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5 Wild Things at Riverbanks Zoo (and They Aren't the Animals!)

Kerry Egan Kerry Egan
Discover writers share all of the places, activities and adventure that South Carolina has to offer. Read more from some of South Carolina’s locals and discover what’s happening in the Palmetto State.
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Riverbanks Zoo and Garden in Columbia is regularly listed among the top zoos in America.

From gorillas lounging on the grass just inches away (on the other side of a glass enclosure) to koalas lazily munching eucalyptus just a few feet from you (and yes, they are even more adorable in person) to towering giraffes and Technicolor lorikeets that literally eat from your hand, you get so close to the animals that you feel like you're on safari.But the animals are not the only wild things at the zoo. You'd miss out on half the fun if you didn't try out these activities:

  1. Sky-High Safari: Balancing on a rickety platform more than three stories high, trying to navigate the next obstacle using ropes to get you through the air, all while looking out over the whole zoo? I'd say that sounds pretty wild. The Sky-High Safari is a ropes course that allows kids and adults to test their courage and balance while climbing high.
  2. Wild Adventures Rock Wall: Need even more climbing? Then head over to the Wild Adventures Rock Wall to test your rock-climbing skills. Once you're strapped safely into a harness, you'll be able to scale to the very top.
  3. Zip the Zoo: Imagine not just walking through the zoo, but flying above it. Zip the Zoo is a canopy zipline course that lets you do just that. During the two-hour course, you wear a harness that connects you to long cables stretched from tree to tree. Push off, and you zip along through the air, dangling from the cable.
  4. ZOOm the River: Another zipline adventure, but this time including a 1,000-foot stretch over the Saluda River.
  5. Endangered Species Carousel: Your little one wants to ride a leopard? Cuddle up with a panda? Bring her to the Endangered Species Carousel. It looks like a treasure from a 19th-century boardwalk amusement park, but look a little closer and you'll realize that the galloping animals aren't horses. They're a motley and lovely assortment of wild animals, playfully racing along.

For more information, contact Riverbanks Zoo and Garden.

Kerry Egan
Discover writers share all of the places, activities and adventure that South Carolina has to offer. Read more from some of South Carolina’s locals and discover what’s happening in the Palmetto State.