Summer Road Trip (and Zoo Trip) from San Francisco to Seattle

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Grant Rhino

Well-Known Member
10+ year member
Hi everyone

I'm looking to do a road trip next Northern summer from San Francisco to Seattle - maybe even up to Vancouver in Canada.

I'd like to include perhaps 3 zoos on the trip.

I've looked at the websites for the zoos in Seattle, Portland and San Francisco and all seem to be very good zoos.

Are there any little gems I haven't noticed or any other really good zoos I'd be crazy to miss along that route?

It will be my first trip to America, so I do want to do other things as well as go to zoos - but I'd be crazy not to see some while I'm there.

I'd particularly like to see an okapi if any zoo along that route houses them.

Any advice any of you can give me would be much appreciated :)

Cheers, Grant from Australia :)
 
Well, I've certainly visited a lot of zoos in that general area. :) There are approximately 70 "zoos" in the state of California, at least 10 in Oregon and another 10 in Washington and I've personally toured more than 80 out of those 90 facilities. You have many options before you but if you wish to only visit 3 zoos then obviously Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle and Oregon Zoo in Portland would be the top two contenders. San Francisco Zoo would be a distant third but if you are intrigued by aquariums then there are some very good ones along the route such as Vancouver, Seattle, Oregon Coast and Steinhart (inside California Academy of Sciences). Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma and Oakland Zoo are two more very good, slightly smaller zoological parks.
 
snowleopard said:
Well, I've certainly visited a lot of zoos in that general area. :) There are approximately 70 "zoos" in the state of California, at least 10 in Oregon and another 10 in Washington and I've personally toured more than 80 out of those 90 facilities. You have many options before you but if you wish to only visit 3 zoos then obviously Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle and Oregon Zoo in Portland would be the top two contenders. San Francisco Zoo would be a distant third but if you are intrigued by aquariums then there are some very good ones along the route such as Vancouver, Seattle, Oregon Coast and Steinhart (inside California Academy of Sciences). Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma and Oakland Zoo are two more very good, slightly smaller zoological parks.
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Thanks for the quick and thorough response Snow Leopard!

From what it sounds like, then Woodland Park Zoo and Oregon Zoo are going to be the main two that I visit. I must admit, I'm not really into aquariums, but I will have a look at the website for Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma too. Nothing with okapis?
 
The only okapis on the Pacific coast are at the Los Angeles Zoo and in San Diego (both the zoo and Safari Park).

The California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park is a good zoo-aquarium-natural history museum.

The Oakland Zoo across the bay from San Francisco is the best zoo in the Bay Area. It has a good collection of African megafauna, a great children's zoo with a large flying fox exhibit, first class alligator and river otter exhibits, and an insect house. In summer 2018 they will have a huge new California exhibit with California condors, grizzly bears, and several other species.

One of the things that is highly, HIGHLY recommended to see are the redwood groves in the area of California near the Oregon border. The redwoods are the tallest trees in the world. If you are on Highway 1 you will be driving through groves of them, but stopping for a hike is highly recommended.

The Sequoia Park Zoo in Eureka is a little gem of a zoo that is worth a stop. You will be passing through Eureka on your trip.
 
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One of my all time favorite (probably in top three) zoological parks in the country is Northwest Trek in Washington. It would be classified as a wildlife park more than a traditional zoo. FYI it is a sister facility of the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium. It is set in a forest and the massive predator enclosures are just existing forest with a fence around. They all have viewing huts with no glass or fence to block your view. The hoofstock area (bison, elk, mountain goats, etc) is hundreds of acres and is seen by a tram.

I will also confirm my esteemed colleague David Brown's advice on the redwoods of northern California. (California's other redwoods the giant sequoias are even more fantastic, but they are not in the direction you are going). About three years ago I spent four nights in Crescent City, California, which is surrounded by three different redwood state parks. Just stunning and one of them (Del Norte Coast Redwood State Park) even has elk on the beach!
 
DavidBrown said:
One of the things that is highly, HIGHLY recommended to see are the redwood groves in the area of California near the Oregon border. The redwoods are the tallest trees in the world. If you are on Highway 1 you will be driving through groves of them, but stopping for a hike is highly recommended.

The Sequoia Park Zoo in Eureka is a little gem of a zoo that is worth a stop. You will be passing through Eureka on your trip.
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Thanks so much for this.

I had already planned to see the redwoods actually - but glad to know that it will be worth doing :)

I will also have a look at the website for Sequoia Park Zoo now too :)
 
Is someone able to tag me into the threads on Woodlands Park Zoo (Seattle) and Oregon Zoo (Portland)? Sorry to be a nuisance but I can't find the thread for either - and the US section is enormous.
 
Grant Rhino said:
Is someone able to tag me into the threads on Woodlands Park Zoo (Seattle) and Oregon Zoo (Portland)? Sorry to be a nuisance but I can't find the thread for either - and the US section is enormous.
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Under the heading "united states" there is a drop-down menu from which you can select the threads for the zoo of your choice, I think that is what you are looking for ;)
 
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