Planned for wheelchair riders
The station is named for the Zoo, but the Zoo tells visitors with limited mobility to ride one more stop, to Cleveland Park. From here it’s deep elevators, then an uphill route on Connecticut Avenue.
Written for riders choosing between Woodley Park and Cleveland Park before they go.
Station A04
The real choice
Get off here and go up the hill · or ride one more stop
The Zoo says both stations are about half a mile from its main entrance. The difference is the hill.
Disability & mobility
Woodley Park is the stop with the Zoo in its name, but the Zoo’s own directions send visitors with limited mobility to Cleveland Park. From here, the route to the gates is uphill, with heat and crowds, after the effort of getting out of a deep station.
Here
You need the elevators (and sometimes the long escalators) just to reach the street. Then it’s the uphill route on Connecticut Avenue that the Zoo warns about. Plan rest stops and water.
Only if the hill works for you today
One stop north
Stay on the Red Line one more stop, toward Shady Grove. Use the elevator exit on the east side of Connecticut Avenue, north of Ordway Street; the west-side entrance has escalators only. The Zoo’s main entrance is about half a mile south.
Accessibility page for Smithsonian National Zoo
The Zoo’s pick for limited mobility
The station with the Zoo in its name is not the one the Zoo recommends if you have limited mobility.
Cleveland Park also has two elevators, one from the street and one to the platform, and WMATA itself suggests the station for an easier trip to the Zoo. Whichever station you choose, its elevators have to be working. Check both before you ride. Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) elevator-outage shuttle: 202-962-1825 · TTY 202-638-3780.
On the ground
If you get off here, three steps: the station, the sidewalk, the Zoo gates.
01
This is a deep Red Line station, and the escalators are long. When an elevator is out, people who cannot make that climb are stuck, before the hill to the Zoo even starts.
02
You come out onto a sloping neighborhood street, not a flat path like the National Mall. Wheelchairs and strollers feel every block toward the Zoo entrance. This is the climb the Zoo warns about.
03
Inside the park there are more hills, paths, and building elevators. Metro only gets you to the gate. Check the Zoo’s accessibility page for the day you visit.
Why this stop feels different
The station is known as the Zoo stop. For accessibility, what matters is the hill, and the Zoo’s own answer is to skip it.
Woodley Park is linked with the Zoo because that is where families go. But the part in between is the hard part: deep elevators, then an uphill route through the neighborhood that the Metro map does not show.
That is why this station is listed next to the National Mall stops: the same kind of trip, on different ground. The Zoo’s advice is simple: if the hill is too much, get off at Cleveland Park instead. The main entrance is about halfway between the two.
On the street
Woodley Park station
Connecticut Ave NW · Zoo / Adams Morgan
Washington, District of Columbia
Connecticut Avenue NW · uphill toward the Zoo
Red Line
Nearby: National Zoo. The Zoo recommends Cleveland Park, one stop north, if you have limited mobility, because the route from here is uphill. Check live status at both stations.
Open Woodley Park on the live mapLive elevator status at Woodley ParkLive elevator status at Cleveland ParkAfter the elevator
Times are hand-set for a chair or stroller pace, including the hill — not live routing, and slower than on the flat Mall.
At the venue
We copied these by hand from each venue’s own pages. They may be out of date or wrong, so confirm on the venue’s page before you go.
Source: Smithsonian’s National Zoo
Last look
Four things to check before you go.
Check the elevators at both Woodley Park and Cleveland Park. On a deep platform like this one, an outage is not a small delay.
If the uphill route is not realistic today, ride one more stop to Cleveland Park. The Zoo recommends it for visitors with limited mobility.
Paths and building access inside the park are separate from Metro. Check them before you count the gate as the end of the trip.
Heading back down into the station when you’re tired is also an access problem. Know how you’ll get back before you head up.
About this guide. We put these guides together by hand. Travel times are our own estimates, and venue details are copied from their websites, so either can be wrong or out of date. Check the venue’s page before you go. For elevators, trust the live map and the transit agency.