Panaewa Rainforest Zoo

A must see if visiting the Hilo area. Free admission (just leave a donation in the box) and beautiful scenery. Many species of animals to view, and learn about. They also have a great children's playground.

This attraction, only four miles from the centre of Hilo, has the distinction of being the only zoo in the United States to be enclosed in tropical rainforest.nnFor this reason, the Panaewa Rainforest Zoo doubles as a botanical garden, and has more than 100 palm varieties, as well as a water garden, bamboos and orchids, to go with its 80 different animal species.nnThe zoo, updated in 2020-21, is relatively compact and can be covered in a couple of hours, during which you can expect to see marmosets, capuchins, spider monkeys, skinks, coatis, giant anteaters, lemurs and an array of tropical birds and turtles.nnThere’s a petting zoo, open on Saturdays, a playground and a gift shop supporting local conservation.

6 months into a pandemic, the lazy operators couldn't update their website to say that they are closed:/ I travelled 1.5h one way across the island only to disappoint my daughter. Somehow most other parks in Hilo managed to update this by now. Why even have a website, if it's so useless? Shame.

Although you can't expect it to be like a major zoo, it does have some interesting animals and the grounds are lush and tropical.

Can't complain with free...donations highly encouraged...I like putting what I have in cash in the donations box at the entrance. There is a petting zoo every Saturday. Different animals every week. Kids love it! They also love the playground too. A must for locals and visitors alike. You can also rent out the pavilion for parties. My daughter and her friends had a blast at her birthday party.