Plan Your Visit: When is Boo at the Zoo in 2026?

PHILADELPHIA - If you are looking to map out your October weekends, you are in for a massive treat this year. For the first time in its 20-year history, the Philadelphia Zoo has significantly extended its seasonal Halloween programming. Instead of a brief weekend or two, the Zoo is now offering five full weekends of autumnal fun. If you are trying to figure out exactly When is Boo at the Zoo, the event officially kicks off on October 3rd and runs all the way through November 1st (including special hours for Columbus Day on Monday, October 12th).


Plan Your Visit: When is Boo at the Zoo in 2026?
Plan Your Visit: When is Boo at the Zoo in 2026?

The gates are open for festive fun from 9:30 AM to 5:00 PM on operating days, giving visitors plenty of time to explore this month-long Halloween extravaganza. One of the biggest draws of the expanded schedule is the opportunity to watch the animals interact with the fall pumpkin harvest, generously donated by Riverwards Produce. You can catch the viral hippos chomping down on giant pumpkins at the African Plains on Saturdays at 2:00 PM. Saturdays also feature feedings for the bears at 10:00 AM, giant tortoises at 11:00 AM, and the Ossabaw Island Hogs at 2:30 PM.

Sundays offer a completely different animal lineup. Visitors can watch the big cats interacting with their seasonal enrichments at 10:00 AM, followed by the orangutans at 12:00 PM and the gorillas at 12:30 PM. With so many weekends to choose from, you can easily plan your visit around your favorite animal's feeding schedule or even book an early morning tour to explore the haunted history at the Philadelphia Zoo.


Using the zoo as a daytime celebration is the perfect way to kick off a full weekend of festivities. To plan the rest of your October 31st schedule and map out your neighborhood candy route, make sure you check the trick-or-treat times in Philadelphia. Once the daytime fun is over and the kids are settled, adults can keep the Halloween spirits flowing by exploring the best Halloween bars in Philadelphia.