Woodland Park Zoo

Woodland Park Zoo is the largest zoo in the state (as far as I know) and possibly the best. The exhibits are stunning and so well done and the eateries are pretty solid in their offerings. My only wish is that they would let you carry adult beverages around the zoo like the Portland Zoo.

I've been here a handful of times and have always had a great experience. The volunteers posted up at exhibits are always super helpful and knowledgeable as well.

We went tonight for Wild Lanterns for the first time and it was STUNNING. I'm used to Zoo Lights at Pt Defiance which is rather meek in comparison. The setup at Woodland Park is insane. It takes a couple of hours to get through and is SO intricately and thoughtfully done.

Overall such a great zoo in the Seattle area and we can't wait to come back for Wild Lanterns next year!

Woodland Park Zoo continues to pour adventure, learning, and experiences into my family.
The zoo is always clean, habitats enclosures well kept, and spacious walk ways for families of all sizes to easily navigate. I greatly appreciate the stops along the way butterfly garden,zoomazium, ambassador animal theater, auditorium , and insect zone.
Woodland Park Zoo has reoccurring after hours adult only events, but our favorite is the Wild Lanterns. Every year we attend opening night of Wild Lanterns festival as a family, and each year thus far the lantern themes are beautifully done and keeps our children's curiosity peaked. The attendants are always extremely courteous, patient, and enjoy sharing zoo updates or upcoming events. Parking is really easy, and relatively secure.

If you have little children or just enjoy being amongst wildlife Wood park zoo is the place for you; I highly recommend!

We had a phenomenal time at the zoo! Truly you could spend the better part of a day here with the number of exhibits. We came as two adults and we were able to see everything in about 3 hours.

It wasn't too busy on a chilly weekend but there were some exhibits that were incredibly crowded. They are arranged based on region with options in the Pacific Northwest, African grasslands, and more!

There are lots of parking options and bus lines nearby.

The zoo offers a few different food options but definitely bring your own water bottle - they were selling canned water for $6 a piece! Otherwise the pricing seemed pretty comparable.

The time slots seemed to be flexible and this is a part of the city pass which can definitely be worth it if you're exploring other popular exhibits.

I found the zoo way better than the aquarium and I would definitely recommend!

My family loved our day at the zoo. We were there from open to close (only 3:00 pm in winter) and didn't manage to see all of the animals. It's a long trip from Portland, but I imagine we'll be back.

The animals were very interesting, we really enjoyed playing with otters. Seeing king of the jungle was cool. Watching the tiger clean itself was interesting. Komodo dragon lounging was very chill. Due to the rain today, most of the animals were not available at the zoo. Seeing all the smiling faces on the kids and adults is amazing!

Had a bit of an underwhelming experience at the Woodland Park Zoo, if I'm being entirely honest. While I can appreciate that the zoo feels fairly expansive (for the location) and therefore allows more space for some of the animals on exhibit than might be expected, it also meant that the zoo was somewhat challenging to navigate. There's some signage, but there were no paper maps available when my mother and I visited... and even the signage that does exist isn't entirely helpful at finding the appropriate pathways that allow you to see all of the exhibit spaces (at least not without doubling back multiple times).

In addition to the challenges with navigating around the zoo, I have to agree with some previous reviewers that it felt like so many of the exhibits just had no animals in them! This is a double-edged sword... because it can mean that there's enough room for the animals to enjoy their space, but it obviously means limited visibility as well. Some of the exhibits just seemed to be outright closed as well.

In addition to the limited activity and various closed exhibits, there were NO programs on the day that my mother and I visited... and even the gift shop was closed! The hours during the time of our visit (mid-September 2024) were 9:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m., but man... it seemed like so much of the place was shut down. The lack of offerings at the zoo was somewhat shocking.

There was also quite a bit of construction happening during the time of our visit... so something to be aware of. I think the only thing louder than the construction when we visited were the siamangs!

TL;DR I've been to Seattle probably 35x now... and this was my first time at the zoo. While I'm glad I visited and checked it off my "to see"-list (finally!), I think the one time is enough. Again, I was underwhelmed. So would I recommend it to others? Meh. You can definitely pass unless you have plenty of time in Seattle and need something else to do.

This place was so fun I will definitely be coming back!
I was worried some animals like the lions or bears would be hiding during my visit but I was pleasantly surprised they were out and active!
This zoo also has a carousel and a store.

I can't say enough about this zoo. Besides the animals having spacious enclosures which suit their needs and habitat, they seem very well cared for and content, which is the most important part of mine enjoyment of visiting a zoo. Besides that, the paths, design and layout feel like an adventure through a few different kinds of forests, with plenty of canopied trails which shade and delight the senses. I like that they do not force the animals into either their indoor or outdoor facilities, so that the animals themselves can decide where they want to, even though we observing humans may wish to see them in one versus the other, the contented animal is most important for me in the enjoyment of the zoo visit.

They are currently working on improved habit for some of the animals and I'm so excited to see what they do. Some will include improved areas where birds can fly over head out doors, yet safe within netting above the pathways of visitors. Just when I thought something good couldn't get better. Woodland Park Zoo is a first class zoo and I'm glad to be a member. I visit sometimes just for a place to take a peaceful walk, get in some movement in a beautiful forest-like environment with the element of feeling safer as a woman alone, as opposed to opting for a public park with trails, for instance.

I fully recommend a Woodland Park Zoo visit to all who visit Seattle and home town folk as well.

I have to say this is one of my favorite zoos that I have seen so far in my lifetime. Woodland Park Zoo is so beautiful and considerate of all the living animals in here.

The space that they give the animals is just pure joy when I see it. I love how much greenery is everywhere. It feels like you're walking into a magical forest that is a sanctuary for the ones that live here.

I am glad I went here and I would recommend people to take a stop and see what they are doing. The amount of space is wild and the animals in here are all so adorable.

A lot of walking but I think it is worth it.

This zoo is amazing and we will definitely be going back. We arrived later in the day at around 1:45PM, they did have plenty of parking and it's only $12 for the whole day but they also have hourly options if you're only planning to stay there for a couple of hours. They do limit the capacity so make sure you reserve online if going on a holiday or possibly the weekend. The exhibits are clean and the animals look happy. You can follow a map on your phone or the traditional paper map route works too. You can easily find bathrooms throughout and they have a food area as well. There are also picnic tables close to the carousel. It's great place for all ages and worth a visit.