Activities

Oregon Zoo

4001 SW Canyon Rd.

Portland , OR , United States http://www.oregonzoo.org/

(503) 226-1561

Located three miles southwest of downtown Portland, the 64-acre Oregon Zoo is the oldest zoo west of the Mississippi. Founded in 1887 when Richard Knight, a local pharmacist, donated his personal menagerie to the city, the zoo is currently home to over 250 species of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates, including endangered species like Asian elephants, African crocodiles, and Peruvian penguins. The Washington Park and Zoo Railway, which debuted in 1956, runs its one-mile zoo circuit daily and its 35-minute, four-mile Washington Park circuit April through September. The zoo holds special events throughout the year, including its summer outdoor concert series and winter Zoolights festival.