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Charles Paddock Zoo in Atascadero, California is the only zoo in San Luis Obispo county.

When you walk through the entrance of the zoo, you'll immediately find the pretty pink flamingos to your left!

It's a small zoo but for a small admission, it's really worth it. My favorites are the red pandas!

The kids will be entertained (See Lemurs below from Charles Paddock Zoo). Zoo prices for children are by age group but children who are 2 years old and under are free. If you're planning on taking the kids to the zoo often, it might be in your best interest to pay for an annual membership. They also have a military, student and senior membership discounts for memberships.

In 2019 Family Membership was only $60 and included 2 named adults and 4 dependent children but now it's more than that. For 2022, the Family Membership costs $100 for the entire year! If you don't plan on visiting more than once a year, it's not worth it.

The cutest animals to watch were the cute red pandas! They arrived at the Charles Paddock Zoo in 2019 and every time we visited, they look so happy and healthy here.


I think it only took us about an hour to go through the whole park. After you're done, you'll find the playground right outside of Charles Paddock Zoo called the Atascadero Lake Park. You can rent paddle boats here and sometimes they have really big seasonal events for the public. See a reel of Boo at the Zoo event that my kids and I went at Charles Paddock Zoo.

They don't sell food inside so don't plan on buying food at the Charles Paddock Zoo. There are a couple of restaurants within a few blocks from the zoo so you can make a drive out nearby. 

(All photos taken by SanLuisObispoMom.com.) To see all family-friendly things to do in San Luis Obispo county, go to: http://www.sanluisobispomom.com/family-friendly-events.php

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