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Location
Parking
parking available
Best time
Visit during cooler months (fall/winter/spring) rather than summer. Houston's heat makes summer visits miserable, and animals are more active in comfortable temperatures. Winter holiday light shows are also highly rated by visitors.
Visitor tip
Don't miss keeper chats (Wednesdays at 11am CDT on Facebook Live) and the giraffe feeding platform interactive experiences. These provide deep educational insights into animal behavior, though both are weather and animal-dependent, so have backup activities planned.
About Houston Zoo
Lions & tigers & bears... and more. Visitors can see 6,000+ animals in natural, habitat-style exhibits & watch daily care & feedings.
Quick Facts
- Type
- Zoo
- Highlights
- Giraffe feeding, keeper chats, interactive animal encounters
- Hours
- 9am - 5pm (last entry 4pm)
- Membership
- Available; pays for itself in 2 visits
What visitors say
Houston Zoo is a really nice place to visit, especially if you don’t want something overly huge or exhausting. The zoo is not very large, and we were able to explore it comfortably within about 3 hours, which felt more than enough for…
So disappointed in this zoo. First, the pricing is extremely misleading. The posted adult admission says $19.95, but in reality, they use “dynamic pricing” based on availability and busy times—meaning there is essentially no way to…
This zoo, nestled in Houston's Hermann Park, is fantastic. So many animals (over 6,000 according to their website) on 55 acres. Many of the enclosures were nicely done. The walk from one animal enclosure to another was pleasant.…
From 43,330 Google reviews Read all reviews
Did You Know?
- Houston Zoo houses over 6,000 animals across 55 acres with habitat-style exhibits, making it a major zoological collection in the region
- The zoo offers interactive giraffe feeding experiences on a dedicated platform, allowing visitors direct contact with animals
- Membership pays for itself in as few as two visits per year, making it cost-effective for frequent visitors
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