We visited the Pittsburgh Zoo on a perfect summer day and had the best time!
It was one of those perfect family days—everyone had fun exploring, learning, and making memories. Here’s how our day went, along with some tips, tricks, and helpful info for visiting the Pittsburgh Zoo!
Tickets and Timing 🎫
First and foremost, if you have an Allegheny County library card, check out RAD Passes! I was able to get all of our tickets for free through RAD Passes. All I had to do was use my library card to book a date to visit the zoo. There are other local attractions (like the Aviary and various museums) you can use RAD passes for, too. Using a RAD Pass saved our family $134 on admission!
The Pittsburgh Zoo opens at 9:30 am and I actually wouldn’t recommend getting there right at opening time because depending on the weather and time of year, the line to get inside can be long. We arrived around 10:50 am and waited about ten minutes in line—not too shabby for a Friday in the summer. If we’d arrived closer to 1 pm, I think the line would have been even shorter and the zoo would have felt a little less crowded.
Experiencing the Pittsburgh Zoo 🦁
There’s so much to see and do at the Pittsburgh Zoo! When we visited, there were animatronic dinosaurs set up all over!
Along with the extra dinosaur displays, we saw all the usual animals—leopards, lions, elephants, penguins, goats, and more. We spent the day exploring all 77 acres of the zoo, visited the 45,000-square-foot aquarium, and saw countless animals along the way.
If you plan to see everything, definitely wear comfy shoes! If you’re visiting with kids and don’t want to lug a stroller in, you can rent a stroller for $10-13 (for a single or a double, respectively). One tip if you’re visiting with little kids: keep an extra close eye on them in the aquarium. It’s darker than the outdoor exhibits and can get pretty crowded, making it easy for little ones to wander ahead or fall behind.
There are two playgrounds at the zoo and they’re really great! One is called Kids Kingdom and the other is called Animal Motions Playground. Kids Kingdom is definitely geared more towards older kids, around ages 3-10. Animal Motions Playground was perfect for our little ones!
The exhibits that were big hits for us were Discover Disguises (where meerkats, lizards, and snakes are housed), the Australian Aviary (an area with birds and wallabies), and the aquarium.
Extras and Experiences 🦋
There are so many ways to pay a little extra to “level up” your zoo experience. From a carousel to face painting, restaurants, souvenir shops, ice cream, a butterfly walk-through, souvenir photos, and more.
We grabbed lunch at the main restaurant, Jambo Grill, and had a great experience. Our food was prepared quickly, the portions were generous, and the food tasted great. It was definitely on the pricey side for fairly simple foods like chicken tenders, salads, and burgers. We also packed our own snacks since coolers are allowed! There is also a nursing room that I used with Dakota, and it was very useful.
One extra we decided to splurge on was the I Spy A Butterfly greenhouse. Sadie and I walked through together, and it ended up being one of our favorite parts of the day. It was $4 per ticket and we were allowed to stay in the greenhouse as long as we wanted to. It was definitely worth the $4 tickets because we saw probably 200 butterflies all at once! I would definitely spend a few extra dollars on that experience again.
We also justified Dippin’ Dots ice cream for the kids because our tickets were free. 😉
It was such a great day! The temperature was in the 80s and it was sunny (I actually got sunburnt—learn from me and use sunscreen!), so most of the animals were out and about. We all left completely worn out after such a fun day.
We left around 4:15 pm, which wasn’t ideal with Pittsburgh rush hour traffic, but it was worth it after such a lovely day together. By the time we got home, everyone was exhausted in the best way. We’d happily visit the Pittsburgh Zoo again!
Living My Full Life 