Date of Visit: September 24, 2020

Founded in 1898, the Pittsburgh Zoo is not quite as old as its counterpart in Philadelphia. But like the Philadelphia Zoo, it is has grown over the years into a celebrated destination.

The Zoo is located within Highland Park, one of Pittsburgh’s many large public green spaces. And the park lives up to its name. An escalator carries guests from the parking lot to the Village, home to the Zoo’s gift shop, education building and carousel ride.  

(For those looking for a little more exercise a walking trail, the Zoofit Path, will also get you to the Village).

It’s a little farther along the path, under an old stone bridge, to the Forest Passage and the place where the Zoo truly begins.

Here you’ll find your first exhibits, a mix of animals from a variety of habitats including Canadian lynx, red panda, Amur tiger and the Komodo dragon.

We followed the path to the left which brought us to the African Savannah section. For my son, these were all the animals from the Lion King – warthogs, zebras, elephants, giraffes and of course, lions.

The elephant exhibit was one of the most creative in the zoo. It featured a replica marketplace that showed exactly how much an elephant eats in a single day and also had a measuring stick where kids and their parents could stand to see how they compare to the size of a full-grown adult elephant. (And because it’s Pittsburgh, they were also a marker to show the height of Penguins great Mario Lemieux).

The same elephants also put on quite a show as they bathed themselves with dust and drank from the small pond in their habitat.

Nearby, the rhinos looked just as impressive, even though they were farther away in the distance, as did the flamingos, though they were impressive for their brilliant pink feathers as opposed to their size.

Moving farther down the path, we arrived in the Tropical Forest. Here is where most of the zoo’s primates are found. There are lemurs, capuchin, gibbons, orangutans and gorillas among the residents.

The path then opened up into the Safari Plaza, kind of a halfway rest point with food and drink offerings for both kids and adults.

Safari Plaza sits adjacent to The Islands where we found a menagerie of animals including a clouded leopard, warty pig and Philippine crocodile.

Continuing up the path, we arrived at the Jungle Odyssey. The exhibits here were on a hill overlooking the Plaza and featured one of the coolest animals on display – the pygmy hippopotamus.

Looking like a baby hippopotamus, the pygmy hippo put on a show, not on land, but in the water as it swam through the water in its enclosure, coming right up against the glass for a close-up look.

While the hippo spent some time in the water, the true water dwellers were found at the Aquarium. This would have been fine aquarium to visit on its own, the fact that it was inside the zoo made it all the more impressive.

Inside were various species of fish and turtles, but the most fun part was the penguins. There were actually two penguin species in the enclosure, and seeing them interacting with each other made the day of our son.

One of the coolest parts of the zoo was just outside the aquarium in a tunnel near the Water’s Edge. Here, sea lions frolic above and around you as they swim freely through the water.  

The experience is actually made for polar bear encounters, but the bear was a little tired during our visit.

Of all the areas, the Water’s Edge was the most elaborately decorated with a recreated seaside street that led to the Sea Otter Cove.

Here the namesake animals played like kids jumping in and out of the water, splashing around without a care in the world. Another example of nature’s beauty on display.

Two more areas lay ahead. The first was the Kids Kingdom, an area for children with more animals but also slides and play areas. (If my son were a little older, I’m sure he would have loved the slides, but they were a little big for him at three years old).

Exhibits here include barn animals like pigs, donkeys and goats, but also more exotic creatures like wallabies.

The last area is called Worlds of Discovery. A boardwalk connects it to the Kids Kingdom and along the way are a few more exhibits. In the area, itself, is home to a reptile house and amphitheater.

We spent all day enjoying the zoo but it felt like we could have taken our time even more and stayed a little longer and had even more fun making even more memories.

More PA Zoos & Aquariums…