Stone Zoo, Stoneham MA

Stone Zoo, part of Zoo New England is the smaller of the two zoos.

So despite it being school vacation week, we did venture out to the zoo on Monday with Nana and Papa. We opted to avoid Franklin Park due to the Marathon and all the chaos that it brings. Instead we went to the small, but pretty kid friendly Stone Zoo. Last time I went to the zoo, I used my double wagon. This time, we used the double stroller. The Zoo is on the small side for zoo, for toddlers and preschoolers, I think its just fine. They aren't all that interested in what animals are there anyways! The two big kids were really excited seeing the bear, and Cecilia loved the monkeys.

So first off, parking....plenty of it! I've never known it to be a problem. When we go, we always go to the left to check out the animals. (I think if you go to the right, you are just so quickly at the playground and that might be the end of the trip if your kids are anything like mine! :) ).

While it is a small zoo, and there aren't a huge amount of your 'impressive' zoo animals (Zebra/elephant/Lion/Gorillas etc) it's still a good excursion for the little ones. For the 'bigger' animals, there are bears, llamas, monkeys, flamingos, and wolves. (See the map above for a better list) Some of the walkways are a little narrow and hard to navigate with the double stroller when it's crowded, but overall not too bad. When we went there were lots of animals that were not out on exhibit due to the weather. It was a nice day, but April can be pretty unpredictable. This was disappointing, and I do remember this happening last year as well. I'm guessing we were there around the same time of year. Hopefully when we go back this summer, there will be more to look at. Right around the 'River Otters' there is the Dino Dig. I think this might be my kids favorite part of the zoo! There's a box that's pretty equivalent to a large sandbox. It's filled with gravel and under the gravel are 'dinosaur bones'. There's also a table right nearby with a bunch of different types of skulls. I have to say it's pretty cool, and the best part is that there are bathrooms right there!

After this area we've always walked over to the 'barnyard'. I find this area so disappointing. By its name, I would expect that there might be some chickens, goats, sheep, etc. There aren't. But right next to the barn is a good sized playground. I'll hold my decisions on this playground for little ones until our next visit. It was just so overrun with bigger kids on vacation that my little ones were getting run over.

On the way out the door are a few 'rides'. My kids love it....there's a train, and a twisty type of ride. There's also some coin operated ones. The train was $2.00 and the other ride was $3.00.

Costs: For a family of 5, I think the zoo is a little expensive for what it offers. $11.00 for an adult, and $7.00 for kids 2-12. You can get passes from the libraries, and there is a buy one get one free coupon for the Stone Zoo in the 2011 Entertainment Book. Since this zoo is just down the road from us, and I went a few times last year, I did opt to purchase the family plus membership. The regular family membership which covers two adults and up to 4 kids was 75. For just $20.00 more, it included 4 adults, 4 kids, PLUS two guests with each visit! This was definitely worth the extra money.