Franklin Park Zoo in New England

The Franklin Park Zoo, located at One Franklin Park Road, allows you to walk with the regal lions, tall giraffes, and gangly gorillas through a tropical forest. Well, not really, but I am sure that you get the point. Dozens of wild animals spend their days at the zoo, perched atop some prominent place so they can watch all of the humans strolling by and looking at their living quarters.

Dating back to 1913, the zoo sits upon 72 acres situated in Boston's Franklin Park, which is part of the park system known as the Emerald Necklace. With ten main exhibition areas, the zoo includes numerous indoor and outdoor exhibits featuring lions, ostriches, kangaroos, zebras, and more.

The Farmyard Area showcases animals commonly seen on American farms. Visitors are permitted to make contact with these animals.

The Butterfly Landing is only open seasonally, but if you visit the zoo when it is, stop there for a spectacular look at more than a thousand butterflies.

The Kalahari Kingdom, although encased behind glass, allows a close look at the lions of the zoo in an African-themed exhibit.

The African Tropical Forest Habitat has visitors laughing at the antics of the gorillas as they romp about the place looking to get into mischief.

The Australian Outback showcases a variety of kangaroos, cockatoos, and emus.

The Serengeti Crossing offers four acres of wildebeest, ibex, and zebras in a grassland-themed exhibit.

Open since 2006, Tiger Tales showcases two tigers that were rescued. One is orange and one is white.

The Children's Zoo, which also includes a petting zoo, is full of prairie dogs, ducks, and more.

The Franklin Park Zoo is open daily including major holidays. Hours vary according to weekends, holidays, and season of the year.

Summer hours for the Franklin Park Zoo extend from April through September. The hours begin at 10:00 am and end at 5:00 pm on weekdays. On weekends and holidays, the hours begin at 10:00 am and end at 6:00 pm.

Winter hours extend from October through March. The hours begin at 10:00 am and end at 4:00 pm daily. If inclement weather occurs, contact someone at the following number for information: 617-541-5466.