San Diego Zoo Best time of year to visit SDZ and SDZSP?

DJD Zoo Pals

DJD Zoo Pals

Member
Hi there everyone,

I'm a recent transplant to the American southwest, and as a zoo nerd I'm ecstatic to be within road tripping distance to SoCal and its amazing zoos, namely SDZ and SDZSP. As someone who has never lived in the southwest before I'm largely unfamiliar with how the seasons work down here, but I'm eager to start planning a San Diego trip ASAP. I'm very tolerant of high heat (as long as I have plenty of water 100 °F + is no problem) so I'd be fine going at any point, but my wife... not so much. To make an SDZ / SDZSP trip as pleasant an experience as possible for someone who isn't nearly as interested in zoos as I am, I'm trying to figure out when would be the best time to visit to avoid high temperatures or humidity. The brief research I've done suggests spring or fall might be the best times to visit if I'm looking for pleasant temperatures, but I figured I'd ask the locals: what is your favorite time of year to visit SDZ and/or SDZSP?

Thanks in advance!

-DJD
 
DJD Zoo Pals said:
Hi there everyone,

I'm a recent transplant to the American southwest, and as a zoo nerd I'm ecstatic to be within road tripping distance to SoCal and its amazing zoos, namely SDZ and SDZSP. As someone who has never lived in the southwest before I'm largely unfamiliar with how the seasons work down here, but I'm eager to start planning a San Diego trip ASAP. I'm very tolerant of high heat (as long as I have plenty of water 100 °F + is no problem) so I'd be fine going at any point, but my wife... not so much. To make an SDZ / SDZSP trip as pleasant an experience as possible for someone who isn't nearly as interested in zoos as I am, I'm trying to figure out when would be the best time to visit to avoid high temperatures or humidity. The brief research I've done suggests spring or fall might be the best times to visit if I'm looking for pleasant temperatures, but I figured I'd ask the locals: what is your favorite time of year to visit SDZ and/or SDZSP?

Thanks in advance!

-DJD
Click to expand...
Hello there! I am a San Diego local, and I would say that overall, April, November, and December are probably the best months to visit. April is the one spring month where the winter rains are mostly over and you can get some nice warm days, but the “May Grey” and “June Gloom” haven’t set in yet, which bring pretty consistent cloud cover and cooler temperatures for the duration of those two months. September can still bring scorching days to Escondido, and October is “Kids Free” month at both parks, so I strongly suggest not visiting in this month — even though October is probably the perfect weather month. November and December, however, usually still have decently warm temperatures and the rains usually don’t start until January. December can be a busier tourist month, but beyond that, the other months I’ve suggested are outside of peak tourist season.
 
This is all great information, thanks a ton! It seems like late fall into winter is the season to go. Would going in November or December potentially impact the viewability of the Galapagos giant tortoises at SDZ? I'm very keen on seeing some of the subspecies they have on display.

-DJD
 
DJD Zoo Pals said:
This is all great information, thanks a ton! It seems like late fall into winter is the season to go. Would going in November or December potentially impact the viewability of the Galapagos giant tortoises at SDZ? I'm very keen on seeing some of the subspecies they have on display.

-DJD
Click to expand...
Visiting in November or December should not affect your ability to see the tortoises. The tortoises are outside as long as the temperatures allow, which they should still then. If it’s a chillier morning, they might not be out until later, but they do usually still come out.
 
February is my ideal time, more active animals on those rain on/off days! Fewer people also!! We go weekly year-round though!

Just get the Orange annual pass which covers both parks and covers parking at the SDZSP!!

There are Summer, Halloween, Christmas, and winter hours that varies closing from 5pm to 8pm!!
 
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