Zoochatters, I’d love some advice. A friend from college is getting married in Colorado this summer at an out of the way place between Denver and Colorado Springs. My family will be in the area for a couple of days and can devote one of them to visiting a zoo. If you only had one day, would you go to Denver or Cheyenne Mountain? I’ll be with my wife and elementary-age daughter who are both zoo fans as well. Thanks in advance for your help!
If you go to Denver, you should also be able to fit in the aquarium - I did it in an hour during a flight layover, and it's open late. Unfortunately I arrived in the afternoon, so couldn't make the zoo work Enjoy your trip!
Denver Zoo is usually a full day trip if you want to see everything. Cheyenne Mountain is smaller and usually takes half a day. If you go to CMZoo, you can usually fit in the nearby Garden of the Gods which is a great free park about 15 mins from the zoo that is highly recommended. If you want more species especially if you are into reptiles or primates, Denver is your option. If you want more of a unique zoo experience with some rare species, Cheyenne Mountain would be your choice. Both are great though.
Those are great thoughts, thanks! With the short trip, it’s definitely appealing to do a smaller park and try to see multiple attractions in a day.
I vote for Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. Mountain Tapir and moose. New hippo exhibit and grizzly bear exhibit is outstanding. Maybe a few old exhibits, but being on the side of a mountain makes this unique. More open and less crowded than Denver. Chec
Thanks for the help! I agree about the setting. It’s pretty cool to have a mountainside zoo with what appears to basically be its own ski lift.