Rolling Hills Zoo
4.6(1.9K)google
4.6(28)yelp
FamilyOutdoor
Overview
Situated just west of Salina, the Rolling Hills Zoo is a world-class, 65-acre wildlife park and conservation complex home to more than 100 species of exotic and endangered animals. Renowned for its beautifully landscaped, open-concept geographical habitats, the zoo allows visitors to see majestic white rhinos, snow leopards, and orangutans. A major unique highlight of the facility is its massive 64,000-square-foot Wildlife Museum, which features state-of-the-art interactive dioramas depicting global wilderness biomes, from the Arctic tundra to the African savannah, offering an unparalleled educational trip.
Practical Info
Every day9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Suggested Duration2.5-4 hours
Best TimeSpring from April to June is spectacular for mild hiking weather across the open-air savannah loops. Booking a 9:00 AM opening ticket is highly advised to catch the snow leopards and rhinos during their early morning active windows, leaving your warm afternoon free to comfortably tour the massive fully air-conditioned indoor Wildlife Museum.
Getting ThereLocated west of Salina at 647 N Hedville Rd. Driving a car is highly convenient and quick: ride Interstate 70 to exit 244 for Hedville Rd, and travel straight north for 1.5 miles. The prominent wildlife-themed zoo entrance plaza will appear clearly on your left, offering a sprawling, complimentary private visitor parking lot.
Travel Tips
- The combined outdoor zoo and massive indoor wildlife museum require a minimum 2.5-mile trek over rolling gradients; early reservation of motorized mobility scooters at the front gate is highly advised.
- Exclusive animal encounter sessions enforce rigid safety-driven headcount maximums; day-of walk-up booking is unavailable, necessitating online reservation via the zoo portal 48 hours in advance.
- Park security strictly bars all outside glass, children's scooters, roller skates, and hard-sided ice coolers; all personal backpacks must undergo manual security opening at the turnstiles.
Reviews
Positive
- An incredible dual attraction! It pairs a beautifully designed outdoor zoo housing white rhinos and orangutans with an elite indoor wildlife museum.
- The massive indoor museum is jaw-dropping, utilizing custom world-class master panoramas to recreate global biomes with incredibly lifelike displays.
- The facility design is immaculate, offering exceptionally smooth wheelchair-friendly loops, spotless restrooms, and abundant shaded rest gazebos.
- The keepers and staff are highly interactive, hosting engaging educational feeding shows that keep young toddlers and elders thoroughly entertained.
Heads up
- The combined zoo and museum admission pass runs on the pricier side, making a weekend outing for a large family a considerable financial spending.
- Because the outdoor paddocks are so expansive, animals like lions frequently lounge deep in background shades on hot days, making them tough to see.
- The central Overlook Cafe faces extreme congestion during weekend lunchtime rushes; its basic fast-food menu is overpriced and relatively generic.
- Located a few miles outside Salina, the highway exit turnoff signs are a bit small and easy to miss at dusk, requiring focused navigation.