Cougar Mountain Zoo Review

If you’re looking for something to do in Issaquah, Washington, the Cougar Mountain Zoo is definitely a great idea. Find out all about it in this Cougar Mountain Zoo review.

For more help planning your trip, check out all of our zoo posts.

Let me start this off by saying that I like zoos. I know some people don’t, and that’s fine. But I’m not one of those people. I like going to the zoo when I’m on vacation and seeing a bunch of different native animals.

So when I was planning my hosted trip to Washington last fall, I really wanted to go to Fall City Wallaby Ranch because you get to pet and feed wallabies. Wallabies! The ranch was on the top of my list of things to do in Washington, but the more I planned, the more I realized it just wouldn’t fit into my schedule.

But, what did fit into my schedule was a trip to the Cougar Mountain Zoo. And, get this: The zoo has wallabies. And you can feed them.

Sure, feeding them is throwing apples over a fence, but still. I fed a wallaby. Cross that off my bucket list. And yours, too, if you head to the roadside zoo.

The Cougar Mountain Zoo is an 11-acre roadside zoo on the north slope of Cougar Mountain. Both the mountain and the zoo both have cougars. Which makes sense if you’ve watched the new TV show Animal Control, which takes place in Seattle (about 15 miles from the Cougar Mountain Zoo). There’s a plot point in the series where the main character has an affinity for a wild cougar and doesn’t want it to be put down.

So yes, you can see cougars at the zoo. 

Of course, I darted straight to the wallabies when I got there. You can purchase a cup of apple pieces at the entrance for $2 to feed the wallabies (and some of the other animals in the zoo). Is the tiny bit of apple you get worth $2? Absolutely not. But is the experience of feeding wallabies worth $2? Absolutely.

I wax poetic about the wallabies because they’re pretty unique to a zoo (our local roadside zoo, Tregembo Animal Park, doesn’t have them). Another super unique feature is that the Cougar Mountain Zoo has reindeer. A lot of reindeer. Enough for Santa’s sleigh.

​The zoo actually hosts the Issaquah Reindeer Festival all December, complete with Santa, his reindeer, photo opps, and more. So definitely add that to your calendar if you’re in Issaquah in the winter.

The Cougar Mountain Zoo was started in 1972 by the husband and wife duo of Peter Rittler and Marcie McCaffray Rittler. It was originally established as a compliment to a then-private school, Cougar Mountain Academy, which had been operating for a decade. The school actually still stands.

Due to its popularity, the Cougar Mountain Zoo opened to the public — and was free of charge for its first 15 years.

At its inception, the goal was to create a Noah’s Ark of sorts, collecting and showcasing as many different animals as possible. That wasn’t sustainable, so the zoo decided instead to focus on endangered species and conservation efforts. A smaller menagerie meant more care could be paid to the zoo animals.

The zoo currently has a variety of animals: big cats, alpacas, lemurs, wolves, emus, and of course, the aforementioned wallabies, reindeer, and cougars. There’s also a nice-sized area for tigers.

There are two featured attractions at the zoo: The Wildlife Tracks Library, which shows tracks of different animals to help viewers learn to identify them while hiking, and the Bronze Statue Collection, which are bronze statues of animals placed throughout the zoo.

The statues (which include a dinosaur amongst other non-extinct animals) are alluded to on the zoo’s map, but their locations aren’t noted on the map. So you do have to hunt to find them.

And then there’s the Magnani Nature Gallery, a permanent art gallery, which has a permanent exhibit and art for sale.

There’s also the Mountain Lion Plaza, which is a space with picnic tables, next to the Wildlife Theatre, where the daily bird show or bird walk occurs.

For an additional cost, you can have one-on-one animal encounters with some of the zoo animals. The fee is technically a donation (with a minimum donation listed). The suggested donation varies per animal. You can choose from a special tiger tunnel encounter, a tiger feeding experience, a behind the scenes tiger tour, a mule deer encounter, a reindeer encounter, a lemur encounter, and a cougar encounter.

A close encounter must be booked ahead of time (with the exception of the tiger feeding and tiger tunnel encounter). The encounters are all reliant on the weather and the animal’s temperament and needs that day.

These type of animal encounters are something that I’ve seen larger zoos offer and they’re really an excellent choice for a birthday gift for a child. So definitely keep that in mind if you’re traveling to the area.

Overall, I liked the zoo. It was a small zoo (compared to, say, the Bronx Zoo), so it’s easily walkable, especially if you have young children. There are some hilly parts, but it’s nothing that’s incredibly strenuous. I would consider the entire zoo to be handicapped accessible, which is great if you’re traveling with kids in strollers or anyone in wheelchairs.

We went on a random Thursday in October (the zoo is open Wednesday through Sunday) and the zoo was empty our whole visit except for two families (one mother and daughter and one mother with two children). We did go during school hours, at lunchtime, so I’m sure that had a lot to do with the attendance (or lack thereof).

While we were there, there would have been an emu and wallaby lecture in the Magic Forest and a mammal walk, but we didn’t see either happening. We were by the tigers at the time the tiger lecture was scheduled, one of the staff members was there talking to us about the tigers and answering our questions. So I’m guessing that was the tiger lecture.

There’s a lot of animals, ones that you’re not used to seeing at most museums. So that was really exciting for me. Honestly, the Cougar Mountain Zoo is worth it just for the wallabies and reindeer. Everything else is a bonus.

Have you been to the Cougar Mountain Zoo in Issaquah, WA? Let us know what you thought about it in the comments.