TUESDAY
6
OCTOBER
The National Zoo with Kids: Passes, Hours and ZooLights
The National Zoo is free, sits up Connecticut Avenue in the middle of the city, and is the one Smithsonian site that welcomes your own picnic. It also carries the most-missed requirement in Washington: entry passes are required for all guests, including infants. ZooLights runs November 20 to January 3.
Season: Year-round; ZooLights Nov 20 – Jan 3 · Updated September 30, 2026 · refreshed weekly
- Admission: Free for everyone — but entry passes are required for all guests, including infants
- Hours: Grounds 8am–6pm, last entry 5pm; animal buildings 9am–5:30pm
- Where: 3001 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, DC
- Parking: Paid — the Zoo does not publish the rate on its visit page
- Food: Bring your own — the one Smithsonian that welcomes outside food and snacks
- ZooLights 2026: November 20, 2026 – January 3, 2027
Free, but everyone needs a pass
Admission is free and every guest needs an entry pass, infants included. A family of five reserves five passes, and a sleeping newborn in a carrier counts.
- Reserve on nationalzoo.si.edu before you leave the house; the passes cost nothing
- Screenshot the confirmations rather than relying on signal at the gate
- The requirement is about managing capacity, not revenue
- On a multi-stop day: Natural History, American History, the Portrait Gallery, the American Art Museum and the Renwick are straight walk-ins
- Air and Space needs a free timed pass for every visitor, with no re-entry once you leave on one pass
- The U.S. Botanic Garden requires nothing at all, its evening programming included
The hours are three different numbers
Grounds, last entry and the animal buildings all close at different times, and treating them as one number is how a late afternoon becomes a walk past closed doors. A 4:30pm arrival buys an hour outdoors and about an hour of indoor exhibits.
- Grounds 8am–6pm
- Last entry 5pm
- Animal buildings 9am–5:30pm
- An 8am arrival means thin crowds and the animals at their most active
- Smithsonian-wide, visitor numbers build from around noon and peak between 2 and 4pm
- The quieter months are January, February, September, October and December
- A September weekday morning is a different zoo from an April Saturday during the cherry blossom festival
Security: empty the diaper bag first
Screening at the gate is the same as at every Smithsonian: airport-style, except that shoes and belts stay on. Three of the banned items live in an ordinary diaper bag.
- Everyone walks through a metal detector, and bags are checked by hand or X-ray
- Banned: pocket knives, screwdrivers and scissors
- Also banned: pepper spray, firearms including for permit holders, and tripods, monopods and selfie sticks
Food, parking and getting there
The Zoo welcomes your own food and snacks, which no other Smithsonian site does. Parking is the one real cost of the day.
- Pack lunch and the water bottles and skip the concession queue entirely
- Elsewhere: Natural History bans outside food and requires bagged lunches stowed and eaten outside, American History permits eating only in its two cafeterias, and NMAAHC allows none at all
- Parking is paid and the rate is not published on the visit page — price it against Metro before you drive
- Two children age four and under ride free with each fare-paying adult; weekday peak rail runs $2.25 to $6.75, dropping to $2.25–$2.50 after 9:30pm and all weekend
- On rail only folded strollers are allowed on escalators; an occupied stroller means the elevator, and WMATA publishes a live outage page worth checking
- Restrooms at all Smithsonian museums and at the Zoo have baby changing tables, care spaces and accessible spaces
ZooLights, November 20 to January 3
ZooLights is the Zoo's winter event, and one of the few DC holiday attractions with confirmed 2026 dates already posted.
ZooLights — WashingtonVisit official site →
One million LED lights, animal lanterns and live music across the Zoo grounds.
Dates
- November 20, 2026 – January 3, 2027
Tickets
Hours and pricing are not posted yet — check nationalzoo.si.edu before you plan an evening around it.
Know before you go
- Historically the lights have been free to walk through, with paid parking and a handful of separately ticketed attractions inside
- Check whether entry passes are needed on ZooLights nights when the details post
- Bring-your-own-food applies here too, and a thermos of cocoa is the best thing you can carry on a cold December evening
Who it's for
Any age, bundled up — it is an outdoor walk in the cold
National Zoo events in our catalog
Live from our catalog — 7 upcoming, refreshed weekly.
MOO! OINK! CLUCK! Join us for creative, drop-in play at the Zoo as we learn about different animals that live on the farm. Little Critters: Nature Play is designed for ages 0-5 and their caregivers and families. Activities are designed with early learners in mind, but all ages are welcome. Parents and guardians must re…
TUESDAY
13
OCTOBER
Calling all budding birders! Join us for creative, drop-in play at the Zoo as we learn about birds of all types and practice our birding skills. Little Critters: Nature Play is designed for ages 0-5 and their caregivers and families. Activities are designed with early learners in mind, but all ages are welcome. Parents…
FRIDAY
16
OCTOBER
Get ready for a WILD Halloween night out! Boo at the Zoo, the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute’s beloved family-friendly Halloween celebration, returns Oct. 16, 17 and 18 from 6:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. (Zoo members get early access at 5 p.m.). Put on your favorite costume and explore the Zoo af…
FRIDAY
23
OCTOBER
Step into the shadows and join this adults-only Halloween party with creepy vibes and after-hours animal viewing.
SATURDAY
24
OCTOBER
Calling all spooky animal lovers! Celebrate Bat Week with creative, drop-in play at the Zoo as we learn about the important work bats do. Little Critters: Nature Play is designed for ages 0-5 and their caregivers and families. Activities are designed with early learners in mind, but all ages are welcome. Parents and gu…
TUESDAY
3
NOVEMBER
Calling all young paleontologists! Join us for creative, drop-in play at the Zoo as we explore ancient worlds through fossils. Little Critters: Nature Play is designed for ages 0-5 and their caregivers and families. Activities are designed with early learners in mind, but all ages are welcome. Parents and guardians mus…
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FRIDAY
20
NOVEMBER
The National Zoo's winter light festival: one million LED lights, animal lanterns and live music along the zoo's main paths. Runs Nov 20, 2026 - Jan 3, 2027. Evening hours and ticketing for 2026 had not been posted as of Aug 2026 - entry passes are required for all guests, so check the zoo's page before you go.
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FAQ
Do you need tickets for the National Zoo?
You need a free entry pass, and every guest needs one — the Zoo's visit page specifies all guests, including infants. There is no charge. Reserve on nationalzoo.si.edu before you go rather than at the gate.
Is the National Zoo free?
Yes. The only costs of a Zoo day are parking, which is paid at a rate the Zoo does not publish, and anything you buy inside — and you can avoid the second by bringing your own food, which the Zoo explicitly permits.
What time should we get there?
8am, when the grounds open: the animals are most active early and the crowds build from around noon. An arrival after 4:30pm leaves you about an hour of indoor exhibits before the animal buildings close.
When is ZooLights in 2026?
November 20, 2026 through January 3, 2027. The dates are confirmed; hours and pricing are not posted yet, so treat the evening as a plan rather than a booking until they are.