Zoo Boise

About Zoo Boise

Zoo Boise is located at 355 Julia Davis Dr in Boise, Idaho, in Julia Davis Park. Its stated mission is to connect guests with animals to inspire and involve the community in the conservation of wildlife worldwide. According to its about page, the zoo is a division of the City of Boise's Parks and Recreation Department and is supported by the Friends of Zoo Boise, a 501(c)(3) membership organization that supports animal acquisition, capital improvement projects, education programs, volunteer opportunities and special events.

The zoo's about page states that it is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. The zoo's Heart of the Zoo fundraising page says some of its older exhibits no longer meet AZA standards and that the zoo's accreditation depends on upgrading those habitats. The same page describes more than 340,000 guests annually.

History

According to the Wikipedia article on Julia Davis Park, the Boise Zoo, now Zoo Boise, was created in the park in 1916. The article says that a monkey escaped from a circus traveling through Mountain Home that year, was found in the desert after the circus left, and that a zoo was founded as Boise became the monkey's home. The article lists later milestones: an expansion in 1929, a 2008 African Plains exhibit, a three-acre expansion focused on Gorongosa National Park that began construction in 2018 and opened in summer 2019, a new plaza with exhibits for gibbons and sarus cranes built at the same time, and a red panda exhibit unveiled in May 2025.

The zoo's own pages describe a recent run of projects. The Virginia R. Bartak Red Panda Passage opened on May 14, 2025. A new gift shop, the Trading Outpost, and a giraffe platform opened in May 2025. A remodeled and expanded Small Animal Kingdom opened in October 2025, and the Bews Foundation Conservation and Education Center, a two-story campus with learning spaces, offices, a dedicated entrance and new habitats for ambassador animals, opened in May 2026. The zoo says its 2021 Master Plan identified older homes such as the penguin exhibit as a high priority for upgrade.

Exhibits and habitats

The zoo's animals page lists dozens of species, including African lion, Amur tiger, Magellanic penguin, Himalayan red panda, Chinese red panda, grey crowned crane, cotton-top tamarin, olive baboon, meerkat, Steller's sea eagle, warthog, sloth bear, southern ground hornbill, serval, bat-eared fox, black-handed spider monkey, giraffe, Nile crocodile, African wild dog, wolverine, patas monkey, Aldabra tortoise, spotted-necked otter, green tree python, white-handed gibbon, sand cat, maned wolf, vervet monkey, Grevy's zebra, Linne's two-toed sloth and the Madagascar hissing cockroach. The page also has a section for ambassador animals.

The Virginia R. Bartak Red Panda Passage is described by the zoo as an immersive exhibit inspired by Asian forests, entered through a Chinese-inspired moon gate. Its features listed on the zoo's page include three interconnected outdoor yards, a climate-controlled indoor dayroom with solar tubes to simulate natural light, an overhead walkway that lets red pandas move between areas, outdoor spaces that reach up to 16 feet in height, natural substrate, and enclosed tops that protect from local birds of prey. The zoo says the design supports the AZA Species Survival Plan for red pandas and lets it care for multiple red panda families at different life stages.

The Small Animal Kingdom has a Rainforest Building that the zoo says mimics the climate and sounds of a rainforest, with a soundtrack recorded in Costa Rica. It also has the TLC Foundation Small Cat Hideaway, a home for sand cats. Butterflies in Bloom is a walkthrough greenhouse with hundreds of butterflies, and a Zoo Farm lets guests feed goats. The Conservation Cruise is a solar-powered boat ride around the lagoon where guests can see patas monkeys. The zoo also operates a carousel, the Expedition Grill on the main plaza and the Kijiji Market Cafe near the giraffe exhibit.

Conservation and programs

The conservation page says part of every admission and proceeds from the most popular attractions go to the Zoo Boise Conservation Fund, which supports the protection of wild animals in Idaho and around the world. The conservation grants page lists long-term partnerships with Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique, formed in 2013, and with the City of Boise on foothills restoration. It lists 2025 grants to groups including the Red Panda Network, Snow Leopard Trust, Wildlife SOS, Paso Pacifico, the Wolverine Foundation, the Global Penguin Society, the Xerces Society, the Intermountain Bird Observatory, the Giraffe Conservation Foundation, the Lion Recovery Fund, the Turtle Survival Alliance and Species Survival Plan and SAFE programs for tigers, hornbills, vultures and maned wolves. The zoo says the Conservation and Education Committee recommends funding to the Friends of Zoo Boise Board and that unsolicited proposals are not accepted. The red panda page says guests have helped raise funds for conservation work with the Red Panda Network, a partnership the zoo describes there.

The zoo's site also lists a Travel with the Zoo program, a Conservation Circle membership level that includes a contribution to the Conservation Fund, and adopt-an-animal and sponsorship programs.

Education programs listed on the zoo's site include programs and camps, field trips for schools and groups, educator resources and the ZooTeens program.

Daily experiences on the plan your visit page include a sloth bear encounter in which guests feed mealworms through a feeding tube, a giraffe encounter that lets guests feed lettuce, the Zoo Farm goat feeding, the Conservation Cruise, and Zoo Chats with the animal care team. The zoo says encounter proceeds go to the Conservation Fund and that all activities depend on weather and animals. Paint with Penguins is an adults-only paint-and-sip event with Magellanic penguins held on select afternoons from November through February. Annual events include Easter EGGstravaganza, Roars and Pours summer evenings for adults, Zoobilee in August and Boo at the Zoo, scheduled for October 24 and 25, 2026 from 10AM to 5PM. The zoo also lists Snooze at the Zoo and birthday and wedding rentals.

Planning your visit

As listed on the zoo's website, Zoo Boise is open daily from 10AM until 5PM with last admission at 4PM, and is closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. The accessibility page adds that the zoo opens at 9AM from June 1 through Labor Day. Tickets can be bought online, and the zoo lists general, senior, child and discounted Thursday rates, with free admission for children 2 and under. Current prices are on the zoo's website, along with membership options.

The FAQ says visitors may re-enter on the same day until 4PM with a receipt and hand stamp. Children twelve and younger must be supervised by an adult guardian aged at least 16. Food may be brought in, but straws, glass and alcohol are not allowed. Prohibited items include drones, glass bottles, skateboards, bikes, scooters, balls, balloons, frisbees, stickers and glitter, and smoking and vaping are not allowed. Guests over 12 may not conceal their faces with masks or full face paint. Only service dogs are permitted, and companion animals are not. First aid is at the front gate, and the lost and found is at the gift shop. The zoo does not accept food or animal donations.

Wagons, strollers, wheelchairs and ECV scooters can be rented at the gift shop. The accessibility page lists six accessible parking spaces at the front, three of them van accessible, three ADA accessible restrooms, an accessibility map, NaviLens codes for visitors who are blind or have low vision, and adaptive evening and early-morning programs for people with disabilities and their families. It notes that Zoo Boise is a stop for Valley Regional Transit paratransit. The accessibility contact number is (208) 608-7760.