A Visit to the Virginia Zoo

As you enter the parking lot of the Virginia Zoo from Granby Street in Downtown Norfolk the first thing you notice is the gorgeous building that houses the admission area, entrance, educational complex, and visitor center. Admission to the zoo is $7.00 for adults, $5.00 for children ages 2-11, and $6.00 for seniors. If you forgot your own, you can rent a stroller or wagon in this area as well. Once through the admission gate, you are greeted by a spectacle of fountains that will be extra handy to cool off in on the way out of the park. We will get back to those later! For now, we will begin our tour through the park.

Turning to the right, you walk along a sunny, beautifully landscaped path toward the Lafayette River. The first place you reach is The Barnyard. The name is self-explanatory! There is a barn and many farm animals nestled in this corner of the zoo. You will meet pigs, cows, sheep, barn owls, chickens, turkeys, and so much more! There is even an area where you are permitted to pet and feed the goats housed within the barnyard area.

Once you have finished exploring "Old MacDonald's Farm" (as we like to call it!), you will need to make a run through the Reptile Center. This is not for the faint of heart! Often times zoo volunteers are seated throughout the building holding various reptiles (eeek snakes!) for you observe up close, or even hold. I prefer my reptiles behind class, so I dash past them. You can find many exotic reptiles in the Reptile Center, such as skinks, geckos (not Geico!), boas, copperheads, lizards, iguanas, and the list goes on.

Located directly behind the Reptile Center is the bison exhibit. Bison are large animals the roughly resemble a cow with more hair and horns. You may have heard about these in Wild West stories. Bison are typically 5-6 feet long and weigh 1000-2000 pounds. The only place to find wild roaming bison in the US is Yellowstone National Park. These nomads are vegetarians and love grass.