Seattle Aquarium’s new Ocean Pavilion evokes the tropics, simply steps from Puget Sound.
Certain, actions on Seattle-area trails and waterways may present probability animal encounters, however close by zoos and aquariums provide an expertise that is much less “fast, seize the bear spray.” Here is the place to catch a glimpse of untamed creatures—and study from their caretakers.
Penguins dive and sunbathe on their very own rocky island at Woodland Park.
Woodland Park Zoo
Seattle
Born nicely over a century in the past on the previous Phinney property (of Phinney Ridge fame), the state’s greatest zoo by animal depend attracts greater than 1,000,000 guests in a standard yr. It is a zoo so traditional that Richard Scarry may as nicely have devised it—lions and zebras within the African savanna exhibit, gorillas and toucans in a rainforest enclosure, and penguins splashing round a rock outcropping make a complete of over 800 animals. However for all its tried-and-true features, Seattle’s hometown zoo makes daring strikes in accessibility with neighborhood packages and an in depth sensory information that lays out what elements could be loud, smelly, or intense for delicate guests. They’ve lengthy centered conservation objectives over easy leisure—not that the butterfly home is not loads entertaining.
Level Defiance Zoo and Aquarium
Tacoma
Of all of the sights crammed into one South Sound peninsula—rose gardens, Fort Nisqually Dwelling Historical past Museum, precise outside slides—the combo zoo and aquarium manages to face out. It holds almost 14,000 people (most of these are invertebrates, like bugs and sea creatures), together with a blinding array of sharks within the new Pacific Seas Aquarium. A shark diving add-on brings guests nostril to nostril with the massive fish of their heat water exhibit. Given the number of reveals and each day zookeeper displays, it is a spend-all-day type of vacation spot.
Seattle Aquarium
Seattle
Do not mistake the singular focus of downtown’s aquatic attraction—Puget Sound’s marine setting—with a slim expertise. Right here, “aquarium” does not simply imply a glass tank with a number of fish (and when it does, there are many fascinating tales inside—see when you can spot the pirate-like rockfish with lacking eyes). An underwater dome delivers calming, up-close views, and the enormous Pacific octopus reveals off one of many Sound’s most mysterious residents. The marine mammal reveals are dwelling to creatures which might be extra feisty than fishy, like harbor seals and sea otters, together with besties Mishka and Sekiu. The brand new Ocean Pavilion ships guests to the nice and cozy waters of the Indo-Pacific—and three,500 animals and crops that decision tropical waters dwelling.
Cougar Mountain Zoo
Issaquah
Tucked on the base of Cougar Mountain, simply throughout from Lake Sammamish, the small property appropriately homes cougars, but additionally Siberian tigers, wolves, reindeer, macaws, and lemurs. The extra intimate setting can really feel like a extra up-close take a look at the animals than different zoos can present, and keeper employees flow into to share concerning the residents. Instructional mini lectures are on the calendar every single day, and particular encounters permit guests to feed tigers and reindeer, or get private with the native lemurs.
Northwest Trek Wildlife Park
Eatonville
Like a Noah’s Ark for the western Cascades, the wildlife middle tucked into 725 rural acres is run by Metro Parks Tacoma along side Level Defiance Zoo and Aquarium. The roster right here stays native, starting from cougars and bobcats to grey wolves and bears in each black and grizzly varieties. The free-roaming space lets moose, bison, elk, and bighorn sheep wander a forested enclosure so large guests should drive by means of their territory (and heads up, Might is child animal season). Alternatively, electrical trams cart guests by means of the reserve on quiet sightseeing excursions, and weekend keeper chats dive deeper into the worlds of reptiles, wetland creatures, and extra.
Bug and Reptile Museum
bremerton
Not the identify of your final nightmare, however a free-to-visit assortment of a number of the world’s most misunderstood creatures. Stay reveals remind viewers that even much less cuddly animals have personalities—the blue-eyed skink, a type of lizard, goes by the identify Blooper—and from behind glass, even a Madagascar hissing cockroach attracts curious eyes. An eight-foot-long stay ant farm stays busy, and a wide range of illustrated scavenger hunts create a straightforward highway map for the small museum. Newbie entomologists and herpetologists can be in creepy-crawly heaven.
