Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

About

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo sits on the lower north slope of Cheyenne Mountain, southwest of downtown Colorado Springs and just west of The Broadmoor resort. At about 6,714 feet above sea level, it is the highest-elevation zoo in the country, and the site trades flat, easy walking for wide views over the city and the plains below.

The zoo covers about 140 acres and holds more than 750 animals across nearly 170 species, more than 30 of them endangered, including giraffes from a long-running breeding program, a black rhinoceros, and several primates. Visitors move along a main road that climbs the mountainside, with exhibit clusters branching off it grouped loosely by continent: Africa, Asia, Australia, and the Americas.

Because the zoo is built into a hillside rather than laid out on flat ground, a visit here means real elevation change between exhibits, not just distance between them. A golf cart shuttle runs a fixed loop along the main road with four stops, and two elevators cut through the steepest sections, one near the bear exhibit and one near the colobus monkeys close to the entrance.

Colorado Springs is about 70 miles south of Denver, a drive of a bit over an hour on I-25. The zoo began in 1926 after businessman Spencer Penrose moved his private animal collection off the grounds of the nearby Broadmoor Hotel. The Will Rogers Shrine of the Sun, a memorial and observation point built by Penrose, sits on zoo property above the main animal areas and is included with admission.

Accessibility

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is wheelchair accessible in a limited way: a shuttle and two elevators reach most of the main exhibits, but the mountainside site is genuinely steep in places and a manual chair user may need help or a stronger power chair to get through.

Reserved parking sits next to the front admission gates. From there, plan on climbing. The zoo itself names steep grades as its biggest layout challenge. A sturdy power wheelchair or scooter handles the terrain better than a manual chair or a walker.

To help with the climb, a golf cart shuttle runs a fixed loop with four stops along the main road for three dollars per person per day, and staff can arrange an ADA-accessible run on request. Two elevators bypass the steepest stretches, one near the bear exhibit and one near the colobus monkeys close to the entrance. Manual wheelchairs rent for fifteen dollars a day and motorized scooters for thirty-five, both first come, first served with no advance reservation, so bring your own chair if the visit depends on one.

For sensory needs, the zoo partners with KultureCity. Staff have been trained by KultureCity clinicians on sensory overload, and free sensory bags with noise-reducing headphones, fidget tools, and weighted lap pads are available at admission. Marked Quiet Zones near the elephant demonstration area and the Old Gnarly play area give a place to step back from crowds. Service dogs are welcome, though a downloadable map marks a few areas they cannot enter. Call 719-633-9925 ahead of a visit to ask about rentals or a specific exhibit.

Checked by Accessible America, September 2026. Report a change

More accessible places in Colorado

• Seven Falls (Colorado Springs)
• Great Wolf Lodge Colorado Springs (Colorado Springs)
• Garden of the Gods & Pikes Peak (Colorado Springs)
• History Colorado Center (Denver)
• Denver Museum of Nature & Science (Denver)
• Great Sand Dunes National Park (Great Sand Dunes NP)

Photo credits

• A chairlift carries visitors above the zoo's mountainside buildings and forest view.: Obeastly, CC BY-SA 4.0 (source)
• A chairlift carries visitors over the mountainside zoo grounds with sweeping plains views below.: Obeastly, CC BY-SA 4.0 (source)