The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore — Attraction in Baltimore

Had an absolutely fantastic day at the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore. This visit was a perfect blend of wonder, education, and easygoing family fun.

Animal encounters and exhibits: The zoo showcases a wide-ranging lineup—from playful penguins and mighty elephants to curious big cats and fascinating reptiles. The habitats feel spacious and thoughtfully designed, giving you a real sense of being in the animals’ world while keeping viewing areas comfortable and accessible. The staff-curated moments, like keeper talks and demonstration enclosures, add depth and context that elevate the experience beyond just a stroll through the exhibits.

Layout and experience: The grounds are clean, attractive, and easy to navigate, with clear signage and well-timed pathways that keep the day flowing smoothly. There are plenty of shaded seating areas for breaks, picnicking spots, and interactive zones that keep younger guests engaged. The layout makes it simple to plan a full day—whether you’re here for a quick, bite-sized visit or an extended, immersive adventure.

Staff and hospitality: The zookeepers and volunteers are friendly, knowledgeable, and genuinely enthusiastic about sharing insights into the animals and conservation efforts. Their passion is contagious and makes conversations around the animals feel personal and informative. You can tell they care about both the well-being of the animals and the experience of guests.

Facilities and accessibility: The zoo is well-equipped for families and visitors with different needs, including accessible paths, stroller-friendly routes, and clean facilities. Food options are varied and convenient, making it easy to tailor the day to your group’s pace and appetite.

Conservation and education: It’s clear this isn’t just entertainment—it’s a place that emphasizes conservation, research, and community education. The interpretive signage and programs highlight real-world impact, which adds an inspiring layer to the visit.

Practical tips: Arrive early to maximize animal viewing and plan around keeper talks you don’t want to miss. Check the day’s schedule for feeding demonstrations and keeper chats. Wear comfortable shoes and prepare for some walking; there’s a lot to see, but the pace is easy to manage with breaks. Bring water and snacks, and consider a stroller or carrier for little ones to keep the day enjoyable for all ages.

Bottom line: The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore delivers a memorable, family-friendly day that blends engaging animal encounters with education and conservation in a welcoming setting. It’s a standout choice for families, friends, and anyone who loves wildlife and meaningful, hands-on learning. Highly recommended for a full day of...

It’s with sadness that I have to write a somewhat critical review of the zoo this time around. Although my family and I have been members for about four years, changes made on July 1 2024 has really sunken how I feel about the zoo.

To start, the prices for the zoo have skyrocketed. The membership my family and I used to have, which was $165 per year as of April 2023 when we renewed, is now $300. Regular daily zoo tickets are now $33 per person. There is NO children discount if the child is older than one years old.

They justify the costly increase by saying that that families get free access to the train ride (which the train ride is a slow and strange ride that doesn’t actually overlook any animal exhibits beside some longhorn steer) and the carousel is badly in need of refurbishment (it’s a very jerky ride because the gears get stuck on every rotation). They also say they are bringing new exhibits in, like a red panda, but one or two new exhibits don’t justify doubling the price in my opinion.

They also raised prices again on all food items. For example: the Bavarian pretzels which were overpriced at $8 are now $9 (worth noting is they have the same vendor for these as M&T bank down the road, and they charge $6). The chicken tenders, which was all ready outrageously expensive at $14 for TWO tenders and fries, is now $15. And their stuffed animals in gift shops have all increased in price by $5, with all of them costing $25 or more. A standard hat featuring the zoo logo is now nearly $40 with tax.

The zoo leadership clearly believe that the zoo membership and entry is a premier experience. Furthermore it honestly seems like their new pricing is openly antagonistic towards guests, viewing them merely as ATMs. It’s upsetting since the zoo is located in the Druid Hill area which is a non-affluent area. These price rises makes it seem like a goal of the zoo administration is to ensure that people of low-socioeconomic backgrounds can’t come to the zoo. They claim that they give free tickets to title 1 schools, but again, I’m sure few families know of this.

This is unfortunate because the general zoo staff are, by and large are friendly and awesome. The animals appear to be well-cared for and the grounds are clean and well-kept. I genuinely love this zoo and its staff, it just sucks that the pricing model became so...

The third oldest zoo in America and I just learned about it last week! Luckily, my family and I (wife and 4 kids ranging from 5 months to 8 years old) already had a mini vacation planned to the area so we decided to take a look.

The Maryland Zoo is kind of tucked away in a larger park in Baltimore but when we arrived there seemed to be a lot of others arriving for the day. For being an older zoo, the animals have relatively large exhibits which I appreciated and it seemed like there must have been a recent push to bring the zoo to a more modern style as the enclosures seemed in good condition and reasonably new. Unlike the Philly Zoo (the nation's oldest and the local zoo for my family; we are members) where it feels like you can always see an animal from where you are to maximize the limited space: the Maryland Zoo opts for fewer species with more natural looking habitats and a more leisurely stroll around the park.

There were definitely pros and cons to this approach. The biggest win for the Maryland Zoo over most zoos that I've been to would have to be the enclosures. They felt new and state of the art, especially for the elephants and giraffes, offered good lines of sight to most of the area or extra vantage points, and the animals moved around the enclosures in a way that looked comfortable as opposed to the classic pacing back and forth. The disadvantage is the distance between habitats could occasionally be rather far, especially from the front gates to the bulk of the animal habitats: I think it might have been a half mile walk uphill, which is kind of the last thing one wants when you've been walking around in the summer heat for 4 hours and just want to get back to the car. Additionally, there were several misprinted signs around the park that had incorrect information about a species: sometimes contradicting an earlier statement on the same sign.

All in all, it was a great time. We make a trip down from South Jersey to the Baltimore/DC area most years to go to the National Aquarium and National Zoo/Smithsonian and this will have to be added to the rotation for future years. Some exploration of the encompassing Druid Hill Park seems to be in order as well but we were too exhausted from our weekend to...