Reid Park Zoo

By alantvuong on December 11, 2019

Visiting zoos and aquariums are one of my favorite things to do when visiting different cities around the world. Reid Park Zoo was founded in 1965 with a collection of birds, prairie dogs, farm animals and a few squirrel monkeys and has since expanded to a 24 acre zoo featuring more than 500 different animals. The zoo is actually going under a 10 year $80 million expansion right now. Construction just started this year, and when it’s done, it will have a newly revamped entrance, it will triple the tiger exhibit and even house a new reptile exhibit for the Komodo dragons.

welcome sign at entrance of zoo

Getting In

Reid Park Zoo is located slightly out of downtown and would only be about a 10 minute drive from our hotel Red Lion Inn & Suites. We decided to take the SunLink streetcar and the SunTran bus to get to the zoo so that we can shop at the nearby shopping center and use our day pass to get there. We knew it was a smaller zoo and that we wouldn’t need to be at the zoo that long. Tickets are only $10.50 for adults and the zoo is open from 9 AM to 4 PM from October to May.

transferring from street car to bus

Exhibits

Reid Park Zoo is divided into 4 zones and are organized by the types of habitats and the animals that they house. The Adaptation zone has animals such as grizzly bears and giant tortoises, the South America zone has animals such as the jaguar and spectacled bear. The Asian zone has tigers and the African Animals zone has lions, giraffes and the new Expedition Tanzania which is the home to 6 African elephants.

checking out the giraffes

There were free keeper chats and animal presentations that are included with your zoo admission. The only one we saw was the presentation on the White Macaw parrot. It was an educational and fun experience learning about these birds.

white macaw presentation

looking at the giant tortoise

Accessibility

The accessibility of Reid Park Zoo was quite amazing. There were ramps and paved pathways everywhere. When we went, which was a Monday afternoon, it never really got too busy. There was enough space to get around and I was always able to see everything. Getting inside the aviary was a bit tricky because there were double doors to get inside this giant bird cage, and they don’t have a wheelchair button to automatically open the doors. It does make sense that the doors don’t stay open long or birds will escape the aviary.

rhino

Being a smaller zoo, we end up seeing everything in under 90 minutes. We really enjoyed a relaxing day at the zoo and can’t wait to see the newly expanded zoo when complete renovations will be done in 10 years. With already great accessibility, things can only get better for this great little zoo in Tucson.