Welcome!
Here is my third post about zoos and museums in the Boston and Greater Boston area:
D2: New Bedford Whaling Museum
D3: Franklin Park Zoo (this post)
D4: Museum of Science (Boston)
Franklin Park Zoo is the main zoo in Boston and is the closest one to downtown.
All of the pictures in this post were taken by me except for the map of the zoo.
FRANKLIN PARK ZOO
1 Franklin Park Rd.
Boston, MA 02121
Website: https://www.zoonewengland.org/franklin-park-zoo/
Hours:
August & September
Open Daily, 9 AM - 5 PM
Boston Lights, 6 PM - 10:30 PM
October - March
Open Daily, 9 AM - 4 PM
Boston Lights, 5 PM - 10:30 PM
April - July
Weekdays: 9 AM - 5 PM
Weekends: 9 AM - 6 PM
Cost (as of 2025):
Ticket prices vary based on the day and the time.
Adults: $16.95 - $23.95
Seniors (Ages 65+): $15.25 - $21.55
Child (Ages 2-12): $13.55 - $18.35
Children (Under 2): FREE
Boston Lights (General Admission): $19.95 - $28.95
Boston Lights (Children Under 2): FREE
Parking is free.
Franklin Park Zoo and Stone Zoo both operate under Zoo New England so membership will grant free access to both.
Boston Family Days are on the first and second Sunday of each month from January 2025 to December 2026. There is free admission for every student living in Boston enrolled in grades K-12 or Boston Pre-K and two of their family members.
Active military personnel and dependents get 50% off on general, daytime admission.
Certain teachers get 50% off on general, daytime admission.
Franklin Park Zoo participates in the AZA reciprocity program and gives members of other AZA institutions 50% off on general, daytime admission. Since you have to get the AZA discount in person, you end up paying the higher dynamic rate instead of being able to buy a cheaper ticket on a less crowded day at a less popular time.
Estimated Time: 1-2 hours.
I spent 2 hours and 15 minutes at the zoo.
SUMMARY
Franklin Park Zoo is a medium-size zoo that I would rate with an average 2 stars, comparable to the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans, LA. As the main Boston zoo, it is bigger than the other Massachusetts zoos like Buttonwood Park Zoo, Stone Zoo, and Capron Park Zoo which are all small. However, despite being smaller, I prefer Buttonwood Park Zoo and rate it higher.
My main point of criticism is that many of the animals I wanted to see were not viewable when I visited (Red Panda, Pygmy Hippo). And of the animals I did see, most were pretty far away so I was not able to get good pictures.
The zoo does have a really great Gorilla Grove where you can see many gorillas up close. It was also fun to see the Boston Lights lanterns, albeit during the day. Boston Lights is held in the evening from August through March, so it is available 2/3 of the year. Zoo Atlanta has a similar lantern attraction at night, so I guess I would be more impressed if I hadn't seen such things before.
Many of the Boston Light lanterns were impressive but when I end up with more pictures of lanterns than of actual animals it makes you wonder....
Here is how I rate comparable zoos:
5 stars:
- Brookfield Zoo (Brookfield, IL)
4 stars:
- Milwaukee County Zoo (Milwaukee, WI)
3 stars:
- Zoo Atlanta (Atlanta, GA)
- Lincoln Park Zoo (Chicago, IL, Free)
- Buttonwood Park Zoo (New Bedford, MA)
- Butterflies of Cape Cod (Bourne, MA)
- International Crane Foundation (Baraboo, WI)
- Henry Vilas Zoo (Madison, WI, Free)
2 stars:
- San Francisco Zoo & Gardens (San Francisco, CA)
- Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (Vallejo, CA)
- Audubon Insectarium (New Orleans, LA)
- Audubon Zoo (New Orleans, LA)
- Save Our Seabirds Wild Bird Learning Center (Sarasota, FL, Free)
- Sarasota Jungle Gardens (Sarasota, FL)
- 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)
1 star:
- Cosley Zoo (Wheaton, IL)
- Stone Zoo (Stoneham, MA)
- Timbavati Wildlife Park (Wisconsin Dells, WI)
RED PANDA SADNESS
To my great disappointment, the red pandas were not available for viewing when I visited Franklin Park Zoo. Apparently it was too hot outside and they were being kept indoors in air-conditioning.
And NO, muntjacs (which I couldn't see anyway) are NOT a reasonable substitute for red pandas!!! 😾
Alas, this was all I got to see:
Such a tease!
MAMMALS
Western Lowland Gorilla
Gorilla gorilla gorilla
Gorilla Grove was probably the best exhibit at Franklin Park Zoo. There was one particular gorilla that was especially fascinated by humans and sat right in front of the window to watch people.
African Lion
Panthera leo
Baird's Tapir
Tapirus bairdii
Bactrian Camel
Camelus bactrianus
Masai Giraffe
Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi
Apparently the giraffes had given birth to a new calf a few days before my visit. However, the baby giraffe was not viewable during this time.
Black-Tailed Prairie Dog
Cynomys ludovicianus
A prairie dogpile:
African Painted Dog
Lycaon pictus
This was either a Western Grey Kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus melanops) or a Red-Necked Wallaby (Macropus rufogriseus). Unfortunately, it was too far away to tell the difference.
BIRDS
Raptor Ridge had an immense birdcage, the kind reminiscent of the Isla Sorna Aviary in Jurassic Park III which held pteranodons. Although there weren't many birds in there (I saw one eagle and there's also supposed to be a condor), the cage structure was impressive and I must say that it is quite rare for zoos to have such a feature!
Steller's Sea Eagle
Haliaeetus pelagicus
The Aussie Aviary held a black swan along with budgies that you could feed if you buy special seed sticks (at $3 each).
Black Swan
Cygnus atratus
Budgerigar
Melopsittacus undulatus
Northern Brown Kiwi
Apteryx mantelli
White-Naped Crane
Antigone vipio
Hooded Crane
Grus Monacha
Golden Pheasant
Chrysolophus pictus
Red-Breasted Merganser
Mergus serrator
Hooded Merganser
Lophodytes cucullatus
Kookaburra (Laughing Kookaburra)
Dacelo novaeguineae
Kea
Nestor notabilis
Hadada Ibis
Bostrychia hagedash
Green Aracari
Pteroglossus viridus
Red-Crested Turaco
Tauraco erythrolophus
Emu
Dromaius novaehollandiae
FRANKLIN FARM
Nigerian Dwarf Goat
Capra aegagrus hircus
Sardinian Dwarf Donkey
Equus africanus asinus
American Miniature Horse
Equus ferus caballus
Heritage Chicken - Dominique breed
Gallus gallus domesticus
Morgan Horse
Equus caballus
Poitou Donkey
Equus asinus
You can barely see the shaggy donkey. Alas, there simply weren't any good vantage points to get a clear sight of it.
OTHER
Butterfly Hollow
Monarch Butterfly
Danaus plexippus
White Peacock Butterfly
Anartia jatrophae
Malachite Butterfly?
Siproeta stelenes
This looks like a Malachite Butterfly even though that technically isn't on the list of butterflies intentionally kept at Butterfly Hollow.
Blue-Tongued Skink
Tiliqua Scincoides
Chilean rosy-haired tarantula
Grammostola rosea
BOSTON LIGHTS
Red pandas:
Normal pandas:
Other cute mammals:
Dragons:
This was a very large dragon surrounded by apple blossoms:
Kylin:
Chinese culture:
Chinese zodiac:
Activity game:
Birds:
This was an enormous peacock:
This was an enormous owl:
Reptiles:
Under the sea:
Insects:
Spiders:
FACILITIES
ScooterPals available for rent:
Treehouse slide:
Playground:
Carousel:
Roman-style statues at the Giraffe Entrance:
GIFTSHOP
Note that I am not compensated in any way for promoting any of these products. I just like to take note of cute things!
I did buy a red panda magnet which you can see at the end of this section.
I Am LiL' Red Panda - 100 piece Madd Capp Puzzle
$23.99
https://maddcappgames.com/products/madd-capp-puzzle-jr-i-am-lil-red-panda
Medium Wild Republic Plushes (Red Panda & Clouded Leopard)
$29.99
Small Wild Republic Plushes (Prairie Dog, Kangaroo, Peacock, Sloth)
$19.99
Medium Wild Republic Plushes (Lion, Anteater, Sloth)
$29.99
Small Wild Republic Plushes (Red Panda, Sloth, Monkeys)
$19.99
Jumbo Wild Republic Plushes (Red Panda, Tiger)
Wild Republic Plushes (Red Panda, Red River Hog, Kangaroo)
Wild Republic Mellowkins (Red Panda, Kangaroo)
$29.99
Small Wild Republic Plushes (Bat, African Wild Dog, Ring Tailed Lemur)
$19.99
Medium Wild Republic Plushes (Kiwi, Hippo, Gorilla)
$29.99
Small Wild Republic Plushes (Bat, Kangaroo, Hippo, Kookaburra)
$19.99
Small Wild Republic Plushes (Red Panda, Lion, Giraffe, Zebra)
$19.99
Large plushes (Gorilla, Lion, Leopard, Ostrich)
$49.99
Medium plushes (Zebra, Giraffe, Lion, Lemur, Donkey, Red Panda, Sloth)
$39.99
Tiny plushes (Red Panda, Zebra)
$12.99
Giraffe paraphernalia:
Kids Red Panda Tee
$34.99
Kids Red Panda Leggings
$29.99
Kids Red Panda Jacket (has a tail!)
$59.99
Kids T-Shirts
Red Panda Cups and Mugs
$39.99
Red Panda Water Bottle
$29.99
Magnets
$12.99
I bought the black and white Red Panda magnet below:
