I would like to plan a road trip with my son after he graduates to hit as many zoo or wildlife refuge locations as we could on a 10 day period. Starting in central Ohio. We have been to Columbus, Cincinnati, Toledo, The Wilds, and Indianapolis multiple times so do not need to include them. Any advice would be appreciated.
Zoo road trip with son
- Thread starter Dontipton
- Start date
Local_Shark
Well-Known Member
This kind of logistical stuff is my bread and butter. So lemme see what I can cook up for you if you’re in Central OH…
I think you should go a little outside your usual radius but within driving distance. If you’re nearish to Columbus then it’s a 5 hour drive to Chicago. On the way, you could take the route through Fort Wayne instead of Indianapolis. This would let you hit their Children’s Zoo, which I’ve heard is pretty excellent though I don’t know if you’ve been. You could then hit the Lincoln Park Zoo, Brookfield Zoo, and Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. The latter is the most in my area of expertise but it is going through some pretty extensive remodels. If your son graduates next summer, a lot more of it should be open though. Following that you could extend the trip a few hours further north and hit up the Milwaukee County Zoo and Discovery World (which has a good range of animal exhibits and Wisconsin’s biggest and best aquarium). There are also definitely smaller zoos on this route or the routes back that I don’t know about (maybe the Peoria Zoo?), as I’m much more of an aquarium guy, but I’m sure others here would.
It’s funny, a big trip through the Midwest is something I really wanna do with my dad, so I’ve actually thought about this a bit. He wants to see every MLB stadium and I want to go through all the aquaria and the big zoos. I hope you and your son/family have fun together!
I think you should go a little outside your usual radius but within driving distance. If you’re nearish to Columbus then it’s a 5 hour drive to Chicago. On the way, you could take the route through Fort Wayne instead of Indianapolis. This would let you hit their Children’s Zoo, which I’ve heard is pretty excellent though I don’t know if you’ve been. You could then hit the Lincoln Park Zoo, Brookfield Zoo, and Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. The latter is the most in my area of expertise but it is going through some pretty extensive remodels. If your son graduates next summer, a lot more of it should be open though. Following that you could extend the trip a few hours further north and hit up the Milwaukee County Zoo and Discovery World (which has a good range of animal exhibits and Wisconsin’s biggest and best aquarium). There are also definitely smaller zoos on this route or the routes back that I don’t know about (maybe the Peoria Zoo?), as I’m much more of an aquarium guy, but I’m sure others here would.
It’s funny, a big trip through the Midwest is something I really wanna do with my dad, so I’ve actually thought about this a bit. He wants to see every MLB stadium and I want to go through all the aquaria and the big zoos. I hope you and your son/family have fun together!
This really depends on how far you want to drive in total and what your intended goals are. Because you have a relatively short time, are you aiming to hit as many MAJOR zoos as possible? (Which would require more driving between zoos and likely longer days with a zoo visit and then driving to the next city in order to maximize your visits.) Or stick to a smaller circuit and hit one or two "big" facilities and then smaller ones in the area? (This will ensure you hit a lot more "zoos" on your trip, but will be smaller places, which can be great in there own ways, but won't be able to compete with the big guns.)
When I do zoo road trips, I tend to focus on really trying to check off as many facilities in a certain area/region of the country that I can. This helps limit my drive time each day, maximize my time in "zoos", and ensures I won't have to do a return trip to the area to see a facility I "missed" the first time. But this also comes with the expectation that I'm going to eventually get to all the major and minor zoos in the country on future trips.
If a "Zoo Trip" is more of a one time thing for you, I would suggest you try to hit as many of the best zoos possible (and perhaps some unique specialist facilities) to get the most bang for your buck and see some truly great places.
I would recommend checking out @snowleopard's road trip threads on here as well. Those have always been an invaluable resource for me when planning my own trips. Even though some of them are now quite old he has covered much of the US zoo landscape and has very detailed itineraries in those threads that lay out places to visit and drive times. Here is a link to the one from last year: 2023 Snowleopard Road Trip. He links many of his other trips in the first post, but also look for the ones from 2008, 2010, and 2011 he mentions as those are more US ones that have trip itineraries.
I'm happy to suggest a more detailed itinerary once I know more. I have seen most of the zoos east of the Mississippi on various road trips and have also covered a lot of ground west of it. My other question would be if there is a certain direction you had in mind to go? I'd personally recommend heading towards Chicago then St. Louis, and then planning a route that loops you back from there. Otherwise, heading east and then South is another good option.
If you're going to the Milwaukee area, don't visit Discovery World unless you're really into interactive science museums, as the aquarium is quite small and doesn't have much of note. There are tons of potential other zoo options in southeastern Wisconsin, including but not limited to Racine or Shalom which would both be better options than Discovery World.
By the way, if you are aiming to hit major zoos I agree Chicago then Saint Louis would be the most interesting option. Maybe also Omaha if you can fit it in.
Local_Shark
Well-Known Member
Yeah I only suggested it as it was an animal facility in the same city and the only real aquarium in the state as of yet. I’m sure there’s plenty of other better ones in the area, aquariums are just my area of knowledge.
There are a ton of potential options, depending on what you most want to see and how ambitious you are. 10 days is a long time, long enough for potential itineraries, like this example to Texas:
Day 1: Drive to Nashville, Louisville zoo or Newport Aquarium on the way
Day 2: Nashville zoo, drive to Memphis, Duck river or Hatchie NWR directly on the way
Day 3: Memphis Zoo, possibly Wapanocca or Cache river NWR, drive to Little Rock
Day 4: Option to stop at Little Rock Zoo or Hot Springs National Park, drive to Dallas
Day 5: A day at Dallas World Aquarium, can combine with Perot Museum, Trinity River Audubon Center, White Rock Lake
Day 6: A day at Dallas Zoo, could combine with other attractions
Day 7: A day at Fort Worth Zoo, could combine with Botanic Garden
Day 8: Drive towards St. Louis, can stop in Tulsa OK, Branson MO or Springfield MO.
Day 9: Take a day at Tulsa Zoo, OK aquarium, Wonders of Wildlife Aquarium, and Branson has many attractions, drive to St. Louis
Day 10: Spend the morning in STL zoo, drive back to Ohio
That obviously is a very ambitious itinerary, and would require a lot of driving, but is an example of what could be possible, hitting up major zoos like Memphis, Dallas, DWA, Ft. Worth, and STL.
Other examples of a ten-day itinerary could include a trip to the East Coast or even Canada, visiting the Smithsonian Zoo, National Aquarium Bronx Zoo, or even Montreal Biodome, Toronto Zoo, and African Lion Safari. A more southern trip could include the Tennessee Aquarium, Georgia Aquarium, Jacksonville Zoo, St. Augustine Alligator Farm, and even Disney Animal Kingdom or Busch Gardens Tampa Bay.
A less straining trip could be to the Chicago Zoos, Omaha, and Kansas City Zoo.
It all depends on what you and your son are most interested in and would like to see the most. Feel free to list any target species, wildlife, or experiences, in 10 days you can see and do a lot.
Those plans are pretty much what I had in mind when I asked if they preferred going East or West. I think both are good options, but I think west is slightly better. I would say getting all the way to Dallas/FW is bit too ambitious for 10 days (as you stated) and would recommend OP does a bit smaller trip that includes the places you've outlined in the "less straining" option. The second half of that trip you outlined really feels like you are doing a mad dash from Dallas/FW back to Ohio for me, especially with only spending the morning at the St. Louis Zoo
. St. Louis is one of the few zoos that took me just as long on a return visit as it did the first time around, which tells me it just takes A LOT of time to see even if you are familiar with it.Since OP and his son don't sound well traveled zoo wise outside of Ohio, there are plenty of great, major zoos and aquariums that can be hit on a 10 day trip without having to drive so much and can lead them in a somewhat circular route back to the place they started.
As we've all said here, it's really hard to make detailed suggestions without having more information from OP.
My last two visits were only about 2 hours each. It honestly could be done in a morning if you don't spend over an hour in the herpetarium like I did. Not that I'd necessarily recommend it for a first-time visitor, I think at least 4 hours are necessary.
Were you sprinting the entire time? Obviously that is a joke, but did you actually make it through the entire zoo in 2 hours? I find it hard to believe anyone could cover that entire place in two hours and actually have time to stop an enjoy anything. There was one other person on here who recently shocked me with how quick they go through zoos as well, but I guess if it works for you, who am I to judge.
No, between the two visits I saw the whole zoo. The first visit, the Herpetarium and Bird House were closed, and the Penguin House was way too packed, so I saw the rest of the zoo besides that in a little under two hours. My second visit, I went to all the buildings that were previously closed, and enjoyed taking my time through the Herpetarium, Bird House, Penguin House, and revisited the Cypress Swamp, Insectarium and Primate Canopy Trails in a little over two hours. I am a fast walker and have been to STL many times before, so I was able to get around quickly.
Combining those two visits, I probably could've seen everything at an enjoyable pace in under 3.5 hours.
I would suggest an outline with Chicago, Omaha, Kansas City, St. Louis, and Louisville as the main points. With a loop of those 5 cities you'd have Shedd Aquarium, Brookfield Zoo, Lincoln Park Zoo (all in Chicago), Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo, Kansas City Zoo, St. Louis Zoo, and Louisville Zoo.
There are also some smaller options along the way like Bland Park Zoo in Des Moines, Wildlife Safari Park outside of Omaha, Lincoln Children's Zoo in Lincoln, Nebraska, Topeka Zoo in Kansas, Lone Elk Park in St. Louis, and Mesker Park Zoo in Kentucky that you can pick and choose from depending on time and what you like the look of.
There are also some smaller options along the way like Bland Park Zoo in Des Moines, Wildlife Safari Park outside of Omaha, Lincoln Children's Zoo in Lincoln, Nebraska, Topeka Zoo in Kansas, Lone Elk Park in St. Louis, and Mesker Park Zoo in Kentucky that you can pick and choose from depending on time and what you like the look of.
Local_Shark
Well-Known Member
This is a perfectly valid list that I feel would make a wonderful trip, but it’s ~1,756 miles of driving. So they might be a tiny bit hard pressed to do it all in 10 days lol! Extend the trip to two weeks and I think it’s extremely doable, with a lot of time in each big city/at each big stop and for more stops on the way.
Maybe, it definitely depends on their comfort level and how much they want to see outside of zoos. I had it sketched out as
- Day 1: Drive to Chicago, do one of the big 3
- Day 2: Other 2 Chicago zoos
- Day 3: Drive to Omaha
- Day 4: Henry Doorly Zoo
- Day 5: Drive to Kansas City
- Day 6: Kansas City Zoo
- Day 7: Drive to St. Louis
- Day 8: St. Louis Zoo
- Day 9: Drive to Louisville
- Day 10: Louisville Zoo and then drive home
Local_Shark
Well-Known Member
Lmao you very much have my respect for that level of dedication. That’s a solid plan too, I just think driving that far just about every other day is a tad brutal. I’d probably spread out the drives with stops via adding 4 more days, just so I could enjoy the whole time on the road a little more. But I also could probably find other things to do on the stops like aquariums or natural history museums. Totally the call of our father and son here as to what they’re comfortable with.
Persephone
Well-Known Member
Omaha or New York are probably your best options for an ambitious trip. I know relatively little about the options going east. I don’t think Pittsburgh Zoo is particularly worth a stop, maybe the National Aviary is if you’re really into birds. Just not much out that way until you reach the coast. If you were closer to an Amtrak line I’d recommend that since public transit actually exists out east.
The Omaha trip is ambitious and I’m not sure you could really do Henry Doorly, Chicago, Kansas City, and St. Louis comfortably in one trip. The latter two can be very full days, or even multiple days, depending on your pace. Henry Doorly will be multiple days unless you have a breakneck pace. Same for the Chicago zoos. With two days between the Missouri zoos, two for the other two, that gives four dedicated driving days. Three if you also want to hit Louisville. Technically doable, but you’ll want a vacation from your vacation afterwards.
A less ambitious circuit would be to go south, hit Georgia, Nashville, and Memphis. Or just do the traditional DC trip with the zoo, some museums, and a trip up to Baltimore for the aquarium.
The Omaha trip is ambitious and I’m not sure you could really do Henry Doorly, Chicago, Kansas City, and St. Louis comfortably in one trip. The latter two can be very full days, or even multiple days, depending on your pace. Henry Doorly will be multiple days unless you have a breakneck pace. Same for the Chicago zoos. With two days between the Missouri zoos, two for the other two, that gives four dedicated driving days. Three if you also want to hit Louisville. Technically doable, but you’ll want a vacation from your vacation afterwards.
A less ambitious circuit would be to go south, hit Georgia, Nashville, and Memphis. Or just do the traditional DC trip with the zoo, some museums, and a trip up to Baltimore for the aquarium.
I'm sure "Bland" is a typo, but also find this hilarious if this is what you call the Blank Park Zoo as a quick way to describe it.
Blank Park Zoo has some interesting rarities, at least.
Thanks for all the feedback. Lots to digest! We have visited the Bronx and Central Park zoo on a New York trip and also the Shedd aquarium and Lincoln park zoo on a Chicago trip. Rushing through any of the zoos is not really an option, my son really likes to take his time and see everything. We have not been to St. Louis, Omaha, or Louisville so those are all options. We have been to the Atlanta aquarium but not the Atlanta zoo, a friend that lives in that area told us the aquarium was a must see (whale shark) but the zoo not so much. We have family in Florida (gulf side) any must sees in the sunshine state?
We have been to the DC zoo and many of the museums in the capital multiple times. Once on a family vacation and once on a school trip. Apologies, I should have done a better job listing the places we have visited, but to be honest my son loves to revisit places he has already been especially the national zoo.
this looks good! Having been to Chicago is there something you would substitute for the first few days? The rest would all be new to us.