |
I was there in the mid 1990's. Parking seemed adequate, but not plentiful. A fair walk to the entrance from much of the parking areas, although it was flat walking, through the parking area. This was a nice zoo, with shaded walkways. (The zebras were off exhibit when I was there. Sniff.) At that time, they had a section with special programs (of appeal to kids) that cost extra to enter. ----- Sarah, Katie and Scott visited again in June 2004 with Sarah's sister Rebecca. The parking was a lot closer than Scott remembered. The zebras were out this time!!! They have a wetlands walk. They have a little amphitheater with shows you have to pay for. Some of the walkways seemed quite narrow - even the major walkways. Some of the buildings are intended to be one-way, but they are not well marked at all. |
| Trexler-Lehigh Valley Game Preserve Schnecksville, PA |
We were there in July 2001. This small enterprise just outside of Allentown is in some back woods, with narrow roads to get to it. Plentiful parking once you get there. This is home to lots of injured or ill animals. Most are in smallish habitat areas. It was an enjoyable walk through (about an hour to see it all). There is a petting area. There is a gift shop and concessions area near the entrance. |
| Ripley's Aquarium
(of the Smokies) Gatlinburg, TN |
We were here in June 2003. It is in
walking distance from most of the town, so we did not pay attention to
the status of parking. Gatlinburg is a tourist town, so the admission price was a bit high, but it was also open late, which was a plus. They offer deals if you are also partaking of certain other attractions in town. This was a really nice aquarium. It did not have big sea creatures like dolphins and such, but it included a long underwater walkway to observe lots of fish swimming, including large sharks and stingrays. Gift shop prices seemed pretty cheap. |
| Alaska Zoo Anchorage, Alaska |
We were there in March 2001. This was a nice little zoo. The parking lot was not large, but was enough for the winter day that we were there. Obviously, they had mostly cold-climate animals, like Siberian Tigers, polar bears, other bears, moose, etc. It was an enjoyable afternoon to walk through this zoo. |
| Oglebay Good Zoo Wheeling, WV |
We were there July 24, 2003. Although
this is a very small zoo, it was a nice walk. We walked it in probably
about an hour. A somewhat unique feature of this place is that at certains
times of day and year, you can feed the giraffes. They also
have the usual feeding areas for deer, goats, and llamas. A small
wetland area is neat with its fountans and walks, including views of a crane
and bald eagles. There was ample parking and a small concession stand. |
| Columbus
Zoo and Aquarium Columbus, Ohio |
We were there July 26, 2003. This was a nice zoo. It took us about 3 and a half hours to walk through it. There were both views of both the outdoor and indoor faciliites for many animals, including elephants, rhinos, giraffes, gorillas, and gibbons. They had a small but nice aviary area with lots of different colorful birds. They had recently opened a new area with gibbons, orangutangs, and other south Asian creatures. It has a nice wood pathway through much of this, and also had a boat ride through these areas (which we did not take). They had water sprayers for guests at many locations spread throughout the zoo. The aquarium wasn't much, but it did have two manatees. There was a coral reef exhibit indoors which was packed with people and kids when we were in there. There were a large variety of different turtles in various exhibits. They share their parking lot with an amusement/water park. We went on a hot summer Saturday, so to get there, we sat in traffic for a half hour within two miles of the zoo. Shortly before noon, we had to park in what appeared to be the last section of the parking lot. They had lots of people out directing you where to park. They had a mall-style food court in one section of the zoo, with a variety of foods avaiable. There were both indoor and outdoor eating areas here. The rest of the stands in the zoo had limited menus (hot dogs and nachos), although there were lots of places to buy beverage. A plus was that they had Coke products, rather then Pepsi. Their gift shops seemed a little expensive, but not exhorbinant. |
| The Wilds Cumberland, Ohio (near Cambridge) |
We were there July 25, 2003. This was a very different experience than your usual walk-through zoo. This is a wildlife preserve, with thousands of acres of grassland, broken into largish sections where different sets of animals are kept. "Admission" is a ticket on a safari bus that drives you around some of the rolling hills through the vaious enclosures. We had a very energetic tour guide/bus driver on our safari, which lasted close to 90 minutes. At the time of our visit, all of their animals were herbivores, and some of them were in entire herds (like the buffalo and some of the exotic deer). There were animals that you don't see in many zoos - like Bactrial camels (two humps), wild horses from across the globe, and various kinds of exotic deer. The parking lot seems small, but was ample on the day we were there. They have a couple of concession areas, and a gift shop with average prices. |
| Buttonwood
Park Zoo New Bedford, Mass. |
I was there in the mid 1990's. This
small zoo was an old-style animals in cages place. It took at most
45 minutes to walk through the whole thing. |
| Virginia Zoo Norfolk, Virginia |
We visited March 6, 2004. A nice zoo. Parking was a reasonable size. Petting zoo area was okay. Gift shop near entrance had usual prices. It has a big duck pond and gardens (although we were there in early March so the gardens were not that interesting). |
| Metro
Richmond Zoo Richmond, Virginia |
We visited March 8, 2004. This was an interesting zoo. The parking lot and entrance are pretty small. It has a gift shop and restrooms at the entrance. They sell zoo treats to feed many of the animals. The giraffes and llamas (as well as usual petting zoo animals) were happy to see people. Lots of different kinds of monkeys. They have a skylift, which was not operating when we were there. They had a white tiger, and multiple kinds of kangaroos. |
| Akron Zoo Akron, Ohio |
We visited May 19, 2004. It was a nice little zoo. It was very kid-friendly, with things to crawl on throughout. It had some very nice garden areas. Some rarer animals they have include the Red Panda and the Sun Bear. The gift shop prices were very good. Parking was $1.50 and there seemed to be ample parking. It took us a little over an hour to walk through. |
| Cleveland MetoParks Zoo Cleveland, Ohio |
We visited May 19, 2004. This was a good zoo. It was kind of sprawling and seemed to involve more walking than some other zoos with a similar number of exhibits. Their primate and fish building seemed to be relatively new and was quite a walk uphill from the rest of the zoo. The tram is free. They have a nice little Australian area with kangaroos wandering around. Lots of different wallabies, and cockatoos. They have a butterfly house. They had a larger than average number of giraffes and zebras. There were displays for hippos, but the animals were not present when we were there. We spent close to three hours there before it closed. We did not get to the Rainforest section. We hope to go back to see that sometime. The gift shop had average to slightly high prices. Parking was free and more than enough for our weekday visit. |
| Living Treasures Animal Park New Castle, PA |
We visited May 20, 2004. An old-style zoo where you take food along to give to the animals, who are mostly in small enclosures. They had a white Siberian tiger, both types of camels (Bactrian and Dromedary). Some chickens and other domestic fowl roam freely. The small gift shop had average prices. A minimal variety of liquid refreshment was available for purchase. The parking is free, but there is not a large lot. |