Nature Trek at the Bronx Zoo

City-Kid Review:

Can I go again?
Yes.
I’m going to go round ten times!
City Kid proceeds to run around the entire trek ten times.

As I have mentioned in an earlier post, the Bronx Zoo is so enormous and there is so much to see AND it changes with the seasons, there will be several posts about all of the amazing opportunities for adventure here. This post is about the Nature Trek, which opened on July 4th weekend.

Nature Trek is amazing. It is wonderful. It is hard to find the enough superlatives to describe how much fun it is.

The nature trek comprises a series of rope bridges, tunnels and wooden turrets inspired by birds nests. The bridges bounce and bob as you walk (run) along them, which adds to the thrill. Its goal is to elevate the fun by elevating you. And it succeeds.

There is a playground area at the end of the trek in which, among other things, you can build huts with massive tree branches and paint with water, but the main attraction is the rope bridge trek. All in all, it is tremendous fun and well worth a visit. It becomes very easy to forget you are in the Bronx or even in a wildlife reserve.

Need to Knows:

Location: The Bronx Zoo, 2300 Southern Blvd. You can map it here.

Cost: This is included in the Total Experience or the Family Plus Membership. You can get into the zoo for free on Wednesdays or if you have a NYC-ID, but you still have to pay for the Nature Trek. I guess they need to raise money for their wildlife work and running costs. Total experience tickets cost $36.95 for adults and $26.95 for children above 2 years old. Seniors cost is $31.95. The total experience ticket includes unlimited access to the Gorillas, the Butterflies, the Carousel, the 4-D theatre, Jungleworld, the Wild Asia Monorail and the Zoo Shuttle as well as the Nature Trek.

You can bring your own food. There are a few cafes open in the summer, but they are typical burger and fries type of places. The food is not the cheapest or the healthiest but the staff are friendly and refilled my water bottle with ice cold water. I recommend a trip to nearby Arthur Avenue for delicious food, if you can spare the time and don’t mind a short walk.

By public transport, you can easily get there on the #2 to Pelham Parkway or East 180th Street. Pelham Parkway takes you to the Bronx River Entrance (you need to head west from the stop) and East 180th takes you to the Asia Entrance – you need to walk under the bridge and along the side of the zoo, across the Bronx River and turn right at the park. You can get further bus and car directions, here.

In the summer, the zoo closes at 5.00pm

Top-Tip

The zoo is free on Wednesdays.

Your new NYC-ID card gives you free membership for a year.

Watch ‘The Zoo’ on Animal Planet. It gives a great insight into the importance of the Zoo. It really is more than a Zoo!

Do you have a favorite berry recipe? Please post in the comments below.

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