If you are looking for a unique activity to do while you are at the Phoenix Zoo, check out our new pedal boats. The boats have moved from their former location across from zebras, to the Children’s Trail by Harmony Farm. The new location has a brand new dock with room to load all 10 of our boats.

These green pedal boats sparkle in the sunlight and have room for up to four people. Children must be at least two years old and drivers must be 18. For just $10 ($8 for members), you can relax and enjoy the beautiful scenery around the lake.

These brand new boats are also a great way to get some exercise! Another advantage of being out on the lake is the opportunity to get a closer look at our Siamang Island and the back of the jaguar exhibit. The Siamangs love to swing and play, and if you come to the Zoo in the morning, you might even hear them sing!

If you want to relax after you take a boat out for a spin, sit in the shade and enjoy a snack or some lunch next to the dock. There are plenty of tables with great views of the lake. It doesn’t get much better than being able to eat lunch while you watch the Siamangs play!

Head on down to the Phoenix Zoo and take a ride on our fantastic pedal boats!

As a frontline Phoenix Zoo staff member for over 10 years, I have encountered almost every possible question about our annual holiday light event; ZooLights.

Here are the top 5 questions asked:

What’s so special about ZooLights?

ZooLights is the largest light display in all of Arizona, with approximately 3.5 million LED lights and 600 light sculptures.  Every light display sculpture is created, designed and installed by a dedicated ZooLights crew of just 4 guys.  Each year the Zoo presents a different theme for ZooLights using both old and new light sculptures.  No two years of Zoolights are every the same because we move the light sculptures to new locations throughout the trails of ZooLights and introduce new displays based on the current year’s theme and staff suggestions.  This year, the theme is: Wildlife into Wild Lights!

When is the best time to arrive to view ZooLights?

That is a very subjective question.  Some folks like to walk around ZooLights when there are a lot of people walkingaround them. Others like to come when there aren’t so many people here so they can take their time and really take in all the lights.

In all my years of experience, I have discovered that it seems that the best times to come to the Zoo for ZooLights is to come early—as early as 5:30pm or to come later in the night, as late at 9pm (especially if you plan on coming on a Wednesday, Friday or Saturday night – our 3 busiest nights of the week).  Sunday throughTuesday and Thursdays are generally the slower nights of the week.  The week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve are also our busiest nights because the kids are out of school and families are in from out of town.  Most guests who visit the Zoo for ZooLights are here for 1½ -2 hours, but ZooLights can be walked in an hour or less.

Where can I park?

It’s a great idea to carpool with friends and family if you plan to attend ZooLights. Not only would you be freeing up parking spaces, but you would be helping the environment!  By arriving early or even late, you just might have an easier time finding parking in the Zoo’s main parking lot.  Remember, if it’s not designated as a parking spot, you probably shouldn’t be parking there.  On our busier nights, we open a satellite parking lot at Phoenix Municipal Stadium and provide a walking path between that lot and the Zoo.  If you do end up parking in the satellite parking lot, give yourself approximately 20 minutes each way to make that walk to and from the Zoo.

How can I avoid the long ticket lines?

Buy your tickets in advance online on the Zoo’s website, http://phoenixzoo.org/events/ZooLights/.  You will save a lot of time if you plan ahead and buy in advance.  However, if you do not have access to a printer and can’t make it to the Zoo prior to your ZooLights visit, you would be better off waiting to purchase your tickets when you arrive the night you would like to attend.  While we would be happy to look up your ticket order with your order or confirmation number, you will have to wait in the long line you were trying to avoid in order for us to do so.

Also, when purchasing your ZooLights tickets online, you should give yourself a lead time of about 2 hours to make sure your tickets have been processed and emailed to you.  Once that email has arrived (check your spam folder), be sure to open the attached PDF and print your tickets out – making sure not to print more than 1 ticket per 8½ X 11 sheet of paper.  If you have any issues printing your tickets, make sure to bring in your order or confirmation number, but please remember, that you need to wait in line to have us look up and reprint your tickets.

The Phoenix Zoo does not have the ability to scan barcodes off electronic devices, so if you only have your tickets on your mobile device, you will need to wait in line to have us look up and reprint your tickets.

You can also purchase tickets at any Valley Fry’s Food Stores.

What are the can’t miss things to do this year (fees may apply)?

Polar Slide is the newest activity to hit ZooLights and can only be found here at the Phoenix Zoo down by the MainLake.  This 200’ slide is so much fun – and anyone can go down the slide (as long as you are 4 years old and older and 38” or taller).  I personally have slid down the slide over 20 times since it opened on November 11^th.  How anyone can go down the slide without screaming is beyond me!

The Music in Motion Dancing Trees light show, located on the south side of the Main Lake, is also a personal favorite.  These trees dance on a continuous loop, so even if you arrive as they are just ending, another show is just minutes away.

Jengo, the life-sized talking Giraffe, is making his 6^th ZooLights appearance this year – stop by and say “hello”!  Sometimes during ZooLights, Jengo gets a cold and decides to take the night off, so be sure to check at the Admissions window to find out if he’s performing the night of your visit.

Carriage rides (Mon-Tues) and Wagon rides (Wed-Sun) provide an exclusive pathway that can only be enjoyed from the ride.  Carriage rides can accommodate groups up to 4 at a time and Wagon rides can accommodate up to 12 at a time.

Everyone’s favorite interactive exhibit is back!  Stingray Bay is now open and those stingrays can’t wait to meet you!  If you arrive around 7:30pm, you just might be able to purchase food to feed the stingrays.  Now that is a fun time!  Worried that it’s too cold to touch the stingrays? Don’t be! The stingrays swim in 80° water, so you can warm your hands as you touch the stingrays!

Camel rides are also a fun thing to do during ZooLights and are located near the Dancing Trees show.  And no visit to the Zoo, day or night, is complete without a ride on the Endangered Species Carousel located next to the Polar Slide.

On a personal note, one of my favorite things to do during ZooLights is to get a hot chocolate and search for light sculptures such as the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, the flame breathing dragon, the flame head, the alien head and spaceship.  I also keep my eye out for the 3-D light sculptures – like this year’s life-sized lion.

Hopefully this tips and suggestions help you plan the perfect night of ZooLights for you and your family!  Can’t wait to see ya!

Come to the Phoenix Zoo and check out some of our beautiful animals. Temperatures were unusually high this past week, but this weekend has brought cool weather back to the Zoo. All the animals are loving the cool down and they are extremely active.

Here’s a sneak peek into how some animals are enjoying this weekend’s weather.

So come to the Phoenix Zoo this weekend and check out the many other animals and see how they are taking advantage of this great weather!

Have you ever pet a stingray before? Well, if you haven’t, come out the Phoenix Zoo’s Stingray Bay and you’ll get the unique chance to pet and even feed a stingray.

If you’ve been to Stingray Bay in the past and you were sad to see it leave for the summer, there is some good news: Stingray Bay is back to stay! This means guests will have the opportunity to interact with these beautiful creatures year round.

If you don’t mind getting your hands a little “fishy,” be sure to take advantage of our daily feedings. For just a couple of dollars, guests can buy some fish and shrimp to feed our school of stingrays.

The 35 stingrays found in Stingray Bay are all cownose rays. Cownose rays are found in the western Atlantic from New England all the way south to the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean and Brazil. They get their name from their unique forehead that resembles a cow’s nose. Stingrays are closely related to sharks and they are sometimes mistaken for sharks because of the way they swim. If you look into Stingray Bay and you think you see a shark fin, it is probably just the fin of one of the rays breaking the surface of the water while they swim.

 And, don’t worry about the cownose rays stinging anyone! They have had their barbs painlessly trimmed – like a long fingernail.

So don’t waste any more time. Get out to the Phoenix Zoo visit Stingray Bay and become a member of our school!

For more information about Stingray Bay, click here.

Now that ZooLights is in full swing and the temperatures are cooling down, it is a perfect time to come out and visit the Phoenix Zoo. People aren’t the only creatures taking advantage of the great weather, the tigers, giraffes and lions are just some of the many animals that are enjoying this winter cool down and are extremely active right now.

Hadiah, one of the Sumatran tigers, loves to explore her habitat now that the heat has subsided. Take a look up in the tree next time you visit her and see if you can spot her relaxing. If she isn’t in the tree, look into the bottom of her habitat and you might find her looking back up at you. She might even give you a roar!

Photo by Rick Pascale

Right across from the tiger exhibit is our Giraffe Encounter. This experience gets you up close and personal with these gentle giants. For a couple of bucks, you are able to feed them and you will have a memory to last a lifetime. Like Hadiah, the giraffes are enjoying the brisk cool down and are much more active. At times, when they get running, they look almost as if they are dancing.

Our pair of lions enjoy this time of year as well, but they can still often be spotted sunning themselves in the main area of their exhibit. They are a brother and sister –a male named Sheik and a female named Cookie. They are both 12 years old and love hanging out together.

Photo by Rick Pascale

With the cooler temperatures in full effect, you may be wondering where our Zoo favorites Duchess and her family are? This family of Bornean orangutans does not take too kindly to the cooler temperatures. Orangutans are from the jungles of Borneo, and we do not let out this family unless it is 60 degrees or warmer! They are not used to the cold and prefer to stay indoors, relaxing in their night house until the temperatures warm up a bit. But, if you do catch them on a warmer day, they are always fun to see! People cannot seem to help stopping for long periods of time to check them out. Duchess, the oldest Bornean orangutan in North America, is still extremely active for a fifty year old. Kasih, our youngest orangutan, is probably one of the most active animals in the entire zoo, not to mention she’s very cute. She loves to play with her family and she never runs out of things to do. There is never a dull moment with Kasih. You might find her hanging upside down, climbing on her family or lounging in the large net. The whole family is anxiously awaiting the move to their new home. It will provide them with more space to have fun and it will provide guests with an even closer look into their daily lives.

If you want to get some exercise while you are at the Zoo, now is the perfect time to come try out our brand new pedal boats. These boats have plenty of space for four and provide shade while you are cruising on the lake. While you are getting some exercise, don’t forget to check out the Siamangs on the island. They love to climb and swing around all day. And if you get to the Zoo early enough you might hear them calling out to each other.

Now is a great time to take advantage of the great weather, and come out to visit the Phoenix Zoo and all the animals.