Lee Richardson Zoo

The zoo began in 1927, when the city and the local chapter of the Izaak Walton League set up a few pens in Finnup Park, a gift of 105 acres from George Finnup to the city, and Lee Richardson, the chief of police and parks, brought in its first animals: two skunks. He ran it as zoo superintendent, and in 1950, a year before he died, it was named for him. It is now accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and covers more than 50 landscaped acres in the park.

What sets it apart on a road trip is the road. Walking in is free; for $20 a vehicle you can drive the loop through the grounds, and the drive is free on Wild Wednesdays, every Wednesday from November through March and the first Wednesday of each month from April through October. The collection mixes the plains with the rest of the world. Near the Kansas Waters exhibit, with river otters and burrowing owls, are bison, elk and desert bighorn sheep; the African Plains yards hold reticulated giraffes, addax, crowned cranes and lions; Wild Asia, opened in 1998, has red pandas, snow leopards, Amur leopards, sloth bears and Bactrian camels; and the Marie Osterbuhr Aviary dates to 1985.

Behind the snack and gift shop stands an old Garden City Western Railway steam locomotive. The zoo closes on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day and on the days of its two fundraising events, and only service animals are allowed inside.