A Wild Time at the Nashville Zoo with Kids
We had a great time exploring the Nashville Zoo on our spring break trip. Although Nashville can appear to be a somewhat adult-centric place, there are still fun things to do with kids in Nashville! Planning a trip to the Nashville Zoo with kids should be part of the family travel agenda!
Attractions at the Nashville Zoo
Visits to the zoos can get pricey if you are not a member (and sometimes, even if you are). But our family believes in supporting the zoos and the animals. At first, Mom didn’t buy the optional adventure pass. It was $11 per person and included extra attractions that weren’t included in general admission. But, sure enough, we hadn’t been at the zoo 30 minutes, and we were wanting to ride the zip line. She wound up buying us each the $11 adventure pass which allowed unlimited opportunities for the carousel, the lorakeet feedings, the zip line, and the train ride.
The zip line and the lorakeet feedings were our favorite parts of the outing. The train was rather disappointing. It is a little kid train, and our dad barely fit into the train car to ride. Train rides seem to vary greatly among zoos.
Animal Keeper Chats
The Nashville Zoo does a great job of having various handlers on site at different exhibits to give visitors information about the animals. Signs were up all over with times for the animal keeper chats. We lucked into walking up to the siamang keeper chat right as he was getting started.
He told us all about the siamang, the gibbons, and the differences.
We also happened to walk up onto a rhino keeper chat a little bit later.
Favorite Exhibit Feature – The Lorakeet Exhibit
The handler in the lorakeet exhibit told us there are over 80 total lorakeets with 50 being in the visitor exhibit where we went to feed the birds nectar. She knew all of the lorakeets by name! It was incredible!
Favorite Exhibit Feature – The Kangaroos
We couldn’t believe we were actually allowed to walk into an exhibit with tons of kangaroos! Many of them were just lounging in the sun – 20 feet away. Others were hopping around. They are just as cute in person as they are through a screen!
It was actually difficult to get a flattering picture of them given the way they had littered themselves all over the ground for nap time!
The Train
The train was rather disappointing. It is a little kid train, and the Hubs barely fit into the train car to ride. Train rides seem to vary greatly among zoos.
The Zip Line at the Nashville Zoo
There was a long line at the zip line which is a sign is a popular Nashville Zoo attraction! Two people ride together in cart. The cart goes backwards to a huge pole and then comes down back to the starting point. It was fun!
Food at the Nashville Zoo
When visiting the Nashville Zoo with kids, you know food is going to be a hot topic! There are multiple snack stands and restaurants at the Nashville zoo. There is a quick food station called Snake Bites and a pizzeria, among others. We tried some ice cream and a caramel cappuccino at one of the ice cream booths.
More Tips For Visiting the Nashville Zoo with Kids
- You are allowed to bring your own food and drinks into the zoo. This helps save a lot of money. We brought in peanut butter crackers, popcorn (leftover from the Grand Ole Opry the night before), and sodas/waters.
- If you think you will get worn down with the kids begging for the extra attractions: carousel, zipline, lorikeet feedings, and the train, it might be best to go ahead and add on the $11 adventure pass to begin with. Mom regretted she hadn’t done that when she had to go hunt down a ticket booth to make the purchases while the rest of us were in line for the zipline.
- Parking is plentiful, and there is also a covered parking area – though we are unsure as to the price and process for the covered parking. For the regular parking (uncovered), Mom paid a $10 parking fee online when she purchased the tickets.
- Bring sunscreen! Much of the zoo is in an open area and the sun beats down fiercely on a bright day! Even with sunscreen on, I felt like my face was burning on the nice spring day.
- You can download an interactive map through the Nashville Zoo app. We recommend you do this before or soon after arriving. Otherwise, it can be tricky to figure your way around. There are signs up, but the map helps. The app also tells you which attractions are closed, etc.
- There is a playground for younger kids at the zoo. And there are various outdoor sitting areas and eating areas.
Find out more about events and promotions going on through the Nashville Zoo Facebook page.
