The Sacramento Zoo is located adjacent to the WPA Rock Garden and William Land Park, right across the road from Fairy Tale Town. There is an admission fee charged but it’s relatively nominal .. For every ticket sold, 25¢ goes to the zoo’s conservation efforts (and you can put your token into one of three wishing wells in the front of the zoo to support the effort you like the best). Sometimes they have “free” days (like Christmas Eve) when the zoo is open to all patrons free of charge. Keep an eye on the zoo’s Facebook page for more information about when those special days pop up.
• Easy to Locate? Yes
• Pet Friendly? No.
• Easy to Walk? Yes.
• Is there a Fee? Yes.
• Are there Restrooms? Yes.
• Is there Accessible Parking? Yes, but it’s across the street from the zoo near the WPA Rock Garden.
• Other Notes: You won’t see any large animals there like Elephants or rhinos (due to a lack of space), but there are plenty of big cats, primates, birds, other mammals, and a reptile house to keep you engaged and entertained. The zoo is currently working on finding a new location within or around Sacramento County so they can expand their facility. CLICK HERE for more information on the expansion.
See my FLICKR account for more albums of photos taken at this location throughout the last several years.
The 14.5 acre zoo is relatively compact, so you can see a lot of animals within a small space — about 140 different species — all in about a two-hour walk. The zoo specializes in rare and endangered animals and has an extensive breeding program to protect endangered species against extinction. Over the last several years they’ve had lots of animal babies born there including a Sumatran Tiger, Red River Hogs, several Wolf’s Guenons, Mongoose Lemurs, Burrowing Owls, Black and White Ruffed Lemurs, Flamingoes and Coconut the Snow Leopard.
At the current location all of the walkways are well-paved and accommodate wheelchairs. There is ready access to restrooms and several places inside the zoo to get a snack or a meal. (Keep in mind that the lion’s share of the high price of the food in the place goes to the upkeep of the zoo and its special animals.) There’s a small train that can carry you through the place if you get tired of walking, and a conservation merry-go-round to ride on. There are, of course, photo opportunities everywhere you look.
No pets are allowed. The zoo also has restrictions against bringing balloons, balls, radios, and roller skates onto zoo property.
How to Get to the Zoo
The zoo is located at:
3930 W. Land Park Drive, Sacramento, California.
Phone: (916) 808-5888
• Take Interstate 5 (I5) to the Sutterville Road exit
• As you come up the off ramp, turn LEFT onto Sutterville Road
• Take Sutterville Road to the light at Land Park Drive
• Turn LEFT onto Land Park Drive
• You’ll see the zoo to your left, but you’ll need to park in the parking lot on your RIGHT. [Additional parking can be found behind the Fairy Tale Town park.]