As the person voted “most likely to die petting something I shouldn’t” by my husband, friends, and family, I thought it was time for some quality animal content for you from our road trip.
Between amazing Airbnbs, animal experiences, wildlife encounters and traditional zoos and aquariums, I’ve had more animal experiences than most people get in a lifetime and I know how fortunate I truly am for all of our adventures.
Rating all my animal experiences across the USA would be too hard so I’ve broken them down into categories and you’ll see them in coming posts starting with this one:
- My Top 5 Zoos & Aquariums (this post)
- My Top 5 Captive Animal Experiences
- My Top 5 Land Wildlife Spots
- My Top 5 Marine Wildlife Spots
We visited at least ten different zoos and at least five aquariums on our 7 year, 50 state road trip and possibly even more. But there were a few that stood out immediately as “can’t miss” locations in my opinion. Some will be quite well known, while others are more obscure.
I recognize that zoos can be a controversial topic. While there are benefits to endangered species and conservation efforts, there is also the downside of keeping wild animals in captivity and continuing to breed them in captivity for population health and numbers, as well as the ongoing financial viability of zoos and aquariums. I’m all about a well-run zoo that gives animals natural spaces and the care they need and I believe the ones you’ll find on my top five list meet that criteria.
So without further ado, here’s my countdown of the top five zoos and aquariums in the USA
5. Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia, South Carolina
Riverbanks Zoo was the first zoo we went to on the road trip, so it was always going to hold a special place in my heart. But, it has a stand out spot in the top five as being the first place that I’d ever had a chance to feed giraffes (and honestly the first time I’d known it was possible at a zoo). Since then I’ve fed giraffes all over the country, but nothing compares to your first time up close with those gentle giants.
4. St. Louis Zoo in St. Louis, Missouri, tied with Baltimore Aquarium in Baltimore, Maryland
A tie!? I know, I’m just sneaking in zoos and aquariums all over the place. There are many reasons both of these could move up the list, but they were edged out by their competitors. That being said they are both stand out locations and deserve to be highlighted and visited.
The St. Louis Zoo, first and foremost, is FREE. Yes. Free. And it’s not some small, rinky-dink little zoo (although we’ve been to some lovely small free zoos); it’s a MASSIVE zoo that’s free to visit. That alone puts it in the top five. However, one of my most memorable moments at the St. Louis Zoo that brings it into the top five is when I was able to watch a polar bear swim. After realizing he put his paw in the same place each time, I was able to come as close to touching a polar bear (and us holding hands) as I will ever come.
We were in Maryland at the end of 2020, so my Baltimore Aquarium experience could’ve been terrible due to COVID restrictions – but it was just the opposite! Like the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC, they handled all of the restrictions with COVID-19 very well and it didn’t detract from the experience in my opinion.
It’s a large aquarium that has different zones about marine life from around the world and has a specific regional zone about the marine life found along the waterways of Maryland. One of my favorite things was seeing so many fish that I’d never even heard of before like the Pinecone Fish and the Peacock Mantis Shrimp, as well as ones that I’d heard of but never thought I’d see like the Tasselled Wobbegong Shark from the waters off Australia.
3. Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, Nebraska
Reviewing the post from my visit, when I wrote it in August 2022 I said that The Henry Doorly Zoo was #5 in the world and #1 in my heart. Honestly, it could still be – all three of these top ones are very fluid in their rankings.
This was the first zoo where I got to attend an adults-only night at a zoo and it was just so memorable. It’s also huge with a Desert Dome and Night Kingdom that are unmatched (except by the desert museum that was in the ACTUAL desert and made the #1 spot), and it has its own small aquarium.
Add in that they have a seated Skyfari that takes you up and over many of the animals which is a unique experience (it seemed like the animals were closer and more visible than the gondola at the San Diego Zoo) and it was just a perfect visit whether by day or night.
2. Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward, Alaska
I’d been looking forward to visiting the Alaska SeaLife Center for years by the time I got to go in the summer of 2024. I knew they did great work with their I Sea U – rescuing and rehabilitating Alaskan marine life, but I had no idea how much more amazing it would be. There were so many marine animals that I’d never seen or heard of before; the Basket Star being one of my all time favorites.
I loved how they showed the life cycle of the salmon by having them in various tanks at different stages of their growth. The bird enclosure with a “bird of the week” was stinky and loud, but so fun to be up close with puffins and other native birds. I think one thing I loved the most about it was their touch tanks. It’s really cold since it pumps in water from the ocean to keep the temperature correct for the wildlife in their care, but it’s so worth it to touch and view so many amazing starfish, anemones, and more.
1. The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum in Tucson, Arizona
Drumroll please… (buh duh duh duh duh) my #1 zoo and aquarium in the USA is The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum!
As I mentioned above, Henry Doorly could also be here and even the Alaska SeaLife Center for the amazing memories I made at both spots. But when I looked through all the places we’d been, my heart is with the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.
Part zoo, part aquarium, part art gallery, and part living museum, the Desert Museum just blew me away. I loved learning all about the desert; having grown up by the ocean, I didn’t think I’d ever want to be somewhere without the water, but the desert captivated my heart. Seeing the desert animals in their natural habitats within the enclosures was really special.
Learning that this desert stretches into Mexico and includes the Gulf of California means there’s even marine life in this desert. Then finding out that hummingbirds are desert birds and getting to go into a hummingbird enclosure with them – MIND BLOWN. I visited several times and took my family to visit when they came out to Arizona. It was just one of those places that you can’t put your finger on why, but it sticks with you long after you’ve left.
Honorable Mentions
Honorable mentions go to the Monterey Bay Aquarium in Monterey, California and The Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, DC. We didn’t do massive posts about either of them, but they were both incredible in their own way. The Monterey Bay Aquarium was very busy the day we were there, so we didn’t get a ton of pictures. However, there was all kinds of interesting information about the canning industry in the local area, as well as the wildlife along the coast of California. The Smithsonian National Zoo meanwhile is another large, free zoo and they have pandas! At the time of writing there are only two zoos in the US with pandas and The Smithsonian National Zoo is one of them.
Dishonorable Mention
The “I’d skip it award” goes to the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, Georgia. Did it have some amazing whale sharks? Yes, but the size of those majestic animals means that no matter how much space they try to give them and how much money they have to raise to house them, it ruins the rest of the aquarium experience.
Between high ticket prices, sponsored exhibits including a seating area sponsored by Southwest Airlines, and the relatively small viewing areas for many of the other animals, it’s not as amazing as other aquariums both large and small across the country.
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