ZOO in North Carolina (Asheboro, Woodland: home, bus, food)

[Jamerican]

Has any member here ever been to the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro, NC? I heard that is really nice there. Is this a good time of the year to visit or should I wait until the spring to visit?

[mtb996]

Went last friday. Fairly empty, some of the food places and kidszone was not open, but had a GREAT time. Its an awesome zoo, with tons of animals, nice layout, friendly staff.

Wear good shoes, as there is a ton of walking (and also many bus stops to hop a bus from spot to spot).

Overall, highly recommended. If you really need all the food stops or the kidszone, wait about a month, but otherwise, pick a nice, comfortable day and enjoy it.

[Tootie the Brave]

It's a wonderful zoo, Jamerican. If you go now, you'll miss some of the crowds, but even when it's busy it doesn't feel too cramped. Because the habitats are so large and spread out, you'll be more comfortable going when it's warmer - you'll be spending a lot of walking time outdoors. The polar bears aren't nearly as active when it's really hot outside (who can blame them?), so I like to go while it's still cool. They're so fun to watch.

Wear comfy shoes and have fun!

[SunnyKayak]

I would wait til it a 55 degree plus weekend but yes this ideal time to go esspecially in the spring.

The animals will be active more when it spring temperature and who knows there may be a spring birth.

[lamishra]

This is a nice time to go because it's not crowded. The only drawback is that not all of the animals are out in this weather. But there is still plenty to see even if a few exhibits are closed due to the temperature.

[JQ Public]

It is a large zoo. It is the largest (acreage-wise) in the US I believe. It is less crowded now, but if you get a nice day you should definitely go!

[Sayantsi]

You can break it up into two days almost - Africa and N America. Africa sends some of its animals in early, so you may want to start there.

[Bilirubin]

It's a fairly nice zoo. It's a bit spread out and the animal selections are fair, but overall it's a good experience. If you've been to the San Diego Zoo or Wild Animal Park, or even the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle - it's nothing like that. But for it's size, it's nice, and clean. (It's not the largest, acreage wise, by the way).

We go every other month, regardless of weather. Now is a good time to go because there's no one there. But because there aren't so many people, the zoo has many of the concessions closed. The only ones open are at the main, North American, entrance. In the spring both entrances - N. American and African - are open.

If you want to see it in one day, I'd suggest showing up early and hopping on the tram. Take it to the African side and work your way back up. By the time you get to the bears and bison, you can break out the lunch you packed. Then wind your way back to the entrance. This way you're going against traffic, and if you want to take the tram from Africa to N. America to end your day you'll probably have to wait in line for a while.

Depending on the age of your kids, you can see everything in one day. If you have kids that are young, I'd break it up into 2 days. We usually split it up and spend about 3 hours there. Kids are 4, 2, and 2 and that's about as long as they can walk (~2 miles). Then we stop at Cook Out right by the turn onto Zoo Lane (or whatever it's called - it's on the main road).

Family passes are cheap. Around $60 for the year?

[Jamerican]

Some very good feedback and advice there family. My kids are 4 and 6 years old so I guess I may have to break it up into two different trips . However, my kids seem to have an abundance of energy so I may push them to the brink so that they will sleep all the way home hmmmm . Thanks to you all for your contribution.

[chuckreis]

From Wikipedia "At 1,458 acres (5.90 km2) , it is the largest walk-through natural-habitat zoo" so this is probably the selling point of the "biggest" that someone was thinking of.

I really need to get there this year, it has probably been 20 years since I last visited.