Capital of Texas Zoo (Cedar Creek)

Armed with our Living Social deals for the Capital of Texas Zoo, my friends and I headed out towards Bastrop Cedar Creek one weekend.  I half expected Capital of Texas Zoo to be like the Austin Zoo, more animal rescue/sanctuary than traditional zoo, but I was wrong on all accounts.  I was pleasantly surprised at this zoo’s charm.

We drove down a bumpy, dusty country road, turned where a tiny sign marked zoo indicated to turn, and parked our car near the zoo’s entrance (small building). At first glance, this place doesn’t appear to have much going on.  We purchased animal feed in the office, and just FYI, it might be helpful to bring change since both the office and the “refreshment shack” didn’t have change, not much anyways.

The best way I can describe this zoo is that it feels more like a very large children’s petting zoo with some caged exotic animals, and all of it is housed in an environment like a natural preserve.

The cages don’t stand out as holding tanks for animals.  With all the vegetation and low wood fencing, the zoo really felt more intimate, and the kids could get up fairly close to most of the animals.

They do have zebras, big cats, marsupials, boars, birds, and monkeys, but what my kids remember the most are the guinea pigs…hundreds and hundreds of guinea pigs. The peacocks have free roam of the place, and one peacock found his way into the guinea pig pen.  It was hilarious to watch the peacock get all fluffed up and ornery, yelping at the guinea pigs to stay out of his territory. The poor little guinea pigs were squealing their bubbly little squeaks as they scurried and cowered away.  My kids would not leave the guinea pigs.  They would have stayed there all day if we let them.

The guinea pigs and the goats are both behind their respective wooden fences, but they would find openings and squeeze their way out.  We’d find an escaped guinea pig, and my friend would scoop it up to put back into its home.  The goats were so friendly, and my friend’s daughter was absolutely delighted to find a goat just nuzzling at her hand for more feed though one of the park attendants kept  having to come back and put the goat behind the fence.  Some of the deer would find their way out too.

We were supposed to have a picnic at the zoo, but in my infinite genius, I forgot to pack a picnic so we ended up having to find sustenance elsewhere in the backwoods.  The picnic snack area was a bit trashed out from either an escaped animal knocking over the trash bins or the wind blowing them over.  The park attendants did come by to pick up all the trash, and we were able to buy a few extra water bottles at the snack stand.

Capital of Texas Zoo isn’t huge, but it is entertaining for the little kids. I also liked that it didn’t smell like zoo but more like cedar mulch.  The zoo also has a traveling zoo show that may be booked for parties and schools.

Capital of Texas Zoo
376A Jenkins Road
Cedar Creek, TX 78612

 

Related posts:

1. Topsey Exotic Ranch and Animal Drive-Thru Safari
2. Austin Zoo
3. The Exotic Resort Zoo (Johnson City, TX)
4. Brushy Creek Sports Park (Cedar Park)
5. Cedar Park Center, central Texas’s newest entertainment center