Plan Your Visit

At Zoo Boise, we are always working to make the zoo educational, affordable, and most importantly, fun and exciting! Every year we try to add or update new attractions and experiences. Be sure to visit Zoo Boise often to see what we have in store.

Special Attractions:

zoomed in picture of a goat's face, staring at the camera

Zoo Farm

Thursday - Sunday
1:30PM - 2:00PM

$1.00 Per Person

Experience: Get up close and feed the zoo’s goats and sheep.

Capacity: To keep our animals healthy and within their diet parameters, the Zoo Farm encounter is restricted to a limited amount of food cups per day and may close early if the maximum is reached.

Generously Sponsored By:

US Bank Sponsorship Logo 2023
sloth bear crouched down looking at the camera

Sloth Bear Encounter

Thursday - Sunday
2:30PM - 3:00PM

$5.00 Per Person

Experience: Here’s your chance to feed a sloth bear some mealworms through a special feeding tube in the exhibit.

Capacity: To keep our animals healthy and within their diet parameters, up to 25 guests may participate.

Generously Sponsored By:

St. Luke's Health Plan+ main logo 2024
Giraffe encounter, feeding animals by hand at Zoo Boise.

Giraffe Encounter

Closed for the Season

$5.00 Per Person

Experience: Get nose-to-nose with a giraffe and feed them some lettuce.

Generously Sponsored By:

Perkins Coie horizontal logo with slogan
Large ship in the water.

Conservation Cruise

Closed for the Season

$5.00 Per Person

Experience: Our solar powered boats will take you on a relaxing cruise around the lagoon, where you’ll get a chance to see patas monkeys.

two butterflies sitting in the center of a flower

Butterflies in Bloom

Closed for the Season
June 1 - Labor Day

Free With Zoo Admission

Experience: A walk through greenhouse full of hundreds of colorful butterflies.

Generously Sponsored By:

KTVB main sponsor logo 2024
Simplot Company Foundation main sponsor logo 2024
young sand cat sitting in a cave.

Zoo Chats Schedule

March 16 – March 24
11:30AM & 2:30PM
March 25 - May 31
2:30PM
June 1 - Sept 2
11:30AM & 2:30PM
Sept 3 - Oct 25
2:30PM

Free With Zoo Admission

Experience: Learn all about different animals every day with special chats from our Animal Care team.

For All Encounters:

  • Payment is only accepted at the encounter station. 
  • All proceeds goes toward the Zoo Boise Conservation Fund.
  • All activities are weather and animal dependent.