I can’t believe I’ve been to Washington, DC numerous times and only just now visited the National Zoo. Don’t make the same mistake I did! Although it is a little out of the way for tourists visiting the many museums and attractions downtown, this lushly landscaped zoo (it’s also a member of the American Public Gardens Association) is worth the effort to see. I don’t know if we were having an especially lucky day or if the weather was a factor, as it was cool and overcast with intermittent sprinkles of rain, but the animals seemed to be out in force. I’ve never visited a zoo where I got such good and consistent views of wildlife.
Travel-with-kids tip
The zoo is part of Rock Creek Park in the northwest section of Washington, DC. We stayed at the Omni Shoreham, which is an easy walk from the zoo. If you’re arriving in DC by car, the zoo does have parking lots but spring is the busiest time of the year so you’ll want to arrive early to make sure you get a space. There are also two Metro stops that are close to the zoo.
The zoo opens at 10 and we were there soon after, starting our visit on the Asia Trail, right near the main entrance. It probably took us close to an hour to see everything here. There may be only a few species of animals, but they are all compelling and the layout makes it easy to really see them. I’m sure many visitors focus on the fact that this is where the giant pandas live, but we really enjoyed the other animals and got some great looks at sloth bears, the Asian small-clawed otters (so cute!), the fishing cat, and the red panda, who walked practically right up to the edge of his enclosure.
There are lots of interactive educational materials to see along the trail, which is especially great since the animals aren’t necessarily familiar.
The zoo has two giant pandas in its exhibit, a male and a female, who live there as part of an agreement with China to encourage breeding. Tian Tian, the male giant panda, put on a really spectacular show, eating a stalk of bamboo, rolling around on the ground, scratching his back on a rock, pooping in the general direction of his audience (much to the boys’ horror and delight), and then settling in for a nap.
The pandas’ habitat is set up so that visitors can view them from multiple levels and we got tons of great views. At the end there’s an educational area with lots of information. Tommy especially enjoyed the interactive game that explained how scientists meet the requirements for panda breeding – did you know that breeding pandas shouldn’t share the same parents or grandparents? (You can play that game online here.)
Travel-with-kids tip
The Olmstead Walk, which is the main route through the zoo, is nearly a mile from one end to the other and is built on an incline. It’s also not a loop, so you have to walk back (up) it to return to the main entrance when you leave if you’ve come from Connecticut Avenue. With side trips to see exhibits like the Asia trail, you should be prepared to cover some distance – whether or not that means bringing a stroller is up to you.
The one disappointment of the day was the primate area; I’m not sure what the apes were up to, but we didn’t see too much (although we did get a glimpse of a baby gorilla). When we tried to visit the Think Tank where visitors can interact closely with orangutans, it was temporarily closed. I’d like to return to see the orangutans using the overhead O line to travel between the Ape House and the Think Tank.
What was missing in the monkeys was more than made up for in the Reptile Discovery Center where we got a great look at all kinds of lizards, snakes, and. At Teddy’s insistence, we also made sure to visit the komodo dragon (I couldn’t get a good picture of him to save my life, but he was impressive) and the invertebrates to see the jellyfish, octopus, spiders, and spiny lobsters.
Travel-with-kids tip
There are three sit-down restaurants and a number of snack carts scattered throughout the zoo. The food is about what you’d expect – burgers, hot dogs, chicken nuggets, pizza, and ice cream. There are some healthier options like sweet potato fries, fruit, and carrot sticks available at the sit-down restaurants. You can also bring your own picnic.
After a stop at the Mane Grill for lunch, we checked out the Great Cat area joining the crowds to see the tigers and then watch seven lion cubs (about eight months old), all carefully watched by their mothers while dad snoozed nearby. The boys also loved the Compare Yourself to a Tiger trail – whose tongue do you think is bigger?
At that point it started to rain and legs were tired, so we left, making a quick stop to see the zebras on our way out.
What’s really amazing to me about this wonderful zoo is that like all other museums in the Smithsonian it is completely free. This is especially impressive when you consider that they entertain nearly two million visitors a year. I’m so glad that I was finally one of them.
Travel-with-kids tip
I’d allot an entire day to visit the zoo (it’s open from 10 until 4). We were there for about three hours and although we spent lots of time in the exhibits we did see, we didn’t visit the elephants (although we could see them at a distance from the Asia trail), the bird house, the seals and sea lions, or the petting zoo.
To see more photos of our visit, check out The Mother of All Trips Facebook page – and while you’re there, why not “like” the site?
I've taken with my children and those I want to take. Explore and you'll find family travel tips, information about vacation destinations, and lots of stories about our adventures! 
I miss the zoos of US, we normally go for an all day outing too. In Guatemala, even if we wanted to stay more than 2 hours, we would have seen everything at least 3 times then
However, ironically enough, it’s a great zoo for Central America.
Laughing – we have a small zoo like that near where I live too! The National Zoo is pretty impressive.
Gosh that sure sounds like a wonderful zoo to stop at. We lived close to Australia Zoo last year and we had so much fun visiting all the time. We had a yearly pass which meant that I could take our boys whenever we wanted to. Never heard of a zoo being free before!!! That would be so cool – I think our youngest will end up working with animals as he loves them so much.
Thanks for sharing your great family day out.
Cheers
Lisa
DC resident here – you can actually walk through the zoo earlier than 10 AM and I would suggest it. They feed the animals early in the morning and the animals seem to be more active. The shops and exhibit houses don’t open until 10 but we usually get there between 8:30 and 9.
Vanessa – that’s such a great tip. It actually jives completely with what the zoo expert I interviewed said here: http://www.motherofalltrips.com/2010/09/family-travel-tips-how-to-take-your-kids-to-the-zoo.html
We will definitely get there earlier next time.
@Lisa The Saint Louis Zoo in St Louis, MO is also a really nice zoo and free.
My family visited the National Zoo before we moved away from D.C., and your blog post helped us reminisce.
The only tips I would add is there is a certain time of the day when the zoo animals tend to nap, believe it or not. So, if you want to see some action, call ahead and find out the best time to go. Also, if you like wood-fired pizza then visit 2 Amy’s, which is a very short drive from the zoo. Delicious!