Oregon Zoo

Oregon Zoo is at 4001 S.W. Canyon Rd. The 64-acre zoo is home to some 2,000 animals representing more than 200 species from around the world, all living in replications of their natural environments. Visitors enter the Great Northwest exhibit, a simulation of the Cascade Mountains, complete with bald eagles, cougars, mountain goats and river otters. A 100-foot suspension bridge carries visitors into Black Bear Ridge, where black bears climb steep slopes and bobcats nap under towering Douglas fir trees. Before leaving here, be sure to check out the three-story Condors of the Columbia aviary, home to three adult birds that cannot be released in the wild.

Next door is Pacific Shores, where Steller Cove replicates the Pacific Ocean off the Oregon Coast with its tide pools, blowholes, kelp forests and rocky sea stacks as well as the playful sea otters and harbor seals. Also here is Polar Passage, complete with snowy hills and saltwater ponds for the massive polar bears to play in. Next door is the Penguinarium where Humboldt penguins dive into icy waters.

Elephant Lands is the zoo's 6-acre home for its Asian elephant family. Featuring five outdoor habitats and Forest Hall, an indoor habitat, this spot is designed to allow elephants freedom of movement among stimulating environments that include feeding stations, sand and mud wallows and a large pool that can accommodate the whole clan.

The Africa Savanna features giraffes, hippopotamuses and a black rhino. The Africa Rain Forest includes bats, colobus monkeys, crocodiles and tropical birds. Cheetahs, lions and African wild dogs live in Predators of the Serengeti, a re-created environment that includes grasslands, traditional African huts, a waterfall and a replica of a baobab tree. Visitors can watch orangutans and gibbons swing overhead in the Primate Forest; chimpanzee also can be found here climbing in the multi-tiered indoor and outdoor space.

Discovery Zone, next to the Education Center, is home to East Asia's Amur tigers and red panda. The Insect Zoo also is here as well as the Africa Rainforest, home to bats and tropical birds.

In the summer and during ZooLights (the zoo's winter festival), visitors can board the Zoo Railway for a 6-minute ride across the zoo. A carousel offers the choice of 18 beautifully crafted animals to ride upon, while youngsters can expel that extra energy at the nature playground or in the sandbox. Keeper talks and animal activities are offered daily.

Note: Advance online ticket reservations are required for all guests. Parking sometimes is limited; taking MAX Light Rail is a convenient alternative to driving.

Food is available. Time: Allow 3 hours minimum.