An excellent free activity to take the kids to this month (once the rain dies down), as the San Francisco Zoo will offer free admission to kids 11 and under for the entire month of January.
The pesky rainstorms that have characterized every single day of 2026 so far are expected to finally clear up and end sometime around midnight tonight. And then we are likely looking at dry weather for the rest of the week, and likely the weekend too. So this may be a good time to point out that the San Francisco Zoo is offering free admission to kids 11 and under for the entire month of January, as KRON4 reports, and the deal remains in effect through Saturday, January 31.
The San Francisco Zoo & Gardens is kicking off the new year by offering free admission to children, ages 11 and under, throughout January.https://t.co/kDOMxFsEWo
— KRON4 News (@kron4news) December 31, 2025
“This is a great opportunity to enjoy the Zoo, be outdoors and see amazing animals if you haven’t visited in a while,” interim SF Zoo co-CEO Cassandra Costello said in a press release. “We’re here 365 days a year, and what’s great is that every visit you’ll see something different, from our giraffes having breakfast or wolverines wrestling in snow. It’s a lot of fun, especially for kids.”
Looking at the zoo’s announcement on free January admission for kids, we see that it applies only to kids under 11 (and actually requires the child to be “between 2 years – 11 years old.”) And if you buy your tickets online, you’ll still have to pay the $1 service fee for the “free” kids’ ticket.
But if you walk right up to the box office and buy your tickets there, those kids’ tickets will indeed be absolutely free. Each adult admission ticket ($26 for SF residents, $29 for non-residents) allows for five free kids’ admission tickets.
And this may be your first chance to meet the SF Zoo’s new male gorilla Cecil, who made his debut here in mid-October. But realize there have a couple tragic losses at the zoo lately; a 34-year-old male red-bellied lemur named Eno, and a 19-year-old male Magellanic penguin named Freckles were both euthanized at the zoo last week. Both had exceeded their expected life spans, and both suffered from incurable chronic diseases.
Related: This Whole Panda Thing at the SF Zoo Appears to Be In Jeopardy, as Major Zoo Donor Revolts [SFist]
Image: Melissa S via Yelp
