FREE in Waco: Waco Sculpture Zoo
No, the Waco Sculpture Zoo is not the same thing as the Cameron Park Zoo. (Although you could totally pair them into a fun kid-friendly day in Waco! Just add on a great kid-friendly restaurant and you’ve made a day of fun.)
The Waco Sculpture Zoo is a completely FREE public park and art display in Waco, and it’s so cool. Here’s everything you need to know about the Waco Sculpture Zoo.


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A History Of The Waco Sculpture Zoo
This is actually a pretty recent addition to Waco! The sculpture zoo was commissioned by the City of Waco’s Parks and Rec Department and Creative Waco. They had some of the best artists from all over the country apply to create art for this project, and after a rigorous selection process, Creative Waco picked the best ones. There are even 2 local artists who made the cut!

Each artist designed a different animal - the animals are reflective of the animals you might see in Cameron Park Zoo - and used various materials to make the sculpture.
The result? Well, there are 28 absolutely adorable animal sculptures made of bronze, concrete, glass, and other materials. They had to get an engineering firm to provide the insight to get this ambitious project installed along the river, and that involved cranes and construction materials and a lot of work.
They range in size from tiny (“Roxy” the fox is so cute!) to absolutely enormous (the “Wise Elephant” is about 10 feet tall!)

The Waco Sculpture Zoo opened in February 2020, about one month before the Covid-19 pandemic hit the United States really hard. That timing actually worked out beautifully, because the Waco Sculpture Zoo is an outdoor activity that’s spaced out along a mile of the Brazos River and the Waco riverwalk
How To Enjoy The Waco Sculpture Zoo
Every single sculpture is unique, so it’s definitely worth taking your time to enjoy each piece of art. However, there are many ways to enjoy the sculpture zoo!

Start at the Waco Suspension Bridge and walk toward Cameron Park. You can find free street parking at the suspension bridge and then walk along the paved Riverwalk path toward Cameron Park. It’s a 1-mile walk to see all 28 animal sculptures, so that’s a total of a 2-mile out-and-back walk.
Drive along the road and stop at your favorite animals. If a two-mile walk isn’t something you’re able to do, you can also drive along University Parks Drive. Just put “Waco Suspension Bridge” into your maps app and start there, and then drive northwest toward Cameron Park Zoo. There are a few little parking inlets along the way where you can pull over to get out of your car.
Enjoy the Sculpture Zoo during a jog. This is my personal favorite way to enjoy the Sculpture Zoo! I’ve seen these animals lots of times, so I don’t feel the need to stop at each one…I just enjoy and appreciate the art as I’m jogging along the Riverwalk trail. Again, it’s a nice 2-mile out-and-back trail to be able to see all of the animals in the sculpture zoo.
Bring bikes for the kids and make it an afternoon activity. The sculpture zoo is along the Brazos Riverwalk trail, which is a paved concrete path. Kids love biking here and “finding” the next animal in the zoo. They’re spaced out a bit, so after discovering one they’ll have to bike a bit further along the trail to find it.

Other Things To Do Near The Waco Sculpture Zoo
Since the sculpture zoo starts at the suspension bridge, be sure to check that out first and enjoy the bridge! Here are a few little things to know about this amazing historical bridge in Waco, as well as some nearby parks.
The Waco Sculpture Zoo pairs perfectly with Cameron Park Zoo because the sculpture zoo ends at the actual real-life zoo! So you can wander along the path and discover all the adorable bronze sculptures, which represent the actual animals that are inside Cameron Park Zoo. And then once you get to the end of the sculpture zoo, you can head into Cameron Park Zoo and enjoy seeing the real life animals.
And of course, be sure to check out this map of the best kid-friendly restaurants in Waco. You’ll need to get something to eat either before or after visiting the sculpture zoo. Or pack a picnic lunch and eat by your favorite animal on the trail!
The Waco Sculpture Zoo is seriously such a gift to the city of Waco! It’s something that everyone who lives here should 100% take advantage of and enjoy on a regular basis, but it’s also one of the coolest tourist attractions for folks who are driving in for a day of fun in Waco.





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