A Great Day at Louisville Zoo – Louisville, Kentucky

 

We recently had the pleasure of spending a day at Louisville Zoo in Louisville, Kentucky. We have lived in the Cincinnati, Ohio area for years but never took the time to take our kids to the Louisville Zoo because it was over an hour away. We have heard lots of good things about it. We decided to take the trip during our staycation and I’m so glad we did. It was a great day!

We had breakfast at home before loading all of us and our junk in my little hatchback. The drive to Louisville was nice. We had time to chat in the car. The girls were really excited. We hadn’t been to a zoo in ages. We found it easily and parking was plentiful since it was a weekday.

We bought our tickets and entered the zoo. The restrooms are right next to the entrance which was convenient after such a long car ride. We chose to start by going to the left. We brought the stroller for Octavia to sit in when she wanted and for our stuff. She walked for most of the day but we were really happy we had the stroller at snack time. It has a snack tray that is perfect for having meals and snacks on the go.

There were the normal zoo animals like zebras, elephants, and giraffes. This was Octavia’s first time at a zoo. Everyone enjoyed their time watching animals. The girls got a giggle out of the geese in the outdoor giraffe area. The rhino was sleeping. He reminded us of Jack because of the way he kept wiggling around and rubbing his head on the ground. The elephants were lively and playing. There was a zebra that kept rolling in the dirt and jumping up. We all thought that was quite funny.

“Butterflies and Blooms” was going on while we were there. There was an area set up that was full of flowers, caterpillars, and butterflies. Octavia squealed with delight to see all the butterflies flying around. There was a nice lady working the area that talked to Isabella for a while. She answered all her questions and explained the entire life process of a butterfly to her. It was very educational. We really appreciated the extra attention and the level of enthusiasm that the employee had for her work.

Next was the gorilla forest. This is one of Michael’s favorite things to see at the zoo. There is construction going on next to it so we just circled around. This area feels weird because of the construction work being done. I don’t want to comment too much on it because I don’t know if it normally is ok and we just caught it at a bad time. Ivy loved seeing the meerkats and naked mole rats that were here.

We went to the petting zoo next. It was just a lot of goats. One of the goats liked to nibble on people’s clothing. He really liked the pockets on Michael’s shorts and spent most of the time we were there trying to chew on them. Octavia wasn’t sure what to think of the goats and asked multiple times if they were dogs. This little area is fun if you have little kids but avoid it if you are wearing light colored shoes. The ground is a reddish dirt. Octavia was wearing white shoes when we started and wasn’t when we were done.

The polar bear was very lively and sitting in the window. It was almost like he was posing for photos with all the kids. It was a really fun moment for the girls to be right on the other side of the glass from him. Next were the seals and sea lions. They were fun to watch. They swam constantly in circles, occasionally coming up to greet us and make “fart” noises which Octavia thought was hilarious.

Next up was Lorikeet Landing. We bought a few cups of nectar. Ivy (17) had a great time feeding the birds. Animals always love her and it wasn’t long until she had a couple of them perched on her. Isabella (8) was afraid of them but did manage to feed one with help from her Dad. Octavia (2) thought they were hilarious. Michael held her to help her feed them. Birds always like him too so they were able to feed many of them. I am not a fan of birds and chose to take pictures of everyone else. As you leave Lorikeet Landing, you are right at the entrance of Wallaroo Walkabout. We waited to be escorted through to see the wallabies and emus.

Next, we stopped for a snack of popcorn and soft pretzels with cheese. We all brought our water bottles or travel cups which was a major budget saver. They had bottle refill stations. The only issue we had was that the water from some of these was really warm. Drinks at places like this can really add up. They have a cup that you can buy and refill for $1 all day. We bought one of these and put the ice in the little girls’ cups after we drank it. We refilled it a few times.

 

There was a bit of a stroll on the way over to the Herpaquarium. This is a building with amphibians, fish, reptiles, bats, and a white alligator. We worked our way through the remaining exhibits including penguins, an aviary, giant tortoises, tigers, and more. The orangutan was interacting with the little kids. He sat at the glass the entire time that Octavia and Isabella sat on the bench. They waved and talked to him. When they got up he climbed up into his nest area. The lady that works there said that he really likes young kids.

They had these wonderful lego sculptures throughout the zoo. It amazes me that people are able to make things that pretty and intricate with legos. The kids really enjoyed them. We skipped the carousel, train, splash park, and the playground. These are spread out throughout the zoo.

This is a great little zoo. If you live in the area or will be visiting, I recommend a visit to the Louisville Zoo. It is a great place to spend a day with kids. All of you can enjoy seeing the animals and the kids can run off some energy.

Price: Adults (12+) $16.25 x3, Kids $11.75, Under 3 Free, Parking $5 = Total $65.50 + tax

Happy Travels!