Description
The Denver Zoo in Denver, Colorado, is an excellent family-friendly destination because it offers engaging experiences for kids of all ages, combining fun and education in a beautiful outdoor setting. It is home to over 4,000 animals representing more than 700 species, including popular favorites like elephants, lions, giraffes, orangutans, and stingrays, giving children a chance to see and learn about wildlife from around the world[1][8].
Kids will especially enjoy interactive and kid-focused areas such as the Primate Panorama with playful orangutans, the Toyota Elephant Passage where they can safely observe majestic Asian elephants, and the Stingray Cove that offers a hands-on touch tank experience (note that Stingray Cove requires a small extra fee)[2][11]. The zoo also has fun rides like the Zoo Train and Carousel suitable for young children, plus nature play areas designed for climbing, exploring, and bug hunting—all supported by zoo educators to encourage discovery and observation[3][10].
Educational programs and live animal encounters add to the learning experience by allowing families to connect closely with the animals and understand wildlife conservation efforts. The zoo fosters awareness of endangered species and their habitats through immersive exhibits and conservation messages, making it an inspiring visit for young minds[4][6]. Additionally, plentiful shady walkways and picnic spots make it comfortable for families to spend the day outdoors together[3].
In summary, the Denver Zoo is kid-friendly because it combines interactive animal exhibits, hands-on activities, fun rides, and educational programs in a safe and accessible environment, providing a memorable and enriching experience for the whole family[2][3][10].
https://www.colorado.com/articles/colorado-family-attractions-kids-10-under,https://www.aworldtotravel.com/denver-family-activities-things-to-do-with-kids/,https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weTg5BjHfCI,https://www.coloradowindowsource.com/denver-co-is-a-kid-friendly-city/,https://destinationsanddesserts.com/48-hours-denver-kids/,https://denverzoo.org/about/,https://visitdenver.com/things-to-do/family-friendly/wild-denver/,https://www.familyvacationcritic.com/attraction/denver-zoo/denver/,https://denverzoo.org/things-to-do/,https://denverzoo.org/nature-play/,https://www.justtoclaireify.com/colorado-with-kids-visiting-the-denver-zoo/,https://denverzoo.org,https://denverzoo.org/hours-admission/,https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g33388-d128664-Reviews-Denver_Zoo-Denver_Colorado.html
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13 Reviews on “Denver Zoo”
This is one of the top Zoos in the country. I love the Denver Zoo. Clean, rarely crowded. It seems they must have a good breeding program, because they always have a lot of babys. Nothing cuter then a baby hippo. Not that hard on your wallet. There is always something for everyone. Obviously a great place for kids, but all should find it enjoyable.
We have been members of the zoo for the past 7 years. It is a great place for a day outing with the kids. They also have fantastic classes for children and budding zoologists, but the long drive for us make them a little prohibitive. My kiddos favorites are the polar bears, the seals, and the carousel. If you want to feed the Lorakeets, be sure to turn right and head towards there when you first get to the zoo. If you wait too long they are all full and they won’t come to you to eat the nectar. Also, if you park in the underground structure at the lowest level it really keeps your car cool in the summer and rarely fills up.
Other than the recent taser incident at the zoo, I recommend taking a trip to this gem. It’s great for anyone with visitors in town, with kids, or with friends /a significant other. Free days are a bit too busy for my taste – I would rather pay the entrance fee to have less of a crowd. When I crave a little outdoor time and don’t feel like driving to the mountains to spot animals, the zoo is a great alternative.
I just went the other day and it had been a while since I had gone. It was fantastic! The new elephant exibit was GREAT! The elephants are halarious expecially the baby ones. The tigers were out to and were wrestling around. The only reason I gave it 4 stars is because I must have went at a bad time of the year because there were a lot of animals there were not out, kinda wish I would have waited 3 months to go. Guess I will be back again. All and all I love the zoo and the amazing animals they have.
The Denver Zoo is absolutely amazing!
My wife and I take turns bringing our children here on weekends and gosh do they have a blast. The staff are all wonderful they are friendly, helpful, and informative. The zoo is kept clean which is so nice and I really enjoy a clean environment.
They have some awesome animals here I really love looking at the maned wolves or the long leg fox wolves. Although they don’t make appearances very often getting to see them is a blast. They are stinky though.
My wifes favorite animals are the seals she used to live in California growing up and she got the opputunity to see many seal lions while living there. She can stand there and watch them for hours.
My son loves the aquarium building with the fish and reptiles. He drags us over there everytime we go he loves the gators the most.
My daughter love the elephants and giraffes.
Needless to say when we go to the zoo we go all over the zoo to every part of it.
It’s great for young kids come early in the morning have them walk around with you or ride in a cart and when you get home they are knocked out for a good long nap.
I love the use of the big trees for shade that was a great choice for a middle of the city zoo. I have been to other zoos in other states and they don’t always have enough shade and I hate being burned to death while I am trying to enjoy a zoo trip.
This was my first visit ever to the zoo and I choose to go to this one .The #1 animal on my list was a giraffe, I had the best time ever, I actually got to feed them and see the new baby . I had mixed emotions about my new favorite place when….. I saw the polar Bears they looked very hot and I got instantly sad until my husband stopped the manager so I could ask my very important question.” Why do we have zoos why do those Bears look so hot”? I was so sad for them. Until I spoke to the manager and she explained that lots of the animals where born in the zoo and they are very used to there surroundings. She also explained that the animals are there to be away from danger and for who ever comes to the zoo to learn about the animals we may not see in the future ( makes since I thought ) and I stopped crying lol . I was so happy my husband stopped her for me to ask her . I am so happy she was there. I wish I knew the lady’s name well if you see this yelp I would like to thank YOU again for taking the time to help me understand the zoo . BM
I loved Denver Zoo! I have been to a lot of zoo’s in my time; this is one of my favorites. I believe the zoo actually puts the animal’s needs above anything else. They have wonderful exhibits for the tiger, bear, lions, wild dogs, and elephants. Their other exhibits are great, but these are definitely my favorite.
That being said, my mom is from Southern Illinois and she frequents the Saint Louis Zoo, and she said it rates an 8 in comparison to their zoo.
BUT, what does she know, it’s awesome. Also, fun fact, they sent their polar bears to a zoo in Alaska, so they could have a better life in a more natural environment.
I would go during the week, the weekends are busy. Keep in mind Wednesday- Friday the zoo has a good number of field trips, so it still might be pretty busy during the day.
If you want to see the most activity out of the big cats, I would go first thing in the morning!
Possibly the worst zoo I have ever been to. There were no staff around to ask any questions in regards to certain things I was interested in knowing more about. The lions and elephants didn’t have nearly enough room to imitate anything close to being in the wild. I just don’t get why these bastards do all of this. If you want to do the right thing just get the main attraction animals like lions, elephants, monkeys, penguins, bears and forget about the rest of the animals no one care to see but give those main attraction animals more space to live a better life in captivity. No one cares to really see some of the other animals.
Also they had some of the greatest eagles in there and it’s just depressing seeing a giant gorgeous bird enclosed in a cage or it’s wings clipped and seeing it trying to fly. A bird being stuck on the ground is bullshit, it deserves to be flying high in the sky how it’s naturally supposed to live. It must be sitting in there depressed wondering wtf am I doing here and trying to understand why he can’t fly or do what his brain knows it should be able to do but cannot. I can understand having a land animal and the whole notion of “preserving these animals” but give them real space to move around, and change up the scenery every so often and move them into different areas to have a little change of pace. I can’t even imagine what it’s like day in and day out in that small area for a bunch of lions or elephants to live in and have no change of scenery. They are 100% depressed and that’s not bc of my attitude or how I was thinking. While they may live comfortably, get food when they want and are protected from harm and live a little longer, this is not a real life. They’re just there for human entertainment and even though I’m sure the zoo and keepers try to do their best to have these animals live a happy life this is not it. Honestly this isn’t helping anyone but the zoo making profit and having little children be excited about seeing some animals. It’s depressing and so unnatural to see what’s going on in here. These zoos breed more too and sell out to high bidders. It’s just messed up to have this go on. I understand the world is changing and humans have changed their day to day lives as well. We’re always evolving but imagine being on the opposite end. Sitting in a zoo while having lions come in and watch you everyday sitting in the same place and being numb to everything wondering what it would be like to be free. It’s too unnatural. Zoos need to cease to exist. If these gorgeous animals die off over time then so be it. That’s evolution. They don’t belong in cages for our entertainment. We can watch National Geographic and videos of them acting in their natural habitat not animals as shells of themselves hiding behind glass wondering when the fuck will this end. Stop breeding them scumbag zoos. Zoos have to cease to exist.
As someone from Houston, TX which has one of the best Zoos in the country. I have to say that this zoo is amazing. My kids really enjoyed it and I felt that the flow of the zoo was really good. There are so many activities to do throughout the zoo during the summer and the zoo has every animal you can think of. I recommend this zoo as a family outing for any size family.
To start I would give this Zoo 0 stars if I was able to. My family and myself were visiting from Massachusetts, we were trying to kill time and found Denver Zoo in a quick last minute rush to avoid sitting around and waiting, this was a mistake. Upon arrival around 1:30, the stench was absolutely putrid. I fully understand it was a zoo and it will not smell like roses however it should not have smelt like a barn left abandoned for years while the cows made enough manure for 100 football fields worth of land. It smelt like these enclosures hadn’t been cleaned in months. There was trash in some enclosures and feces that looked like it had started to fossilize. While trying to look past the smell my family and I had grabbed a map and immediately noticed that within the first 3 exhibits the zoo was labeled horribly. We tried to create a route that allowed us to visit all animals this zoo had to offer. (Keep in mind we had my 6 year old nephew with us who loves the zoo so this was really special for him as his birthday is only a few days away) I would say we got lost at least 5 times. Between no signs directing you through the zoo and the map they gave us being horribly labeled it was frustrating and even after spending a few hours we still missed some animals and exhibits. There was also multiple construction zones which cut off some viewing areas as well. While trying to again look past the negatives and trying to make a day of it, after about the 3rd enclosure with no animals we all started getting frustrated that we spent the money to see nothing and again I totally support allowing the animals to choose to come out on their terms however the lack of animals was aggravating. The couple of animals we did get to see looked either sick, sad, or malnourished. Coming from New England and having some great zoos there (Roger Williams and Southwick Zoo) this zoo was an absolute disgrace. At least at the Zoos back home the animals look well cared for and the staff are all so educated and excited. At Denver Zoo the staff is annoyed to be there and are lacking information about the animals. Most of the staff had no idea what they were supposed to do and were rude and annoyed to be working. The new down under exhibit should be down under a dump for the pitiful area filled with animals that are so scared of people they cower and hide in the corners. We overheard the director of the program explain that donors gave $5 Million for the new enclosure and after looking at the enclosure there is no way $5 Million was spent. It looked like it was supposed to be the highlight of the visit and it was nothing more than a fenced in disappointment. The lorikeets area to walk through was beautiful however as we arrived there was no more food to buy for the birds. Again it was only around 2:00 in the afternoon and you needed to be out of the Zoo for 5. I would understand the running out of food if these beautiful birds were full or fed too much before we had arrived however the birds were constantly looking for food and even crawled into our hands looking for it. We were advised that we were not allowed to touch the birds without food and the reason we were given was nothing more than a bull**** excuse. My wife works with birds exactly like the ones in the exhibit and what we were told was not accurate nor informative. The other visitors at the zoo were extremely rude and disrespectful as well. The orangutan was also supposed to be one of the highlights and as we were walking up to the exhibit there were adults crowding this beautiful animal and hogging all of the time while it was at the viewing window while there were kids waiting patiently to take pictures or to get an up close view. After about 5 minutes of this grown man taking up the opportunity for kids like my nephew to see this animal up close the orangutan got up and walked away leaving my nephew in tears as we walked to the next exhibit. There was no staff anywhere in sight to be monitoring this area to make sure things like this didn’t happen. Again the animals are allowed and have every right to walk away when they want however the grown adult was taunting the animal through the glass and was allowed to due to no staff in the area. When it came time to find some lunch there are only a few places to dine and they do not have normal food. There was asian cuisine and their BBQ place was also a disappointment with their only food being food I would never buy at a zoo. Their kids menus consisted of an uncrustable. It was absolutely ridiculous.. This zoo was an absolute disgrace and a dump. I highly recommend spending your money elsewhere.
I absolutely love the Denver Zoo! It’s such a well-maintained and beautifully designed space that’s perfect for a day out with family or friends. The exhibits are amazing, and you can tell the animals are well cared for. The variety of species is impressive, and it’s always exciting to see something new each time I visit. Whether it’s watching the elephants or exploring the tropical rainforest exhibit, there’s always something fun and educational to enjoy. The Denver Zoo is easily one of my favorite places in the city!
The management system is terrible, having someone fired without questioning them first because of a couple of conspiracy’s is not a right way to do business. They were a hard worker that did everything right but just because of a 16 year old immature racist kid did not like how she worked got here fired after telling multiple people disgraceful lies that can end up putting people in jail. Do not work here if you are any other ethnicity besides white.
Not too crowded, and my 2.5 yr old just loved all the animals up close-elephants, gorillas, and penguins playing around. The stingray area is now an upcharge but well worth it. Did both the train ride and carousel, both pretty fun. This time we didn’t try the food, but are excited to see this new area when it opens. The place is highly recommended for any family outing. We have spent about 3 hours here.