Apr. 2012-Polar bear

Northern Shores

Do they have access to the grassy area above?

Nope. Denver Zoo was part of the wave of new polar bear exhibits that amounted to a large grotto with a nice pool.

When was this exhibit built? Is it still considered to be adequate?

Northern Shores opened in 1987 and so a quarter of a century later this polar bear exhibit might be adequate but it could most definitely use an overhaul. I visited this zoo in 2006 and plan to again this summer but my memory is of an average-sized sea lion/seal pool, a decent river otter exhibit, and an excellent wolf habitat. The zoo has been famous for polar bears over the years, but I'm sure that it will be quite some time before this section of the facility is renovated. Denver is a zoo that does not seem to tinker with minor transformations, but instead there are massive additions every half-dozen years. Tropical Discovery in 1993, Primate Panorama in 1996, Predator Ridge in 2004 and Toyota Elephant Passage in 2012 are all mega-complexes.

I never knew that you went to the Denver Zoo.