Toledo Zoo for Kids

We went to Toledo Zoo on Mother's Day 2017, which was a short drive from the metro Detroit area and only took about an hour drive despite some ongoing construction along the usual route to get there. (I-75 South is current closed for the next year while being rebuilt, and you will have to use a detour to get there from the metro Detroit area at the current time. The northbound route is still open at the time of writing this.)

Toledo Zoo Lights Before Christmas

During the Toledo Zoo Lights Before Christmas celebration on a rare "warmer" (warm being used relative here) day in November. It was a great time and we loved getting a chance to look around the zoo for the first time. Some of the exhibits were closed and some animals were moved inside since it was still the middle of winter- so we knew we wanted to stop by in the warmer months to see it again!

The zoo becomes a winter wonderland in November and December!

Mother's Day at the Toledo Zoo

On Mother's Day, the weather was finally nice here in the metro Detroit area, so we thought a trip down to Toledo Zoo would be a great outing for our special day! We didn't know it when we planned the trip - but a nice bonus we found out about after arriving was that mothers actually got into the zoo free that day too!

Panda statues at Toledo Zoo

We had a great time checking out the polar bear exhibit, which is always a favorite of mine when we visit zoos. The polar bears at Toledo Zoo seem to be especially playful and like to play with toys in the water. The giraffe area was closed off on that weekend, so we grabbed a Dip'N'Dots ice cream treat since it was a fairly warm day and headed across the bridge to the other side of the zoo.

Mother's Day Treats!

What the other side of the bridge looks like in warmer months!

Toledo Zoo Aquarium

Toledo Zoo received funds a few years to do improvements to the zoo, including an all new aquarium area. We had seen this one our trip to Zoo Lights, but I knew we wanted to check it out again. The aquarium is well laid out with a wide variety of species and sizes of fish life!

Lots to do at Toledo Zoo for Kids

One of our favorite parts of the Toledo Zoo actually has few animal exhibits in its area - but is especially designed for kids! Nature's Neighborhood is an area especially designed for little ones to play, explore, and learn! My girls loved this area and we spent the last few hours at the zoo doing different activities here!

There is a great climbing and play structure that the girls can slide and climb on, adjacent to that is an area that was closed in the winter, but we had a chance to try out on our Mother's Day trip to play... the Stream! This was a hit because the girls took off their shoes and socks to play in the water and build mini dams with stones and sticks provided.

Climb, run, jump, and play!

The Stream ended up being a quick favorite!

We stopped for a snack at the snack bar area there in Nature's Neighborhood, and then went into the Home Sweet Home and Forest areas to explore animal life there.

There's even a special area for babies!

 Natalie enjoyed being a bee!

Playing in "the woods"!

It was a fun day and as Detroit Zoo members we received a discount off of admission of the tickets we purchased that day. (Which only turned out to be 1 adult and 2 children since moms were free!) It was around $25 after our Detroit Zoo Association discount and a great day trip! Check out more about Toledo Zoo's hours and special summer activities here: https://www.toledozoo.org/

** This is not a sponsored post. All opinions are my own.