Beyond Cincinnati: 6 Reasons to Visit the Columbus Zoo

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OHWe love our Cincinnati Zoo. LOVE it. No matter how often we go (and we go a LOT), the kids and I have a blast. Every time. However, sometimes a change can be fun. So when my husband’s vacation week happened to coincide with our girls’ first day of summer vacation, we packed up our car and headed north to experience something completely different: the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium.

It was AWESOME, well worth the trip! And here’s why:

1) A full day of fun, for only the cost of admission. With a family of 6, everything has the potential to be over budget, but this zoo trip was not. As members of the Cincinnati Zoo, we were able to purchase our tickets for half off the regular price…yay! Like Cincinnati, the Columbus Zoo allows you to carry in your own drinks and snacks, a great way for us to save on costs. We could have carried in our lunch as well, but decided against lugging the cooler around the zoo and ate at the car instead. There were optional “extras”, but we found more than enough to fill our time that was free of any additional charge.

2) 580 acres, 700 species, 9,000+ animals. For purposes of comparison, the Cincy Zoo takes up 74 acres and is home to over 500 animal species. This means, obviously, that much of what you see in Columbus you won’t find here. Some of our favorites were the bison (they are HUGE!), sun bears (so very cute!), and kangaroos (due in part to their awesome display – more on that later!). Our kids were also super excited about the aquarium inside the zoo.

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We loved the tide pool!

A word of caution: leave your flip flops at home! A zoo this size requires a lot of walking.

3) Six regions to explore. The zoo is divided into six separate regions: North America, the Heart of Africa, Congo Expedition, Asia Quest, Australia and the Islands, and the Shores. Within each are animals native to that area. My husband and I LOVED that North America was one of the six, as I think our kids (and us too!) tend to associate a zoo with exotic animals from around the world, and forget about all those that live a little closer to home.

4) One word: AMBIENCE. Walking through the zoo is literally like taking a trip around the world. The whole place, from the animals’ habitats to the paths you walk help to enhance the out-of-Ohio experience. Our hands down favorite was the African region. In addition to the enormous savannah, which housed almost every animal on display, there was a public school, a huge plane, a field tent, and a jeep, all accessible to the kids. Our younger ones probably spent more time exploring these than looking at the wildlife!

A VERY small part of Heart of Africa's savannah.  AMAZING!
A VERY small part of Heart of Africa’s savannah. AMAZING!

5) The view. Your legs may get a workout here, but your arms won’t. One of my only issues with the zoo here in Cincy is the accessibility of some of the exhibits. I find myself spending half the day lifting little people so they can see over the stone walls, vegetation, etc. Not the case in Columbus. Over the course of our day, I had to lift our 2 year old so she could see the animals twice. Twice! Most exhibits have amazing full length windows, multiple view points, and, in some cases (like those kangaroos I mentioned earlier!) only a small rope between you and them.

The 'roos with a view!
The ‘roos with a view!

6) More than just animals. If your kiddo is a fan of those large metal animal statues, the Columbus Zoo will be like a little taste of heaven. There are bunches, and we stopped to climb on every single one. There are also two playgrounds, although both do have height restrictions. Our 10 year old had to sit out on one, as she passed up the 54” height limit, but was able to play in the absolutely amazing Stings Wings n’ Play Things area (plan to spend a lot of time in here!). If you don’t mind paying a little extra, the zoo has a train (similar to Cincinnati) and a boat ride that winds through the Islands region. There is also a very cool looking water park, Zoombezi Bay, and small amusement park area, Jungle Jack’s Landing, on the same campus, although they carry an additional admissions cost.

This playground.  So much fun.
This playground. So much fun.

In the 8 hours we spent exploring the Columbus Zoo, we never once heard a word of complaint from our kids. They ran, climbed, played, and explored, and all slept like a rock the whole way home. And, in my book at least, any trip that ends with happy sleeping children is a trip worth taking!

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Emily Ringo
I am a Cincinnati girl, born and raised. After a brief hiatus to attend the University of South Carolina (go Cocks!), my husband and I moved back home with a 1 year old in tow (she's now 10!). Since then, we have added three more kiddos to our family (ages 6, 4 and 2), and I am lucky enough to hang out with them all day. We love reading, getting crafty, and making huge messes that we will definitely clean up...tomorrow. When I'm not surrounded by children, I dabble in exercise, enjoy reading a good book, and can frequently be found binging on Netflix with my favorite guy. About a year ago, a Pinterest “I can do that!” project painting little superheroes for my son turned into an Etsy shop (etsy.com/shop/woolyllama) which I manage to run in my “free time”. I may be slightly sleep deprived, but I wouldn't trade a minute of my crazy, busy, wonderful life!

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