Visit: Maryland Zoo {Baltimore}

~Beware~ Upcoming picture overload. Just can’t help it.

Sometime last year, I was searching for day trip ideas (and, namely, to find places that we could drive to that had dolphins), and I happened upon a site that mentioned that you could hand feed the giraffe at the Maryland Zoo.

And I quickly made a note of that. (I have a note on my phone saved with “kids activities,” so I always have a running list of adventures we can partake in)

I loved the idea of hand feeding the giraffe, because that’s something that we can’t do at any of the zoos we’ve visited so far.

And then I found out you could also ride camels while there.

And groom the goats.

It was a veritable gold mine of bucket list items!

And then, a few months back, there was a Groupon for a Baltimore hotel.

And that’s when it all fell into place.

{more on the hotel coming later}

The zoo was our main purpose for visiting Baltimore.

That and the fact that none of us had ever been, making it a fun little weekend jaunt that wouldn’t break the bank.

The zoo is open from 10 to 4, and we pulled into the parking lot at 9:45 am, snagging a parking space in the very first row. The grounds are beautifully maintained, right down to the parking lot.

I do believe this is the second least expensive zoo we have visited so far, costing under $40 for the three of us to visit (no AAA discounts, by the way, but they do give military discounts).

There are two major sections to explore at the zoo, but we made a beeline for the giraffe area first, to make sure we didn’t run out of time. There is a free tram that will take you from the main gate to the African Journey section where the giraffes are.

The giraffes aren’t, of course, the only animals in that section, and once the tram dropped us off, we passed by vultures, a leopard, a cheetah, a warthog and more. At the giraffe feeding station, you can buy browse for $2 a piece to hand feed them. Because the zoo had just opened, there was no one in line, and it was perfect timing. And it also meant I could juggle two iPhones and a camera to capture the perfect pictures. I will tell you, though, that the giraffes eat the browse in the blink of an eye, so make sure you’re ready to take the picture. There were two giraffes there, both girls, one was in her mid-teens and the other was two years old.

Adorable.

Memorable.

Pure awesomeness, and definitely worth it.

If you look carefully, you can see its tongue outstretched all the way to the piece of browse that Nick is holding. Crazylong tongue.

Bucket list item: check.

Once we were done there, we checked out the rest of the animals in that section, and started slowly making our way over to the Wilderness section. Along the way, we stopped for the carousel ride and face painting.

Once in the Wilderness section, there were more animals to see, including bats, snakes, and turtles, but I was focused on one thing: getting to the zoo’s farmland area. Because there, we could groom goats.

And, you know, it’s not every day you get to groom goats.

A staff member lets you into the large pen where there are about 10 goats of varying colors and ages wandering around. There is a bucket filled with brushes and you can go to town. This was the kids’ second favorite part of the zoo, and they loved the direct access they had with the goats. Gorgeous coloring on so many of them.

Goat grooming: check.

I could spend all day taking pictures of the goats. It probably sounds weird, but their coloring, right up to their eyeballs, is just beautiful.

I think I’m going to blow one of those pictures up for Madeline’s room.

Camel ride: check.

There is also this huge aviary that you can walk through, where all the birds are roaming free. Or, well, as free as they can go up to the high netting.

Throughout the zoo, there are staff members (“Ambassadors”) with animals, waiting to tell visitors all about them. We got up close and personal with a California King Snake (which eats rattlesnakes, by the way), a Lion Head Rabbit, and a Chinchilla. Every staff member we encountered was friendly, knowledgeable, and went out of their way to tell us everything they knew. Which was awesome. You could tell they definitely loved their jobs.

There are many food stands and picnic areas throughout the zoo, and many shaded areas to keep you out of direct sun on a hot day. The habitats for the animals are really well done, and remind me a lot of the Philadelphia Zoo. There were caves to explore (complete with snake exhibits and stalactites), and even a giant slide in a tree. The grounds are just gorgeous and the varying types of exhibits provides a lot of different types of interaction and activities for the kids.

We ended up doing the zoo in about four hours, which was perfect, with, of course, a stop at the gift shop on the way out.

Because one can apparently never have too many stuffed animals or snow globes.

We definitely recommend a trip to visit the zoo, with the highlights, of course, being feeding the giraffes, brushing the goats, and riding the camels. It was such a treat to see how much fun the kids were having, and it was truly a perfect Sunday afternoon.

The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore
1876 Mansion House Drive
Baltimore, MD 21217
Main Phone: 443-552-5245
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Hungry for more zoo visits?
The Philadelphia Zoo was a highlight last year, and worth a visit.
The Cape May County Park & Zoo is a favorite when we head down the shore (and free!).
The Turtle Back Zoo is local and one we visit annually.

A few bonus photos…

We totally scored in our pressed penny collecting this weekend. I think we ended up getting five or six total from all our different stops.

Recycling containers were all over the zoo. Love that.

There are fun hand washing stations everywhere, which was awesome. Especially after feeding giraffes and brushing goats.