San Diego Zoo
San Diego, California · Zoo · Accessibility score 4.7/5
Address: 2920 Zoo Drive, San Diego, CA 92101
Phone: (619) 231-1515
About
The San Diego Zoo is in Balboa Park, just north of downtown San Diego. It is built into a series of canyons and mesas, so the grounds are lush and shaded but hilly, and the walk from one side to the other involves real climbs.
Most visitors combine walking with the Zoo's two rides. The Guided Bus Tour is a seated way to see a large part of the Zoo and a good way to get your bearings early. The Skyfari aerial tram carries four-passenger gondolas over the treetops from one end of the Zoo to the other, with views across Balboa Park toward downtown. Inside, habitats are grouped into areas such as Panda Canyon, Asian Passage, Africa Rocks and Elephant Odyssey. The Bashor Bridge crosses a lower canyon between the Treetops area and Elephant Odyssey.
In September 2026 the Zoo was open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and hours change by season. Buying tickets online lets you skip the front gate line. A full day is easy to fill, and the Zoo adds seasonal events, such as its October celebrations.
Since January 2026, parking in the Zoo lot costs $16 per car per day, and members park free after registering their vehicle. The lot is first come, first served, and more paid parking is spread across Balboa Park. On select days a free shuttle runs from the Inspiration Point lot, a mile south at Park Boulevard and Presidents Way, from 11 a.m. until an hour after closing. MTS Rapid 215 and Route 7 buses stop at the Zoo. The museums and gardens of Balboa Park are a short walk from the entrance, and the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, the Zoo's sister park, is in Escondido to the northeast.
Accessibility
The San Diego Zoo is wheelchair accessible, with one big caveat. The Zoo sits in canyons, and it warns that parts of the grounds have steep grades and many changes in surface. Plan your route with the accessibility map before you go.
Accessible parking is in the main Zoo lot on a first come, first served basis, and San Diego police enforce the disabled spaces. At the entrance, you can rent a manual wheelchair for $16 or an ECV for $60, first come, first served. ECV renters must be 18 or older with a driver's license or photo ID. You can also bring your own manual wheelchair, knee walker, single-seat scooter with three or more wheels, or a Segway run in its slowest mode.
A free ADA shuttle runs inside the Zoo for guests with mobility disabilities. Ask a staff member at the entrance turnstiles or anywhere in the park to call it, and allow extra time when the Zoo is busy. The Zoo map marks ADA pathways and elevators, including three elevators at the Treetops end of the Bashor Bridge that connect Panda Canyon and Asian Passage with the upper level. The Guided Bus Tour has a ramp and limited space to secure a wheelchair or scooter. If that space is taken, you can transfer to a bench seat while the attendant stores your chair. The Skyfari takes folding manual wheelchairs if you can transfer to the gondola seat.
The Zoo says all public restrooms are accessible, and all-gender family restrooms are at Urban Jungle, near Sabertooth Grill in Elephant Odyssey, and by Hua Mei Cafe. Staff cannot lift guests or help inside restrooms. A caregiver attending a guest who needs help gets in free.
The Zoo's 2022 accessibility guide lists assistive listening devices at the Wegeforth Bowl show and the 4D theaters, marked accessible seating at the Wegeforth Bowl, and free sensory bags at the Guest Services booth. ASL, tactile and other interpreters can be booked with seven business days' notice at accessibility@sdzwa.org. Trained service animals are welcome, but emotional support animals and service animals in training are not.
Checked by Accessible America, September 2026. Report a change
How we checked this
We checked these details against official information from the venue and public agencies:
- zoo.sandiegozoo.org (11 details, checked 2026-09-28)
More accessible places in California
- SeaWorld San Diego (San Diego)
- Balboa Park / Coronado Island (San Diego)
- Griffith Observatory (Los Angeles)
- Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) (Los Angeles)
- Yosemite National Park (Yosemite)
- Exploratorium (San Francisco)
Photo credits
- Green Skyfari gondolas travel on cables above the dense tree canopy of the San Diego Zoo.: FASTILY, CC BY-SA 4.0 (source)
- Visitors line up on ramps at the Skyfari station, with rental strollers parked on the paved plaza.: FASTILY, CC BY-SA 4.0 (source)
- A wide paved plaza among palms and gardens, seen from above, with families pushing strollers.: Abujoy, CC BY 3.0 (source)
