Following on from my post about seeing the pandas at Smithsonian National Zoo back in September 2018 I wanted to put together a post about everything else we saw on our two visits to the National Zoo. It’s a huge zoo and they have so many species to see and learn about, we really had a great time and really filled out two visits well with everything the zoo had to show! They have such a range of species from all of the large mammal favourites to many different reptile species in the specific Reptile House. This post covers all the areas at the zoo, but we didn’t quite see everything/get a picture of everything. The zoo is split into 3 main areas which are colour coded on the map, I thought this was quite useful and split the species quite nicely in the zoo, and so I’ve used the same areas to share about what we saw in this wonderful zoo.
Upper Zoo – Asia Trail
The ‘Upper Zoo’ area is where the main entrance to the zoo is, so we started here and I think it was probably my favourite area of the zoo (of course, this is where the pandas are located so where most of our time was spent). The Asia Trail was probably my favourite part, the theming of the environment was very nice, we really liked all of the species we could see here, and we saw some species for the first time – the Sloth Bear and the Fishing Cat (pictured below) were animals we’d never seen before and they were just beautiful. I had no idea what to expect from a Fishing Cat, but I thought it would be larger! We also saw the Clouded Leopards, however their enclosure was full of foliage and in a darker area so I didn’t get any pictures, but they were also a beautiful species we had never seen before. The otters were also super cute, they had a really beautiful enclosure to explore. And of course, there are also red pandas at the zoo, these can be found on the route into the giant panda indoor enclosure – there was a good view into the outdoor enclosure but also some windows so you could look into the indoor enclosure too if they were spending some time inside. While this really goes for the zoo as a whole, I got the most pictures in the Asia Trail, but the education and signage at the zoo was really great, some of the best I’ve seen at the zoos I’ve been to. There were so many opportunities to learn more about the species on show and the conservation work, I was really impressed by this.
Valley – American Trail, Elephant Outpost and Andean Bear
The next area of the zoo we went to was the ‘Valley’ which runs down the left-hand side of the zoo. The main feature here were definitely the elephants – there were a number of different viewing points for the elephants and you could see them both inside and outside, we also viewed them from one of the walkways on the Asia Trail which gave a great vantage point. The enclosure was big and looked pretty good with different terrains and pool options alongside enrichment. We also really enjoyed seeing the Andean Bear here, another species we’ve not seen before, it was a very quiet area of the zoo, we really only saw a handful of other guests, so we had the Andean Bear all to ourselves – he was really making good use of the space in his enclosure and was super fast at scaling a tree that looked a little unstable for a bear his size! That was a definite highlight to our trip. We also really enjoyed the American Trail component in this area of the zoo, it was very quiet so we could enjoy most of the animals on our own and it really felt like we were in the countryside and not a city or even a zoo, and the theming here was also really great, sadly I didn’t take so many pictures of just the environment. We’re big fans of sea lions and seals, so it was great to see them. The sea lions in particular were great, they must have known it was time for snacks as they all sat by the door calling out and we could hear it for the whole length into and out of the trail!
Lower Zoo – Primates, Big Cats and Reptiles
The ‘Lower Zoo’ is probably the area where we spent the least time, which is simply based on our species preferences as I’m sure others will spend a lot of time here. I think the main draw here are the big cat exhibits with both lions and tigers, I love both of these species and was happy to see them here. Neither were too active on our visits and were enjoying some time resting, but it was fun to see one of the tigers hop on down into the water in the enclosure and just sit there! The only other time I’ve seen tigers make use of the water was years ago at Edinburgh Zoo when there were tiger cubs who just loved getting in the pool^ The primates are also a big draw for this area, I’m really just not so much a primate person – the enclosures looked good and we enjoyed watching, but I just didn’t take any pictures. I’m also really not a reptile person, the reptile house here is super impressive with its range of species, but as they’re behind glass and inside, it makes taking pictures tricky. One memorable species for sure was the Alligator Snapping Turtle, it was just a little bit creepy, floating in the water with its mouth wide open just waiting to snap – it also had a very unique look to it, it was very dinosaur-like I thought!
Your Visit
Getting to Smithsonian National Zoo
The zoo is in the North of the city, and seemed more in a residential area than the city which I quite liked. There are several car parks at the zoo, so plenty of space if you are driving. We took the metro – it was only one stop from our hotel, however the metro station was around a ten minute walk from the zoo entrance and it was a little uphill. It is a pretty neighbourhood though, so the walk was pleasant. I think there is also a bus line that stops right at the zoo entrance, but I don’t have any information on that. On our second trip to the zoo we just walked the whole way there, which wasn’t too bad and didn’t take that long from the city centre.
In Smithsonian National Zoo
The greatest thing about visiting the National Zoo is that it has free admission, that is one of the things which meant we could visit twice on our trip, and I really think we made the most of that.
At the time of our trip (September) the park opened from 8am to 7pm but the main zoo buildings were only open from 9am to 6pm. At the moment there are restrictions in place, so definitely confirm what those are prior to planning a visit.
Signage in the zoo was really good, it was very easy to navigate with plenty of different routes which were well signposted with both text and pictures. We didn’t purchase a zoo map (I’m wishing we had though!), but this was no problem as there were plenty of large signs around to check out where you were.
In September, and not during the school holidays, it was definitely a little more off-season than peak-season, so not all of the food stalls were open, however there were still plenty of options and also some vending machines available for snacks and drinks, and I thought everything was reasonably priced. We just stopped for a slice of pizza at the Panda Plaza area and then had some ice cream to help with the heat!
And lastly there were a few gift shops throughout the zoo, we liked the one at the Panda Plaza the best, it seemed to be the biggest with the widest selection of things to buy. We didn’t find it too expensive, and the range was really good compared to some other zoos we’ve visited – they had a really nice selection of books, t-shirts, mugs etc. and there really was something for all ages.