Most visitors know how famous the San Diego Zoo is, but I’m constantly asked one particular question.
Does the San Diego Zoo have pandas right now? Yes. Yun Chuan and Xin Bao arrived from China in June 2024 and live at Denny Sanford Panda Ridge, which currently makes the San Diego Zoo the only place on the West Coast to see giant pandas.
I have been a San Diego Zoo member for years, so I see them often. Here is how to get in front of them, what it costs, and why San Diego has pandas at all when most American zoos do not.
How to See the Pandas at Panda Ridge
Seeing the pandas is included with regular Zoo admission. There is no separate panda ticket to buy and no reservation to make before you arrive. What changes is how you get into the habitat once you are inside the park, and that depends on how busy the day is.
Join the Standby Line, Any Day
No ticket is needed to join the standby line at Panda Ridge. It runs during Zoo hours, and closes when the pandas go off view for the day or the Zoo closes, whichever comes first.
One thing to know before you build a day around them. A panda is like any other animal at the Zoo, and keepers can take them off exhibit whenever they need to, so no route in guarantees you a sighting.
Standby is first come, first served, and the Zoo does not guarantee it gets you in. Wait times vary with the crowd.
Free Timed Tickets on Busy Days
On busy days the Zoo hands out free Giant Panda Timed Tickets, which hold a slot for you instead of leaving you in the standby line. There is no published schedule. The Zoo brings them out when the crowds require it, so you find out when you get there.
When they are running, you scan a QR code on the sign at the Zoo’s main entrance, pick an available time, and come back to the timed ticket line at Panda Ridge for your slot. Any ticket window can tell you whether they are in use that day, and help if the code gives you trouble.
They are day-of only, first come, first served, and they stop once that day’s tickets are gone. So ask on your way through the gate rather than after lunch, and treat the standby line as your plan either way.
Book the Early Morning with Pandas Walking Tour
This is the paid option, and the only one that gets you into Panda Ridge before it opens to everyone else. A Zoo educator leads a 60-minute walk that ends at the habitat, with time to watch the pandas without a line behind you. Admission is separate and still required.
| Detail | What to expect |
|---|---|
| Cost | $96 and up per person, on top of Zoo admission. The price moves with the season and the day of the week. |
| Length | 60 minutes, offered daily |
| Ages | 5 and up, though the Zoo recommends it for 12 and older. Anyone 15 or younger needs a paid adult, and one adult can bring a maximum of two children. |
| Walking | Rated high. An hour on your feet including hills and steep inclines. The route is paved and wheelchair accessible. |
| Start time | Shifts with the season, from around 8:30 a.m. in late summer to 10 a.m. in winter. The Zoo shows the time for your date when you book. |
| Where to meet | The Rex lion statue outside the Zoo in late summer, and the Flamingo Viewing Deck inside the park the rest of the year. The Zoo’s tour page names the current spot. |
| Changes | Free until three days before. At three days a $25 cancellation fee applies, and inside three days the payment is not refundable. |
Before you pay, know that the Zoo does not guarantee panda viewing on the tour. The pandas may be behind the scenes at any time, and the habitat’s boulders and trees can put them out of sight. You are buying the quiet and the access, not a sighting.
Reserve on the Zoo’s tour page or by calling (619) 718-3000.
See also: Which San Diego Zoo tour is worth booking
The Best Time of Day to See the Pandas
Go early. Mornings are quieter, and Saturday is the busiest day at the Zoo in any season, so a weekday morning is the easiest visit of all.
Katie’s Tip
Go while you have good light. In my experience, the pandas are not usually super close to the glass, so a bright morning is the difference between seeing them properly and squinting at a distant black-and-white shape in the trees. Crowds also thin from about 3 p.m., so late afternoon is the other window worth aiming for.
Meet Yun Chuan and Xin Bao
It helps to know which panda you are looking at before you walk in.
Yun Chuan
Yun Chuan is the male. Look for a long, slightly pointed nose, which is the feature the Zoo points people to. He is named for his grandmother Bai Yun, who lived here for 23 years, and his mother Zhen Zhen was born at the San Diego Zoo in 2007.
Xin Bao
Xin Bao is the female, and the easier of the two to pick out. She has a large, round face and big, fluffy ears. Her name translates as a precious treasure of prosperity and abundance, and she was born at the Wolong Shenshuping Panda Base in Sichuan.
We have been to the former Wolong Hetaoping Panda Base, which was destroyed in the 2008 Chengdu earthquake, and to the China Conservation and Research Center for Giant Pandas a few times.
Which US Zoos Have Giant Pandas?
Only two US zoos have giant pandas right now. Pandas come to the United States on loan from China under conservation agreements, and when an agreement ends they go home. That is why the map keeps changing.
| Zoo | Pandas |
|---|---|
| San Diego Zoo | Yun Chuan and Xin Bao, since 2024. The only pandas on the West Coast. |
| Smithsonian’s National Zoo, Washington DC | Bao Li and Qing Bao, who arrived in October 2024 |
| Zoo Atlanta | None at the moment. Its four pandas left for China in 2024, and the zoo has since announced an agreement to bring a new pair, Ping Ping and Fu Shuang. |
| San Francisco Zoo | None yet. A pair has been announced but has not arrived, and the timing depends on the habitat being finished. |
The San Diego Zoo’s Panda History
Pandas first arrived in San Diego in 1987, when Basi and Yuan Yuan visited for what was meant to be 100 days. Two million people came to see them, and the stay ran to twice its planned length.
The long-term partnership began in 1996, when the Zoo’s conservation agreement with the China Wildlife Conservation Association brought Bai Yun and Shi Shi. Bai Yun remained for 23 years, a long residency for an animal on loan, and she stayed because she turned out to be a remarkable mother.
Her first cub, Hua Mei, arrived in 1999 and was the first panda born in the United States to survive to adulthood. She was such a big deal and the reason that people like me visited the San Diego Zoo regularly. Watching her evolve from a wide-eyed baby to an adult, tumbling around the enclosure, was a joy.
Shi Shi proved older than anyone expected and was not much of a match, so he went home and Gao Gao replaced him in 2003. That pairing worked. Bai Yun went on to have five more cubs, Mei Sheng, Su Lin, Zhen Zhen, Yun Zi, and Xiao Liwu. Zhen Zhen is Yun Chuan’s mother.
See also: The Unexpected Origins of San Diego Zoo
Why the Pandas Left in 2019
They were never ours to keep. The 1996 agreement had already been extended more than once, and when it ended in 2019 Bai Yun and Xiao Liwu went to China. All six San Diego cubs live there now.
Dallas Dumont, who cared for the pandas here, put it plainly to Reuters at the time: “We knew when we started the program that they were not our bears and that they wouldn’t be staying… China believes in having their animals retire back in their country.”
The same applies to Yun Chuan and Xin Bao. They are here under an agreement, not a purchase, and agreements end.
What Else Is in Asian Passage
Panda Ridge sits inside Asian Passage, and because your time at the habitat is short, the rest of the area is what fills out the visit.
- Red pandas, which are not related to giant pandas and are worth the stop anyway
- Bear pits with Bornean sun bears, sloth bears, and grizzly bears
- An aviary full of colorful birds
- Sichuan takin
- Mang Mountain viper
- Spotted-necked otters
San Diego Zoo Tickets, Discounts, and Parking
The only decision left is what you pay to get in. Zoo tickets are valid for a year from the date of purchase, so you can buy now and pick your day later.
1-Day Pass — Use My Exclusive 2026 Promo Code
Skip the ticket line and go straight to the gate with a mobile or printed ticket. Valid for one year from the purchase date.
Adult (12+) $70 $78
Child (3–11) $60 $68
Save $8 per ticket with my promo code
Tap to copy your $8-off code:
Parking is the cost that surprises returning visitors. It was free at the Zoo for years and it is not anymore.
| Parking option | What it costs |
|---|---|
| General parking | $16 per vehicle |
| City of San Diego residents | $8 per vehicle, with advance registration |
| Members | Free, but add your license plate to the member parking portal before you go |
| Free shuttle | Free on select days, from the Lower Inspiration Point lot at Park Boulevard and Presidents Way, 11 a.m. until an hour after the Zoo closes |
If you are coming in October, adult tickets are effectively the whole purchase, because up to six children ages 11 and under enter free with each paying adult during Kids Free San Diego.
October is also when the Zoo runs HalGLOWeen on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights, which extends the same ticket to 9 p.m. See the pandas in daylight first, because that is when you can see them.
For every other month, my full breakdown of how to buy discounted San Diego Zoo tickets compares the promo code against memberships and multi-park passes.
San Diego Zoo Panda FAQs
Are there still pandas at the San Diego Zoo?
Yes. Yun Chuan and Xin Bao have lived at Denny Sanford Panda Ridge since 2024. They replaced Bai Yun and Xiao Liwu, who returned to China in 2019, and they were the first giant pandas to enter the United States in 21 years.
Do you need a reservation to see the pandas?
No. Panda viewing comes with regular Zoo admission, and there is nothing to book in advance. You join the standby line at Panda Ridge. On busy days the Zoo also hands out free timed tickets that hold a slot for you, but there is no published schedule for them, so ask at a ticket window when you arrive.
How long do you get with the pandas?
About 15 minutes when it is busy. Staff keep guests moving along the one-way pathway so the line behind them does not stall.
What is the best time to see the pandas at the San Diego Zoo?
Mornings, before the crowds build. A weekday morning is quieter than a weekend one, and crowds thin again from about 3 p.m.
Is there a baby panda at the San Diego Zoo?
No. Yun Chuan and Xin Bao are the two pandas at the Zoo, and no cub has been announced.
Which US zoos have giant pandas?
The San Diego Zoo and the Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington DC. Zoo Atlanta has none at present, though it announced an agreement in April 2026 to bring a new pair, and the San Francisco Zoo has announced pandas that have not yet arrived. San Diego is the only West Coast option.
How much is the Early Morning with Pandas tour?
It starts at $96 per person, and the price moves with the season and the day of the week. Zoo admission is separate. It runs 60 minutes, is open to ages 5 and up, and gets you into Panda Ridge before it opens to the public.
Can you see the pandas without paying extra?
Yes. The standby line is free with admission, and so are the timed tickets on the days the Zoo uses them. The only thing that costs more is the Early Morning with Pandas Walking Tour, which buys early access and a guide rather than a better view.
