Fall Zoo Events - Zoo With Us

The Fall is the BEST time of the year to visit the zoo! Well, that’s our opinion anyway. We take a trip every year on Columbus Day weekend to travel to a new zoo or revisit one of our favorites. We enjoy visiting with slightly smaller crowds, while also enjoying cool temperatures. The animals also tend to be more active. But in addition to that, many Fall zoo events make attending worthwhile.

Asian Lanterns filled the Cleveland Zoo this Summer, and even during the daytime they were fun to see

This Fall, there’s one event that we’re truly excited for. The Racine Zoo, located about an hour and a half away from us, is putting on a Lantern Festival. We were lucky enough to see something very similar this summer at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. The Racine Zoo will be covered in large, over-sized lanterns portraying both animals and symbols from Asian cultures. The Zoo will display the lanterns every day, but tickets are sold separately for the night-time display. You can find out more about that on the zoo’s website. In addition, the zoo has created a “parking tips” page – be sure to reference that as well!

Several other zoos are conducting fall events in October. A few Illinois Zoos will conduct a “Fall Festival” that runs every weekend in October. The Lincoln Park Zoo’s edition will have a bounce house, corn maze, and pumpkin patch. The Randall Oaks Barnyard Zoo in Huntley, Illinois will have a corn bin play area, bonfire, hayrides, and pumpkin enrichment for the animals. In Michigan, Lansing’s Potter Park Zoo is doing a “Tailgate with the Animals” theme on October 6 to celebrate the Michigan vs Michigan State football game. The zoo will feature animal enrichment activities, with some animals picking the winner of the big game.

Boo at the Zoo

One popular fall event at zoos is around Halloween, when zoos do their own rendition of “Boo at the Zoo.” As you would expect, no “Boo at the Zoo” event is the same. Some zoos simply promote wearing costumes to the zoo on specific days, and add some trick-or-treat and craft stations around the zoo. Others require an extra charge, and bring in entertainment along with children’s activities. Some have special night hours, so it’s important to visit the websites to know exactly what you’re getting into before you go – that will have a large impact on your experience.

I can say that we’ve never purposefully gone to a “Boo at the Zoo” event. However we’ve happened upon being at a zoo during such an event several times. When we zoo, we go early – usually attempting to arrive by 10 or 11 at the latest. Because of this, the extra traffic associated with events hasn’t applied to us. We have heard that in many cases, the excess visitors create an environment that for many is way too cramped. This also causes chaos in regards to parking. I remember seeing on social media in 2017 that a local zoo was forced to close its parking lot due to visitors waiting over an hour to park for their “Boo at the Zoo” event.

Reasons to Visit a Boo at the Zoo Event

Animal Enrichment – One of our favorite zoo memories was going to the Cincinnati Zoo during their event and seeing the animals have pumpkins placed in their exhibit. Some would eat them, some would smash them, some would carry them around. Enrichment is something zoos do to engage in the animals (different from training). An autumn/Halloween-themed enrichment can be fun to watch.
Special Animal Encounters – Sometimes zoos will focus on specific animals at these events, and give the visitors opportunities to interact with the animals that they wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to do. These pique our interest because the focus comes back onto the animals, not on extra activities.
Nice Weather – The zoos can’t really control this one, but you need some good fall weather for these events. Walking the zoo in cold or rainy weather for the purpose of engaging in specific activities can be miserable. Poor weather might cut down on the traffic, which is nice, but still probably not worth it.
Free – I have a hard time paying extra for events like this. When we pay an additional fee at a zoo, it’s usually to participate in an engagement activity with the animals, like giraffe feeding. We travel to zoos all the time, so paying extra because they have a few crafts going on isn’t ideal.

Here is a list of fall zoo events for zoos in the Midwest.

Thank you for checking out our list of 2019 Fall Zoo Events. To see a list of zoos we’ve visited with additional information, check out our Zoo Information Guide.