Zoos in Colorado

Colorado's zoos are shaped by altitude and by winter. Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, above Colorado Springs, sits at roughly 6,800 feet and is built into a mountainside rather than laid out on a flat loop — the climb is a real part of the visit and worth planning for. The state's collections lean toward North American montane and high-plains species, which are genuinely at home here in a way they aren't in a coastal zoo, and outdoor exhibits stay active through cold months when animals elsewhere are indoors. Summer visits are best started early: afternoon thunderstorms roll off the Front Range with little warning, and shade is scarcer at elevation than the acreage suggests.