The Pittsburgh Zoo is one of the better zoos that I have been too. The drive to get there is not the best, lots of pot holes, and not in the best of areas, but the zoo is nothing like its surroundings. First off, parking is free (at least when we were there). When you first enter you have to go up a big escalator that is on a hill to get to the main zoo area. Take a camera. The animals are cute and you can get some good family pictures in front of their pens.
One exciting part was too be able to go through the petting zoo part and pet the deer. The polar bear exhibit is open and watching them play with one another is adorable. Walking through the tunnel and being surrounded by the polar bear pool and seeing them swim around and above you was a really neat experience. The kids thought it was amusing and couldn't take their eyes are the fuzzy polar bears. Try and visit the zoo when they are feeding the animals its fun to watch. Sometimes you can feed certain animals yourself but be careful with little kids especially around the goats and sheep ,they can become aggressive to get to the food.
The zoo aquarium is cool and has an area for kids where they can have some fun. Another good thing about this zoo is there is plenty of shade. Take some water with you. The manatee' s are great and its amazing how big and graceful they are.
