Roger Williams Park Zoo is part of the beautiful Roger Williams Park in Providence, RI. It is right off the highway and easy to zip right into the park without navigating the city streets too much. Outside of the Zoo, the park has a beautiful carousel, swan boats, playground and gardens.
The zoo is easy to navigate, with wide paths throughout that make it an easy walk with a regular stroller or jogging stroller. One important thing to note is that there seemed to be a fair number of things that are seasonal. The Mommy, UP! team visited in early May and there were concessions, stores and exhibits that were not yet open. Definitely check before you go if there is anything of particular importance to you!
Preview the layout of the zoo here.
Roger Williams Park Zoo – Hasbro’s Our Big Backyard
This is the perfect place to end your visit because if you start here, you may never leave! If you live close to Providence, it is worth a membership just to visit this area regularly!
The natural play area was very impressive and had endless things to discover. One of the main features was a small water feature river with toy boats, blocks and other things for interactive play. There is also the “Drip Drop Water Garden” with lots of fun things that can be turned on/off or made to flow different ways. Bring extra clothes so your kids can get all wet without a care in the world!
Further into the backyard is a giant treehouse, logs for climbing, a mud kitchen and a giant sandbox. The treehouse has lots of subtle interactive features for children to discover. Different things happen when each steering wheel is turned, there is a bee hive viewing door to open and close and other little secrets.
When you are ready to head home, there are some outdoor changing stalls in this space so you can easily change wet kids into dry kids before heading to the car. The building. “Our House” has bathrooms as well, which may tend to be less busy than the bathrooms found right at the Zoo entrance/exit.
Bring your own food
In our planning, the Mommy, UP! crew had debated packing lunch and ultimately decided it was easier to just eat at the Zoo’s dining facilities. When we saw the menu at Nourish 401 on the far side of the park, we instantly regretted that decision. It was incredibly overpriced – 5 meals and a few waters were almost $80 – and the quality was junk. The chicken tenders were so dry and chewy they went uneaten. The kids menu PB&J was $10. Fuel is so important on big days like this, don’t repeat our mistake, get your lunch literally anywhere else!
The Animals
The zoo is laid out in a way that makes it easy to meander down the route and not worry about missing anything hidden around a corner or down an alternate path. There was always lots of room for viewing animal habitats and a good balance of shady spots to take a break. The Giraffe and Elephant Pavilion was a real treat, we learned about elephants from the zookeeper and got to see an elephant right up close!
Petting Zoo
Another fun stop is the Zoo’s petting zoo area, called the Farmyard. There are lots of cute goats to interact with and give some treats. There is also a donkey, alpacas, pigs and sheep in the farmyard.
