Denver Zoo
Tourism Star Award Recipient — 2004
The Denver Zoo is the fourth most popular zoo in America based on paid attendance and was ranked in the Longwoods 2003 tourism study as Denver’s second most popular paid attraction. In 2004, the Denver Zoo opened the $25 million Predator Ridge, the largest tourism attraction to open in Denver this year. At Predator Ridge, visitors encounter 15 species of animals as they walk through rock outcroppings, winding past thorn bushes to special viewpoints where they can look out on to a scene replicating the Samburu National Reserve in Kenya. The new exhibit is just one of many new additions to the Denver Zoo and is part of the Zoo’s $125 million master plan.
The profile of each Tourism Star is reflective of the time of the award.