Austin Zoo and Animal Sanctuary Reviews

Neat rescue zoo. Lions and tigers and bears, oh my .. along with a ton of other unusual animals. Friendly folks .. lots to see, pet, feed.

know before going over there,its not as big as ZOOs in other cities,its medium but decent, Kids will enjoy for sure, also nothing much to walk ,u can cover all before u get tired :-) , but there is a lot to improve and change

Looks more like a farm, but it was good because the animals are closer to you so you can see them well. We went around 2 in the afternoon and a lot of the animals were hiding. Recommend going earlier in the day, or evening because it was very hot and a lot of the animals were in shaded buildings so we couldn't see them. It's a good idea to wear tennis shoes because some if the walkways are gravel and dirt.

Very clean, nice staff....simplistic, not fancy but one of the best I've been to. Their true love and passion for animals radiates throughout!

Great place to view animals up close. However, my 18 month old son got a little too close and put his fingers on a bird cage and the bird flew over and (of course) bit down. I brought my son to the front (no first aid) and the employees brought me one paper towel to stop the bleeding. The manager apologized and said they would put up a sign indicating that the birds do bite. They also took down my address to send me some free tix to the zoo. Really nice sentiment except she never followed through. You want to root for the place but just needs some better management.

Visitors are able to see a variety of rescued animals up close. You can feed some of the animals, and they even have a cool little train.

This is a sweet little zoo. It's not the fanciest or biggest but it makes up for that in heart. The employees really seem to care about the zoo. The animals are all rescues or owner turn ins. My son loves their little train and feeding the goats/sheet/llamas/deer. I get the annual pass and we go a dozen times a year. You can do the whole zoo in about an hour and a half. I sometimes plan our trips around animal feeding/enrichment times so we can stop and have a snack while the animals eat or play. We have so many good memories at this zoo.

This is not your typical zoo. It is a wildlife refuge and rescue operation that has a number of animals on display. The displays are OK, but nothing fancy. Many times the animals are sleeping, but this is true at most zoos. If you are disabled you might have trouble getting around in some areas since most of the paths are gravel and some areas have steep hills. Last time I saw one electric wheelchair get stuck on a hill.
Kids like the train ride. There is usually a long wait, and the ride goes out into the hills and back, but only a few animals can be seen along the ride.

This zoo is very unique in the setting and overall ambience of the zoo. I expected the typical 'big city' feel and commercialization that most zoos have - however, this one was very different. It felt like something bigger - like a rescue should. There were no lines or overbearing crowds - just a leisurely stroll through a large variety of amazing creatures. I highly recommend this if you are in the Austin area! Very affordable and the money goes to a great cause! ...And make sure to pay for a bag or two of food before you go in - it is well worth the experience!

It was ok. It needs more work on the actual cages as in replacing the old torn up objects. There were birds with phone books and cardboard boxes that were ruined. And a chicken pecked right in the toe. They need to be caged up or on a leash. But over all it was not that great. Hopefully they use my money to clean up the place.

Not what I expected but you still see animals up close. This is not your typical Zoo but it works.

Been taking my grandson since he was 1-1/2 years old. Of course, he was awestruck; and despite being 13, he continues to enjoy it...although, now as then, he continues to complain about having to walk everywhere.
For a relatively small zoo, it packs a wallop. Everything from the toad to the tiger. Shade, snacks drinks, and even a train.

Very unhappy. We came at 5:02pm unaware that they stopped taking visitors at 5 because it is in such small print on their website. Having come up all the way from San Antonio, we asked if we could possibly come in since we drove so far, but nope. The lady said we couldn't and asked for a donation instead. However, after turning us away, another family arrived and she allowed them in, despite what she told us. I'm extremely unhappy with what happened.

A nice rescue zoo with lots of up close animals, a small train and feeding area.

Let's first establish that the Austin Zoo is a former wild animal park in transition. There is an article in the visitor's building that details the history. Overall, the Austin Zoo is small, rustic and off the beaten path. The parking was adequate. We were greeted at the visitor's center by a friendly staff member who answered our questions to satisfaction. We proceeded through the exhibits which are well labeled often detailing where the animal was rescued from. The animals appeared to be healthy and well cared for. The facility has warning signs on the cages and enclosures stating a zero tolerance for taunting or disturbing the animals. We were there on a particularly hot day so most of the animals were laying low from the heat. We did see the tigers playing in their pool, monkeys, lemurs, a very curious prairie dog, fox, black bear, bobcat, Homer the goose, etc. The experience was worth it to us. We would recommend it.

Great place to spend the day with my family. Unfortunately a lot of the exhibits were closed for renovations when we were there.

I was ok. Good if you did not want to travel to San antonio or Dallas. But for the money not worth it.

This is a nice unexpected zoo for Austin. It's not very big but it has grown a lot since the last time I've been here 7 years ago.

Great zoo experience. Love the petting zoo and seeing all the animals up close. The bear enrichment show is fun, they are cool to watch. Watch out for the peacocks, they can get fisty depending on the time of the year. The staff is extremely knowledgeable about all the animals and willing to answer any questions you have. I suggest getting their early because it gets pretty crowded.

Really clean and the animals seem happy, if that's possible. At Halloween time they do a cute boo train ride.

Was warned that this was closer to an animal rescue than a zoo, but had a great time admission was worth the couple hours

Nice atmosphere and great for families. Plenty of attractions around the zoo.

Nice little zoo with big animals. Lions, tigers, bears, Oh my!

Great medium size zoo, interesting animals. The grey wolf, bearcat, and 3 black bears were my favorite.

Horrible experience at the Austin Zoo located at 10808 Rawhide Trail, Austin, TX 78736. From the moment we walked in all you see from afar is cages. As we walked up to feed the goats, my first thought was how rundown it looked. The goats, llamas, sheep and deer seemed to be the only animals really moving around because they are the only ones visitors could feed. As we continue on, the conditions just seemed to keep getting worse. Most animals had barely any drinking water, not one cage with the turtles had somewhere for them to go lay in cooler water (yes, I did say cage for turtles) so instead they were hiding in what appeared to be different little homemade animal houses all crowded in together just to keep out of the sun. It was at least 95 degrees the day we went. As we kept walking, which was also hard since there are no paved walkways so pushing a stroller through is almost impossible which we had to do with a double stroller, more and more animals were just laying anywhere they could find shade (having us question if some were possibly dead even). If they did move, it was so slow and made them seem more lethargic than they already had. The tiny monkeys were also all in small cages, not in just a bigger enclosure to swing and play freely which just made us feel sorry for them. Again, just continuing on, looking into the many cages of animals, little to no water was around for these poor animals.The conditions are so bad. They say this is a rescue zoo, but with all the zoos throughout the state, I really feel if these animals could just be rescued from the Austin zoo and disbursed among all the other zoos they would be much better off getting the care they truly deserve. My family and I will never return to this zoo, it is not an experience I would like either of my kids to remember.

If you didn't know this zoo was out here, you would never know this zoo was out here - obviously. Driving into the zoo was rather unimpressive. There was limited parking and none of it was paid and some parts were fairly unimproved. When we pulled into our spot we had guide the tires around small tree stumps jutting out of the ground.

The grounds were clean and well kept. The gift shop was well organized and pretty busy. As we made our way outside we were immediately greeted by very colorful peacock. Up ahead we noticed the bathrooms and decided we better utilize them and I'm glad we did as there wasn't another bathroom in the zoo.

The paths between the exhibits are dirt/gravel, but fairly level and not hard to traverse. Although there is plenty of shade, I recommend bringing bottled water with you as it takes about an hour and a half to make the trek.

The exhibits were great. The kids really enjoyed the petting zoo portions that allowed them to pet and feed quite a few animals. Oh, and feed is only sold in the gift shop. There was plenty of exotic animals to look at as well - lions and tigers and bears... oh my?

In conclusion this was a great family outing; even our teenager enjoyed himself! *GASP* I know, right?

It's a tiny zoo and does not have a lot of the frills of other zoos. However the staff is very friendly, and it's easier to get good views of most of the animals than some of the bigger zoos. Get there when they open so you don't miss the staff going around and feeding the animals.

A great way to spend a few hours seeing the animals. Especially if you have young ones. Be sure to get some food as there are animals to feed. If you're fortunate to run into Elizabeth there, ask her questions. Not only does she know the animals but she also knows their names and can tell you some of their history. Real informative.

Amazing I really loved it, it's a good size zoo we finished within an hr and a half

They definitely had some neat animals, but a lot of the signs were outdated and many of the animals advertised were no longer there. The map was very difficult to read which made the zoo hard to navigate. I felt like we were going to get run over by the employees driving their gators around. This zoo is a great place to see some exotic animals, but it is severely lacking in customer service. The park doesn't close until 6, but they were already packing up and locking up by 5:30. The employees were definitely in a hurry to get out of there. I would recommend people going to the Hill Country Zoo and Snake farm or the San Antonio Zoo if you are looking for a remarkable experience.

A place full of rescued animals. Go support them and their cause.

Boo at the Zoo was an expensive disappointment this year! We were rushed through everything and waited in the longest line ever for the haunted house. Sad news. Also it starts too late to see animals, so what the point of even going to the zoo?

Great little place for rescued animals. Great family experience. Kids loved feeding the animals.

Went to this zoo yesterday with my step daughter, it was am adorable little zoo. I had been 2 years prior and it has grown so much since. The only problem we had was that we missed the gift shop before being able to buy something. The doors of the gift shop are locked at 5:00 pm sharp.

This zoo is fun, there are plenty of places to rest if you need to. The monkeys will entertain you- always so much fun for me.

My step daughter says that she would recommend bringing your kids there especially liked seeing the goats. It was fun to feed them.

Loved it! My family had the pleasure of visiting this zoo yesterday and it was amazing! Groupon had a sale going on so admission was super cheap for a family of four. We stayed for hours, I like how there were so many tables set up around the park so we were able to have a picnic as well. The zoo felt more personal compared to a city zoo. My kids enjoyed feeding the animals, all the peacocks walking around, up close views of the bigger animals such as the lions, bears, cougars etc. the train ride was beautiful I only wished it ran more frequently instead of running at the top of every hour. But the views and tour of some of the animals made up for it!

Totally different kind of zoo. Not run by the city. It's an animal rescue zoo.

Despite being tucked far away and hard to get to, I was super amazed and suprised by this place. It doesn't look like much from the outside, but they have an awesome array of animals and critters for kids and adults to enjoy. In addition, the fact that all the animals are resucued makes it a fun and guilt free trip. Feeding the goats and sheep was a lot of fun, they are all eager to get a treat when they see you walk by with a bag of food for them. The reptile house espcially had a cool slection of fun lizards, skinks and snakes. I enjoyed my visit greatly and would reccomend it again.

It s a nice place. Good membership prices. It s not a big city zoo but they have a good variety of animals. I really enjoyed my visit. They also have shows and interactive classes where you can learn about and feed certain monkeys. It costs extra (a few dollars) but it s well worth it.

I am a part time nanny and I take the kids I take care of here once a month. They can never get enough! They try to do lots of educational things there. Which is great for a wild 5 year old boy. I am wanting to work at a zoo myself one day and I believe everyone who works here really and truly loves each animal. The only suggestion I have for this place is to always have a concession stand open. If you have young kids or watch young kids like myself this is a really great place to visit.

The Austin zoo has many great exhibits for families. Most if not all of the animals are rescues however there is still a great variety. My favorite part of the zoo is how close you are able to get to the animals. Make sure you take your kids on the train ride!

Fun time with family. It is a nice small clean zoo. If you want to spend time with your family in a nice environment, this is it.

Its not as good as the San Antonio zoo but it was good

Nice zoo. Was great to see this zoo rehabilitation animals.Staff very friendly.

Great place for a family outing! Everyone was friendly and helpful. My grandson thoroughly enjoyed our trip to this amazing and well kept zoo.

Many animals. We started with the barn animals. Fed the goats, alpacas, deer, and some sheep. It took us a little over two hours to go around the grounds. I did the mistake to wear flip flops. Best to wear sneakers because there is no pavement. Take insect repellent and drinking water. There are no drinking fountains. Plenty of picnic tables. Overall we had a nice time.

Pretty impressed, good staff, good variety in my mind of animals.

A smaller zoo than expected, but allows a much more interactive experience. Grounds were well kept. Environment was much better/different than bigger zoos.

Surprisingly neat place. You can get really close to the Tigers and cougars and you can even see them eat steak for lunch. The whole tour can be 1 to 2 hours to take your time and appreciate all of the different animals there. I even saw an area where you can have birthday parties and there is a train you can take around the grounds which we will do next time. Very nicely maintained and cared for

The animals are more up close than most zoos I have seen. It wasn't too crowded and the staff was as very friendly. Great prices! We loved it

I love this place so much. Great cause. Beautiful space. Really accessible for kids.

We ve always had a positive experience here. It s small and easy to navigate. The kids all seem to enjoy the train ride. Boo at the Zoo is always a hit!

We love to visit the Austin Zoo! All of the animals are so close and the staff are friendly. Highly recommend for a fun walking date or a family outing.

Closest I have ever been or hope to be to lions. The animals, especially the big cats, seem happy and at ease.

This is not a Zoo. It's not worth to pay for it because they don't have much Animals that kids really wanna see such Elephant . And lots of that could hurt your kids.

Definitely surprised me to see how many animals this facility has! Albeit, it is still a "small" zoo since there is not much else other than a small train ride behind the park. Zoo keeper talks are aplenty and the staff are happy to answer you and your kids' questions!

Overall, give this zoo a consideration if you find yourself in Austin with children; one of the few family friendly option available!

Honestly disappointed in this place and the care they show for their animals. My kid is animal obsessed, but I will not be contributing to this place anymore. I expect better out of Austin Zoo, and the city of Austin too.

All of the animals here cannot be released into the wild for some reason. You trade off seeing some of the really exotic anamals that you see somewhere like San Antonio Zoo for knowing the animals are not being caged for your entertainment. For us, this is a very good trade-off.

Great little zoo! I'm not usually a fan of zoos but all of the animals here were rescued. Nice little day activity with a friend.

Wonderful place to view rescued wild animals and very educational. Train takes you around property for fun time.

A special place to take the kids. Even the adult kids :-)

This is a rescue zoo, so not the million dollar animal enclosures you see at big city zoo's. Great price if get the groupon. Don't go on a really hot day or you won't see much because the animals are all sleeping in the shade or their pens where you can't see them. Nice variety of animals but if you're looking to see elephants or rhinos this is not the zoo for you. Lots of big cats! Train ride is fun especially if you have little ones.

A waste of time and money. You go there to see pictures. Just save your energy and go to Google to see pictures for free.
They have closed most of the perimeters limiting access to the few animals they have. you could basically see about 10 animals and it'll conclude your visit.

Diamond in the rough. On approach and first glance you might start to regret your trip decision and bail. I suggest you give this place a chance. I'm spoiled by OKCs classy zoo experience but this was an enjoyable and refreshing smaller zoo.

this zoo is very caring about there animals will come back soon

Family fun. Lots of animals. The train ride was awesome. My kids enjoyed it!