Day 6 was my last full day to sightsee, and I spent it at one of my favorite zoos — the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. Built right into the side of Cheyenne Mountain, the entrance sits around 6,700 feet above sea level and climbs nearly another thousand feet to the top. It’s a workout, but the views are worth every step.
The last time I’d been there was back in 2018, and a lot has changed since then — with even more in progress. Much of the main entrance is currently under construction, but once inside, the updates are impressive.
I started with Water’s Edge: Africa, one of the zoo’s newer exhibits. It features a free-roaming flock of African penguins, a play area for kids, and an incredible hippo exhibit that brings you eye-level with the animals as they move through the water. The path winds through lemurs and leads into Primate World before looping back toward the start of the African Rift Valley.
Next up were the giraffes, one of the zoo’s main attractions. Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is known for its extensive giraffe herd — according to Wikipedia, over 200 calves have been born there since 1954. Visitors can get up close and feed them most of the day, though that area is currently under renovation as they prepare to enclose part of the habitat.
Continuing up the mountain, I passed the African elephants, which you don’t see at either of Oklahoma’s zoos, and then crossed over into the Australia Walkabout. Wallabies roam freely there, occasionally hopping across the path as you walk through. From there it’s on to the crocodiles and the reptile house — a standout for me because instead of mimicking natural habitats, the displays are styled like modern art pieces, bold and graphic, turning each enclosure into something visually striking.
Higher up the slope, the scenery shifts again — mountain lions, tigers, bears, and wolves take over the landscape. After hours of walking and shooting photos, I stopped at the zoo’s coffee shop for a quick lunch of chocolate chip pumpkin bread and an iced coffee, a quiet break before wrapping up the day.
Dinner that evening was something completely different — The Airplane Restaurant. Part of its dining area is actually inside a retired Boeing KC-97 tanker, with one wing jutting straight through the restaurant building. It’s quirky, loud, and surprisingly fun — the perfect end to my last day of sightseeing.
