Family Fun at Cougar Mountain Zoo

Nestled away in a residential neighborhood above Issaquah on Cougar Mountain is a hidden zoological gem – The Cougar Mountain Zoological Park.  Run by the Washington Zoological Society, it turned out to be a great outing for the family.  Armed with a free admission ticket courtesy of the Entertainment Book, we experienced the park’s cougars, lemurs, reindeer, wallabies, alpacas and a whole host of birds, on an overcast day.

Our trip started at the Cougar Exhibit with an presentation by one of the zookeepers Mary, a knowledgable, entertaining and self-proclaimed loud-mouth, who told us all about their two cougars.  Merlin (15 years) came from California and Nashi (13 years) came from Minnesota.  We found out that cougars are the least aggressive cat toward humans, and that they are the 2nd fastest cat in the world, capable of running 40 to 45 mph (the fastest cat is the cheetah, able to run 60-65 mph).  Unfortunately, the Cougar Behavioral Enrichment was not held that day due to the arrival of a concrete pump for an upcoming exhibit.

We then visited the 2nd of the park’s 3 main exhibit areas – Magic Forest – which is home to the Lemurs, Emus, Cranes, Alpacas and Wallabies, along with the world’s largest collection of bronze animal sculptures.  This is an interactive part of the park which our kids liked, with the ability to purchase zoo food ($0.50 per 12-15 pellets) to feed the animals.  It seemed that by the afternoon most of the animals had already enjoyed their fill, as all but the Emus were less interested in the food than our 18-month old son.

The third exhibit area housed a great display of tropical birds - Macaws, African Grey Parrots, and Cockatoos, among others.  Each of the birds was highly accessible in their exhibit, with the Macaws standing on outside perches.

Here's a quick video (please excuse the sideways angle... first time taking video with our digital camera and we forgot about the whole landscape/portrait issue with digital cameras).

Cougar Mountain Zoo Daily Activity Schedule
The Zoo has a set daily activity schedule so you can plan your visits around their various demonstrations and lectures that occur throughout the day.  Here’s their schedule, which is obviously subject to change without advance notice due to weather, staff availability or animal’s state of mind:

    10:30am  Reindeer Mini Lecture
    10:35am  Reindeer Exercise
    11:00am  Crane Mini Lecture
    11:30am  Lemur Mini Lecture
    11:35am  Lemur Behavioral Enrichment
    12:00pm  Wallaby Mini Lecture
    12:05pm  Wallaby Behavioral Enrichment
    12:30pm  Mammal Walk
    1:30pm    Bird Walk
    2:00pm    Cougar Mini Lecture
    2:05pm    Cougar Behavioral Enrichment
    3:00pm    Ratite Mini Lecture (Emus)
    3:30pm    MacCaw Mini Lecture

Cougar Mountain Zoo Admission & Membership Information
The park is open January through November Wednesdays through Sundays, 9:00am to 5:00pm.  They also hold the Issaquah Reindeer Festival December 1st through 23 from 10am to 4:30 pm.  Be sure to check their most recent admission schedule and rates on their website:

Admission rates are:

• Adults (13+)      $9.50
• Seniors             $8.50
• Children (2-12)  $7.00
• Under 2 years    Free

Membership options allow you to support the zoo to maintain its broad education programs and to provide the best quality of life for the Animals which call the zoo home.  Membership is affordable ranging from only $36 for a single adult to $64 for the family membership.  Read more about Cougar Mountain Zoo Membership options on their website.

Celebrate your Birthday at the Zoo.
For your kid's next birthday, why not skip the at-the-house party (and all the associated clean-up) and spend a day at the zoo?  At a cost of only $96, you can host a birthday party at the zoo for a group of 10 people (additional people are only $8.00 each).  Benefits include a guided tour of the zoo, a touch & feel session for the birthday person with some of the most unique and endangered animals in the world, as well as a special gift from the zoo and a free zoo ticket for future admission. Additional information on Birthdays at Cougar Mountain Zoo is available on their website.

Couger Mountain Zoological Park Contact Information

Cougar Mountain Zoo
19525 SE54th Street
Issaquah, WA 98027
Phone: 425.392.6278
Fax: 425.392.1076