Brights Zoo

Brights Zoo in Limestone, Tennessee has a legitimate claim to being the best zoo in the state and one of the most underrated in the Eastern US. The zoo made national headlines for its rare white giraffe, but the broader collection — housing rhinos, lions, leopards, zebra, red pandas, and hundreds of other species on an expansive Northeast Tennessee property — is remarkable for a private, family-owned facility.

The giraffe herd is the centerpiece and deservedly so. Brights maintains the largest reticulated giraffe herd in the United States, and the giraffe feeding platform gives families a genuinely intimate encounter: you hold a leafy branch and a giraffe lowers its head to your level, wraps its 18-inch tongue around the leaves, and makes direct eye contact with your child. The scale of a giraffe's head at arm's length is startling in the best possible way, and the tongue is always the wildly unexpected detail that kids retell first.

Book giraffe feeding separately when you purchase tickets — it sells out, particularly on weekends. Walk-up availability for feeding sessions is not reliable in season.

The rest of the zoo is equally worth your time. Predator viewing areas, primate sections, and bird aviaries provide a comprehensive zoo experience that goes well beyond the giraffe headliner. For a family spending a full day, the café on site makes it practical without leaving the property.

Location note: Brights Zoo is in Limestone, TN, near Greeneville and Johnson City in the Tri-Cities region — about 1.5-2 hours northeast of Knoxville, and farther from the Pigeon Forge tourist corridor. Factor drive time into your planning.