Zoo Boise

Zoo Boise (not the Boise Zoo, btw) is a small affair right in the middle of a larger city park. It’s honestly a lovely arrangement. The park also contains the Idaho State Museum, an Art Museum, a Black History Museum, a rose garden, picnic pavilions, paddle boats, a Science Museum, and is part of the beautiful Boise River Greenbelt. So if you’re walking by or hanging out in the park, you might see giraffe heads bobbing along, or hear the lions roar.

Like I said, it’s not a very big zoo. Some of the exhibits seem cramped and dated. But most of their habitats are impressively large and themed, especially in the African areas, which is the majority of the park. All the animals have access to areas away from the public, so they might not be on display at all times. But when they are out and about, sometimes they are right on the other side of the glass! More so than other zoos I’ve been to. That being said, the glass at Zoo Boise is crazy dirty. Like, so dirty you almost can’t see through it.

Touring Zoo Boise

Zoo Boise straddles a small creek and is in a roughly circular layout with three “lobes.” To the right of the entrance, you have an African savannah area with lions, giraffes, and zebras. Straight back is a small recreation of an actual place in Mozambique, the Gorongosa National Park, with wild dogs, otters, baboons, and vultures. To the left of the entrance are some Asian animals and smaller species. There’s a sloth bear, red pandas, and ostensibly a snow leopard (though I never saw it.)

I avoided the Saturday morning crowds by heading straight back to the Gorongosa area first, which bought me about 30 minutes alone. Then I swung around to the African savannah, and to the Asian animals last. It’s not a bad way to tackle it, but I’ll describe everything going counter-clockwise from the entrance just for ease.

Entrance/Animals of the Annamite Mountains

Walking into the entrance area, the ticket counter is right inside the gate. Directly to your right is a cafe and bathrooms. There’s a photo booth tucked back in a corner, which is fun. And a $5 Conservation Cruise operates June-September. On it, you float around a small lagoon with a guide and get a different view of the Patas Monkey habitat.

Other animals in this area (according to the map) are from the Annamite Mountain Range, which stretches through Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia. Mostly, I remember the Gibbons in a long enclosure.

African Plains

Across the bridge is a large open area, very well themed to the African savannah. An open area with cafe tables under the spreading branches of a huge tree provides seating for a nearby cafe. A huge giraffe building and yard anchors one side, while a round central yard features African Lions.

Around the lions is a smaller enclosure for servals and a cool-looking African Schoolhouse educational room. There are the Patas Monkeys and a $5 giraffe-feeding encounter along here. There are even extra buildings that make it look like a real preserve, like a sleeping hut made up with a cot and mosquito netting.

Farther along are zebras, bat-eared foxes, and cattle called Nyalas, and a warhog pen. Along a parallel path is a cute step-down penguin exhibit, and some chill capybara.

Gorongosa National Park

Towards the back of the zoo is a new area themed to Mozambique’s Gorongosa National Park. The entrance is perfectly themed to look like the real thing. And there are tents set up for overnight group adventures.

A front area is set up for hyenas and wild dogs. Behind are crows, vultures, otters, and a large indoor/outdoor area for baboons. Other bird species and some butterfly and bug displays round out an area that looks like a research station. The whole area is set up as a one-way loop.

Animals of Asia

Across another bridge is the hilly area near the front of the park. On the front of the hill is an (elusive) snow leopard, a large hornbill, and some red pandas. Heading up the hill is an impressive Steller’s Sea Eagle. At the top of the hill is a large Asian-themed sloth bear exhibit. You can feed this guy for $5 in the mornings.

Down in a little valley is a $1 petting zoo, but make sure not to miss the Animals of the Pampas next to it. Back in there is a smelly maned wolf, anteaters, and some ostrich-like reahs, all native to South America. In the summer, there is a butterfly house.

Around the front is an Amur Tiger, though I could never spot it. And a Small Animal Kingdom building that looks like the oldest part of the zoo. A little mound for prairie dogs features domes for kids to pop up too. And a small playground with a giraffe slide is next to the gift shop and exit. There’s also a small snack cart near here too.

Extra Experiences

And that’s about it! Like I said, it’s pretty small. There’s also a little $2 carousel and the giraffe and sloth bear feeding encounters, which cost $5 each. Pay attention to the times when they are available – they are very limited per day. For instance, the $1 petting zoo is only open from noon to 1 pm and may even close early if the goats have gotten enough feed for the day. Make sure to check the website if there’s anything in particular you want to do.

Admission

Luckily, tickets for Zoo Boise aren’t very expensive. Adults cost $12.50. Kids aged 3-11 and seniors 62 and over cost $9.50. All Thursdays are discounted to $9.50 for adults and $8.50 for kids and seniors. Babies age 2 and under are always free and annual memberships are available. You can purchase tickets online, but I don’t see any reason to. (But at least they don’t charge an online service fee.)

Zoo Boise is open 10 am – 5 pm every day with the last admission to the park at 4 pm. The only days they stay closed are Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day.