Massachusetts and Rhode Island Trip

RatioTile

RatioTile

Well-Known Member
5+ year member
I’m planning a zoo and aquarium trip to Massachusetts and Rhode Island in November. I’ll be staying in Boston and I plan to visit the following parks for species collecting:

Franklin Park Zoo
Stone Zoo
New England Aquarium
Animal Adventures
Buttonwood Park Zoo
Roger Williams Park Zoo

For those of you who have been to these before, I have some questions:

1) Are Franklin Park and Stone Zoo combinable in one day? Neither looks all that big species-count wise on their official websites.

2) I won’t have a car, besides for Animal Adventures. There’s trains from Boston to Roger Williams Park Zoo, but I’m unsure how to reach Buttonwood Park Zoo from Boston without spending 3 hours each way on public transportation, or over $100 each way on Uber. Would anyone in the area like to visit Buttonwood Park Zoo on a weekday?

3) Are Roger Williams Park Zoo and Buttonwood Park Zoo combinable in one day?

4) What other zoos and aquariums in the area am I missing?

Thanks.
 
RatioTile said:
I’m planning a zoo and aquarium trip to Massachusetts and Rhode Island in November. I’ll be staying in Boston and I plan to visit the following parks for species collecting:

Franklin Park Zoo
Stone Zoo
New England Aquarium
Animal Adventures
Buttonwood Park Zoo
Roger Williams Park Zoo

For those of you who have been to these before, I have some questions:

1) Are Franklin Park and Stone Zoo combinable in one day? Neither looks all that big species-count wise on their official websites.

2) I won’t have a car, besides for Animal Adventures. There’s trains from Boston to Roger Williams Park Zoo, but I’m unsure how to reach Buttonwood Park Zoo from Boston without spending 3 hours each way on public transportation, or over $100 each way on Uber. Would anyone in the area like to visit Buttonwood Park Zoo on a weekday?

3) Are Roger Williams Park Zoo and Buttonwood Park Zoo combinable in one day?

4) What other zoos and aquariums in the area am I missing?

Thanks.
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I’ve done Franklin Park and Stone in one day, just using public transport between the two, and found it manageable.
 
RatioTile said:
I’m planning a zoo and aquarium trip to Massachusetts and Rhode Island in November. I’ll be staying in Boston and I plan to visit the following parks for species collecting:

Franklin Park Zoo
Stone Zoo
New England Aquarium
Animal Adventures
Buttonwood Park Zoo
Roger Williams Park Zoo

For those of you who have been to these before, I have some questions:

1) Are Franklin Park and Stone Zoo combinable in one day? Neither looks all that big species-count wise on their official websites.

2) I won’t have a car, besides for Animal Adventures. There’s trains from Boston to Roger Williams Park Zoo, but I’m unsure how to reach Buttonwood Park Zoo from Boston without spending 3 hours each way on public transportation, or over $100 each way on Uber. Would anyone in the area like to visit Buttonwood Park Zoo on a weekday?

3) Are Roger Williams Park Zoo and Buttonwood Park Zoo combinable in one day?

4) What other zoos and aquariums in the area am I missing?

Thanks.
Click to expand...
1. Not something I would do as a local, but I suppose it could work if short on time.

3. Definitely possible, but again something I personally wouldn't attempt.

4. The biggest zoo you are missing is Capron Park Zoo in Attleboro, MA- which can easily be reached via the Providence-South Station commuter rail. You're also missing Southwicks Zoo which would be harder to visit via public transit and I'm not sure if it'll be open in November (@Dyl0526 would know). For Aquariums, even though it is in Connecticut look into Mystic Aquarium, it's not too far from the other facilities you're visiting (less than than hour from Providence, RI) and is a phenomenal facility! For Animal Adventures, read my recent review and make sure it's actually a zoo you want to visit. It's a roadside zoo with some of the most horrendous exhibits in the country. Are there some cool species? Sure, but prepare yourself for exhibits that are unthinkably bad.
 
I have done both RWP/Buttonwillow and RWP/Capron in one day, the latter being easier to accomplish.

Southwicks is also a must see but as @Neil chace said its season is weather dependent for Novemeber
 
Capron Park Zoo is smal enough that one can visit a second facility in the same day.

The Blue Hills Trailside Museum has a nice free wildlife sanctuary. It's just South of Boston.
 
Thanks to everyone. Does Capron Park Zoo have anything rare? Their website isn’t well-organized and I can’t tell if a potential lifer species for me might be there.
 
RatioTile said:
Thanks to everyone. Does Capron Park Zoo have anything rare? Their website isn’t well-organized and I can’t tell if a potential lifer species for me might be there.
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Sloth Bear, Rodrigues Fruit Bats, Blue-winged Kookaburra. If you want a full species list, PM me and I'll send it to you.
 
PossumRoach said:
if you are going to get as low as AA you might as well visit southwick's as well. Albeit it probably isn't accesible by public transport . However they have Vicugnas.
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I agree. And honestly since you have a car for one day, it'd probably be ideal to visit Southwicks first (assuming it's open) and then continuing to Animal Adventures if you have time. Have you read my Animal Adventures review? I just want to make sure you're not underestimating just how horrific the zoo is.
 
PossumRoach said:
if you are going to get as low as AA you might as well visit southwick's as well. Albeit it probably isn't accesible by public transport . However they have Vicugnas.
Click to expand...

Southwick's last day open of the year is October 31, unfortunately. I'd be able to get to Mass. at November 9th at the earliest. Unless I could pull strings and get them to let me in regardless.
 
If you do go to Roger Williams, might as well try and see if you can get into the natural history museum. It's a very short walk from the zoo (the classical style building adjacent to the tennis courts on top of the hill overlooking the parking lot) and they don't have much in terms of live animals (honeybees are the exception) but they do have a lot of taxidermies which is all presented nice.
 
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