Visiting The Free St Louis Zoo In St Louis, MO

One of the great things about St. Louis, MO is that a ton of stuff to do there is free and the St. Louis Zoo is no exception!

I’ve been to a free zoo or two in my time, although most of them are much smaller than the St. Louis Zoo; the notable exception to this is the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, DC.

The St. Louis Zoo has so many great exhibits, animals that I’ve yet to see in real life at other zoos or in the wild, and the favorites you’d expect. Our friend, Beth, took me to the zoo for the day while Stephen worked and we had a blast together. It was really fun going with someone who loves the animals like I do.

Beth and I started at The River’s Edge and made our way through the zoo. The St. Louis Zoo is separated into different sections and the animals are grouped in those sections. One of my favorite animals in The River’s Edge was the hippos.

There were three of them and they were all submerged underwater, with two of them being really close to the glass. We got to see them up close as they rested and surfaced for air every few minutes.

We spent a considerable amount of our day in the insect area and butterfly house. I was collecting content for my students and thought it would be great to have some other zoo residents for them to see this time because we go to a zoo 1-2x per year, so it’s good to mix it up.

The creepy crawlies were interesting and were a big hit with my students this week. These were a few of their favorites. I’m not a huge fan of spiders, but when they’re behind the glass (or far away from me) we get along just fine.

This was one of my favorite insects of the day. This praying mantis was really incredible.

There were a lot of different cockroaches to see, but my favorite was the Death’s Head Cockroach which looks like it has an orange skull or jack-o’-lantern face on its head.

I’m someone who wants to visit each country in the world once. But after seeing these stick insects I’m rethinking my desire to go Papua New Guinea! These were massive. The photos do not do them justice.

I could’ve stayed in the Butterfly House all afternoon. It’s always so peaceful and I had a butterfly land right on my camera. This was my best shot in there.

We then made our way to some of the cold weather animals. We saw penguins, including Emperor Penguins, Rockhopper Penguins and Tufted Puffins which I’d never seen before. But by far my favorite animal of the cold weather section… and of the day… was the rescued polar bear that now lives at the St. Louis Zoo. We shared a moment as he pushed off from the glass on a swim around his enclosure.

We relaxed for a bit, enjoyed a drink and saw a few more animals before leaving for the day. It was sunny and warm so many were relaxing, soaking up the rays. Just as we were leaving it was feeding time and several of the animals were getting their dinner. The prairie dogs were thoroughly enjoying their veggies as we passed by one final time.

The St. Louis Zoo is already amazing, but it’s made even better by being free, allowing so many of the city’s residents to enjoy the animals that call it home. I highly recommend a visit if you find yourself in St. Louis.