Visiting Stone Zoo
Stone Zoo offers a diverse collection of animals, and its small size makes it relatively easy to see everything there with small children or people with disabilities. The zoo is divided up into sections representing different areas of the world or themes, among them:
- Yukon Creek: Representing the Canadian north woods, Yukon Creek features bald eagles, lynx, Gray fox, reindeer and more. Designed to look like an abandoned research site, kids will enjoy exploring footprints and animal tracks and reading pages from journals describing the researchers' encounters with local wildlife.
- Himalayan Highlands: The Stone Zoo's Himalaya exhibit includes snow leopards, Markhor goats, black-necked cranes, and a yak.
- Treasures of the Sierra Madre: Some of the Stone Zoo's most impressive inhabitants live in the Treasures of the Sierra Madre exhibit. Among them are coyotes, jaguars, cougars, and Gila monsters.
- Windows to the Wild: Windows to the Wild offers a glimpse at a variety of animals from around the world, including flamingos, African-crested porcupines, emperor tamarins, and more.
- Barnyard: All good zoos have a farm section where children can make friends with goats and sheep, but Stone Zoo's Barnyard also has a pygmy zebu—an Indian species of cattle with a hump!
Some of the other animals at the Stone Zoo include river otters, llamas, birds of prey, and starting in May 2008, a couple of black bears in a brand new exhibit.
In addition, the zoo has a playground, train (seasonal), gift shop, and the Safari Grill eatery.
ZooLights
One of Stone Zoo's most popular draws is ZooLights, an annual holiday event featuring thousands of lights that runs from Thanksgiving through Christmastime. During ZooLights, Yukon Creek is decorated with festive holiday lights and in addition to visiting the animals, children can enjoy a visit with Santa Claus at Santa's Castle, see Santa feed the zoo's reindeer, and explore a holiday world of fairy tale characters and dancing plush animals.
Visitor Information
Location: 149 Pond St, Stoneham, Mass.
Telephone: (617) 541-LION
Website: stonezoo.org
Hours:
Summer (April 1-September 30)
Weekdays 10 am-5 pm
Weekends / Holidays 10 am-6 pm
Winter (October 1-March 31)
10 am-4 pm daily
Closed Thanksgiving & Christmas Day
Accessibilities:
Stone Zoo is handicapped accessible and wheelchairs are available for free use on a first-come first-serve basis. To reserve a wheelchair, contact the Guest Services Supervisor at least one day in advance at (781) 438-6321.
Prices:
Adults $9
Seniors $8
Children ages 2–12 $6
Group rates available.
See stonezoo.org for details on becoming a member.
Admission is free all day on the Friday after Thanksgiving.
Volunteer Opportunities
Stone Zoo encourages people to volunteer and has opportunities in various areas, including educations, horticulture, administration, guest services, and more. For volunteer information and application call (781) 438-9503 or visit the zoo's website.
Zoodoption
The Stone Zoo offers Zoodoption packages that let you "adopt" an animal for $35 (plus shipping), which goes to support Zoo New England and includes an adoption certificate, a 4x6 photo of your animal, a plush animal, a Zoodoption sticker, an info fact sheet, and a Zoo New England decal. See their website for details.