Need to Pick a Zoo for Father/Son Road Trip

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groundskeeper24

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
Last summer I took my 10 year old son to Brookfield and Shedd. He had an absolute blast at both places, and so did I.

We're coming up on the time of year that I take off work for a couple of weeks, so we're looking for a new park to visit.

I'm in Lexington, Kentucky and have been to most major zoos in the near vicinity. My mind keeps coming back to Memphis, which is the rare one I have not seen, and St Louis, which I have seen and consider one of the most outstanding parks I've ever visited.

Factors for us here are proximity, ie not wanting to drive more than 6-7 hours, and other potential activities in the area. We like zoos and aquariums as well as reptile shops if they are of a large scale. We are also willing to make stops in between if something cool is on the way.

Basically, I want to know if anyone thinks there are any zoos worth seeing between here and either potential destination.
 
Columbus / Cincinnati / The Wilds might be too close, but some lumping some combination of those, Toledo, and Cleveland / Akron could be good. Ohio is really stacked. I haven’t been to Memphis but I’ve heard good things about it. In eastern Tennessee, Nashville / Chattanooga could also be combined for an exceptional aquarium and a rising star of the zoo world. Also the Smokies might be on the way back. St. Louis is a solid zoo in a city with a few interesting attractions (aviary, City Museum, Arch elevator). Omaha might be too far but that’s the next nearest great zoo. Idk the Midwest in general is pretty excellent on the zoo front. Hard to go wrong.
 
Is Atlanta too far away? I think a combo of Georgia Aquarium and Zoo Atlanta would make for a very special visit, especially for your son to see the Pandas and Whale Sharks. You would probably be passing different zoos in Tennessee as well (Nashville, Chatanooga and Tennessee Aquarium).
 
Persephone said:
Columbus / Cincinnati / The Wilds might be too close, but some lumping some combination of those, Toledo, and Cleveland / Akron could be good. Ohio is really stacked. I haven’t been to Memphis but I’ve heard good things about it. In eastern Tennessee, Nashville / Chattanooga could also be combined for an exceptional aquarium and a rising star of the zoo world. Also the Smokies might be on the way back. St. Louis is a solid zoo in a city with a few interesting attractions (aviary, City Museum, Arch elevator). Omaha might be too far but that’s the next nearest great zoo. Idk the Midwest in general is pretty excellent on the zoo front. Hard to go wrong.
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I really want to go to Omaha, but that's about 12 hours away. Probably a bit much this year. I was considering St Louis, KC, the Omaha, but that's quite a bit of driving for a 10 year old to tolerate.
 
Memphis and St Louis are two of my favorite zoos I've visited, and both cities are underrated as short trip destinations IMO. Either would be an excellent choice I think :)

St Louis is a slightly shorter trip from Lexington; the zoo as well as botanical gardens and museums in Forest Park are free; and there's plenty of other things to see in the area - the aquarium and bird sanctuary, the Arch, Cahokia Mounds, etc. Along the way are Louisville Zoo and the Mesker Park Zoo in Evansville.

On the other hand, Memphis has amazing barbecue; the Peabody Hotel with its live duck parades and roof exhibit; and the giant Bass Pro Shops pyramid - plus Nashville is en route (with the great Nashville Zoo and famous hot chicken), so you could do a nice two-city trip going that way.
 
I am biased but I do highly recommend the Saint Louis Zoo. As others have pointed out, if you have the time there is also the World Bird Sanctuary nearby. While the exhibitry there is largely functional and nothing to write home about, it features many raptors that are rare in captivity, including a few that cannot be found at any other US facility. Forest Park, which is the larger park in which the zoo is located, is a beautiful location and a great place to see local wildlife. The place is teeming with great egrets in the summertime. For me, a visit to the zoo is almost always coupled with an evening at Forest Park. Of course its hard to mention Saint Louis without mentioning the City Museum. I haven't been in almost a decade, but it really is a very interesting place to experience. Since your son is 10 he's about the perfect age for it.
 
cloudedleopard611 said:
Since your son is 10 he's about the perfect age for it.
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While your son almost certainly would love it, you may want to invest in knee-pads if you want to visit yourself ;)

Coelacanth18 said:
Memphis and St Louis are two of my favorite zoos I've visited, and both cities are underrated as short trip destinations IMO. Either would be an excellent choice I think :)

St Louis is a slightly shorter trip from Lexington; the zoo as well as botanical gardens and museums in Forest Park are free; and there's plenty of other things to see in the area - the aquarium and bird sanctuary, the Arch, Cahokia Mounds, etc. Along the way are Louisville Zoo and the Mesker Park Zoo in Evansville.

On the other hand, Memphis has amazing barbecue; the Peabody Hotel with its live duck parades and roof exhibit; and the giant Bass Pro Shops pyramid - plus Nashville is en route (with the great Nashville Zoo and famous hot chicken), so you could do a nice two-city trip going that way.
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Both these itineraries for St. Louis and Memphis would make for a great trip. With Memphis, the Tennessee Safari Park is also on the way. While I can't attest to the exhibitry or quality, I do know that they should have a couple of interesting rarities.

Memphis may be a bit more exciting, with the Bass-pro pyramid and over-the-top theming of the zoo, although St. Louis will still have a lot to do and may make for a more well-rounded trip.
 
Being in Lexington KY, and having seen the "major zoos in the vicinity" I think we can eliminate the below zoos, but if you have not been to the major Ohio zoos or Nashville those are very good places close by.
  • Cincinnati Zoo
  • Newport Aquarium
  • Louisville Zoo
  • Columbus Zoo and Aquarium
  • Nashville Zoo
My three suggestions would be North Carolina Zoo (about 6.5 hours drive),Pittsburgh (about 5.75 hours drive), and Roanoke VA area (Just under 6 hours drive).

If you do North Carolina Zoo you could consider Zootastic Park (NC), Sealife Concorde, and/or Greensboro Science Center as stops as well.

Pittsburgh also offers the National Aviary, so that is a two stop trip - three if you wanted to add The Wilds as well.

Roanoke has Mill Mountain Zoo and close by Virginia Safari. That's a different trip as Mill Mountain is a small zoo and Virginia Safari is not a traditional zoo.

Lastly, you could consider the Knoxville area if you have not been there. Knoxville Zoo, Aquarium of the Smokies, and Rainforest Adventures, and Parrot Mountain round out that area.
 
SwampDonkey said:
Being in Lexington KY, and having seen the "major zoos in the vicinity" I think we can eliminate the below zoos, but if you have not been to the major Ohio zoos or Nashville those are very good places close by.
  • Cincinnati Zoo
  • Newport Aquarium
  • Louisville Zoo
  • Columbus Zoo and Aquarium
  • Nashville Zoo
My three suggestions would be North Carolina Zoo (about 6.5 hours drive),Pittsburgh (about 5.75 hours drive), and Roanoke VA area (Just under 6 hours drive).

If you do North Carolina Zoo you could consider Zootastic Park (NC), Sealife Concorde, and/or Greensboro Science Center as stops as well.

Pittsburgh also offers the National Aviary, so that is a two stop trip - three if you wanted to add The Wilds as well.

Roanoke has Mill Mountain Zoo and close by Virginia Safari. That's a different trip as Mill Mountain is a small zoo and Virginia Safari is not a traditional zoo.

Lastly, you could consider the Knoxville area if you have not been there. Knoxville Zoo, Aquarium of the Smokies, and Rainforest Adventures, and Parrot Mountain round out that area.
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I strongly recommend people *not* visit Zootastic. North Carolina is a great zoo, but it's not really near anything (vs the others being cities).

Pittsburgh also has the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, along with a bunch of smaller museums, sports things, food, etc. It's a great place to spend a few days in. Oglebay is also between Pittsburgh and The Wilds.

Mill Mountain is tiny and takes maybe an hour at most... I like VA Safari but that one only takes a few hours, depending how often you stop on the driving part. The walking area is small.

Knoxville is a great area but make sure there aren't major events going on when you plan to visit! The Pigeon Forge area is all 2 lane roads so the couple minutes between places can take hours.
 
TinoPup said:
I strongly recommend people *not* visit Zootastic. North Carolina is a great zoo, but it's not really near anything (vs the others being cities).

Pittsburgh also has the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, along with a bunch of smaller museums, sports things, food, etc. It's a great place to spend a few days in. Oglebay is also between Pittsburgh and The Wilds.

Mill Mountain is tiny and takes maybe an hour at most... I like VA Safari but that one only takes a few hours, depending how often you stop on the driving part. The walking area is small.

Knoxville is a great area but make sure there aren't major events going on when you plan to visit! The Pigeon Forge area is all 2 lane roads so the couple minutes between places can take hours.
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Pittsburgh isn't a bad idea. It's the rare city that I've visited and not seen the zoo. We went to Knoxville when the ARC opened.
 
SwampDonkey said:
Being in Lexington KY, and having seen the "major zoos in the vicinity" I think we can eliminate the below zoos, but if you have not been to the major Ohio zoos or Nashville those are very good places close by.
  • Cincinnati Zoo
  • Newport Aquarium
  • Louisville Zoo
  • Columbus Zoo and Aquarium
  • Nashville Zoo
My three suggestions would be North Carolina Zoo (about 6.5 hours drive),Pittsburgh (about 5.75 hours drive), and Roanoke VA area (Just under 6 hours drive).

If you do North Carolina Zoo you could consider Zootastic Park (NC), Sealife Concorde, and/or Greensboro Science Center as stops as well.

Pittsburgh also offers the National Aviary, so that is a two stop trip - three if you wanted to add The Wilds as well.

Roanoke has Mill Mountain Zoo and close by Virginia Safari. That's a different trip as Mill Mountain is a small zoo and Virginia Safari is not a traditional zoo.

Lastly, you could consider the Knoxville area if you have not been there. Knoxville Zoo, Aquarium of the Smokies, and Rainforest Adventures, and Parrot Mountain round out that area.
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Thought about North Carolina. We're actually vacationing in the Outer Banks the week after our road trip. Maybe we can manage to hit it then. Never been to that one.
 
ChunkyMunky pengopus said:
While your son almost certainly would love it, you may want to invest in knee-pads if you want to visit yourself ;)


Both these itineraries for St. Louis and Memphis would make for a great trip. With Memphis, the Tennessee Safari Park is also on the way. While I can't attest to the exhibitry or quality, I do know that they should have a couple of interesting rarities.

Memphis may be a bit more exciting, with the Bass-pro pyramid and over-the-top theming of the zoo, although St. Louis will still have a lot to do and may make for a more well-rounded trip.
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The pyramid is part of the attraction for Memphis. That and the fact that I've never been to that zoo. I thought about hitting Nashville on the way to Memphis.
 
groundskeeper24 said:
The pyramid is part of the attraction for Memphis. That and the fact that I've never been to that zoo. I thought about hitting Nashville on the way to Memphis.
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I would recommend checking out the Tiger Crossroads in Nashville. It's a great exhibit and you get really close to a tiger. What are your son's favorite animals to see a zoo?
 
groundskeeper24 said:
Thought about North Carolina. We're actually vacationing in the Outer Banks the week after our road trip. Maybe we can manage to hit it then. Never been to that one.
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NC is a really great zoo, the African and North American areas are top notch, some of the best in the country, and the zoo is positively massive. It will be even better in a few years when the Asian and Australian areas open.

If you are driving to the outer banks you should consider stopping at Sylvan Heights Bird Park, it is one of the best (arguably the best) avian focused collections in the country. It is surprisingly large and has a massive collection in a bunch of large and well designed walk through aviaries. You can read my review from earlier this year here.
 
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