TUESDAY
27
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 October 21, 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.
Creative drop‑in play about bats in the Bird House Classroom, with hands‑on activities for early learners and families, all ages welcome.
TUESDAY
3
NOVEMBER
Creative drop-in play exploring ancient worlds through fossils in the Bird House Classroom at the National Zoo, all ages.
TUESDAY
10
NOVEMBER
Creative drop-in play exploring garden plants year‑round in the Bird House Classroom, all ages.
TUESDAY
17
NOVEMBER
Creative drop-in play explores outdoor wonders in the Bird House Classroom at the National Zoo, with nature‑themed activities for toddlers and caregivers, for all ages.
FRIDAY
20
NOVEMBER
Twinkling lights illuminate the National Zoo, featuring glowing animal lanterns, live music, hot cocoa and festive treats amid one million LED lights supporting conservation.
ZooLights at the National Zoo (Smithsonian's National Zoo) — One million LED lights, animal lanterns and live music line the zoo’s main paths; entry passes required, all ages.
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TUESDAY
24
NOVEMBER
Creative drop-in play explores animal colors in the Bird House Classroom at the National Zoo, with activities for early learners and families, all ages.
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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.