Forest Trailhead
Opening May 1, 2026
A WHOLE NEW VIEW
Your Treetop Adventure Starts Here
From the forest floor to a sky-high canopy trail, meet the wildlife icons of forest conservation including tree kangaroos, red panda, kea and nearly 20 species of reptiles, amphibians and fish.
At Forest Trailhead, you can find your path in the global movement to protect, restore, and sustain forests and the species who call them home. Join the communities taking action and learn how you can help save forests for all.
Canopy Path
Wander among the treetops where tree kangaroos and red panda make their home on this accessible elevated pathway offering viewpoints unlike anywhere else in the zoo.
Habitat Gallery
Meet the wonders of wildlife at all layers of the forest in the Habitat Gallery featuring tree-dwelling reptiles, colorful amphibians, and fascinating fish.
Conservation Action
Discover how endangered wildlife is linked to your everyday choices and how you can practice forest-friendly actions—like sipping shade-grown coffee at the zoo.
Members enjoy a preview!
Be among the first to visit the new exhibit.
Help us plant 1,000 trees!
We’ll plant a tree for red pandas in Nepal for each new or upgraded Family Passport membership through April 15, 2026.
KEYSTONE SPECIES
The Ghost of the Forest
Meet the Tree Kangaroo
Called the “ghost of the forest” by locals for its elusive nature, the Matschie’s tree kangaroo is endemic to the remote cloud forests of Papua New Guinea. With its long claws, powerful limbs, and sturdy tail, this furry marsupial is an expert climber, spending most of its time nibbling moss, ferns, and orchids high up in the forest canopy.
The Firefox
Meet the Red Panda
Red pandas live in the high-altitude forest habitats of the Eastern Himalayas in places like China, Nepal, and Bhutan. Even though they have a carnivore’s digestive system, a red panda’s diet is 98% bamboo leaves. Red pandas prefer forest habitats with lots of fallen logs and tree stumps that make foraging easier.
The Ultimate Generalist
Meet the Kea
Kea live in the mountainous, alpine regions of the South Island of New Zealand. With their versatile beaks and sharp intelligence, kea play many roles in their native habitat. They act as seed dispersers, pollinators, insect regulators and scavenger clean-up crews. Their lifelong curiosity and love of new things make them adaptable to changing food sources and landscapes.
Community Power
Every Visit Makes a Difference
Your visit to Forest Trailhead supports endangered species, habitat conservation and community outreach that welcomes everyone to protect, restore and sustain forests.
Connect to global communities in mountain forests much like the Pacific Northwest who are leading solutions to protect, restore and sustain forests for animals and people.
The exhibit experience will share the empowering story of Papua New Guinea communities that have been working with Woodland Park Zoo’s Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program for 30 years to save one of the last intact cloud forests of the world. Discover how the zoo’s conservation partner Red Panda Network is also leading change through community efforts. Guests will find their own everyday connections to these communities and animals through the forest-friendly choices they can make daily at home, in the office, at school and in their community—to create lasting and impactful change.