DISCLOSURE:  I am not affiliated with Reston Zoo nor did I receive any compensation for this post.  All opinions are my own.

Several years ago, on the way back from a family reunion, we made a stop in Natural Bridge, VA.  While there, we visited the Virginia Safari Park.  It's a drive-thu safari, where you can buy a bucket of food to feed the animals as you drive around the park.  It was a fun experience and while we were there, I saw a brochure for one of their partner zoos -- The Reston Zoo.  We made a mental note to visit it one day, since it was much closer to where we lived.

Five years and two kids later, we finally got the chance to visit the Reston Zoo!  One of my sisters had moved out to Leesburg, VA and the Reston Zoo was on the way! All summer, we've been trying to do and see as much as we can since we barely did anything last summer (new baby in the house).  This was something we could cross off our list and combine with a trip to see my sister and her baby.

Reston Zoo is a small zoo in Northern Virginia, located about half an hour from Washington, DC.  It features safari wagon rides, a petting barn, a reptile house, and a budgie aviary.  They also offer fun extras like paddle boat rentals, pony rides, and cups of animal feed that you can buy to feed the animals on the safari ride and in the petting barn!

Where should we start?

Let's check the map!

You enter and pay for admission in the zoo gift shop. After paying for our admission and prying the kids away from all the stuffed animals, we made our way into the zoo.  We opted not to buy any animal feed since the kids freaked out when we were at the Virginia Safari Park.  My husband ended up being the only one feeding the animals -- while he was driving!

After looking at some of the outside exhibits, we made our way over to the Petting Barn.  There were sheep, goats, pigs, llamas and rabbits.  And they were all hungry!

Feed me!

As we walked past the animals, they all came running over for food.  Then, they walked away when they realized we didn't have anything for them.

Where's the food?

This guy, we weren't supposed to feed.


Next, we headed over to The Reptile House.  We saw some snakes and frogs.  There was a display of animal antlers and my daughter thought it'd be funny to put them on her head.


After looking at a few other exhibits, we made our way over to the Zoofari Wagon Rides.  They run every hour on the hour and luckily, it was about 10 minutes before the next ride when we got there.

The wagon ride

The wagon ride was included in the admission.  But, if you purchased animal feed, you could feed the animals that you see on the ride.  Some of the animals that we saw included Watusi Cattle, Zebras, Camels, Deer, Eland Antelope and Ostrich.






After the wagon ride, we walked around a little bit more and then headed out.


We had a great time, despite the 95+ degree weather.  I'm hoping the next time we visit, the kids won't be too scared to feed the animals.  To learn more about the Reston Zoo, you can visit their website here or connect with them on Facebook. 

Reston Zoo
1228 Hunter Mill Rd.
Vienna, VA 22182
www.restonzoo.com