Smithsonian Reviews

National Zoo Lights is a special event during the Christmas Holiday season. The cost is $6 per person & $30 for one vehicle to park in one of the Zoo’s parking lots. We arrived on a Friday evening around 5:30pm (it opened from 5-9, last entry is at 8:30pm). Plenty of staff to guide you where to park and they scan your parking pass and entry tickets because once you park- you’re “in” the Zoo - so have your tickets ready! Its been awhile since we came to Zoolights but its different than it used to be. Now they have animals lanterns that are lit up, instead of just strands of Christmas lights in the outline of an animal. These were super cool! Lots of places to stop and take a picture - make sure to practice taking pictures of yourself in front of very bright lights because you’ll be super dark while the lanterns are very bright :) Wasn’t super crowded at first but definitely got busier as the night progressed. Lots of places to grab a bite to eat or popcorn to grab and roam around. You won’t really see any animals at night and they close the indoor animal houses to let the animals rest- this is a major difference from years ago as they left those open previously. So if you think you’ll see animals when you- you may not. Even the animals that are usually outside may go inside to sleep as it’s warmer. Our family enjoyed walking in the Zoo at night and seeing the decorations so I would say its worth it and the money goes to animal conservation - so a win win!!

First time visitor and it was a beautiful day for a nice walk through the Zoo. The zoo was not crowded. A lot of the animals were out and active. Great place for the family and it is Free. Do not pay for parking $30. Park on the streets $9 for two hours. But you do have to repay every 2 hours. Overall I loved my experience and definitely will be coming back!