Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is built into the mountainside

Most zoos sit on flat ground. Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, on the southwest edge of Colorado Springs, instead climbs the side of the mountain it is named for, so the paths between exhibits switch back and rise as you go, with the city spreading out below. The zoo calls itself America’s only mountain zoo, and it is usually described as the highest-elevation zoo in the country, set somewhere around 6,700 feet up the slope.

It has been here a long time. The Cheyenne Mountain Zoological Society was founded in 1926 by Colorado Springs philanthropist Spencer Penrose, who began moving animals from his ranch and the Broadmoor Hotel up to the present site. What people tend to come back for is the giraffes: the zoo keeps one of the largest giraffe herds at any zoo in the U.S., and you can buy a handful of lettuce and feed them yourself, eye to long-necked eye. Higher up, the Mountaineer Sky Ride carries you in open chairs over the animal yards with a wide view of the valley.

For hours, ticket prices, and feeding details before you go, check the zoo’s own site at cmzoo.org.