Boston Zoos & Aquariums with Kids

Boston's animal outings split cleanly into two kinds, and they cost wildly different amounts. There is the institutional tier — Franklin Park Zoo, Stone Zoo and the New England Aquarium, where a family of four is somewhere between forty and a hundred and forty dollars depending on which and when — and there is the working-farm tier, where Drumlin Farm in Lincoln charges $9 for an adult and $6 for a child and has cows, pigs, sheep, goats, chickens, owls, hawks and foxes. For a lot of families with children under six, the second is the better day and nobody tells them. This guide covers what each actually charges, the one that publishes no price at all and why, the EBT membership that is the best value in the city, and the after-dark lantern trail that runs through the autumn at Franklin Park.

Updated September 16, 2026 · refreshed weekly

Franklin Park Zoo: One Franklin Park Road, Boston. Free parking. Aug–Sept daily 9am–5pm; Oct–Mar daily 9am–4pm; last ticket one hour before closing
Admission: Dynamic — Zoo New England advertises “Plan-Ahead Pricing” by date and time and publishes no fixed adult or child rate
Boston Lights: The zoo's after-dark lantern trail, 6–10:30pm, running August 14 – November 8, 2026
EBT / WIC: A $45 family membership covers two adults and up to four children at BOTH zoos, year-round — “valid for Massachusetts residents through Dec. 31, 2026”
Drumlin Farm: 208 South Great Road, Lincoln — adults $9, children 2–12 $6, seniors $6. Tue–Sun 9am–5pm

Franklin Park Zoo: free parking, and a price you can't look up

Franklin Park Zoo sits at One Franklin Park Road in Boston, ten minutes from Dorchester and reachable on the 16 bus, and the first useful fact is that “parking is free at Franklin Park Zoo” — and at Stone Zoo too, which is unusual for a city attraction and worth a fair amount on a family day. The hours change four times a year and are worth checking against your date: August and September it is daily 9:00am to 5:00pm; from October through November 8 and then on through to March 31 it is daily 9:00am to 4:00pm; April to July it runs 9 to 5 on weekdays and 9 to 6 at weekends. In every season the last ticket is sold an hour before closing, so a 3:15pm arrival in October gets you nothing. The thing you cannot do is price the trip from the website. Zoo New England sells on “Plan-Ahead Pricing”, which varies by date and time, and publishes no standing adult or child rate anywhere on its visit pages — you pick a date in the booking flow and the price appears. The only fixed numbers it does publish are group rates for ten or more, at $21.95 an adult and $14.95 a child at Franklin Park and $19.95 and $13.95 at Stone Zoo, with children under two free. Treat those as a rough floor, not a quote. Two policies that make the day cheaper: you may bring your own food — “your own lunch, snacks, or coolers”, with picnic areas provided, though straws and alcohol are not allowed — and you may bring your own stroller or wagon, or rent one at $5 for a single and $7 for a double.

Boston Lights, and why it is not the Providence one

From mid-August into November, Franklin Park Zoo runs Boston Lights after dark — its own landing page gives the hours as 6:00 to 10:30pm and the run as August 14 to November 8, 2026. It is a separate ticket from daytime admission, on the same dynamic pricing, and it is the in-city answer to the event that dominates every New England Halloween roundup. That event, the Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular, is not in Massachusetts: it runs October 1 to November 1 at Roger Williams Park Zoo, 1000 Elmwood Ave, Providence, Rhode Island — about fifty miles and a state line away. It is genuinely excellent and genuinely worth the drive if you plan for it: nightly 6:00 to 10:30pm with last entry at 10:00, $20 for an adult and $16 for a child two to twelve Monday through Thursday, $23 and $19 Friday through Sunday, free for toddlers under one. All tickets are timed, online only, bought in advance, and “non-refundable and cannot be exchanged”. Parking is free first-come, with a $15 premium option. Service dogs only — “pets, emotional support and therapy animals are not allowed.” But it is an evening out of state, not a Boston night, and a guide that files it under Boston is wasting your Tuesday.

The farm tier: Drumlin Farm and the Blue Hills Trailside Museum

This is where the value is. Mass Audubon's Drumlin Farm at 208 South Great Road in Lincoln charges $9 for an adult, $6 for a child aged two to twelve and $6 for a senior sixty-five and over, with members free, and it is open Tuesday to Sunday plus Monday holidays, 9:00am to 5:00pm. What you get is a genuine working farm — “pigs, sheep, goats, chickens, and cows in the farmyard” — plus “resident owls, hawks, and foxes in the native wildlife exhibit” and trails through field, forest and wetland. In spring there are lambs and kids. For a child under six, an hour at a farmyard fence usually beats three hours of a zoo, and it costs a third as much. The Blue Hills Trailside Museum at 1904 Canton Ave in Milton is the same idea even cheaper: $5 for an adult, $3 for a child two to twelve, open Wednesday to Sunday 9am to 4pm with outdoor exhibits daily, and showing “indoor and outdoor live animal exhibits of non-releasable native wildlife” — screech owls, snowy owls, a red fox and river otters. It doubles as the welcome center for the seven-thousand-acre Blue Hills Reservation, so a $5 ticket and a free hike are one trip. Neither of these is a substitute for the Aquarium if a child has decided they want penguins. Both are a much better Tuesday than an expensive queue.

The cheapest way in, if you qualify

Zoo New England's discount page carries what is probably the best-value family offer in Boston, and it is a membership rather than a ticket. EBT and WIC cardholders can buy a Family-level membership for $45, covering two adult cardholders and up to four children with free daytime admission to both Franklin Park Zoo and Stone Zoo, year-round; the page states the offer is “valid for Massachusetts residents through Dec. 31, 2026.” WIC memberships have to be bought at the gate, while EBT ones can be bought online with ID.me verification. Given that dynamic single-day pricing for a family of four will generally cost more than $45, that is one visit paying for a year at two zoos. There are also discounts of up to $35 off a membership for active military, for college and university students, and for members of the Massachusetts Teachers Association, the AFT's Massachusetts chapter and the Boston Teachers' Union. Two things the page does not list, despite being widely assumed: there is no Card to Culture entry and no library-pass program on it, so check with your own town library rather than the zoo. And Massachusetts school groups, grades K-12, get in free Monday to Friday during the regular school year — which is a teacher's lever, not a family's, but worth knowing if you organize a class trip.

Zoo & aquarium events in our catalog

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FAQ

How much does Franklin Park Zoo cost?

Zoo New England doesn't publish a standing rate. It sells on “Plan-Ahead Pricing” that varies by date and time, so the price appears when you pick a date in the booking flow. The only fixed figures on its site are group rates for ten or more — $21.95 an adult and $14.95 a child at Franklin Park, $19.95 and $13.95 at Stone Zoo, under-twos free. Parking is free at both.

Is there free parking at the Boston zoos?

Yes, at both. Zoo New England states plainly that “parking is free at Franklin Park Zoo” and the same for Stone Zoo in Stoneham. That is a real saving against a downtown attraction, and worth factoring in when you compare a zoo day with an Aquarium day on Central Wharf.

When is Boston Lights at Franklin Park Zoo?

The zoo's own page gives it as August 14 to November 8, 2026, running 6:00 to 10:30pm. It is a separate ticket from daytime admission and priced dynamically like everything else there. Note the October daytime hours shrink to 9am–4pm at the same time, so a day visit and a Boston Lights evening are two different trips, not one long one.

Is the Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular in Boston?

No — it is at Roger Williams Park Zoo, 1000 Elmwood Ave, Providence, Rhode Island, about fifty miles from Boston. It runs October 1 to November 1, 2026, nightly 6:00 to 10:30pm with last entry at 10:00. Tickets are timed, online only and non-refundable: $20 adult and $16 child Monday to Thursday, $23 and $19 Friday to Sunday. Service dogs only.

What's the cheapest animal outing near Boston?

The Blue Hills Trailside Museum in Milton at $5 an adult and $3 a child two to twelve, with live owls, a red fox and river otters, doubling as the gateway to the Blue Hills Reservation. Drumlin Farm in Lincoln is next at $9 and $6, with a real farmyard. If you hold an EBT or WIC card, a $45 Zoo New England family membership covers both zoos for a year for two adults and four children.

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Franklin Park Zoo: free parking, and a price you can't look up

Boston Lights, and why it is not the Providence one

The farm tier: Drumlin Farm and the Blue Hills Trailside Museum

The cheapest way in, if you qualify

Zoo & aquarium events in our catalog

Penguin Chat

Boston Lights

Barnyard Buddies at Powisset Farm

Petting Zoo

Seal Island Tour

Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular at Roger Williams Park Zoo

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