I have two weeks left in the northeast and remote work contract is done, so lots of time until I return to FL and look for new work. I want to visit Rhode Island, never been to the state except in passing. I was thinking of stopping at Newport during my Boston trip but my friend had to get back, and I couldn't have the car for more than 4 days. I could take an Amtrak to Providence and then before I head to Newport I can do Roger Williams Zoo. Many here regard it as better than Stone or Franklin Park. But I'll see how I feel, right now I just want to rest up. I'll probably revisit New York Aquarium this coming week now that its completely reopened. I'll admit I've breen critical of the place in recent years, but I think its fair to give it one more shot. I've visited all the other WCS facilities + Staten Island this year, so at least I can say I been to all NYC zoological facilities in 2022.
I’ve heard Roger Williams Park Zoo referred too as New England’s premier zoo. Southwick’s in Mendon, Massachusetts might give it a run when it comes to the number of large animals species exhibited, but the actual exhibits fall short. Benson’s Animal Park in Hudson, New Hampshire probably surpassed Roger Williams Zoo during Benson’s heyday and into early 1980’s (when Roger Williams was on par with Stone Zoo or Franklin Park..I.e. underwhelming), as at the time the exhibit quality of the two institutions was very similar (1960’s bars and cement)…with Benson’s having the edge is number of species and expanse of paddocks for their hoofstock. Unfortunately Benson’s, like it’s counterpart the Catskill Game Farm, is closed. Since it’s renovation in the mid-1980’s, Roger Williams Zoo has moved up in the Zoo World, especially compared to Boston’s zoos, and makes a nice pairing with Mystic Aquarium not too far away and the smaller Massachusetts Zoos of Capron Park and Buttonwood Park (both again much improved from the 1970’s) also nearby. That said…Massachusetts actually did pretty well in renovating and keeping open its small Parks & Recreation type city Zoos in comparison to Connecticut and Rhode Island which together lost three from the 1970’s. I can remember when Stone Zoo shut down for a period in the late 1980’s and Franklin Park has not yet opened its rainforest house…and was part of the Zoo’s nerd’s lamentations that a city like Boston was so far behind its peers in Zoo quality.
I've seen billboards for Southwicks near Boston and its advertised as New Englands largest zoo, but it was too far out of the way to visit. I've never heard of Benson's, interesting. There doesn't seem to be any legitimate traditional zoo (with exotics) in New Hampshire anymore; Squam Lakes is pretty much strictly native species. I wonder if one of the larger cities like Nashua or Manchester could support a smaller-sized zoo, something similar to Stone Zoo.
Yeah, most ZooChatters agree that RWPZ is the best zoo in the region. Definitely better than Stone and Franklin Park. A minority says Southwick's is the best in New England, but RWPZ has higher exhibit quality. This thread on the subject may be interesting for you to read. Of course, don't feel any pressure to go out of your way for a visit if you need your rest. I wonder why Massachusetts was more successful at that than its neighboring states were. Do you think it's just a coincidence, or is there a deeper reason behind it all?
I'm in the minority. As someone one that grew up in the Boston area (20+ years) I would choose Southwicks head and shoulders above RWPZ. Especially in the last decade and a half since its exhibitery has improved immensely. I've found that the zoochatters go more towards RWPZ due to three little letters (I'm sure my posts are still on here) rather than anything else. Overall though it's quite pathetic that a major city such as Boston has a mediocre zoo at best. Money, location and management have always been the issue. There was even talk (decade or so ago, maybe longer) about closing both Zoo New England locations and building a brand new one at a new location but Stone was actually bringing in enough money to cover itself and quite a bit of FPZ. I do want to clarify I'm not knocking RWPZ. Just prefer Southwicks. And ultimately want a world class zoo for the New England area
For me, it's not just that Southwick isn't AZA. It's that they seem super shady about stuff. They won't provide any info on their cheetahs to the studbook, and have been deliberately misleading in some posts about the cats.
I agree with this. FPZ holds a lot of sentimental value for me, but It needs to grow and make massive change, and has struggled to deal with these challenges for a while now. If the zoos were shut down, where would they have been relocated to? I imagine it would have been challenging to find a convenient area with available land. To me, it seems that closing both zoos would not have made financial sense. Shutting down FPZ and Stone would mean wasting all of the infrastructure and exhibitry (like the tropical forest building) at these existing locations. Considering that the zoos struggle to raise money for even modest improvements at their current sites, it sounds even more daunting to fund the construction of an entirely new zoo from scratch somewhere else.
Review of New York Aquarium NEW YORK AQUARIUM (BROOKLYN, NY) I'm going to admit I'm not as big of a fan of aquariums as I am of zoos. Fish don't really interest me as much as tetrapods, and with almost no aquariums able to carry cetaceans or even a diverse amount of pinniped species anymore, I just don't find them worth the price of admission. The New York Aquarium in particular never really appealed to me even though it's actually been the closest zoological facility to me when I was a child. I remember having fond memories of seeing the dolphins and Belugas, even though looking back they were held in inadequate tanks. Even before Hurricane Sandy destroyed the aquarium, I felt the aquarium was stagnant. My last visit was right after they opened up the hyped Ocean Wonders: Sharks exhibit, but I remember being disappointed when I went, though now that I revisited it again, it was clear the new exhibit was not yet fully launched and going through some early issues. Even worse was the fact that I paid around $30, a price that simply was unjustifiable for what the aquarium had at the time. Despite my previous extreme disappointment, I was curious to see how my old hometown aquarium was doing now that it was fully open. I hopped on the subway and rode for about 10 minutes until I arrived at the aquarium gate (word of advice to outsiders: DO NOT drive to the aquarium, take the subway or bus instead. Besides heavy traffic, parking around Coney Island is extremely hard to come by and the aquarium parking lot costs around $20). I came in with a more open mind and low expectations but I must say, this visit was far better than my last one. First off, the admission price didn't go up and in fact might have decreased since I last went. Tickets are $26, but due to my WCS membership at the Bronx Zoo I was able to add on aquarium membership for even less than a regular ticket, $25. With the entire place opened up now, what I once felt was an overpriced facility is now not too bad (considering the general expense of aquariums and the fact that this is NYC we're talking about). Even better is how much Ocean Wonders improved from my last experience. I went only a month or two after they just opened up the exhibit and I can recall areas being too narrow and lighting being poor, as well as some sections closed off and number of shark species much lower. Now the exhibit is fully functional and far better lit. The main shark tunnel is much wider and better than I remember (not even sure it was fully finished when I went), and seems filled with more shark species like Wobbegong, Zebra Sharks, and both Whitetip and Blacktip Reef Sharks, as well as other fish species. The Loggerhead Sea Turtle that was kept in the aquariums awful outdoor tank is now placed in a very impressive giant tank filled with many different kinds of sharks (Sand Tiger, Sandbar, Smooth Dogfish and Nurse Sharks). While not as good as SeaWorld Orlando's or Georgia's shark tunnel exhibits, this one was vastly better than I remember and is likely to be the highlight of most peoples visit. Then there are the two new exhibits opened since my previous visit, Spineless and PlayQuarium. From what little I can recall from my pre-Sandy visit, I think there were similar exhibits like these before, but these might be better. Spineless has an impressive roster of invertebrates including a huge Pacific Giant Octopus, and Japanese Giant Spider Crabs. The more modestly sized Common and Flamboyant Cuttlefish were also highlights. PlayQuarium is not as good, though there's a nice kelp tank and a play area with coral reef reconstructions. The exhibit doesn't yet feel complete though, with a shoreline exhibit that is nearly completely bare and a very underwhelming touch tank. The latter would be better to include stingrays and small sharks that are now commonplace among touch exhibits. The Conservation Hall is pretty average, with a main reef tank that was almost completely bare of any fish. The outdoor Sea Cliffs are pretty much the same, though the Sea Otters were off exhibit when I went. The Walruses that were once the highlight of this exhibit for me have already been gone during my last visit, so there isn't much here to interest me. I think this area could use a facelift already as it hasn't changed since the 90's. The Sea Change underwater viewing exhibit had just opened a month or so ago, and used to be a highlight, but it's still in need of improvements. The glass on the tanks are very badly scratched and dirty and there used to be more fish exhibits down there from what I remember. It was basically just the underwater viewing and a tank with herring and that's it. The worst exhibit is still the outdoor former Beluga tank that now houses sturgeon. Poorly reflective glass windows and a dirty interior completely bare of any décor are low points. OVERALL EXPERIENCE: I'm happy to say that New York Aquarium is better than it has been in years. I actually enjoyed my visit overall, thanks to a much-improved Ocean Wonders and Spineless. However, there is still a number of areas that the place could improve in. I hope Sea Change can be fixed up and expanded over the coming months. While not as high on my list as SeaWorld, Georgia or Mystic, with a full reopening and price point that stayed in a good spot, NY Aquarium has definitely moved up in my rankings, in a similar tier to Maritime Aquarium. I don't think New York has a premier aquarium as it does a zoo, but I'm not sure that will ever happen with the facilities limited space.
I'm officially returning to Florida in 10 days, but I will be going on one last trip to Newport, RI next week. I'm going with Amtrak and my stop is in Providence, so I will very likely be stopping at Roger Williams Park Zoo. Any advice on visiting?
The perfect time to go is a cloudy/sunny day, as that is when you will see the most animals. The red wolves had a baby in June so be on the lookout for that. Also in the Hasbro's My Big Backyard area, there is a frequently missed exhibit for common raven if you go up into the treehouse.
I came back from Rhode Island and have pretty much wrapped up all my traveling in the Northeast. I'm heading back to Florida in a few days. Several New Englanders might want to how my trip to Roger Williams Park Zoo went, so I'll post about it. But first, a bonus RI review. SAVE THE BAY EXPLORATION CENTER & AQUARIUM (NEWPORT, RI) After visiting mansions, trekking the Cliff Walk and touring the town and beach, I had some time to kill before my train back to NYC. Right on the beach I was chilling on, there was an aquarium that I don't think I've seen a single member on here discuss. I figured it would be worth checking out, just to pass the time. Save The Bay Aquarium is a non-profit that rescues local fish and other aquatic wildlife. They are really more of a nature center, though they do charge a $9 admission (cheap for an aquarium but pricier for a NC) and label themselves an aquarium, so I'll categorize them as such. In that sense, they are a very, very small facility, taking up only three rooms tightly packed with tanks and other exhibits. First off the biggest positive is the staff. They are some of the friendliest ones I've encountered in my zoo visits, and they were there to explain and discuss the animals and answer any questions. One docent explained that the rescued native fish get released once they're healed up, while summer stragglers from the south that strayed to far north stay at the center, as do the non-fish rescues. For such a small place there is a pretty surprising amount of local marine life on display. This includes three touch tanks that contain species of dogfish and rays that don't generally feature in the larger aquarium touch tanks. Besides fish and marine inverts, several native freshwater turtle species are held and there is a single frog as well. The tanks are all really basic and most are of pet-shop quality and size, but since most of the species held are small its not much of an issue. The touch tanks are larger, however. In truth, this aquarium can be viewed in under half an hour, but with time to spare I stretched my visit out to about a full hour, trying to pet every marine animal I could. OVERALL EXPERIENCE: Save The Bay clearly isn't a "true" commercial aquarium so don't expect great exhibits or anything grand. If you're claustrophobic, you might also be really bugged out by this place since its so cluttered and gets pretty crowded from the beach visitors. The touch tanks are a good hands-on experience that help make the place more worth the cost. Seeing such dedicated staff is a real pleasure, and I truly hope the local government can give this place some more funding so they can expand into a larger, nicer building with newer equipment. They really deserve it. If you did all the other tourist spots at Newport, your funds aren't depleted and you're already at the nearby beach, Save The Bay and its interactive experiences could be a cute little add-on to finish your trip.
I visited Save the Bay last month, just haven't had time to get all my photos up on here yet. I agree that it's a very nice place with some great species! I second that the staff is wonderful, as well - many of the volunteers are on the spectrum or adhd, and they are all very interested in knowing everything about the species and the animals themselves. They are moving to a new, bigger location in the next year, so they'll have more room to spread out (and add more species). I'm not sure what makes you say it's more of a nature center, though. It's a typical smaller, local aquarium.
That's great news! The smaller, local aspect is indeed the big reason, all the other aquariums I've been to were all major facilities. Plus being a rescue facility and its specific emphasis on local habitat and animal conservation. It has a similar feel to the Gumbo Limbo Nature Center in Florida (it doesn't specifically have nature trails, but its really close to the Cliff Walk so that also adds to the NC feel). It's just a matter of semantics, though, so I won't argue on what exactly it should be classified as.
Outside major aquariums, most are more like this place; some a little more polished, sure, but often not. Many smaller ones take in local rescues, and/or do a catch/release at the beginning and end of the season for their local exhibits. They're more in-tune with the local fishermen and things like that, vs focusing mostly on marine mammals and sea turtles like the larger places tend to do. This place is the second largest of 5 aquariums in RI (one of those is Save The Bay's second, smaller facility, which is currently being redone and is closed).
ROGER WILLIAMS PARK ZOO (PROVIDENCE, RI) Roger Williams Park Zoo was actually the first stop on my trip as it was only a 10 minute uber from the Amtrak station. This zoo is one of the few places in the northeast USA to have African Elephants, and I have to imagine this is the big draw to most people. The three cow elephants I saw have a nice, recently expanded outdoor enclosure and were chilling out close to the fence, grabbing some food with their trunks. The indoor barn however seems too small for adequately housing all individuals during the winter; from my observation, I didn't see any additional private housing areas for them. Otherwise, this is a good exhibit. The Fabric Of Africa section is pretty good, though I admit it feels a bit weird not seeing a zoo featuring a Lion as a highlighted animal; I do think RWPZ is planning on getting one in the coming decade. The Marco Polo Adventure Trek is a small section, but perhaps my favorite with interesting Himalayan animals like Asiatic Black Bear, Takin, and Japanese Crane, plus a nice Snow Leopard exhibit. I didn't like the Red Panda enclosure as much due to lack of trees to climb. Instead there is an ugly wooden tower with small platforms, nothing really bad but I just prefer more naturalistic environments. The other sections of the zoo I found to be decidedly mixed. World Of Adaptations is really just a hodgepodge of random animals featuring too small and cramped of an indoor section. The enclosures are mostly fine, though. The outdoor section is better, though the placement of the Binturong enclosure makes it hard to view the secretive animal, plus it feels too bare and as with the Red Panda there isn't any naturalistic features to the habitat. Faces Of The Rainforest has really cool architecture on the outside, but its pretty bare-bones on the inside. There are a small number of free-flight birds here with too little canopy to perch on. Instead, I saw them hang around on the ugly piping that snakes through the ceiling of the building. I do like the fact that the Golden Lion Tamarin and sloths have a completely open enclosure, but I have to wonder if there is ever an issue of the monkeys trying to bite an annoying zoogoer or trying to escape the building. The "North America" section looks like it needs a facelift. The Red Wolf enclosure feels like its abandoned and there is a tiny snake house with just two terrariums that feels out of place. The eagle enclosure is one of the first ones I've seen that are completely open, though this certainly means the birds can't fly at all (were they pinioned or are they rescues with injured wings? I don't know). @Smaggledagle already did a great job with the species list, so I just added any observations from my visit. OVERALL EXPERIENCE: Like many of the mid-sized zoos I've visited on this trip, Roger Williams Park Zoo is a good but unexceptional zoo. In the middle-of-the-pack among zoological facilities I've been to. Of the three New England zoos I've visited, was this the best one? Hmm, probably. But it wasn't as clear-cut for me. On the one hand I was disappointed in Franklin Park Zoo for being a comparatively small and mundane facility in such a major city, whereas I didn't have too high an expectation for RWPZ (Providence ain't no Boston). I personally think FPZ demolishes RWPZ in the indoor exhibit department with their Tropical Forest section; it's definitely not perfect but I found it was much better than the latter's offerings. I also found the small mammal and bird collection far more interesting as well (Kiwi, Kea and Potto? Sign me up!). However, FPZ loses points on it's weak big cat habitats and its overly empty park layout and puzzling design choices. Roger Williams also has elephants, and the rarer African species at that. Hard not too love that.
As a final tally, here are all the facilities I've visited on the trip. I've reviewed some of these, but if anyone wants a review of the others or has any questions, feel free to ask. I'll use this thread to post any additional info. NEW YORK Bronx Zoo (revisit) Central Park Zoo (revisit) Prospect Park Zoo (revisit) New York Aquarium (revisit) Quogue Wildlife Refuge Holtsville Wildlife & Ecology Center Sweetbriar Nature Center Trevor Zoo Trailside Museum & Zoo in Bear Mountain State Park NEW JERSEY Turtleback Zoo Cape May Zoo Bergen County Zoo Cohanzick Zoo The Raptor Trust CONNECTICUT Mystic Aquarium PENNSYLVANIA Philadelphia Zoo (revisit - still never got to see Aviary ) Lehigh Valley Zoo Briar Bush Nature Center MASSACHUSETTS Franklin Park Zoo Stone Zoo RHODE ISLAND Roger Williams Park Zoo Save The Bay Exploration Center & Aquarium
I mostly agree with your comments about RWPZ. There are numerous zoos and aquariums with tamarins and other small primates loose in jungle areas, I've never heard of it being an issue. I'd guess about 1/4 of the bald eagle exhibits I've seen are open top, including some big names like Cincinnati. They aren't pinioned, they can't fly (like many of the eagles in closed top exhibits, as well).
