Denver Zoo Is Denver Zoo Worth a Visit?

LaughingDove

LaughingDove

Well-Known Member
10+ year member
Hello,

Just wanted to get some thoughts from American or American-experienced members about how good Denver Zoo is and how far out of your way you'd go to visit?

I'll be passing through Denver Airport at the end of June for work and I could conceivably arrive a day early and spend some time in Denver (at my own expense) to see the zoo. It's not a place that's been on my radar at all but seems quite nice? Any and all thoughts appreciated - would the ZooChat collective recommend leaving United's hub at DEN to spend a night or two in town and visit the zoo? Any particularly unique things at Denver Zoo? Or is my impression of a good but fairly unexceptional zoo an accurate one?
 
With the caveat that I haven’t been to the American zoos generally regarded to be in the true upper echelon (San Diego, Bronx, Omaha), I’d say it’s probably a top 3 zoo that I’ve been to, perhaps top 2. Lots of super compelling rarities. Generally nice exhibits. I wouldn’t hesitate to go, personally.
 
It's one of my favorite zoos I've visited personally and I might recommend it. I'd say on my list it's probably the highest-ranked facility outside the obvious "greats" (below Omaha, Saint Louis, Chester, etc.)

it does depend a little on what you might be looking for. I would say Primate Panorama holds up incredibly well for an exhibit of its age, with lots of solid outdoor habitats for primates and a solid variety of species, many of them common but with red-capped mangabey and aye-aye among the rarities. There is a decent variety of hoofstock but nothing shocking and out there, although Cape Buffalo are usually kept in safari settings and this is one of the only "zoo"-type facilities to keep them. The African Predator complex is also pretty good in my book. Toyota Elephant Passage is unique as a bachelor holder in a modern elephant facility and rotating them with rhinos and theoretical tapirs. (The zoo's current tapir is blind so does not rotate.) There is a gibbon island that allows them to go over visitors. Tropical Discovery has a few rarities alongside a ton of reptiles and other smaller animals. They also have Kea which are a bit rare.

There are disappointing exhibits, such as the dated hippopotamus enclosure and the older penguin grotto, and decent but not particularly memorable bear and tiger exhibits. I don't think most would be impressed with their holdings for goats although I was happy to see them represented at all. I've not visited the Australia exhibit and I know their bird collection went down a lot during that project. Almost anything truly egregious has been closed for some time though, such as the oft-criticized older feline building (which has a rare Geoffery's cat outside and visible) and older bear grottos.
 
I'm a big fan of Denver Zoo and would possibly rank it in the top 10 zoos in the country. I posted an extensive review of the facility on my Snowleopard's 2012 Road Trip thread, but of course that's going back a number of years now. I spent 6 hours at Denver Zoo that day, and then at night I visited Denver Downtown Aquarium as they don't close until 8:00 or 9:00 in the evening depending on the day.

Here's what I said a bit later about Denver Zoo (in 2016):

"The captive collection is outstanding, with a wide range of species right across the animal kingdom. I'm a huge fan of Primate Panorama, with its 25 exhibits and 20+ primate species; Tropical Discovery with its 102 exhibits is a truly underrated zoo building; Predator Ridge and Toyota Elephant Passage have been terrific additions during the past decade; and I even love the sprawling 19 exhibits of the Hoofstock Yards as that style of exhibitry has practically become extinct in major American zoos. Of course the zoo has the outdated, 1960's-era Feline House, a scruffy-around-the-edges Bird World and a few other antiquated sections but overall Denver is a terrific zoo."

Since then, the two most outdated sections in the zoo (Feline House and Bird World) are no longer open to the public, and the zoo has added major exhibits such as The Edge (Tiger complex), Down Under (Australian animals) and African Penguin Point, plus the newly renovated pinniped pool opens this summer. They also have one of my all-time favourite zoo maps, with detailed images of numerous buildings that one doesn't always see on other maps. The Tropical Discovery building literally has more than 100 exhibits inside its walls, as it's a 'zoo within a zoo', and so make sure to set enough time aside for that structure if you do visit. ;)

Denver Zoo map:

https://denverzoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/March-2025_Denver-Zoo_Map-scaled.webp

As of 2016, here is a breakdown via @geomorph of the animal collection:

By my count, the total number of exhibits currently at Denver Zoo is: 234

By my count, the total number of species in permanent exhibits is: 419

The number of species I counted can be broken down into the following categories:

Mammals: 85
Birds: 97
Reptiles: 68
Amphibians: 12
Fish: 145
Invertebrates: 12
 
My take is similar to those above, but I am not truly a traditional zoo guy (much more aquariums) so maybe this can lend some other insight. I was also debating whether to go to the Zoo in addition to the aquarium when I went to Denver two weekends ago, and I am SO glad I did. I have never seen an elephant exhibit quite like theirs, their tropics building is impressive and has a multitude of cool rarities, and almost every animal had a beautiful space that allowed for great viewings. I would say it’s absolutely worth a visit. For what it’s worth, I used the CityPass to do the aquarium, natural history museum, and zoo in one weekend. It’s a great deal and all great institutions.
 
Just to update this thread, I added two nights in Denver to the start of my work trip just over a week ago and I'm very glad I did so thanks everyone for the input!

I visited the Aquarium in the late afternoon/early evening after arriving at Denver Airport on my flight from Heathrow in the early afternoon. I didn't have especially high expectations but it exceeded them to be honest! The exhibit of local/North American fish, the desert, and the Baja California displays were especially nice. I was, however, uncomfortable with the tiger exhibit being all indoors and rather small. I felt the tigers didn't add much to the visitor experience and detracted from an otherwise nice facility. There's also a restaurant there that's open for dinner which means it's easy to fit in of an evening.

I then had a full day for Denver Zoo which, as described above, is excellent. I was in the zoo from around 10-4. The tropical building was very nice, with some really cool reptiles, and the Toyota Elephant Passage is a triumph. From one spot I could see an elephant, and Indian rhino, a tapir and a pair of gibbons. Also possibly the showiest fishing cat I've ever seen. Some nice uncommon mammals around the zoo as well, with three bat species for example, and I got great views of two Yellow-backed Duikers which is a species that although not exceptionally rare I've kept missing out on seeing over the years. There was a distinct lack of bird species though, I think only a single passerine species and generally a small bird collection relative to other taxa.

Because I visited the Zoo on a Friday, I then made the short walk over to the neighbouring natural history museum (Denver Museum of Nature and Science) which on Fridays only is open until 9PM making it perfect to visit after the zoo. It was bigger than I expected, with some very interesting local fossils and wildlife diorama displays that are on par with the best anywhere in the world.

Finally, the next morning after check out of my hotel, I visited a fourth attraction of interest: the Denver Botanic Garden. Some quite unusual plant species and extremely beautiful horticultural displays. Worth visiting if you have any interest in horticulture or botany or just pretty parks.
 
Glad you had a good time, LaughingDove!

Denver wasn't on my radar as anything special until now, but it really sounds worth a visit next time I'm halfway across the continent...
 
LaughingDove said:
The exhibit of local/North American fish, the desert, and the Baja California displays were especially nice. I was, however, uncomfortable with the tiger exhibit being all indoors and rather small. I felt the tigers didn't add much to the visitor experience and detracted from an otherwise nice facility. There's also a restaurant there that's open for dinner which means it's easy to fit in of an evening.
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I didn't make the aquarium - unfortunately the tigers are about all I've ever known about it, but glad to hear the rest is positive.

LaughingDove said:
I then had a full day for Denver Zoo which, as described above, is excellent. I was in the zoo from around 10-4. The tropical building was very nice, with some really cool reptiles, and the Toyota Elephant Passage is a triumph. From one spot I could see an elephant, and Indian rhino, a tapir and a pair of gibbons. Also possibly the showiest fishing cat I've ever seen. Some nice uncommon mammals around the zoo as well, with three bat species for example, and I got great views of two Yellow-backed Duikers which is a species that although not exceptionally rare I've kept missing out on seeing over the years. There was a distinct lack of bird species though, I think only a single passerine species and generally a small bird collection relative to other taxa.
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Glad you had a good time! :)

Denver used to have an extensive bird collection but shortly before my visit (2022) their aging bird building was closed to the public and this became the site of the current Australia exhibit. I have heard a lot of the birds are still at the zoo but being kept off-display for the time being, so hopefully they have some future plans for them.

I agree that it's very unfortunate though. I gave the facility a pass on this in my review because the closure was still recent but it's something they should address in the future.

LaughingDove said:
Because I visited the Zoo on a Friday, I then made the short walk over to the neighbouring natural history museum (Denver Museum of Nature and Science) which on Fridays only is open until 9PM making it perfect to visit after the zoo. It was bigger than I expected, with some very interesting local fossils and wildlife diorama displays that are on par with the best anywhere in the world.

Finally, the next morning after check out of my hotel, I visited a fourth attraction of interest: the Denver Botanic Garden. Some quite unusual plant species and extremely beautiful horticultural displays. Worth visiting if you have any interest in horticulture or botany or just pretty parks.
Click to expand...
I'll definitely make a note on these attractions for a future visit to Denver as I did not do either during my time there.
 
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