Skip to content
Blank Park Zoo, Des Moines, IA

Photo: Lawrence Lansing, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

AttractionsFamily Favorite

Blank Park Zoo

Feed giraffes, see red pandas and great cats, and ride the carousel at Iowa's accredited zoo on old Fort Des Moines land.

7401 SW 9th Street, Des Moines, IA 50315 · Des Moines, IA

About Blank Park Zoo

Blank Park Zoo is a 49-acre zoo on the south side of Des Moines, on land that was once part of Fort Des Moines. It opened in 1966 as a children's zoo funded by Abraham Blank and today cares for more than 2,500 animals. You enter through the indoor Discovery Center, where red pandas live, and continue to the Great Cats area, the Australia Adventure with cassowaries, and a rebuilt sea lion pool. Giraffe feedings run at 11 am, 1 pm and 3 pm for a few dollars, and there is also a carousel and animal feeding stations. Adult tickets start at $20 and prices vary by date, so check online.

  • #zoo
  • #animals
  • #kids
  • #giraffe feeding
  • #des moines

What's around here?

The closest stops to Blank Park Zoo, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

  • Sightseeing
    Date Night

    Pappajohn Sculpture Park

    No admission fee

    Stroll 4.4 downtown acres of large outdoor sculpture, including Jaume Plensa's 27-foot figure made of letters.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    4.6 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing

  • Sightseeing
    History Buff

    Iowa State Capitol

    No admission fee

    Tour a five-domed statehouse topped in 23-karat gold, with 29 kinds of marble and a law library ringed by four stories of balconies.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    5.1 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing

  • Museums

    Des Moines Art Center

    No admission fee

    A free museum, art school, and sculpture park in Iowa's capital city.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    5.4 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums

  • Sports & Outdoors
    Rainy-Day Pick

    Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden

    Under $25

    Step inside an 80-foot geodesic dome conservatory, then stroll 12 acres of indoor and outdoor gardens on the Des Moines River next to downtown.

    5.4 mi awaySwitch it up: Sports & Outdoors

  • Sports & Outdoors

    Walnut Woods State Park

    Check prices

    A quiet river-bottom state park in suburban West Des Moines, known for its black walnut forest and 1930s CCC-era lodge.

    6.3 mi awaySwitch it up: Sports & Outdoors

  • Attractions
    Family Favorite

    Adventureland

    $50+

    Ride seven roller coasters, including the 101-degree drop of the Monster, and cool off at the Adventure Bay water park.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    11 mi awayMore like this

Near Blank Park Zoo

More of the same kind

Keep exploring