Peoria Zoo

Hello!

Earlier this year (2026), I spent a day visiting several central Illinois zoos in succession - Peoria Zoo, Miller Park Zoo in Bloomington, and Scovill Zoo in Decatur. Although the scheduling was tight, I was able to thoroughly explore each of those small zoos.

While I have a series of posts about Chicago and another group of posts covering the Chicago suburbs, there are also some interesting sights in the rest of Illinois (including central Illinois as well as northern Illinois):

H1: Peoria Zoo (this post)

H2: Miller Park Zoo

H3: Scovill Zoo

H4: Rockford Art Museum

Future posts include:

Krannert Art Museum in Urbana-Champaign, IL
Spurlock Museum of World Cultures in Urbana-Champaign, IL
Japan House Gardens & Illini Union Art Gallery in Urbana-Champaign, IL
Burpee Museum of Natural History in Rockford, IL

All of the pictures in this post were taken by me except for the map of the zoo. If you want to use any of my photos, please contact me to first obtain permission.

PEORIA ZOO

2320 N. Prospect Rd.
Peoria, IL 61603

Website: https://peoriazoo.org/

Hours:

Open Daily: 10 AM - 5 PM

Last admission is at 4:30 PM

Cost (as of 2026):

Adult (13 and over): $12.50
Child (2 - 12): $9.00
Child (1 and Under): FREE
Senior (65+): $11.50
Active Military: $11.50

Parking is free.

Peoria Zoo participates in the AZA reciprocity program at the 100% level. Members of institutions participating at 100% get free admission at other institutions participating at the 100% level and 50% off admission at institutions participating at the 50% level. Members of institutions participating at 50% get half off admission at all participating institutions.

Since I was a member of Buttonwood Park Zoo, I got free admission and did not need to pay the $12.50 admission.

Estimated Time: 1 - 2 hours

Since it is a smaller zoo, I finished thoroughly going through Peoria Zoo in 1.5 hours.

SUMMARY

Peoria Zoo is an average (2 star), small zoo that takes an hour or two to go through. On my visit, the Australia Walk-About was closed - it is only open between Memorial Day and Labor Day, though I was able to get glimpses of an emu. The zoo had gotten a new rhino, which I was not able to see. But as a result, they were gradually exposing the rhino to the sounds and smells of its new neighbors. Thus while the giraffes and gazelles were out, the zebras and lions were kept out of view in order to not overwhelm the new rhino. It was also a little too cold for the Aldabra tortoise and Chinese alligator. Indoors, the mole rats and bats were not viewable. The main highlights that I did get to see were the tiger, mandrill baby, and the Tropics building with little critters like tree shrews, swift foxes, lemurs, and small monkeys.

Unfortunately, there were no Keeper Chats available - apparently they also run only between Memorial Day and Labor Day at 30 minute intervals.

Peoria Zoo's seasonal Chinese lantern is called Glow Wild. It looks like they partnered up with Kaleido Entertainment for the lanterns (as opposed to many zoos which use Tianyu Arts & Culture). There was more of a mythological and cultural bent to the lanterns and it was refreshing to see some new styles and themes. As I've said with a few other zoos, it does make you wonder though when you end up taking more pictures of lanterns than of actual animals!

Comparing Peoria Zoo to other zoos:

5 stars:

San Diego Zoo (San Diego, CA)
Brookfield Zoo (Brookfield, IL)
Taipei Zoo (Taipei City, Taiwan)

4 stars:

San Diego Safari Park (San Diego, CA)
Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden (Cincinnati, OH)
Oklahoma City Zoo (Oklahoma City, OK)
Milwaukee County Zoo (Milwaukee, WI)
Houston Zoo (Houston, TX)
Oakland Zoo (Oakland, CA)

3 stars:

Lincoln Park Zoo (Chicago, IL, Free)
Zoo Atlanta (Atlanta, GA)
Buttonwood Park Zoo (New Bedford, MA)
Butterflies of Cape Cod (Bourne, MA)
International Crane Foundation (Baraboo, WI)
Henry Vilas Zoo (Madison, WI, Free)
Indianapolis Zoo (Indianapolis, IN)
Sacramento Zoo (Sacramento, CA)
Santa Barbara Zoo (Santa Barbara, CA)
Fort Worth Zoo (Fort Worth, TX)
Fort Wayne Zoo (Fort Wayne, IN)
Zoo Knoxville (Knoxville, TN)

2 stars:

Audubon Insectarium (New Orleans, LA)
Audubon Zoo (New Orleans, LA)
Sarasota Jungle Gardens (Sarasota, FL)
Save Our Seabirds Wild Bird Learning Center (Sarasota, FL, Free)
San Francisco Zoo & Gardens (San Francisco, CA)
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (Vallejo, CA)
Franklin Park Zoo (Boston, MA)
Capron Park Zoo (Attleboro, MA)
Taylor-Bray Farm (Yarmouth Port, MA, Free)
Racine Zoo (Racine, WI)
Ochsner Park Zoo (Baraboo, WI, Free)
John Ball Zoo (Grand Rapids, MI)
Potter Park Zoo (Lansing, MI)
Antalya Zoo (Antalya, Turkey)
Marine Mammal Center (Sausalito, CA, Free)
Santa Ana Zoo (Santa Ana, CA)
San Antonio Zoological Society (San Antonio, TX)
Cameron Park Zoo (Waco, TX)
Dallas Zoo (Dallas, TX)
Caldwell Zoo (Tyler, TX)
Peoria Zoo (Peoria, IL)
Miller Park Zoo (Bloomington, IL)
Scovill Zoo (Decatur, IL)
Potawatomi Zoo (South Bend, IN)

1 star:

Cosley Zoo (Wheaton, IL)
Stone Zoo (Stoneham, MA)
Timbavati Wildlife Park (Wisconsin Dells, WI)
Binder Park Zoo (Battle Creek, MI)
Happy Hollow Park & Zoo (San Jose, CA)
CuriOdyssey (San Mateo, CA)

ASIAN TRAIL

Amur (Siberian) Tiger
Panthera tigris altaica

Sichuan Takin
Burdorcas taxicolor

AUSTRALIA WALK-ABOUT

Emu
Dromaius novaehollandiae

AFRICA!

Mandrill
Mandrillus sphinx

20260417_114321(0).jpg

Red River Hog
Potamochoerus porcus

Colobus Monkey
Colobus guereza

Giraffe
Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata

Thomson’s Gazelle
Gazella thomsoni

Taveta Golden Weaver
Ploceus castaneiceps

Standings day gecko
Phelsuma standingi

Madagascar Hissing Cockroach
Gromphadorhina portentosa

TROPICS

Murals within the Tropics building

The only red panda at Peoria Zoo other than the gift shop plushes

Not only was this the best quality picture I took at Peoria Zoo, but it's also the best picture I've taken of a northern tree shrew at any zoo. They tend to move around quickly so a lot of picture attempts end up blurry!

Northern Tree Shrew
Tupaia belangeri