Lowry Park Zoo, Tampa

A small zoo but has a lot to offer - especially if you have a family.

VOTED THE #1 CHILD FRIENDLY ZOO IN AMERCIA.

Zoo has an amazing manatee viewing area, primate area, and Africa and Australia area among others. Lowry Park also has a dedicated group of docents who are always are on hand and have lots of background information on the animals and their individual personality.

A very natural looking zoo with lots of shaded areas.

The front of the park has a small area where children can play in the fountains. The young children really love this area, especially on hot days, so bring a bathing suit. Shoes or sandals are required at all time.

Open
9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week.
We are open every day except Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.

If you live in the area the annual pass is well worth it.

General Admission Prices:
Adults: $16.95
Seniors: $15.95
Child: $12.50 (2 and up)
Parking: Free

River Odyssey Ecotour Ticket AND Zoo Admission (can also be purchased separately)
Adults: $28.95
Seniors: $26.95
Child: $20.50 (2 and up)
Parking: free

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Lowry Park Zoo is a nice zoo that surprised my whole group with its size and variety of animals. I had no idea a zoo like this was located in Tampa. Apes and gorilla, camels and manatees...it's a large and fun location for the family.

The zoo is fairly spread out, so wear comfortable walking shoes. The animals are broken up by region and you can move between regions without backtracking much (a problem I've run into at other zoos).

The zoo has been open since 1988 and is a zoological garden. The landscaping and walking trails make the visit pleasant (for reasons other than the animals) and the large trees shade visitors from the Florida sun. Aside from the usual zoo features, Lowry Park Zoo offers a few rides, animal shows, a kids zone, camel rides and an opportunity to feed the giraffes and rhinos - a must!

The zoo's hours are 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas days. Check the weather if you're planning a visit as it may close for bad weather as well.

Tickets are $14.50 for kids 3-11, $18.95 for adults, and $17.95 for seniors. Kids 2 and under are free. There is also a large lot with free parking.

Lowry Park Zoo is an awesome zoo. There's a really neat Florida exhibit where you can go see some of Florida's remaining wildlife in quasi-nature settings (as natural as a zoo is going to get) like Rosiette Spoonbills, Black Bears, Flamingos, Floirda Panthers, Manatees, and, of course, Alligators. I have a plastic flamingo "collectable" that my sister bought me from here.
There's also several other places to explore - my favourite exhibit is the lemurs. I don't know why, but I freaking LOVE lemurs. They also have some tapirs in their Asia exhibit that are pretty awesome.
Recently, Lowry Park just added on an Africa exhibit (where you can feed giraffes, it's cool) and an Austrailia exhibit. Both are kind of lack-luster and poorly designed, but they're still kind of in the works, so we'll see . . .
Even without those exhibits, it's the best zoo I've been to and well worth a visit.

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***Update: Lowry Park was recently named the best zoo for children in the USA!***

Busch Gardens is Tampa's premier attraction (which is why it's featured on about 42 VT pages). But if you're going just for the animals, you might consider skipping Busch altogether and visit the Lowry Park Zoo instead. It's probably the best zoo in Florida, and it's less crowded and *much* cheaper than Busch Gardens.

As you might expect, a good number of the zoo's animals are native to Florida. There are sting rays (which you can pet) along with manatees and Florida panthers and alligators (which you can't), among many others.

Lowry Park Zoo also houses creatures from around the world. They have chimps and baboons and lemurs and orangutans and komodo dragons and rhinos and tigers and a bunch of other assorted animals. An area featuring Australian animals opened a couple years ago and a huge expansion on Africa opened in the spring of 2004, so there's plenty to see. (The African area was not exactly completed and was somewhat disappointing when it first opened, but other phases will be ready soon.)

All animals are housed in relatively natural habitats for their comfort and your viewing pleasure.

Bring a swimsuit for your kids if it's warm; there are two water splashing areas that are great for cooling off. There are also camel rides, pony rides, a merry-go-round, a skyride, and assorted other activities for children of all ages.

The zoo is good for a good 3 to 5 hours of family fun. We're members and go all the time but still enjoy it.

Lowry Park Zoo is one of Tampa's best family attactions!

Wallaroo station will delight your kids with a play area, water fountains, and a couple of larger rides that take tokens.

There are many hands on activitys. Have fun feeding baby Kangaroos, touch Stingrays, and feeding Lorikeets.

The primate area allows a wonderful view of the animals at play a very up close and personal area.

Open aviary allows a jungle view of many color species of birds.

The Florida Manatee is a great addition to this zoo as well. You go under water level in an aircondioned open chamber for viewing.

Lowry Park is a very nice zoo located in the heart of Tampa. Unlike the other attractions in Florida, this zoo is uncrowded and provides no adrenaline rush. Take a nice leisurely walk through the park and enjoy the wildlife. It takes about 3 hours to go through all the exhibits.

Admission costs $11.50 and the hours of operation are 9:30 am to 5:00 pm daily. It is best to visit in the morning before it gets too hot.

This is one of the better zoo's in Florida I have been to. Usually animals are crammed together without any consideration in zoos in Florida.
Not here. Animals have plenty room, are placed type by type, and continent-wise.
Well worth a visit once you're fed up with bush gardens.
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See more pictures in the travelogue

Lowry Park Zoo Garden www.lowryparkzoo.com is one of the best in North America. One of the main attraction is the manatee center, which has about 20 sea cows. Its 26 acres hold also Florida panthers, Komodo dragons, Sumatran tigers, Indian rhinoceros, red pandas, and other exotic animals.