My Kids’ First Snow at the Phoenix Zoo Winter in July

Summers in Phoenix are hot. Like really hot! We have a zoo membership, but it gets hardly any use in the summer because I assumed it would be too hot to visit. I was wrong. The zoo has a lot of cool summer activities, like snow in July! A couple weeks ago, we visited the zoo bright and early on a Saturday morning and our kids had the chance to experience their first snow at the Phoenix Zoo winter in July event.

Phoenix Zoo Winter in July

Since I’m from Wisconsin, it is almost ironic to me that my kids haven’t seen snow before. At the same time, it was really fun to see them dig in. I helped Rocco build his first mini snowman and I laughed as they threw their first snowballs. Like only a big brother would do, Rocco put snow in Gigi’s hair and she was pretty upset about it.  I couldn’t help but laugh since the snow melted almost on contact.

The snow piles were small, but the kids still had a great time jumping and throwing and shoveling the snow. Gigi even took a bite before we could stop her (eeewwww)!

We also took a couple detours from the crowds huddled around the snow piles to visit the orangutans, camels and some other animals we passed along the way. My kids always love the orangutans because they like to point out the mommy, the daddy, and the baby. Plus, the orangutans are usually swinging from their robes and playing, which is so fun to watch.

Although I didn’t bring their suits, I quickly realized there are a lot of splash pads at the zoo.  A trip to the zoo splash pads would make for another fun summer outing, even with the hot Phoenix weather.

If you’re from Phoenix or happen to be visiting during the Phoenix Zoo winter in July, you should check it out. But get there early! We arrived at 8am, and there were already crowds of people and the snow piles were pretty trampled. Next year, I’d get there right when they open at 7am. My kids are awake anyway, so that would give them the best access to the snow and a chance to peek at more of the animals before it gets too hot.