Sacramento Zoo (2026)

Hello hello!

Today I will be reviewing Sacramento Zoo (a.k.a. SacZoo), a quaint small zoo in northern California. I first visited SacZoo at the end of 2025 (I have photos from that visit and plan to eventually make a separate post about it). However, I had the opportunity to visit SacZoo again this year and here is a more timely post, with my new phone so the image quality will be better than that of my previous visit.

I'm definitely behind on my Bay Area posts covering San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland, and Sacramento. Thus far, I have only:

F1: San Francisco (SFO) & San Jose (SJC) Airports

F2: Sacramento Zoo (2026) (this post)

F3: Leland Stanford Mansion

I have a very lengthy backlog that includes:

• Winchester Mystery House
• Triton Museum of Art
• San Jose History Park
• San Jose Museum of Art
• California Academy of Sciences
• Blue & Gold Fleet SF Bay Cruise
• San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
• Legion of Honor
• de Young Museum
• San Francisco Zoo & Gardens
• Monterey Bay Aquarium
• Six Flags Discovery Kingdom
• Oakland Zoo
• CuriOdyssey
• Happy Hollow Park & Zoo
• Asian Art Museum
• Marine Mammal Center
• Sacramento Zoo (2025)
• California State Railroad Museum
• California State Capital Museum

All of the pictures in this post were taken by me except for the map of the zoo. If you want to use any of my photos, please contact me to first obtain permission.

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SACRAMENTO ZOO

3930 West Land Park Drive
Sacramento, CA 95822

Website: https://www.saczoo.org/

Hours:

Open Daily, 9 AM - 4 PM.

Grounds open until 5 PM.

Cost (as of 2026):

Plan-Ahead (dynamic) pricing ranging from $17.75 - $25.75.

There is a small discount for Seniors (65+) and Veterans/Active Military. There is a larger discount for Children (2 - 11).

There may also be special discounts for certain holidays. For example, July 3rd & 4th is $10 for everyone.

Parking is free.

Sacramento Zoo participates in the AZA Reciprocity program at the 50% rate. Members of all other participating zoos (whether those zoos participate at 50% or 100%) get 50% off the admission rate at Sacramento Zoo. And Sacramento Zoo members get 50% off the admission of all participating zoos (regardless of whether that zoo participates at 50% or 100%).

Although reciprocal tickets cannot be purchased via the online ticketing system, you can call the zoo and purchase the tickets via the phone to take advantage of cheaper Plan-Ahead pricing.

Since I was a member of Buttonwood Park Zoo, I got 50% off admission so I only had to pay $10.50 instead of the full $21 (the price a few days in advance).

Estimated Time: 1 - 2 hours.

On this visit, I spent about 2 hours but went through most areas of the zoo at least twice.

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SUMMARY

Even though Sacramento Zoo is relatively small, I have enjoyed each of my visits. I would rate it as a good, above-average 3 stars. On my 2025 visit, I got to see a very fine vet operating on an adorable meercat, 3 red pandas, and closeups of the cheetahs and clouded leopard. For my 2026 visit, besides the red pandas the highlights were baby capybaras, the new orangutan exhibit, a new mole-rat exhibit, and a bunch of animatronic dinosaurs.

I'm usually able to see most of the animals, though many are sleeping. Both times, the red pandas and jaguar were mostly sleeping. In 2026, the lions, clouded leopard, and opossum were all snoozing. I did not see the Wolf's guenon or sloth. In 2025, the orangutans were off exhibit because their habitat was still under construction and the sloth wasn't present either - when I asked an employee they said they no longer had a sloth. The zoo map still shows a sloth but it doesn't show up on the zoo's online list of animals.

Every day there are 1 - 3 special animal viewing opportunities depending on the day of the week. I stuck around for the cheetah event but it was quite anticlimactic. Zookeepers put out two pieces of meat on a rock. For a few seconds I got to glimpse the cheetahs grabbing the slabs of meat but then they dragged their meal off into a private area where spectators were unable to view them. It was all over in under a minute or two.

At 14.3 acres, SacZoo is among the smaller AZA zoos. As AZA standards have evolved towards larger enclosures and habitats, SacZoo has lost iconic species like tigers, hippos, and elephants because the zoo did not have sufficient space. A previous relocation project was canceled due to financial concerns. Right now, there is a Land Park expansion proposal to expand into adjacent land north of the zoo and across the street to the east. If approved, this would increase SacZoo's size by 5 - 6 acres.

Comparing Sacramento Zoo to other zoos:

5 stars:

• San Diego Zoo (San Diego, CA)
• Brookfield Zoo (Brookfield, IL)
• Taipei Zoo (Taipei City, Taiwan)

4 stars:

• San Diego Safari Park (San Diego, CA)
• Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden (Cincinnati, OH)
• Oklahoma City Zoo (Oklahoma City, OK)
• Milwaukee County Zoo (Milwaukee, WI)
• Houston Zoo (Houston, TX)
• Oakland Zoo (Oakland, CA)

3 stars:

• Lincoln Park Zoo (Chicago, IL, Free)
• Zoo Atlanta (Atlanta, GA)
• Buttonwood Park Zoo (New Bedford, MA)
• Butterflies of Cape Cod (Bourne, MA)
• International Crane Foundation (Baraboo, WI)
• Henry Vilas Zoo (Madison, WI, Free)
• Indianapolis Zoo (Indianapolis, IN)
• Sacramento Zoo (Sacramento, CA)
• Santa Barbara Zoo (Santa Barbara, CA)
• Fort Worth Zoo (Fort Worth, TX)
• Fort Wayne Zoo (Fort Wayne, IN)
• Zoo Knoxville (Knoxville, TN)

2 stars:

• Audubon Insectarium (New Orleans, LA)
• Audubon Zoo (New Orleans, LA)
• Sarasota Jungle Gardens (Sarasota, FL)
• Save Our Seabirds Wild Bird Learning Center (Sarasota, FL, Free)
• San Francisco Zoo & Gardens (San Francisco, CA)
• Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (Vallejo, CA)
• 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)
• John Ball Zoo (Grand Rapids, MI)
• Potter Park Zoo (Lansing, MI)
• Antalya Zoo (Antalya, Turkey)
• Marine Mammal Center (Sausalito, CA, Free)
• Santa Ana Zoo (Santa Ana, CA)
• San Antonio Zoological Society (San Antonio, TX)
• Cameron Park Zoo (Waco, TX)
• Dallas Zoo (Dallas, TX)
• Caldwell Zoo (Tyler, TX)
• Peoria Zoo (Peoria, IL)
• Miller Park Zoo (Bloomington, IL)
• Scovill Zoo (Decatur, IL)
• Potawatomi Zoo (South Bend, IN)

1 star:

• Cosley Zoo (Wheaton, IL)
• Stone Zoo (Stoneham, MA)
• Timbavati Wildlife Park (Wisconsin Dells, WI)
• Binder Park Zoo (Battle Creek, MI)
• Happy Hollow Park & Zoo (San Jose, CA)
• CuriOdyssey (San Mateo, CA)

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RED PANDAS

SacZoo currently has two red pandas after an elderly 14-year old red panda named Pili passed away at the beginning of the year. The ones I saw are Basu (age 12) and Amaya (age 10). Last year, I saw a third red panda (probably Amaya's daughter, Stevie Nicks who is now 6 years old and presumably has moved to a new zoo). The red pandas spent most of the time sleeping, which was also the case during my previous visit.

Himalayan Red Panda
Ailurus fulgens fulgens

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KITTIES

Cheetah
Acinonyx jubatus

African Lion
Panthera leo krugeri

My, what big teeth you have!

The clouded leopard was sleeping during my visit. I got better pictures of it last year.

Clouded Leopard
Neofelis nebulosa

Jaguar
Panthera onca

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CAPYBARAS

Capybara
Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris

SacZoo has 6 new capybara pups that were born April 18th, 2026. That means they were about a month old when I saw them.

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ORANGUTANS

The orangutan habitat is newly finished. When I last visited SacZoo 7 months earlier it was still under construction.

Sumatran Orangutan
Pongo abelii

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MAMMALS

North American River Otter
Lontra canadensis

Red Kangaroo
Macropus rufus

Ring-Tailed Lemur
Lemur catta

Mongoose Lemur
Eulemer mongoz

This little critter ain't so good with hide-and-seek! I can still see you!

Black and White Ruffed Lemur
Varecia variegata

Squirrel Monkey
Saimiri sciureus

I couldn't see the white-faced sakis well. They were apparently grooming each other.

White-Faced Saki
Pithecia pithecia

Slender-Tailed Meercat
Suricata suricatta

Okapi
Okapia johnstoni

Southern White Rhinocerous
Ceratotherium simum simum

Masai Giraffe
Giraffa tippelskirchi

Grevy's Zebra
Equus grevyi

Naked Mole-Rat
Heterocephalus glaber

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BIRDS

The Himalayan monals are a pair of siblings named Luke and Leia, who hatched May 24, 2010. Pixar Animation Studios, creators of the movie "UP", filmed these specific Himalayan monals as they were designing the iconic character of "Kevin".

Himalayan Monal
Lophophorus impejanus

Abyssinian Ground Hornbill
Bucorvus abyssinicus

Caribbean Flamingo
Phoenicopterus ruber

Emu
Dromaius novaehollandiae

White-Cheeked Turaco
Tauraco leucotis

Hawk-Headed Parrot
Deroptyus accipitrinus

Thick-Billed Parrot
Rhynchopsitta pachyrhyncha

Red-Billed Hornbill
Tockus erythrorhynchus

Spur-Winged Lapwing
Vanellus spinosus

Southern White-Faced Owl
Ptilopsis granti

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REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS

American Alligator
Alligator mississippiensis

Smooth-Fronted Caiman
Paleosuchus trigonatus

Galapagos Tortoise
Chelonoidis nigra

Chinese Stripe-Necked Turtle
Maureyms sinensis

Madagascar Big-Headed Turtle
Erymnchelys madagascariensis

Desert Tortoise
Gopherus agassizii

Western Pond Turtle
Actinemys marmorata

Spider Tortoise
Pyxis arachnoides

Boa Constrictor
Boa Constrictor

Southern Pacific Rattlesnake
Crotalus oreganus helleri

Rhinocerous Iguana
Cyclura cornuta

Geyr's Spiny-Tailed Lizard
Uromastyx geyri

Mexican Beaded Lizard
Heloderma horridum

Madagascar Giant Day Gecko
Phelsuma madagascariensis grandis

Tokay Gecko
Gekko gecko

Smallwood's Anole
Anolis smallwoodi

Axolotl
Ambystoma mexicanum

Amazon Milk Frog
Trachycephalus resinifictrix

Magnificent Tree Frog
Litoria splendida

Smoky Jungle Frog
Leptodactylus pentadactylus

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VETINARY HOSPITAL

On this visit there was nothing going on at the Dr. Murray E. Fowler Veterinary Hospital. On my previous visit, there was a very nice vet taking care of a cute meerkat!

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KOI POND

There is a small, tranquil koi pond located near the playground.

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ZOO'S BACKYARD

This garden area is located in the Okapi Trail section of the zoo.

Flannel Bush
Fremontodendron californicum
CA Native

Probably Shores of Time Daylily
Hemerocallis

Daylily
Hemerocallis

Probably Bear's Breeches
Acanthus mollis

Probably Mexican Lobelia
Lobelia laxiflora

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DINOSAUR SAFARI

This is a collection of animatronic dinosaurs (brought to you by Bonney Plumbing) that will be exhibited until October 5, 2026.

Triceratops

Tyrannosaurus Rex

Brachiosaurus

Dilophosaurus

Allosaurus

Stegosaurus

Tupandactylus

Quetzalcoatlus

Utahraptor

Parasaurolophus

Deinonychus

Tenontosaurus

Tyrannosaurus Rex Photo Spot

Camarasaurus Wall Plaque

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FLORA

Probably Firecracker Plant / Coral Plant / Fountainbush
Russelia equisetiformis

Probably Magenta Chiffon Rose of Sharon
Hibiscus syriacus

Probably Blue Plumbago
Plumbago auriculata

Probably White Plumbago
Plumbago auriculata 'Alba'

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ART

Lion mural above Savannah Snacks

Giraffe sculpture

Alligator sculpture

Crocodile statue

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OTHER

Playground

Zoo Train

Conservation Carousel

Amphitheater

VR Experience

Souvenir Coin Machine

Photo Booth

Misc.

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GIFT SHOP

Dinosaur themed memorabilia

Tiger, Cheetah, and Elephant Mugs

Assorted Wild Republic Plushes
$26.99

Assorted Earth Pals Plushes
$34.99

Squishmallow Plushes
Clearance sale: $13.99

Wild Republic Huggers Plushes

SacZoo Branded Plushes:

Hello Kitty Jungle Plushes

Mbare Sculptures Handcrafted in Zimbabwe
Elephant: $59.99
Hippo: $49.99
Lion: $54.99

Unfortunately, the only red panda magnet they had was the same one with a spring I had already bought at the Cincinnati Zoo (and which they also had at Fort Wayne Zoo). Last year when I visited, I bought a red panda magnet with a photo of one of their old red pandas.

On this visit I bought the "King" Snow Leopard Cub Little Critterz porcelain figurine. On my prior visit in 2025, I had bought the "Hua Mei" Panda Cub Little Critterz.