The Phoenix Zoo is the largest privately owned non-profit zoo in the United States, set in the red-rock landscape of Papago Park. The collection runs to around 1,400 animals across themed trails — Africa, Tropics, Arizona, and a children's trail. The Arizona Trail is the one that justifies the trip: native mountain lions, Mexican gray wolves, ocelots, and bighorn sheep in settings that closely resemble the surrounding Sonoran landscape.
Go early. The zoo opens at 9 am, and from May through September the heat becomes punishing by mid-morning. Strollers and wagons are available to rent, and a tram circles the grounds. The zoo played a famous role in saving the Arabian oryx from extinction in the 1960s through its Operation Oryx breeding programme, and the species is still on display today.