Potential Ohio trip - help?

TinoPup

TinoPup

Well-Known Member
5+ year member
I'm really hoping to get in a trip to Ohio and would like your thoughts. This would hopefully happen in October, possibly November. Are any of these not worth visiting so late in the year? Do any of these primarily have fencing that prevents good photos? Things like that! I'd really like to eliminate at least one, but I'm having a hard time doing so when they're all so close together. Can any be reasonably combined in one day?? I've included the main animals I'd want to see at each, based on their websites' lists. Cheetahs are my favorite species, starred animals are ones I haven't seen.

Each stop is 2 hours from the previous, some a little less.

Day 1 - Drive to Cleveland, 7 hours.
Day 2 - Cleveland Metro Parks Zoo. Drive to Toledo in evening. Key animals: Cheetah, Chevrotain, Dingo*, Fossa, Slender-horned Gazelle*, Goodfellow's Tree Kangaroo*, Koala*, Kea, Takin*, Polar Bear (lots of bears), Giant Anteater, Bontebok, Bettong.
Day 3 - Toledo Zoo. Drive to Fort Wayne in evening. Key animals: Cheetah, Maned Wolf, Koala*, Polar Bear, Dingo*, Tasmanian Devil*. Must be friday or saturday for cheetah behind the scenes.
Day 5 - Fort Wayne Zoo. Drive to Indianapolis in evening. Key animals: Tasmanian Devil*, Dingo*, Spotted Hyena.
Day 6 - Indianapolis Zoo. Drive to Cincinnati in evening. Key animals: Cheetah, Kangal, Bottlenose Dolphin, Walrus, Orangutan church, desert dome.
Day 7 - Cincinnati Zoo. Drive to Columbus in evening. Key animals: Cheetah, Aardwolf*, African Wild Dog, Caracal, Bongo, Manatee, Large-spotted Genet*, Pallas's Cat*, Polar Bear, Ringtail, Kea.
Day 8 - Columbus Zoo. Drive to Cumberland in evening. Key animals: Cheetah, Bettong*, Black Duiker*, Manatee, Koala*, Markhor, Muntjac, Pallas's Cat*, Pronghorn, Slender-horned Gazelle*, Tufted Deer, Wolverine*
Day 9 - The Wilds. Drive home, 7 hours. Key animals: Cheetah, Dhole, African Painted Dog, Bactrian Deer*, Goral*, Takin*.
 
The Wilds is only open on weekends in October, and on at all in November. Also, most of the cool wild birds would be gone from the area by then.
 
birdsandbats said:
The Wilds is only open on weekends in October, and on at all in November. Also, most of the cool wild birds would be gone from the area by then.
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Thanks, the website was a bit confusing about that. Not a wild bird person at all ;)
 
Columbus Zoo has a lot of outdoor exhibits for tropical animals, so November might not be the best time to visit there. That being said, there are indoor or cold weather animal exhibits in the Shores and Aquarium area, Reptile House, North America region, Asia, and the gorilla/bonobo house. The gorilla/bonobo house is in Congo Expedition, and that region is a trail with many exhibits that will most likely be empty in November.
 
Sounds like a fun trip!


I’ve only visited two of the establishments on your itinerary, Cincinnati and Columbus, so I’ll just give some of my thoughts on these two for now. Cincinnati is a really big, really good zoo, expect to be there almost all day. Visiting in October/November will be no problem, I visited in late December and saw almost all of the zoo, as there are lots of cool houses. Columbus is more of a warm weather zoo, if you have unfavourable weather expect a lot of areas to be closed. I didn’t particularly enjoy Columbus, but there’s still some very good stuff there and it’s definitely worth a visit.


If you had to drop a zoo I’d definitely say drop The Wilds, it seems a little out of the way, with not too many species and you’re visiting at a great time of year. I’ve never been personally, but there are definitely better options.


Have you ever been to the Detroit Zoo? In my opinion, it’s better than any of the zoos Ohio has to offer, and being under an hour away from Toledo makes it easily doable.
 
TZDugong said:
Sounds like a fun trip!


I’ve only visited two of the establishments on your itinerary, Cincinnati and Columbus, so I’ll just give some of my thoughts on these two for now. Cincinnati is a really big, really good zoo, expect to be there almost all day. Visiting in October/November will be no problem, I visited in late December and saw almost all of the zoo, as there are lots of cool houses. Columbus is more of a warm weather zoo, if you have unfavourable weather expect a lot of areas to be closed. I didn’t particularly enjoy Columbus, but there’s still some very good stuff there and it’s definitely worth a visit.


If you had to drop a zoo I’d definitely say drop The Wilds, it seems a little out of the way, with not too many species and you’re visiting at a great time of year. I’ve never been personally, but there are definitely better options.


Have you ever been to the Detroit Zoo? In my opinion, it’s better than any of the zoos Ohio has to offer, and being under an hour away from Toledo makes it easily doable.
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I haven't been to Detroit, but my mom isn't very comfortable with me going there alone (I'm an adult but oh well).

The Wilds isn't actually out of the way, I'd pass close to it anyway, but given it is closest to me I could always do a short trip to there and Columbus when it's warmer out. That's what my mom suggested we do now, just those two, but I can't bring myself to drive there and not do all of these other nearby places too! I'm planning on getting a puppy in late winter so that's my motivation for doing the trip now, while I just have one easy dog to leave home for over a week.
 
I just wanted to add a note; the Cleveland Zoo no longer has polar bears. But as you stated, they do have lots of bears; brown bear, black bear, sun bear, Andean bear, and sloth bear (with cub).
 
TinoPup said:
I haven't been to Detroit, but my mom isn't very comfortable with me going there alone (I'm an adult but oh well).

The Wilds isn't actually out of the way, I'd pass close to it anyway, but given it is closest to me I could always do a short trip to there and Columbus when it's warmer out. That's what my mom suggested we do now, just those two, but I can't bring myself to drive there and not do all of these other nearby places too! I'm planning on getting a puppy in late winter so that's my motivation for doing the trip now, while I just have one easy dog to leave home for over a week.
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If she's worried about safety, the zoo isn't in the actual city of Detroit, but a nice suburb outside the city called Royal Oak. I doubt you'd end up in the actual city anyway. Even if you did, you'd only be passing through.
 
The Wilds also brings at least 10 of their 16 free-roaming outdoor species into winter holding the first time brisk weather hits.
 
Im a photographer from Akron and use to do a three day trip for my birthday every year. Id hit Columbus on the way down and spend the entire day there and then drive to Cincinnati and get a hotel. Next day Id go to Cinci Zoo and stay another night. Third day go to the Wilds on the way back. Columbus is great for photos with your average fencing, decent amount of fenceless views. You would for sure need a telephoto lens for the majority of it though (Heart of Africa, tiger exhibit, etc) Cinci is my top zoo I've visited so I'm a little biased. Its great for species you're not gonna see a lot at other places and with the exhibits get you pretty close to the animals and a lot of the exhibits are open air, glass/fences less views. (I personally wouldn't cut this one out) The Wilds has no fences and is great in October since its cooler but not too cold for the animals but that being said it really just depends on your day what you get to see and you're in a bus with a lot of other people and I usual ended up missing a lot of shots because something was on the other side I was. Also one year I had a guy get mad at me for asking him to stop getting in my shot because he trying to get a crappy picture on his iPhone. Also their predator exhibits are all chainlink fence and aren't great for photos because they're really big with only a few viewing spots. Plus you're on their time there and don't get to pick how much time you have there like with a zoo. Out of those three Id cut the Wilds, but thats me! :) Hope that helps!
 
TinoPup said:
I'm really hoping to get in a trip to Ohio and would like your thoughts. This would hopefully happen in October, possibly November. Are any of these not worth visiting so late in the year? Do any of these primarily have fencing that prevents good photos? Things like that! I'd really like to eliminate at least one, but I'm having a hard time doing so when they're all so close together. Can any be reasonably combined in one day?? I've included the main animals I'd want to see at each, based on their websites' lists. Cheetahs are my favorite species, starred animals are ones I haven't seen.

Each stop is 2 hours from the previous, some a little less.

Day 1 - Drive to Cleveland, 7 hours.
Day 2 - Cleveland Metro Parks Zoo. Drive to Toledo in evening. Key animals: Cheetah, Chevrotain, Dingo*, Fossa, Slender-horned Gazelle*, Goodfellow's Tree Kangaroo*, Koala*, Kea, Takin*, Polar Bear (lots of bears), Giant Anteater, Bontebok, Bettong.
Day 3 - Toledo Zoo. Drive to Fort Wayne in evening. Key animals: Cheetah, Maned Wolf, Koala*, Polar Bear, Dingo*, Tasmanian Devil*. Must be friday or saturday for cheetah behind the scenes.
Day 5 - Fort Wayne Zoo. Drive to Indianapolis in evening. Key animals: Tasmanian Devil*, Dingo*, Spotted Hyena.
Day 6 - Indianapolis Zoo. Drive to Cincinnati in evening. Key animals: Cheetah, Kangal, Bottlenose Dolphin, Walrus, Orangutan church, desert dome.
Day 7 - Cincinnati Zoo. Drive to Columbus in evening. Key animals: Cheetah, Aardwolf*, African Wild Dog, Caracal, Bongo, Manatee, Large-spotted Genet*, Pallas's Cat*, Polar Bear, Ringtail, Kea.
Day 8 - Columbus Zoo. Drive to Cumberland in evening. Key animals: Cheetah, Bettong*, Black Duiker*, Manatee, Koala*, Markhor, Muntjac, Pallas's Cat*, Pronghorn, Slender-horned Gazelle*, Tufted Deer, Wolverine*
Day 9 - The Wilds. Drive home, 7 hours. Key animals: Cheetah, Dhole, African Painted Dog, Bactrian Deer*, Goral*, Takin*.
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Ohio's my home, and I've been to all of these zoos multiple times (except Fort Wayne - only been there once). A few thoughts:

First, and most importantly, if you do hope to see the best of all the institutions you list, you really have to go in October. By November, the Heart of Africa at Columbus will be closed (although the lion exhibit has occasionally been open later than the rest of the area, that was when they had cubs) and the Wilds will have ended its Safari Tours (the only way to visit the Wilds is taking a Winter at the Wilds tour, which is expensive and limited - though it is behind the scenes and gets you very close, I do not think you could see cheetah (or any of the carnivores) on a winter tour). Also note that Safari Tours are only offered at the Wilds on Saturdays and Sundays in October - if you stick to the proposed schedule, you will not be able to do both the Behind the Scenes at the Toledo Zoo and the Wilds. Also, the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo closes for the season on October 5.

Furthermore, as the weather can be quite cold in November, any of the other warm-weather animals in outdoor exhibits at all of these zoos may be off exhibit. As for specific animals, as noted, all three carnivores at the Wilds will probably only be visible on October tours. At Columbus, cheetah, black duiker, and slender-horned gazelle are unlikely in November (I'm not sure when the duiker are kept inside, but seeing them is questionable even in the summer). Note that Columbus also has Tasmanian devils (in addition to Toledo and Fort Wayne). For Clevelend,Slender-horned Gazelle and Bontebok will not be visible in November (and possibly much of October) if the Africa section is closed for the winter (which it almost certainly will be).I would highly recommend going as early in October as possible (or postpone until next year). At Cincinnati, you might have trouble with cheetah, African wild dog, and bongo depending on how cold (all of these species are only on show outdoors). Overall, Cincinnati probably has the most indoor exhibits of any of these zoos and might be the best choice to visit in the off-season.

You might consider adding in the Akron Zoo, which does not take long to tour, but has some nice exhibits and a few interesting species. It;s about an hour from the Cleveland Zoo. It would be possible (especially in the off-season) to see both of these zoos in one day.

If you have any more specific questions, feel free to ask. I love Ohio's zoos (Indiana's to a lesser extent).
 
blospz said:
I just wanted to add a note; the Cleveland Zoo no longer has polar bears. But as you stated, they do have lots of bears; brown bear, black bear, sun bear, Andean bear, and sloth bear (with cub).
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Darn, thanks for the info! Not a big loss, bears are my least favorite carnivore (no idea why) and several others have them, but still.


iluvwhales said:
If she's worried about safety, the zoo isn't in the actual city of Detroit, but a nice suburb outside the city called Royal Oak. I doubt you'd end up in the actual city anyway. Even if you did, you'd only be passing through.
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drill said:
Cleveland Museum of Natural History holds Snowshoe hares.
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I'm trying to remove things from the list, not add them :p I was going to rule this out entirely, but dang, Detroit is only a little over an hour from Toledo? And I could possibly fit in the museum after the zoo in Cleveland...


SamMetz said:
Im a photographer from Akron and use to do a three day trip for my birthday every year. Id hit Columbus on the way down and spend the entire day there and then drive to Cincinnati and get a hotel. Next day Id go to Cinci Zoo and stay another night. Third day go to the Wilds on the way back. Columbus is great for photos with your average fencing, decent amount of fenceless views. You would for sure need a telephoto lens for the majority of it though (Heart of Africa, tiger exhibit, etc) Cinci is my top zoo I've visited so I'm a little biased. Its great for species you're not gonna see a lot at other places and with the exhibits get you pretty close to the animals and a lot of the exhibits are open air, glass/fences less views. (I personally wouldn't cut this one out) The Wilds has no fences and is great in October since its cooler but not too cold for the animals but that being said it really just depends on your day what you get to see and you're in a bus with a lot of other people and I usual ended up missing a lot of shots because something was on the other side I was. Also one year I had a guy get mad at me for asking him to stop getting in my shot because he trying to get a crappy picture on his iPhone. Also their predator exhibits are all chainlink fence and aren't great for photos because they're really big with only a few viewing spots. Plus you're on their time there and don't get to pick how much time you have there like with a zoo. Out of those three Id cut the Wilds, but thats me! :) Hope that helps!
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Thanks for your help! I think I'm going to drop he wilds and save that for spring, and possibly Columbus as well (I would say definitely Columbus but I have to drive right through there to get home...) This might be one of the few occasions were I get out a larger lens, I generally avoid them since they add weight but oh well. I generally just use the kit lens on my old pentax k1000, though I have been doing a bit of macro stuff in reptile houses this year.


jibster said:
Ohio's my home, and I've been to all of these zoos multiple times (except Fort Wayne - only been there once). A few thoughts:

First, and most importantly, if you do hope to see the best of all the institutions you list, you really have to go in October. By November, the Heart of Africa at Columbus will be closed (although the lion exhibit has occasionally been open later than the rest of the area, that was when they had cubs) and the Wilds will have ended its Safari Tours (the only way to visit the Wilds is taking a Winter at the Wilds tour, which is expensive and limited - though it is behind the scenes and gets you very close, I do not think you could see cheetah (or any of the carnivores) on a winter tour). Also note that Safari Tours are only offered at the Wilds on Saturdays and Sundays in October - if you stick to the proposed schedule, you will not be able to do both the Behind the Scenes at the Toledo Zoo and the Wilds. Also, the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo closes for the season on October 5.

Furthermore, as the weather can be quite cold in November, any of the other warm-weather animals in outdoor exhibits at all of these zoos may be off exhibit. As for specific animals, as noted, all three carnivores at the Wilds will probably only be visible on October tours. At Columbus, cheetah, black duiker, and slender-horned gazelle are unlikely in November (I'm not sure when the duiker are kept inside, but seeing them is questionable even in the summer). Note that Columbus also has Tasmanian devils (in addition to Toledo and Fort Wayne). For Clevelend,Slender-horned Gazelle and Bontebok will not be visible in November (and possibly much of October) if the Africa section is closed for the winter (which it almost certainly will be).I would highly recommend going as early in October as possible (or postpone until next year). At Cincinnati, you might have trouble with cheetah, African wild dog, and bongo depending on how cold (all of these species are only on show outdoors). Overall, Cincinnati probably has the most indoor exhibits of any of these zoos and might be the best choice to visit in the off-season.

You might consider adding in the Akron Zoo, which does not take long to tour, but has some nice exhibits and a few interesting species. It;s about an hour from the Cleveland Zoo. It would be possible (especially in the off-season) to see both of these zoos in one day.

If you have any more specific questions, feel free to ask. I love Ohio's zoos (Indiana's to a lesser extent).
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Thank you for your reply! After your comments and others', I'm definitely taking the wilds off the list for this trip. I am really aiming for October. I have tickets to the once-a-year event at Smithsonian Zoo's Front Royal Facility on the 5th, then I'm free until the 23rd, though there's a local dog event I normally attend Columbus weekend. Big disappointment about Fort Wayne, I was thinking of dropping it but after looking at the photos taken by @Moebelle I was looking forward to it! I suppose I can replace it with Detroit, then. Akron is a possibility but would be going in the opposite direction, since I want to be at Cleveland first thing. You've given me some things to think about!
 
Modified schedule, after all of your suggestions:

Day 1 - Drive to Cleveland, 7 hours.
Day 2 - Cleveland Metro Parks Zoo. Drive to Toledo in evening. If time allows: Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Akron Zoo.
Day 3 - Toledo Zoo. Must be friday or saturday for cheetah behind the scenes. Drive to Detroit in evening.
Day 4 - Detroit Zoo. Drive to Indianapolis in evening.
Day 5 - Indianapolis Zoo. Drive to Cincinnati in evening.
Day 6 - Cincinnati Zoo. Either stay the night or drive to Columbus in evening.
Day 7 - Columbus Zoo OR drive home, depending on weather.
 
Route planner is saying to switch Toledo and Detroit, which I think I'll do so I can leave earlier in the week. It's also saying to switch Cincinnati and Indianapolis, which I'm not going to do because that makes for a longer drive home.

Oooh, just saw Akron now has Speke's Gazelle!
 
TinoPup said:
Route planner is saying to switch Toledo and Detroit, which I think I'll do so I can leave earlier in the week. It's also saying to switch Cincinnati and Indianapolis, which I'm not going to do because that makes for a longer drive home.

Oooh, just saw Akron now has Speke's Gazelle!
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You should know 1/3 of Akron zoo is under construction until next summer. That would probably help with time (you can get through the zoo in about an hour) but there is also no discount and the rest of the zoo is more crowded on a busy day by default.
 
SamMetz said:
You should know 1/3 of Akron zoo is under construction until next summer. That would probably help with time (you can get through the zoo in about an hour) but there is also no discount and the rest of the zoo is more crowded on a busy day by default.
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Thanks! There isn't much about it on their website. Do you know what species they will be getting?
 
TinoPup said:
Thanks! There isn't much about it on their website. Do you know what species they will be getting?
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Its not so much getting new species just replacing the older exhibits that really needed it. Wild Asia is the current project,where the Sumatran Tigers and red pandas will be getting new homes. Gibbons will be the only new species that will be added.
 
Switching some stuff around in order to make certain days of the week, adding a few stops.

Day 1. Drive to Cincinnati, stop at Oglebay Good Zoo (it adds all of 4 minutes to my drive).
Day 2. Cincinnati Zoo. Drive to Indianapolis. Rain backup is Newport Aquarium, probably won't have time to do both otherwise.
Day 3. Indianapolis Zoo. Drive to Toledo.
Day 4. Toledo Zoo. Cheetah encounter at 2pm. Possibly stop at Indian Creek Zoo (to see tayra). Drive to Detroit.
Day 5. Detroit Zoo and hopefully Belle Isle Aquarium. The aquarium is only open fri-sun, which is why I've reversed my route. I'm really hoping to fit it in! Drive to Cleveland.
-I'd like to fit a stop at African Safari Wildlife Park in, but I don't know how I could make it fit, time-wise-
Day 6. Cleveland Metroparks Zoo and Akron Zoo. Rain backup is Cleveland Museum of Natural History. Drive to Pittsburgh.
Day 7. Living Treasures Wild Animal Park (New Castle location) and Keystone Safari. LT has honey badger and possibly black-backed jackal, Keystone has least weasel and spotted hyena.
Day 8. Carnegie Museum of Natural History.
Day 9. Pittsburgh Zoo and National Aviary. Cheetah experience is only mon/wed/fri.
Day 10. Drive home, with possible stop at Catoctin Wildlife Preserve.
 
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