Zoos in Los Angeles, CA
Looking for zoos in Los Angeles? Here are 3 of them, with the details parents check first: price, opening hours and the right age range.
Sorted by distance from the middle of Los Angeles, nearest first. Those are straight-line miles, so every drive is longer than the number on the card.
Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens is a wildlife park and garden attraction in Los Angeles where families can explore animal exhibits and lush plant collections…
Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens is a wildlife park and garden attraction in Los Angeles where families can explore animal exhibits and lush plant collections…
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A zoo in Santa Ana offering animals to see, rides for children, and a seasonal flight experience. Families can spend a few hours exploring the grounds, with…
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A zoo on 30 acres of botanical gardens overlooking the Pacific Ocean, home to nearly 400 animals across more than 100 species. Families can walk among mammals…
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Where a card says no price or no hours listed, the venue does not publish it. We would rather leave the gap than fill it with a guess. Prices come from each venue's own website, and we publish one only when the figure appears on the page we took it from. Tell us if we are missing one you know.
Which one, by age
Two children three years apart do not have to be a compromise. The age line on every card shows what that venue serves.
Santa Ana Zoo
Best here for under 2, 31 miles out, listed ages 0–12 and admission from $12.
Los Angeles Zoo
Best here for two to five, 7 miles out, listed ages 0–16 and admission $5.
Santa Barbara Zoo
Best here for six to nine, 85 miles out, listed ages 0–16 and admission $29.95.
By town
Most of these are not in Los Angeles proper, and the town is usually what decides whether a place is worth the trip.
Zoos in Los Angeles
2 of them: Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens and Los Angeles Zoo, the closest 7 miles from the middle of Los Angeles and 1 with a published admission price.
Planning a visit
These run from 7 to 85 miles out from the middle of Los Angeles. Hours move with the season and with school holidays, so check the listing before you set off. If you run one of the places on this page, you can claim it for free and keep its hours and prices right.
Before you go
Grip socks. Almost every venue requires them for children and several require them for adults. Most sell them at the door for a few dollars. Bringing your own is cheaper and means you are not buying a fourth pair.
Check whether adults pay. It runs from free to full price and it changes the cost of a visit by a lot when there are two of you.
Weekday mornings are the toddler rush. If you want space, aim for after two on a school day. Weekend mornings are the busiest hours of the week almost everywhere.
Ninety minutes is the realistic ceiling for most children under five. There is rarely a gradual wind down. Leaving with time left on the clock is not wasted money, it is a better afternoon.
Call ahead in school holidays. Several of these venues run camps and private events that close open play with no notice on the website.
Looking somewhere else in the metro? Browse every kid-friendly place in Los Angeles.
Other things to do in Los Angeles
Zoos in nearby cities
Common questions about zoos in Los Angeles
How many zoos are there in Los Angeles?
We list 3 zoos within 90 miles of Los Angeles, CA. Every one is a published listing with an address we checked.
Which zoos in Los Angeles publish their prices?
3 of the 3 here do, and each price was checked word for word against the venue's own page before we published it. The rest do not publish one, so their card says no price listed rather than carrying a guess.
Which zoos in Los Angeles suit a toddler?
4 of them list an age range starting at two or under. Check the age line on each card, because a place that suits a six-year-old does not always suit a two-year-old.
How did Mini Navigators choose these zoos?
We list every one we have within 90 miles of the center of Los Angeles. Each is a published place with an address we geocoded and checked, and the business can claim its listing to keep the hours and prices current.
Do adults have to pay?
It varies more than you would expect, from free to full price, and it changes the cost of a visit by a lot when there are two of you. The price on each card is what it costs to get a child in. Where a venue publishes an adult price it is on the listing, and where it does not we have left it out rather than assume.
Do I need to book ahead?
Usually not for open play, but several venues cap capacity at weekends and during school holidays, and some close open play entirely for private events. Where a venue has its own booking page, the listing links straight to it.
What should I bring?
Grip socks, a water bottle, a change of clothes for anyone under four, and a plan for leaving before the meltdown rather than after it.
What else is there to do with kids in Los Angeles?
Los Angeles has 14 categories of kid-friendly places on Mini Navigators, from playgrounds and museums to splash pads and zoos. The Los Angeles hub lists all of them.
Listings last checked August 21, 2026.