Saint Louis Zoo
Zoo · St. Louis, Missouri
Ninety acres in Forest Park holding around twelve thousand animals, and free to enter - funded by a dedicated regional tax district rather than by admissions, which is why it can be. It began with the Flight Cage that the city bought from the Smithsonian after the 1904 World's Fair and which still stands, and was established as a zoological park in 1910. It is consistently rated among the best zoos in the United States, particularly for conservation research and for the way its older exhibits have been rebuilt rather than replaced.
1 Government Drive, St. Louis, Missouri, 63110, United States
Open daily, generally 9 AM to 5 PM with longer summer hours and shorter winter ones. Closed Christmas Day and New Year's Day. GENERAL ADMISSION IS FREE. Parking in the zoo lots is charged, and a handful of attractions inside - the railroad, the sea lion show, the children's zoo - carry small separate fees, some of which are waived early in the day.