USZOOfan42
Well-Known Member
Maybe you could do a zoo like Minnesota, Milwaukee, Como Park, Blank Park or a pit stop in Fort Wayne.
Zoo road trip with son
- Thread starter Dontipton
- Start date
You said you've been to Shedd and Lincoln Park, but have you visited Brookfield?
Persephone
Well-Known Member
Fort Wayne and Milwaukee are solid Chicago replacements. Ordinarily I’d say going a little out of your way for Binder Park would be good but if your home zoo is Columbus than its big Africa area has a lot less appeal.
I can’t say much about the zoos in Florida itself, but on the way there / back you could plausibly hit the North Carolina Zoo, Riverbanks, Atlanta, Oatland Island Wildlife Center, the ever-underrated Tennessee Aquarium, and Nashville. I would not try to visit all of those and Florida but some could work.
North Carolina Zoo is a behemoth, albeit a half-empty one. Not much in the way of rare species but some of the biggest exhibits you’re going to see anywhere for African animals.
Riverbanks is a half day zoo unless you’re into botanical gardens. It’s a nice little facility but there isn’t anything there you won’t see elsewhere on the trip or at Columbus.
Atlanta has one of the nation’s best reptile houses, sun bears, and very nice ape exhibits. Also a top notch children’s zoo but I suspect your son’s a little too old for that.
I haven’t been to Oatland Island in years but I remember it being a nice hike in the woods with a good native species collection.
Tennessee Aquarium is probably skippable for the general public. For zoo nerds it’s packed with rare fish and turtles and has an overall great gimmick of being freshwater focused.
Nashville Zoo is the up-and-coming zoo to watch in America right now. A mix of very solid exhibits that seems to keep expanding, most recently with what’s probably America’s best Komodo dragon enclosure from what I’ve seen.
I guess there’s also two Ripley’s in the Sourheast but it’s hard to justify a trip over Georgia Aquarium or even Tennessee.
I can’t say much about the zoos in Florida itself, but on the way there / back you could plausibly hit the North Carolina Zoo, Riverbanks, Atlanta, Oatland Island Wildlife Center, the ever-underrated Tennessee Aquarium, and Nashville. I would not try to visit all of those and Florida but some could work.
North Carolina Zoo is a behemoth, albeit a half-empty one. Not much in the way of rare species but some of the biggest exhibits you’re going to see anywhere for African animals.
Riverbanks is a half day zoo unless you’re into botanical gardens. It’s a nice little facility but there isn’t anything there you won’t see elsewhere on the trip or at Columbus.
Atlanta has one of the nation’s best reptile houses, sun bears, and very nice ape exhibits. Also a top notch children’s zoo but I suspect your son’s a little too old for that.
I haven’t been to Oatland Island in years but I remember it being a nice hike in the woods with a good native species collection.
Tennessee Aquarium is probably skippable for the general public. For zoo nerds it’s packed with rare fish and turtles and has an overall great gimmick of being freshwater focused.
Nashville Zoo is the up-and-coming zoo to watch in America right now. A mix of very solid exhibits that seems to keep expanding, most recently with what’s probably America’s best Komodo dragon enclosure from what I’ve seen.
I guess there’s also two Ripley’s in the Sourheast but it’s hard to justify a trip over Georgia Aquarium or even Tennessee.
A Florida zoo trip is great, the state is full of nice zoos. However, the drive down is pretty significant. I think your time is better spent in the mid west if you are driving the whole trip.
That said, if you have any questions about a potential Florida circuit let me know.
That said, if you have any questions about a potential Florida circuit let me know.
I would be interested. We have family in port charlotte and airfare from Columbus to there is cheap. My daughter is also doing an internship in St. Petersburg so we could see her as well. Thanks!
Cool! I will do a round trip from Tampa, but you could really use any airport on the route. Allegiant has cheap flights to several smaller airports in the state.
Option 1 heading circle south:
Day 1: Arrive Tampa AM - Florida Aquarium PM
Day 2: ZooTampa AM-mid PM. Croc Encounters tour PM
Day 3: Drive down to Iguanaland Punta Gorda
Day 4: Naples Zoo and Conservancy of Southwest Florida
Day 5: Miami Metro Zoo
Day 6: Lion Country Safari
Day 7: Depart
Option 2 heading circle North
Day 1: Arrive Tampa AM - Florida Aquarium PM
Day 2: ZooTampa AM-mid PM. Croc Encounters tour PM
Day 3: Wild Florida Safari then Reptile World Serpentarium if time
Day 4: Central Florida Zoo and Daytona Aquarium or Reptile Discovery Center (Alternate for Disney Animal Kingdom all day)
Day 5: St. Augustine Alligator Farm
Day 6: Jacksonville Zoo
Day 7: Depart
That's a fair amount of driving, but doable IMO.
thank you! We could mix in a stop to Everglades national park. I’ve been wanting to do the bike trail there, I hear you get to see a good bit of wildlife on the loop! Appreciate it. Looks like we need to plan 2 trips, one for Midwest and one for Florida. Appreciate all the help! This group is a wonderful resource.
if you're starting in Central Ohio, you could probably squeeze Cleveland and Akron in during a day on the way out or back. Depending on if you time it right its possible to see both in one day.
On a trip to the Midwest, you could check out Indiana Dunes National Park.
no we have not. Guess I need to add it to the list!
How much are you willing to drive each day? A possible itinerary could be:
1: Drive to Chicago, can do Fort Wayne and/or Indiana Dunes National Park on the way
2: Brookfield Zoo in Chicago. A large zoo with exciting species like pangolin
3: Drive to Omaha, can do Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines or stop at Nachusa Grasslands or any number of wildlife areas along the way
4: Do Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo. Massive zoo that stands as one of the best in the country and even world
5: Drive to Kansas City, can stop at Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge, can try other things around KC if you get there early
6: KC zoo, a large zoo that is well known for its Africa section, opened a new aquarium, drive to ST louis
7: St. Louis Zoo, drive to Memphis
8: Memphis zoo, really uniquely themed zoo, can also see the Bass Pro Pyramid on the Mississippi which is cool
9: Drive to Nashville, Nashville Zoo
10: Drive back to Ohio, could do Mammoth Cave National Park in the morning
This hits: Brookfield, Omaha, Kansas City, St. Louis, Memphis, and Nashville Zoo, among the best in the country, as well as potentially one or two smaller places along the way, two national parks, and one or two renowned wildlife refuges.
One or two places could be cut out if you wanted to reduce driving or spend more time at one spot or the other. This itinerary is ambitious but easily doable without rushing in my opinion.
Are there specific zoo animals you and your son would like to see? Also, any natural areas or wildlife you are both interested in?
1: Drive to Chicago, can do Fort Wayne and/or Indiana Dunes National Park on the way
2: Brookfield Zoo in Chicago. A large zoo with exciting species like pangolin
3: Drive to Omaha, can do Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines or stop at Nachusa Grasslands or any number of wildlife areas along the way
4: Do Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo. Massive zoo that stands as one of the best in the country and even world
5: Drive to Kansas City, can stop at Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge, can try other things around KC if you get there early
6: KC zoo, a large zoo that is well known for its Africa section, opened a new aquarium, drive to ST louis
7: St. Louis Zoo, drive to Memphis
8: Memphis zoo, really uniquely themed zoo, can also see the Bass Pro Pyramid on the Mississippi which is cool
9: Drive to Nashville, Nashville Zoo
10: Drive back to Ohio, could do Mammoth Cave National Park in the morning
This hits: Brookfield, Omaha, Kansas City, St. Louis, Memphis, and Nashville Zoo, among the best in the country, as well as potentially one or two smaller places along the way, two national parks, and one or two renowned wildlife refuges.
One or two places could be cut out if you wanted to reduce driving or spend more time at one spot or the other. This itinerary is ambitious but easily doable without rushing in my opinion.
Are there specific zoo animals you and your son would like to see? Also, any natural areas or wildlife you are both interested in?
If you tell use what kind of "wildlife refuge locations" you're interested in that could help a lot. Were there any specific animals you were looking for in the wild?
Persephone
Well-Known Member
If you do end up in Kansas City with extra time, Lakeside Nature Center is the only current U.S. holder of moles. I will say that if you aren’t rushing Omaha probably needs two days, or at least one and a half.
Do they still have their mole? It's getting quite old. Also, this was why I gave a bit of a filler day in the middle between Omaha and KC.
Gotcha, I would still recommend Brookfield Zoo in Chicago for day 2. It's a very big zoo that can easily have its own day. On the way to Chicago on day 1 there are a couple options such as Washington Park Zoo in Michigan City, IN or Fort Wayne's Children Zoo in Indiana, but I think I would pick Potawatomi Zoo in South Bend, IN.
If you are wanting to skip Chicago entirely I would probably suggest a route that takes you through Indianapolis and onto Interstate 74 towards Davenport and I-80. Along I-74 there are some smaller zoos, the best one is probably Peoria Zoo, but there's also Miller Park Zoo and Niabi Zoo (closed for the winter). Once on I-80 towards Omaha there's is also the Blank
D) Park Zoo in Des Moines that I had mentioned.Personally I consider the Omaha Zoo to be a pilgrimage site for all zoo fans, I'm one of the many who consider it the best in the country. However it definitely feels like there is no such thing as an easy, convenient way to get to Omaha.
Persephone
Well-Known Member
USZOOfan42
Well-Known Member
I did the entirety of Omaha zoo twice in one day with spare time!
DesertTortoise
Well-Known Member
The mole was still alive one month ago. I'm surprised it's still around as it is at least seven years old at this point.
Did you see any animals?
I personally think that Omaha is easily doable in a single day, as I am a fast walker. However, I think spending a day and a half or even two full days would be more enjoyable. Unless you are sprinting from exhibit to exhibit, it is definitely not possible to see the whole zoo twice in a day and actually look at the animals.
USZOOfan42
Well-Known Member
Nope
Lied Jungle, Orangutans, Aviary and part of Madagascar was closed. I also visited in the Spring.
Nope
Yeah, but that's not really a representative visit for most visitors.....most people will take an entire day in Brookfield, assuming the buildings are open of course.