Sacramento Zoo (2026)
Published on HivePostify by @byzantinecat · Fri Jun 05 2026
Hello hello!
Today I will be reviewing Sacramento Zoo (a.k.a. SacZoo), a quaint small zoo in northern California. I first visited SacZoo at the end of 2025 (I have photos from that visit and plan to eventually make a separate post about it). However, I had the opportunity to visit SacZoo again this year and here is a more timely post, with my new phone so the image quality will be better than that of my previous visit.
I'm definitely behind on my Bay Area posts covering San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland, and Sacramento. Thus far, I have only:
F1: [San Francisco (SFO) & San Jose (SJC) Airports](https://peakd.com/travel/@byzantinecat/san-francisco-sfo-and-san-jose-sjc-airports)
F2: Sacramento Zoo (2026) (this post)
F3: [Leland Stanford Mansion](https://peakd.com/travel/@byzantinecat/leland-stanford-mansion)
F4: [California State Capitol Museum & California State Capitol](https://peakd.com/travel/@byzantinecat/california-state-capitol-museum-and-california-state-capitol)
I have a very lengthy backlog that includes:
- Winchester Mystery House - Triton Museum of Art - San Jose History Park - San Jose Museum of Art - California Academy of Sciences - Blue & Gold Fleet SF Bay Cruise - San Francisco Museum of Modern Art - Legion of Honor - de Young Museum - San Francisco Zoo & Gardens - Monterey Bay Aquarium - Six Flags Discovery Kingdom - Oakland Zoo - CuriOdyssey - Happy Hollow Park & Zoo - Asian Art Museum - Marine Mammal Center - Sacramento Zoo (2025) - California State Railroad Museum
All of the pictures in this post were taken by me except for the map of the zoo. If you want to use any of my photos, please contact me to first obtain permission.
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SACRAMENTO ZOO
3930 West Land Park Drive Sacramento, CA 95822
Website: https://www.saczoo.org/
Hours:
Open Daily, 9 AM - 4 PM.
Grounds open until 5 PM.
Cost (as of 2026):
Plan-Ahead (dynamic) pricing ranging from $17.75 - $25.75.
There is a small discount for Seniors (65+) and Veterans/Active Military. There is a larger discount for Children (2 - 11).
There may also be special discounts for certain holidays. For example, July 3rd & 4th is $10 for everyone.
Parking is free.
Sacramento Zoo participates in the AZA Reciprocity program at the 50% rate. Members of all other participating zoos (whether those zoos participate at 50% or 100%) get 50% off the admission rate at Sacramento Zoo. And Sacramento Zoo members get 50% off the admission of all participating zoos (regardless of whether that zoo participates at 50% or 100%).
Although reciprocal tickets cannot be purchased via the online ticketing system, you can call the zoo and purchase the tickets via the phone to take advantage of cheaper Plan-Ahead pricing.
Since I was a member of Buttonwood Park Zoo, I got 50% off admission so I only had to pay $10.50 instead of the full $21 (the price a few days in advance).
Estimated Time: 1 - 2 hours.
On this visit, I spent about 2 hours but went through most areas of the zoo at least twice.
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SUMMARY
Even though Sacramento Zoo is relatively small, I have enjoyed each of my visits. I would rate it as a good, above-average 3 stars. On my 2025 visit, I got to see a very fine vet operating on an adorable meercat, 3 red pandas, and closeups of the cheetahs and clouded leopard. For my 2026 visit, besides the red pandas the highlights were baby capybaras, the new orangutan exhibit, a new mole-rat exhibit, and a bunch of animatronic dinosaurs.
I'm usually able to see most of the animals, though many are sleeping. Both times, the red pandas and jaguar were mostly sleeping. In 2026, the lions, clouded leopard, and opossum were all snoozing. I did not see the Wolf's guenon or sloth. In 2025, the orangutans were off exhibit because their habitat was still under construction and the sloth wasn't present either - when I asked an employee they said they no longer had a sloth. The zoo map still shows a sloth but it doesn't show up on the zoo's online list of animals.
Every day there are 1 - 3 special animal viewing opportunities depending on the day of the week. I stuck around for the cheetah event but it was quite anticlimactic. Zookeepers put out two pieces of meat on a rock. For a few seconds I got to glimpse the cheetahs grabbing the slabs of meat but then they dragged their meal off into a private area where spectators were unable to view them. It was all over in under a minute or two.
At 14.3 acres, SacZoo is among the smaller AZA zoos. As AZA standards have evolved towards larger enclosures and habitats, SacZoo has lost iconic species like tigers, hippos, and elephants because the zoo did not have sufficient space. A previous relocation project was canceled due to financial concerns. Right now, there is a Land Park expansion proposal to expand into adjacent land north of the zoo and across the street to the east. If approved, this would increase SacZoo's size by 5 - 6 acres.
Comparing Sacramento Zoo to other zoos:
5 stars:
- San Diego Zoo (San Diego, CA) - Brookfield Zoo (Brookfield, IL) - Taipei Zoo (Taipei City, Taiwan)
4 stars:
- San Diego Safari Park (San Diego, CA) - Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden (Cincinnati, OH) - Oklahoma City Zoo (Oklahoma City, OK) - Milwaukee County Zoo (Milwaukee, WI) - Houston Zoo (Houston, TX) - Oakland Zoo (Oakland, CA)
3 stars:
- Lincoln Park Zoo (Chicago, IL, Free) - Zoo Atlanta (Atlanta, GA) - Buttonwood Park Zoo (New Bedford, MA) - Butterflies of Cape Cod (Bourne, MA) - International Crane Foundation (Baraboo, WI) - Henry Vilas Zoo (Madison, WI, Free) - Indianapolis Zoo (Indianapolis, IN) - Sacramento Zoo (Sacramento, CA) - Santa Barbara Zoo (Santa Barbara, CA) - Fort Worth Zoo (Fort Worth, TX) - Fort Wayne Zoo (Fort Wayne, IN) - Zoo Knoxville (Knoxville, TN) - ZooTampa (Tampa, FL) - Busch Gardens (Tampa, FL) - Los Angeles Zoo & Botanical Gardens (Los Angeles, CA) - Detroit Zoo (Detroit, MI) - Virginia Zoological Park (Norfolk, VA) - Virginia Living Museum (Newport News, VA) - Minnesota Zoo (Apple Valley, MN)
2 stars:
- Audubon Insectarium (New Orleans, LA) - Audubon Zoo (New Orleans, LA) - Sarasota Jungle Gardens (Sarasota, FL) - Save Our Seabirds Wild Bird Learning Center (Sarasota, FL, Free) - San Francisco Zoo & Gardens (San Francisco, CA) - Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (Vallejo, CA) - Franklin Park Zoo (Boston, MA) - Capron Park Zoo (Attleboro, MA) - Taylor-Bray Farm (Yarmouth Port, MA, Free) - Racine Zoo (Racine, WI) - Ochsner Park Zoo (Baraboo, WI, Free) - John Ball Zoo (Grand Rapids, MI) - Potter Park Zoo (Lansing, MI) - Antalya Zoo (Antalya, Turkey) - Marine Mammal Center (Sausalito, CA, Free) - Santa Ana Zoo (Santa Ana, CA) - San Antonio Zoological Society (San Antonio, TX) - Cameron Park Zoo (Waco, TX) - Dallas Zoo (Dallas, TX) - Caldwell Zoo (Tyler, TX) - Peoria Zoo (Peoria, IL) - Miller Park Zoo (Bloomington, IL) - Scovill Zoo (Decatur, IL) - Potawatomi Zoo (South Bend, IN) - Como Park Zoo & Conservatory (St. Paul, MN, Free)
1 star:
- Cosley Zoo (Wheaton, IL) - Stone Zoo (Stoneham, MA) - Timbavati Wildlife Park (Wisconsin Dells, WI) - Binder Park Zoo (Battle Creek, MI) - Happy Hollow Park & Zoo (San Jose, CA) - CuriOdyssey (San Mateo, CA)
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RED PANDAS
SacZoo currently has two red pandas after an elderly 14-year old red panda named Pili passed away at the beginning of the year. The ones I saw are Basu (age 12) and Amaya (age 10). Last year, I saw a third red panda (probably Amaya's daughter, Stevie Nicks who is now 6 years old and presumably has moved to a new zoo). The red pandas spent most of the time sleeping, which was also the case during my previous visit.
Himalayan Red Panda Ailurus fulgens fulgens
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KITTIES
Tags: #travel#travelblog#wanderlust#sacramento#norcal#california#zoo#animals#cute#giftshop