California note
Applegate Park Zoo gives Merced a small rescue-animal stop
Merced Applegate Zoo sits inside Applegate Community Park and focuses on animals that need care, including California native species from wildlife rescue situations.
Applegate Park Zoo is a gentle Merced stop, especially because it is not trying to feel like a giant zoo. It sits inside Applegate Community Park, a 32.37-acre city park with picnic areas, a playground, paths, restrooms, a skate park, courts, and other everyday park pieces.
The zoo has been part of Merced since 1962. Its role is centered on animals that need a safe place to live. It houses about 75 mammals, birds, and reptiles, many of them California native species that came from wildlife rescue centers. Some animals could not return to normal habitat because of injury or because they had been kept as pets.
The visit has a quieter tone. You are seeing animals, and also seeing what care looks like after an animal’s wild life has changed. Professional zookeepers handle daily care, and volunteers can help with exhibit cleaning, diets, landscaping, and improvement projects.
For Merced, Applegate Park Zoo adds a family-friendly outdoor anchor close to the center of town. It is small enough to understand, but meaningful enough to give kids and adults a real wildlife lesson.
Where to see it
Applegate Park Zoo inside Applegate Community Park, 1045 W. 25th Street. Review the city zoo page for hours, animal information, events, and volunteer details.
Sources
Sources for this story
Reviewed July 6, 2026
Public sources for the places, events, and details above.
Connected places
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