The Panaʻewa Rainforest Zoo is the only tropical zoo in the United States and is located about 4 miles from Hilo. Inside, you can find a variety of rainforest animals and endangered Hawaiian animals such as spider monkeys, lemurs, nene geese (the Hawaiian State bird), and over 80 other animal species. The Pana’ewa zoo is also a botanical garden and is filled with orchids, bamboos, 100 varieties of palms, and a water garden.
The Panaewa zoo is a small tropical zoo perfect for a ~1 hour family visit on a sunny day
The zoo is pretty small, plan on spending about one to two hours walking around checking out the animals and plants / flowers. One must-do for kids is the petting zoo (only on Saturday, check the website listed below for up-to-date times).
Map of the Pana’ewa rainforest zoo and gardens in Hilo, Big Island, Hawaii. Map retrieved from source in January 2014.
The zoo is open daily from 10 AM to 3 PM. Admission is free, but please consider either leaving a donation or a visit to their gift shop to support this local zoo and their outreach activities.
Visit the Pana’ewa zoo website for more information.
The small Panaewa Rainforest zoo in Hilo, Hawaii doubles as a botanical tropical garden