Travel Tips

Every year, the Oregon Zoo puts on Zoolights, which for several decades has entertained huge numbers of visitors. Every year, something is a little different, and the light displays are a little more interesting.

As per usual, the crowds that came were huge: just as large if not more so than during summer weekend crowds. Lines were long (as usual) and the overflow parking (both sections!) were completely full.

Yet, people seemed to enjoy their time visiting zoolights and the various light sculptures and the animal displays that remain open for zoolights.

One of the largest areas for light displays is the ampitheatre area of the zoo. For the 2007 show, hippos watch as an elephant and giraffe band play music for the entertainment of the crowd.

Where do I get a giant hippo light sculpture to put in my yard for Christmas?

Animated Light Sculptures, such as this elephant which scoops up water from the "lake" (a section of blue lights on the ground) and sprays it up in the air, are failry typical of Zoolights.

Also this year, there was an eagle that scooped a fish out of the "lake" as well.

Oregon is known as the Beaver State, but alas somehow they just don't seem the same in the dark. However, it is still possible to have a lighted beaver sculpture cutting down trees during zoolights.

The petting zoo in the foreground is also part of zoolights, and has been for a number of years. These days the facilities are a little more modernized (there are washing facilities with signs saying that zoo visitors are required to wash their hands after visiting the petting zoo), but much remains the same after all these decades.

Next to the beaver there are frogs playing leapfrog, and lighted bear sculptures wandering in the woods. The dark forested areas all around the zoo are used for all manner of creative animal sculptures.

One item that the children like about Zoolights are the various "animals" that wander the zoo grounds and greet them.

Zoolights attracts a lot of people. Therefore, be expecting a large number of people to show up. This is not the crowd of people wating to get into the zoo: this is the crowd of people waiting for the shuttle bus from the overflow parking lot, where they will be taken approximately 1 mile before they are left off in front of the zoo entrance, where they will wait in line again to actually enter the zoo.

But, it is like this every year. This is to be expected.

Every single bit of the zoo is used for Zoolights, and this includes areas that normally are ignored. Witness this little light display on an otherwise ignored patch of ground next to the zoo train tracks. Normally, nothing of interest is there, except for a bit of plant life. For Zoolights, it is painted with light strings and turned into a three dimensional sculpture.