Themed Travel Experiences: Animal Attractions!

When planning your family’s travels, it can help to have themes, hobbies, or interests to guide you in determining your journey, your destinations, and the amazing list of things you see, do, and experience along the way!

What Does YOUR Family Enjoy?

National Parks

State Parks

National Wildlife Refuges

Historic Sites

Children’s Museums

Science Museums

Zoos, Aquariums, and Animal Attractions

Just to Name a Few!

The Best Animal Attractions in All 50 US States!

If you and your family love zoos, aquariums, wildlife parks, nature centers, conservation facilities, and other incredible animal encounters, bookmark this page as we compile this list of:

The BEST Animal Attractions Across the United States!

Alabama Alaska Arizona
Arkansas California Colorado
Connecticut Delaware Florida
Georgia Hawaii Idaho
Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas
Kentucky Louisiana
Maine Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan Minnesota
Mississippi Missouri
Montana Nebraska Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey New Mexico
New York
North Carolina North Dakota
Ohio Oklahoma Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina South Dakota
Tennessee Texas Utah
Vermont Virginia
Washington West Virginia
Wisconsin Wyoming
Washington D.C.

The STATE NAME will take you to a collection of US Destination Guides for cities in that state!
The CITY NAME will take you to a list of ALL attractions in that city!
The ATTRACTION NAME will link you directly to that attraction’s website!
ADMISSION NOTES include links to Reciprocal Programs for Free or Discounted Admission if available! Click the link for more info on how to SAVE! **ALWAYS VERIFY CURRENT PROGRAM PARTICIPATION AND SPECIFIC RULES FOR ENTRY DIRECTLY WITH THE ATTRACTION

A ? means we have been here! Click on the ? and it will take you to our posts and photos about our experiences at this location!
A * indicates we have been here, but haven’t posted photos yet. Check back as we add more!

** Many links are still a work in progress… But we’re working hard every day to bring you more ideas!

** Any suggestions? Head over to Social Media and let us know what to add to the list!

The BEST Animal Attractions Across the United States!

CITY / STATE	ATTRACTION NAME	NOTES	OUR VISITS
ARIZONA			?
Phoenix, AZ	Phoenix Zoo	AZA
Tempe, AZ	SEA LIFE Arizona Aquarium	AZA	*
Tucson, AZ	Reid Park Zoo	AZA
COLORADO
Pueblo, CO	Pueblo Zoo	AZA
CONNECTICUT
Bridgeport, CT	Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo	AZA	*
DELAWARE
Wilmington, DE	Brandywine Zoo	AZA	*
GEORGIA
Athens, GA	Bear Hollow Zoo		*
Atlanta, GA	Zoo Atlanta	AZA	*
IDAHO
Boise, ID	Zoo Boise	AZA
Idaho Falls, ID	Idaho Falls Zoo at Tautphaus Park	AZA
ILLINOIS
Bloomington, IL	Miller Park Zoo	AZA
Chicago, IL	Lincoln Park Zoo	FREE AZA	*
Decatur, IL	Scovill Zoo	AZA
Peoria, IL	Peoria Zoo	AZA
Wheaton, IL	Cosley Zoo	AZA
INDIANA
Evansville, IN	Mesker Park Zoo & Botanic Garden	AZA
Fort Wayne, IN	Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo	AZA
South Bend, IN	Potawatomi Zoo	AZA
IOWA
Des Moines, IA	Blank Park Zoo	AZA
Dubuque, IA	National Mississippi River & Aquarium	AZA
KANSAS
Emporia, KS	David Traylor Zoo of Emporia	AZA	*
Garden City, KS	Lee Richardson Zoo	AZA
Hutchinson, KS	Hutchinson Zoo	AZA
Manhattan, KS	Sunset Zoo	AZA	*
Salina, KS	Rolling Hills Zoo	AZA
Topeka, KS	Topeka Zoological Park	AZA	?
Wichita, KS	Sedgwick County Zoo	AZA	*
KENTUCKY
Louisville, KY	Louisville Zoological Garden	AZA
LOUISIANA
Alexandria, LA	Alexandria Zoo	AZA
MARYLAND
Baltimore, MD	The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore	AZA
Salisbury, MD	Salisbury Zoo	AZA	*
MASSACHUSETTS
Attleboro, MA	Capron Park Zoo	AZA
Boston, MA	Franklin Park Zoo (Zoo New England)	AZA
Boston, MA	Museum of Science	AZA	*
New Bedford, MA	Buttonwood Park Zoo	AZA
Stoneham, MA	Stone Zoo (Zoo New England)	AZA
MICHIGAN
Auburn Hills, MI	SEA Life Michigan Aquarium	AZA
Battle Creek, MI	Binder Park Zoo	AZA
Detroit, MI	Detroit Zoological Society	AZA
Grand Rapids, MI	John Ball Zoological Garden	AZA
Lansing, MI	Potter Park Zoological Gardens	AZA
Saginaw, MI	Saginaw Children’s Zoo	AZA
MINNESOTA
Apple Valley, MN	Minnesota Zoo	AZA
Duluth, MN	Lake Superior Zoo	AZA
St. Paul, MN	Como Park Zoo	AZA	?
MISSISSIPPI
MISSOURI
Eureka, MO	Endangered Wolf Center	AZA
Kansas City, MO	Kansas City Zoo	AZA
Kansas City, MO	SEA LIFE Aquarium	AZA	*
Saint Louis, MO	Saint Louis Zoo	FREE AZA	?
Springfield, MO	Dickerson Park Zoo	AZA
MONTANA
West Yellowstone, MT	Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center	AZA
NEBRASKA
Lincoln, NE	Lincoln Children’s Zoo	AZA
Omaha, NE	Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium	AZA
Scottsbluff, NE	Riverside Discovery Center	AZA
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Holderness, NH	Squam Lakes Natural Science Center	AZA
NEW JERSEY
Cape May, NJ	Cape May County Park and Zoo	FREE AZA	*
Paramus, NJ	Bergen County Zoo	AZA
West Orange, NJ	Turtle Back Zoo	AZA
NEW MEXICO
Albuquerque, NM	ABQ BioPark	AZA
Carlsbad, NM	Living Desert Zoo & Gardens State Park	AZA
NEW YORK
Buffalo, NY	Buffalo Zoo	AZA	?
Millbrook, NY	Trevor Zoo	AZA
Niagara Falls, NY	Aquarium of Niagara	AZA	*
Rochester, NY	Seneca Park Zoo	AZA	?
Staten Island, NY	Staten Island Zoo	AZA
Syracuse, NY	Rosamond Gifford Zoo at Burnet Park	AZA
Utica, NY	Utica Zoo	AZA
NORTH CAROLINA
Asheboro, NC	North Carolina Zoological Park	AZA
Asheville, NC	Western North Carolina Nature Center	AZA	*
Atlantic Beach, NC	North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores	AZA
Durham, NC	Museum of Life and Science	AZA	*
Greensboro, NC	Greensboro Science Center	AZA
Kure Beach, NC	North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher	AZA
Manteo, NC	North Carolina Aquarium at Roanoke Island	AZA
NORTH DAKOTA
Bismarck, ND	Dakota Zoo	AZA
Fargo, ND	Red River Zoo	AZA
Minot, ND	Roosevelt Park Zoo	AZA
Wahpeton, ND	Chahinkapa Zoo	AZA
OHIO
Akron, OH	Akron Zoological Park	AZA
Cincinnati, OH	Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden	AZA
Cleveland, OH	Cleveland Metroparks Zoo	AZA
Columbus, OH	Columbus Zoo & Aquarium	AZA
Cumberland, OH	The Wilds	AZA
Dayton, OH	Boonshoft Museum of Discovery	AZA	*
Port Clinton, OH	African Safari Wildlife Park	AZA
Toledo, OH	The Toledo Zoo	AZA
OKLAHOMA
Oklahoma City, OK	Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden	AZA
Tulsa, OK	Tulsa Zoo	AZA
OREGON
Portland, OR	Oregon Zoo	AZA
Winston, OR	Wildlife Safari	AZA
PENNSYLVANIA
Erie, PA	Erie Zoological Society	AZA
Hershey, PA	ZOOAMERICA North American Wildlife Park	AZA	*
Norristown, PA	Elmwood Park Zoo	AZA
Philadelphia, PA	Philadelphia Zoo	AZA
Pittsburgh, PA	National Aviary	AZA
Schnecksville, PA	Lehigh Valley Zoo	AZA
RHODE ISLAND
Providence, RI	Roger Williams Park Zoo	AZA	*
SOUTH CAROLINA
Columbia, SC	Riverbanks Zoo & Garden	AZA	*
Greenville, SC	Greenville Zoo	AZA
SOUTH DAKOTA
Sioux Falls, SD	Great Plains Zoo & Delbridge Museum	AZA
Watertown, SD	Bramble Park Zoo	AZA
TENNESSEE
Chattanooga, TN	Chattanooga Zoo at Warner Park	AZA	*
Knoxville, TN	Zoo Knoxville	AZA	*
Memphis, TN	The Memphis Zoo	AZA
Nashville, TN	Nashville Zoo	AZA	*
TEXAS
Abilene, TX	Abilene Zoological Gardens	AZA
Brownsville, TX	Gladys Porter Zoo	AZA	*
Corpus Christi, TX	Texas State Aquarium	AZA	*
Dallas, TX	Dallas Zoo	AZA
El Paso, TX	El Paso Zoo	AZA
Houston, TX	Houston Zoo	AZA
Lufkin, TX	Ellen Trout Zoo	AZA
San Antonio, TX	San Antonio Zoo	AZA
Tyler, TX	Caldwell Zoo	AZA
Waco, TX	Cameron Park Zoo	AZA
UTAH
Salt Lake City, UT	Utah’s Hogle Zoo	AZA
Salt Lake City, UT	Tracy Aviary	AZA
VIRGINIA
Norfolk, VA	Virginia Zoo	AZA	*
WASHINGTON
Seattle, WA	Woodland Park Zoo	AZA
Tacoma, WA	Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium	AZA
WISCONSIN
Baraboo, WI	International Crane Foundation	AZA
Green Bay, WI	NEW Zoo	AZA
Madison, WI	Henry Vilas Zoo	AZA
Milwaukee, WI	Milwaukee County Zoological Gardens	AZA
Racine, WI	Racine Zoological Gardens	AZA
WASHINGTON D.C.
Washington, D.C.	Smithsonian National Zoological Park	FREE AZA	*
CANADA
ALBERTA
Calgary, Alberta	Calgary Zoo	AZA
ONTARIO
Toronto, Ontario	Toronto Zoo	AZA
QUEBEC
Granby, Quebec	Granby Zoo	AZA

SPGFAN FINE PRINT:

We do everything we can to ensure all information provided is current and up-to-date, but details, rules, policies, conditions, schedules, prices, and participation can and do change regularly, and you should ALWAYS contact or consult with each individual attraction to ensure the latest accuracy of details pertinent to your family’s travel needs.

We always do our best, but we cannot be responsible for changes or updates issued by the locations themselves.

Thanks for understanding!

Travel safely!

And have fun!

THANKS!

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