North America has many great places to see Best Zoos. Some of them have been in business for more than a hundred years. Some are new, purpose-built buildings that set new global standards for animal care and conservation.
What makes a zoo, aquarium, or aviary stand out from the rest? Three things: how good the animal habitats are, how strong the conservation programs are, and how much the visitor really learns. All three of these things are done well by the schools on this list.
This guide is divided into three sections: zoos, aquariums, and aviaries. Each section provides a practical overview of what each place has to offer, what is really worth seeing, and who it is best for.
The Best Zoos in North America
The Global Standard: San Diego Zoo in California
- Where: San Diego, California
- Best for: Families, taking pictures of animals, and visiting all day
- Cost of Entry: $69 for adults and $59 for kids
The San Diego Zoo is the most popular in the US, and visitors say it’s one of the best in the world. The San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, which owns it, runs one of the largest zoological membership groups in the world.
The zoo is located in Balboa Park and spans more than 100 acres. It has more than 3,500 animals from 650 different species. It was the first zoo to move away from caged exhibits. The first lion area without wire fences opened in 1922, and this design philosophy is still used by the best zoos today.
In 2024, a pair of giant pandas named Yun Chuan and Xin Bao came back to the zoo on loan. Wildlife Explorers Basecamp, a new children’s experience that opened in 2022, spans 3.2 acres and features animal exhibits and immersive technology across several sensory attractions.
The aerial gondola lets you see the whole zoo from above, which is really cool on its own. Set aside at least five to six hours. You can walk all over the zoo, but there are many steep hills, so wear comfortable shoes.
Don’t miss: the Australian Outback section, the giant panda exhibit, and Africa Rocks.
Washington, D.C.’s Smithsonian National Zoo — Free and of the highest quality
- Where it is: Washington, D.C. (Rock Creek Park)
- Best for: Families on a budget, families who want to learn, and fans of giant pandas
- Cost of admission: Free (but you have to pay for parking)
The Smithsonian Institution owns the National Zoological Park. This free-entry zoo, which opened in 1889, is one of the oldest in the United States and gets about 1.8 million visitors a year. The zoo is located on a 163-acre public site in Rock Creek Park and a 3,200-acre conservation facility in Front Royal, Virginia. These two campuses have about 2,700 animals from 390 different species.
The Smithsonian’s National Zoo is one of the best value wildlife experiences on the continent because it is free to get in. In one day, you can see the Great Cats exhibit, the American Trail (with sea lions, beavers, and gray wolves), and the Asian Trail (with giant pandas, clouded leopards, and fishing cats).
Dr. Brandie Smith, the zoo’s director, said that modern zoos should focus on three things: keeping animals happy and healthy, meeting the psychological, social, and physical needs of all animals, and ensuring that all animals are happy and healthy. The quality of the park’s habitats reflects that philosophy.
Don’t miss the Asian Trail, Amazonia (an indoor rainforest exhibit), and the Think Tank, which explores how animals think.
The Bronx Zoo in New York City is the biggest city zoo in the US.
- Where: The Bronx, New York City
- Best for: People who visit the city, big groups, and immersive habitat experiences
- Cost of admission: Adults pay $39.95 (extra for premium exhibits)
There are more than 6,000 animals at the Bronx Zoo, which spans 265 acres and houses more than 700 species. The Wildlife Conservation Society, one of the most respected conservation groups in the world, runs it. It opened in 1899.
The Congo Gorilla Forest is one of the best places in North America to see primates. People walk through a thick, humid indoor rainforest and see lowland gorillas living in an environment that is very similar to their natural habitat.
The Tiger Mountain exhibit recreates a Siberian landscape, with viewing areas at ground level and underwater. You can see Amur tigers walking just feet away through the glass. The World of Reptiles, one of the oldest buildings on the grounds, is home to gaboon vipers, Nile crocodiles, and Komodo dragons.
Don’t miss the Congo Gorilla Forest, Tiger Mountain, and the Wild Asia Monorail (only open in the summer).
San Antonio Zoo in Texas: The Heart of Conservation
- Where: San Antonio, Texas
- Best for: Families and people who love rare species
- Cost of admission: Adults pay $29.99
More than a million people visit the San Antonio Zoo every year. It covers more than 50 acres and is home to over 750 species, some of which are endangered or no longer exist in the wild. The Center for Conservation and Research at the zoo studies fish, amphibians, reptiles, insects, crustaceans, and endangered ecosystems.
The zoo began construction on Congo Falls, a new home for gorillas, in 2024. It should be done in 2025. It is one of the few zoos in the country with a major program to protect freshwater animals, and it often breeds animals that are at risk of going extinct in the wild.
The area around San Pedro Creek makes the visit even more beautiful. There are paths along the edge of the creek, and there are open areas for animals on both sides.
Don’t miss: Africa Live!, the Birds of the World exhibit, and Amazonia.
5. Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago, Illinois, is free and in the middle of the city.
- Where: Chicago, Illinois
- Best for: Families who live nearby, casual visits, and last-minute day trips
- Cost of admission: Free (but you have to pay to park)
Lincoln Park Zoo is in the middle of Chicago, just a few minutes from Lake Michigan. It has been free to the public since 1868. It is one of the last big zoos in the US that doesn’t charge an entry fee.
The zoo is smaller than the ones in San Diego or the Bronx, but it makes good use of its space. The Regenstein African Journey is an indoor-outdoor exhibit that lets you see pygmy hippos, Nile crocodiles, and African wild dogs living in environments that mimic their natural habitats. One of the best-designed children’s wildlife areas in the country is the Pritzker Family Children’s Zoo.
Lincoln Park Zoo is a great place for people who live in or are visiting Chicago to spend a few hours without planning a whole day around it.
Don’t miss: the Kovler Sea Lion Pool, the Regenstein Center for African Apes, and the Regenstein African Journey.
The Best Aquariums in North America
The Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta
- Where: Atlanta, Georgia
- Best for: Whale shark encounters, diving programs, and things to do on your bucket list
- Cost of admission: Adults pay $44.99
The Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta is always the first place people look when they want to find the biggest aquarium in the US or even the world. The Ocean Voyager exhibit, which has 6.3 million gallons of water and can be seen through a beautiful acrylic tunnel and a huge viewing window, is what makes it most famous.
The Georgia Aquarium is the only aquarium in the Western Hemisphere to house whale sharks. These animals can reach 30 feet long. There is nothing else like seeing one move quietly through a tank the size of a small stadium in North America’s aquariums.
Visitors always love the Ocean Voyager exhibit. Guests go through the experience in a 100-foot-long underwater tunnel that showcases more than 50 types of fish.
The Georgia Aquarium has more than just whale sharks. It also has beluga whales, manta rays, bottlenose dolphins, sea otters, and African penguins. Certified divers can book in-tank dives, which are one of the most unique wildlife experiences you can have in North America.
Don’t miss the Ocean Voyager, the Dolphin Tales show, and the AT&T Dolphin Tales theater.
The Conservation Leader is the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California.
- Where: Monterey, California
- Best for: People who care about marine life, people who like to see beautiful places, and people who like sea otters
- Cost of admission: Adults pay $59.95
The Monterey Bay Aquarium is on the edge of the Pacific Ocean and focuses on the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. The Open Sea gallery, which holds 1.2 million gallons of water, is its most famous exhibit. It has sardines, sleek tuna, and ocean sunfish. The Kelp Forest is one of the tallest displays in the world.
It cost $55 million to build the aquarium, which opened on October 20, 1984. It attracts almost 2 million visitors a year because it hosts more than 600 types of marine life and holds more than 2 million gallons of water.
Monterey Bay is different from other aquariums because it is really scientifically sound. The aquarium is built on the site of a former sardine cannery on Cannery Row. The ocean right outside the aquarium serves as a living laboratory for its researchers. The organization is dedicated to protecting California’s ocean and encouraging the next generation of conservation leaders.
The sea otters are the institution’s most popular residents. They are rescued animals that can’t live in the wild. It is just as cute to see them float on their backs and break shells with rocks in person as it is in pictures.
Don’t miss the jellyfish gallery, the sea otter habitat, the open sea exhibit, and the kelp forest.
The Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, Illinois
- Where: Museum Campus on the lakefront in Chicago, Illinois
- Best for: Families, seeing dolphins and belugas, and going all year round
- Cost of Entry: Adults pay $39.99
The Shedd Aquarium on Chicago’s Museum Campus is one of the biggest aquariums in the US and a historic site. It offers a world-class experience. It opened in 1930 and is located on the shore of Lake Michigan in one of the most beautiful urban settings for an aquarium in the country.
The tri-level Oceanarium is the world’s largest indoor marine mammal facility. It has dolphins, beluga whales, sea otters, sea lions, and penguins.
The Caribbean Reef exhibit has a 90,000-gallon circular tank that you can see from many angles. It is home to sharks, stingrays, green sea turtles, and hundreds of tropical fish. People in the gallery watch as divers go into the tank to feed the fish.
It’s easy to visit the Field Museum or the Adler Planetarium on the same day as the Shedd Aquarium because they are all on the Museum Campus.
Don’t miss: the Oceanarium, the Caribbean Reef, and the beluga whale habitat at the Abbott Oceanarium.
Baltimore, Maryland’s National Aquarium
- Where: Baltimore, Maryland (Inner Harbor)
- Best for: Families, people from the East Coast, and people who want to see both rainforests and reefs
- Cost of admission: Adults pay $44.99
More than 1.5 million people visit the National Aquarium every year. It has more than a dozen exhibits with more than 600 species. There is a rainforest on the roof of the aquarium where people can look for strange birds and other animals that live in trees.
The building is right on the waterfront of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. Seven floors of exhibits show coral reefs in the Atlantic, the Amazon River rainforest, an Australian river habitat, and a Pacific coral reef. The dolphin habitat is one of the few remaining dolphin programs at an aquarium on the US East Coast.
It is easily accessible from downtown Baltimore hotels, making it a good place to start a visit to the city.
Don’t miss the Atlantic coral reef, the Amazon rainforest exhibit, and the dolphin shows.
Boston, Massachusetts’ New England Aquarium
- Where: Central Wharf in Boston, Massachusetts
- Best for: Families on the East Coast, marine conservation programs, and penguin exhibits
- Cost of Entry: Adults pay $39.95
The New England Aquarium is located on Boston’s historic Central Wharf, right on the harbor. It opened in 1969. The main attraction is the Giant Ocean Tank, which is 200,000 gallons and four stories tall. It is a Caribbean coral reef ecosystem home to green sea turtles, sharks, barracuda, moray eels, and hundreds of tropical fish.
One of the best marine animal rescue programs in the country is run by the aquarium. The animal care team helps seals, sea turtles, and dolphins that are stuck or injured along the New England coast year-round.
The aquarium’s dock is where whale-watching boats depart, making it the easiest place on the East Coast to see whales.
Don’t miss: the whale watching boats, the giant ocean tank, and the penguin colony.
The Best Aviaries in North America
The National Aviary in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Where: Allegheny Commons Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Best for: People who love birds, families, and visits that focus on conservation
- Cost of admission: Adults pay $17.95
The National Aviary is the only nonprofit indoor zoo in the United States that is not run by the government and is dedicated solely to birds. It is in Allegheny Commons Park on Pittsburgh’s historic Northside. It is home to more than 500 birds and other animals from more than 150 species, many of which are threatened or endangered in the wild.
The aviary houses animals hard to find in other zoos around the world, such as Andean condors and the critically endangered Vietnam pheasant, which hasn’t been seen in the wild since 2000.
There are more Guam Rails at the National Aviary than at any other zoo in North America. Nine Guam kingfishers that were born at the aviary in 2024 were released into the wild on Palmyra Atoll. This was the first time this species, now extinct in the wild, had lived outside human care since 1988.
Birds can fly around visitors in walk-through habitats. The Tropical Rainforest habitat is the most immersive. It’s a warm, green indoor space where macaws, toucans, and small birds that can fly around you as you walk. Flamingos and wading birds live in the Wetlands habitat. A group of African penguins, which are in danger of extinction, lives in the Penguin Point habitat.
Every day, there are live bird shows at the FliteZone Theater, the first indoor theater in the country built solely for bird shows.
Don’t miss the Tropical Rainforest walk-through, the FliteZone bird show, Penguin Point, or the Andean condors.
The Bronx Zoo in New York City has a World of Birds.
- Where: The Bronx, New York City
- Best for: Different kinds of animals, people from the city, and bird experiences that include the zoo
The Bronx Zoo’s World of Birds is an indoor free-flight exhibit that opened in 1972 and remains one of the largest bird exhibits in North America. The one-way flow pattern takes people through 25 bird habitats, from the desert to the tropical forest.
The display is huge. You go through dry forest, rainforest, grassland, and wetland zones in that order. At each stage, birds fly over and around you. It is dark, immersive, and meant to make you feel lost in the best way possible. It feels more like stepping into each biome than a zoo exhibit.
The San Diego Zoo
- Where: San Diego, California
There are many aviaries at the San Diego Zoo, each with a different type of bird. Architect Louis John Gill designed the zoo’s aviary, which opened in 1937 and was the largest in the world at the time. It was a huge steel structure measuring 180 feet long, 60 feet wide, and more than 100 feet high, with no beams or cross-wires to impede the birds’ flight.
As part of the full zoo experience, the zoo now offers lorikeet encounters, bird shows, and several walk-through bird habitats. There is no other zoo that has as many different kinds of birds on display, from flamingos and toucans to birds of prey and rare tropical species.
World Bird Sanctuary in St. Louis, Missouri
- Where: Glencoe, Missouri, which is close to St. Louis
- Best for: Protecting raptors and teaching programs
- Entry: Free (donations are welcome)
The World Bird Sanctuary is located on 305 acres of hardwood forest and focuses on breeding endangered species from all over the world. The sanctuary is home to birds from Vietnam, Andean condors, and many other falcon and raptor species. It runs a wildlife clinic for injured raptors and has outdoor bird exhibits as part of its educational programs.
The sanctuary isn’t as polished as the National Aviary, but it does a lot of great work to protect animals. Many of the birds on display are recovering after being injured. This is an educational experience that is based on real life, not performance.
A Piece of American History: The St. Louis Zoo Flight Cage
- Where: St. Louis, Missouri
- Best for: People who love history, big birds, and free entry
The St. Louis Zoo houses the 1904 World’s Fair Flight Cage, one of only two permanent buildings from the fair still standing. The Smithsonian Institution built it, and it is 228 feet long, 84 feet wide, and 50 feet high. It was the largest bird cage ever built in 1904, and it is still one of the largest free-flight aviaries in the world.
The St. Louis Zoo is free to enter, which is rare for a major US zoo. Most people don’t know that the Flight Cage is an amazing piece of architectural and conservation history until they get there.
How to Plan Your Visit
Buy tickets ahead of time. On busy days, like summer weekends and school holidays, every place on this list sells out. To avoid disappointment, buy your tickets online at least two to three days before you go.
Get there early. Animals are most active in the morning. In the first two hours after opening, exhibits are also less crowded. Arriving early at the Georgia Aquarium is very important because the whale shark viewing areas fill up quickly.
Plan your visit around feeding times. Most zoos, aquariums, and aviaries post daily feeding times. Watching a keeper feed sharks in an open tank, hand-feed penguins, or give fish to sea otters is much more interesting than just watching.
Check for AZA accreditation. The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) grants its seal of approval to facilities that meet strict standards for animal care, conservation, and education. All of the schools on this list are AZA-accredited. AZA accreditation is a good way to tell whether a smaller local facility is of good quality when you visit.
Think about becoming a member. Annual memberships at big zoos, aquariums, and aviaries usually cost only a little bit more than two single-day tickets. Many of them are reciprocal, which means that if you have one membership, you can get in for free or at a reduced price at hundreds of other AZA-accredited places in North America.
Questions That Are Often Asked
Which zoo in North America is the best overall?
The San Diego Zoo is always at or near the top of the list of the best zoos in the world. No other place in North America has as many different animals, good habitats, a reputation for conservation, and a great visitor experience as this one.
What is the biggest aquarium in North America?
The Ocean Voyager exhibit at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta has 6.3 million gallons of water, making it the largest aquarium in the United States. It is the only aquarium outside Asia to house whale sharks.
Which aviary in North America is the best?
The National Aviary in Pittsburgh is the only independent indoor nonprofit zoo in the US dedicated solely to birds. It has over 500 birds from more than 150 species, many of which are threatened or endangered.
Which big zoo in the US is free to visit?
The National Zoo in Washington, D.C., the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago, and the St. Louis Zoo all let people in for free. They fund their operations through membership programs, donations, and paid premium experiences.
What is the best aquarium for kids?
Both the Georgia Aquarium and the Shedd Aquarium get high marks for family visits. The Georgia Aquarium is great for younger kids because it is big and offers activities. It is easier to get around Shedd with a full family because of its small size and marine mammal shows.
Final Thoughts
Zoos, aquariums, and aviaries in North America are more than just places to visit. The best ones have real conservation programs, fund field research worldwide, and breed endangered species that can’t survive anywhere else but in human care.
You help protect giant pandas by going to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo. You are helping the Guam kingfisher recovery program by visiting the National Aviary. This bird would be extinct if it weren’t for you. When you go to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, you help pay for research that affects ocean policy around the world.
These are really important places. They should have a whole day, not just a rushed afternoon. Choose the one that’s closest to you, make a plan, and get there early. The animals will take care of the rest.
Are you planning a trip to one of these places? Please tell us where you’re going in the comments, and we’ll help you make the most of your trip.