RiverBanks Zoo

If you go to their website you get to see live streaming video of what the animals are doing which is really cool. And they move it to different animal areas ever so often.

This is a great zoo. It’s definitely grown and improved over the last few years. I love going to the botanical gardens in the spring. They are quite beautiful.

We have a membership for the zoo and go several times a year. It’s grown a lot and become much more interesting and attractive over the years. Definitely worth checking out if you’re in the Columbia area. If you can, go during the holiday season and do the Lights Before Christmas. The whole place dresses up in lights and the keep the place open after dark.

Columbia is an average place near a lot of exceptional places, like the Blue Ridge Parkway to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, not to mention Charleston, Savannah and Hilton Head. But it’s zoo is exceptional, perhaps one of the best in the South.

The Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia, SC just got 10 new Gentoo Penguins. Did you know Gentoo Penguins are the fastest penguins in the world? They can swim at up to 20 miles per hour. We don’t have any still pictures of the Gentoo Penguins (they move too fast.) You can see a video here .

We visit once a week. Good thing we have a membership!

Riverbanks zoo is one of the top 10 small zoos in the country. It’s gotten even better recently with the new exhibits including gorillas and elephants. Also, the botanical gardens, though small, are very nice and peaceful. Definitely a place to see when in Columbia.

I was not impressed. Though the kids liked it.