Trying to find something family friendly to do on the weekends in Calgary?
How about the Calgary Zoo or Butterfield acres?
The Calgary Zoo is Calgary’s top tourist attraction. Bring your kids for an unforgettable, fun-filled day. Meet their captivating penguins in an Antarctic environment; visit majestic giraffes, bellowing hippos and colourful mandrillsin Africa; their cool cats – tigers, lynx and snow leopards in Eurasia; or the stars of the Canadian Wilds – our bears,cougars and wolves.
Located at 1300 Zoo Road NE, there is plenty of parking for only $8/day.
Make the zoo a day trip – bring a picnic and have lunch on one of the many picnic tables located around the zoo – if you’re lucky maybe the local Peacock will come for a visit! If you don’t want to pack a lunch head over to Kitamba Café or one of their many food kiosks throughout the Calgary Zoo. If you have food allergies, just ask one of their staff – ingredient lists are available at all food kiosks. Kitamba Café and Penguin Plunge Café have gluten-free options available.
Interested in dinosaurs? The newly revamped Prehistoric park is now open and has moving dinosaurs, sure to be a hit with everyone in the family!
For more information on admission and park hours, check out their website!
Looking for something a little more interactive? Have you tried Butterfield acres?
Not only can you actually pet and feed the animals (sheep, goats, pigs) which is the main reason I go! There are so many activities you won’t know where the day went!
- Visit with lots of different farm animals….many right in their pens or thru the fence for the bigger ones!
- Hunt for freshly laid eggs!
- Have a warm snack on a cool day!
- Play on the goat bridge!
- Have a picnic!
- Feed the critters with some cones from Chop ‘n Cones!
- Let the piglets chew your shoe laces!
- Hee-haw with the donkeys!
- Little chicks..how cute!
- Climb on an old tractor!
- Roast some hot dogs around a crackling firepit!
- Pose for a goofy picture!
- Hop aboard the big old farm wagon for a trip out into the back pasture!
- Have a cool snack on a hot day!
- Can you get the turkeys to gobble back to you?
- Have you ever milked a goat? Come on over and give it a try!* Specific times for each day posted at Admissions
- Explore Nursery Rhyme Park!
- Shaded parks!
- Pony rides for the under 60 crowd! Specific times for each day posted at Admissions
- Ride over the hills and through the woods on a tractor-pulled wagon! Specific times for each day posted at Admissions
- Go for a pony ride!* (*See Hours and Admission for details). Specific times for each day posted at Admissions.
Both the Calgary zoo and Butterfield acres offer hours of family fun. Having a birthday? Why not celebrate it with some very cute animals, both locations offer birthday packages.
It’s fun, it’s educational and best of all they are for the whole family – young and old!
jreid34 