A Morning at the Tulsa Zoo

After spending 2 nights in Pawhuska, Oklahoma visiting The Pioneer Woman’s Mercantile and Ranch, and the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, we headed to Tulsa to spend one night and fly home the next afternoon.

Although Tulsa is not a very large city, there is still plenty for visitors to do. Tulsa is home to an aquarium, zoo, art museum, a portion of Historic Route 66, and more. Because Eleanor currently loves animals, we decided to spend the morning at the Tulsa Zoo.

Being the beginning of summer, the zoo was busy with summer camps and church groups. However, there’s plenty of open areas and wide sidewalks that it didn’t feel as crowded as it actually was.

I was impressed to find that we were able to get very close to a lot of the animals. Much closer than other zoos I have visited. We got to see an Elephant up close while he played with a ball and snacked on peanuts.

We were excited to discover the newly expanded Lost Kingdom portion of the zoo had just recently opened. This area is lacking shade, but is home to some incredible animals including komodo dragons, tigers, and snow leopards.

We ate lunch in the Lost Kingdom at the George Kaiser Family Foundation Dining Pavilion and were very pleased. I expected typical sub-par theme park food but I was pleasantly surprised to find the food was better than I expected. The restaurant has spacious indoor seating which was a great escape from the heat. There is also outdoor seating overlooking the tigers which would be a great place to sit in the morning when the animals are more active.

We love finding playgrounds while traveling and the zoo had a great one. The equipment was spread out so that there’s room for lots of kids to run around and play. The best part is that its all shaded! The playground is surrounded by picnic tables so you can have lunch and a place to sit while the kids play.

When I entered the Tulsa Zoo, I had no idea Eleanor and I would end up riding a camel! It was a great experience and totally worth the few dollars it cost to ride. Riders have to be at least 2 years old and able to hold on tight. This experience was certainly the highlight of our day at the zoo.

Trekking Tots Tips:

• Are you a member at your local zoo? I showed my Zoo Atlanta membership card and received half off our entrance tickets as well as the member discount on food and merchandise.
• Bring quarters for purchasing food to feed the fish and turtles.
• Outdoor picnic tables were full at lunch time so plan to eat early or late. Or pack a blanket for sitting in the grass.
• Stroller and wagon rentals are located behind the gift shop. This is handy if you don’t travel with a stroller but decide one would be nice at the zoo.

To read more about our trip to Oklahoma, visit the following links:

Visiting the Pioneer Woman’s Lodge – What to Expect

Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, Pawhuska, Oklahoma