Updated for September 2026
The Best Zoos in Arizona
How this list is ordered: by how complete our listing is — how much we hold on opening hours, ticket prices, accreditation, photographs, animals and facilities. It is a measure of our own coverage, not a judgement of the venue. We hold no visitor scores or conservation assessments, so “best” here means every zoo in Arizona that qualifies for the list, fullest entry first.
Listed alphabetically
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Night and evening opening
Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
Zoo in Tucson
It presents the Sonoran Desert and neighbouring ecosystems, showing regional plants and animals together, with over 230 animal species and 1,200 plant varieties. Two miles of paths cross 21 acres of desert ground. It opens daily throughout the year and receives close to 400,000 visitors annually, some of them from abroad.
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On-site dining
Phoenix Zoo
Zoo in Phoenix
More than 1,400 animals are kept along 2.5 miles of paths. The zoo carries the Phoenix Point of Pride designation.
Our ranking methodology
This is not a ranking. The 2 venues above are listed alphabetically by name, the same order used throughout this site. We do not collect visitor reviews, star ratings, ticket-sales figures or a conservation-impact score, so none of those exist here to rank by — “best” in this page’s title means every venue that qualifies for this list, not first-to-last by quality. If we ever add a data source robust enough to support an honest ranking, this note and the order above will change together.