The New Zoo—All You Need To Know

Animals on View

There’s plenty of room for strolling and social distancing at the 72-acre Franklin Park Zoo. The Outdoor Safari Walk is a one-way trail through many of the Zoo’s exhibits. Here are the animals you’ll see along the way.

Nature’s Neighborhoods: red pandas, prairie dogs and turtles
Serengeti Crossing: Plains zebras, wildebeest, ostriches, warthogs and Cape porcupines
Giraffe Savannah: Masai giraffe and Grevy’s zebra
Outback Trail: red kangaroos and emus
Other animals you’ll see: lions, a tiger, spotted hyena, Baird’s tapir, Bactrian camels, wattled, white-naped and Siberian cranes.

Ticketing

Purchase tickets online for a designated time slot beginning on June 1. Visits begin on June 4.

If you don’t have online access and would like a ticket, call 617-989-2076.

What’s Closed?

The follow are closed until further notice.

Playground
Play structures
Indoor buildings
Amusement rides
Giraffe feeding
Budgie feeding

Money-Saving Tips

Bring your lunch and eat outdoors at the tables provided.
Become a member and gain free admission to both the Franklin Park Zoo and the Stone Zoo in Stoneham. For $125—$175 per year, the Family, Family Plus, and Friend Membership Levels offer the best value, admitting up to 9 and paying for itself in two visits.
You can deduct the cost of a membership from your taxes.
If you decide to celebrate your child’s birthday at the Zoo, you’ll save 10%. Learn about more benefits of membership.

Visitor Requirements

Wear a face covering (children under 2 aren’t required to wear one)
Adhere to 6-foot social distancing
Follow the marked, one-way pathways

Health and Safety Measures

Online and timed ticketing
Guest capacity limits
One-way paths to control guest flow
Clearly designated 6-foot distance markers
Enhanced cleaning protocols
Greater numbers of hand sanitizer stations and hand-washing areas
COVID-19 training for all staff

Check Out the Bear Cages of an Earlier Zoo Era

Outside the gates of the Zoo’s Giraffe entrance, take a 10-minute stroll north of White Stadium. At the end of Franklin Park, you’ll see a path up a grassy hill. Follow it and you’ll find the Zoo’s 1912 bear cages. The cages are the relics of an earlier open plan incarnation of the zoo the public could attend free of charge. During the 1930s the older zoo went downhill, and in 1958 a city commission fenced in part of the zoo and began charging visitors. The bear pens, located outside the new fence, were left to fall to ruin in the woods above Seaver Street. There they remind curious passersby about the glorious age of Art Deco.