Austin Zoo and Animal Sanctuary Reviews

My happy place! Great place to learn and to relax and take in sights and sounds of nature and people communing together.

Absolutely horrible im from Minnesota and I was in Texas for a vacation with my gf and 5 month old son and we decided to go to the zoo for a fun family experience that we haven't seen before as we got in the zoo my gf and I instantly knew that most of the exhibits where way to small for the animals do not go to the Austin zoo if you care for animals there are many other zoos that are actually acredted and care for the animals and not mistreat the animals

Kids loved it!! Be aware of the train schedule if that s something your hoping to do.

It is not a traditional zoo but a very nice rescue zoo. There are different animals and each has a story on how they got there. Peacocks roam and farm area where animals can be fed. Buy the feed at check-in. Wonderful place to take the kids and enjoy the area.

Worst experience I ever had in a zoo, paid full price and half of the exhibit were blocked off, or closed. This was not noted online prior to going. Very disappointed.

I just love this place (and so does my daughter)! Easy fun day and I love that I'm supporting a rescue zoo, not a captivity one.

Such a cute little zoo!

The zoo is super small, can do a full walk through in an hour or less, but worth it for younger children.

Came from the houston, Texas area for our Little ones 4th birthday & it was the perfect size for her.
The train ride is really fast, but the little one loves any train ride.
Only complaint is some of the staff, zookeepers out in the park, need to have a class to teach them how to be friendly and respectful to coustomers.
One woman around the turtles the day we visited was very rude, for no apparent reason.

No really a zoo, it actually a wild animal rescue facility. Lots of great animals, all have posted stories of how they ended up there. Great alternative to large state zoos.

Loved it. It is small but so worth it. Great place to take the children

Austin zoo is the best because it's also a sanctuary. They never sell or buy animals for profit. The animals have a loving home here and are really taken care of. Missed the train last time but will be back soon when it cools down outside :)

ALL of the animals are rescue. If that's not enough, all of them are in their forever homes here. Bring good shoes and the kids! This is an excellent experience for the little ones. They also have a train that runs at the top of every hour. Its educational and just plain amazing.

Covid 19 safety features are in place. Great place to get the kids out of the house!

Loved the place. It was not crowded and huge unlike other commercialized zoos. We spent around 3 hours. Best part was feeding the goats, lamas and deers. And oh loved the peacocks and other birds freely walking around us. We also watched a zoo staff feeding the mountain lions. The zoo staff are committed people and very friendly (both with us and with the animals :-) ). A day well spent!

The wildlife sanctuary is a great place to visit! It's a small, but inexpensive, zoo with every animal a rescue from the Austin area. There are restaurants and national parks nearby to add to a day trip.

It's really just and animal rescue more than a zoo.

Great value. Small, but just right for my young granchildren.

This is a rescue zoo with no financial assistance from local governments. Yet, it's not too commercialized as other zoos are.

Try not to go when it's too hot during the day. It's better to go when they open. Check out their website before you go.

Our entire family enjoyed this zoo.

Fun little zoo. Closest I have been to an adult male lion. Kids loved feeding the deer, llama, and other hooved animals.

This is more a sanctuary than a zoo. Really well cared for.

Went today with the family, and half of the animals were either under vet care, or not present for some other reason. The ones that were there were so lethargic we were worried they weren t alive. Definitely wasted the money driving to the zoo and paying the admission.

Absolutely loved it. For Covid19 there is a predefined loop. We brought our 16 month old daughter who loved the train ride and feeding the animals (there are a few animals you can feed, you buy the feed for $3.25). The train ride is $5 per person but it takes you on a hill country ride. There are tons of wonderful animals including a Zebra !!!

I wouldn't reccomend this place. They're all rescue animals, which is great! But they all look sad and not very well taken care of. The place is thrown together and very boring.

My family and I love this place. Totally worth it to get the year membership.

Nice place but some very skinny animals and not very well cared for and more animals are missing are few.

I've been to other zoos that have much more to offer so it is difficult to rate this any higher than 3 stars. Also, not a wheelchair or stroller friendly location since the majority of the park has dirt/rock paths. There were several of us struggling to get our strollers uphill.

It was great to see so many saved animals in one place.

Loved this zoo. The workers were around cleaning cages. So I felt like the places was well kept. And god bless them for rescuing animals.

We love that all the animals are rescued in some way!! Makes it easy to want to go see them over and over.

I do not recommend. If you are looking for a great zoo go to Houston or Dallas.

Great place to take young children for an outing. Our son really enjoyed the train ride and feeding the animals. I also like that it's a rescue zoo. We'll be back.

Not a big as other zoos, but you can get closer to many of the animals. They seem very well cared for.

Took my girlfriend her on our first date ever. It was the best. Love you Erika Q.

This great little Zoo is doing great work rescuing animals. All of the staff members are very caring and do great work caring for the animals and educating about conservation.

Cute zoo, amazing animals and experience with a good cause

Not the best zoo I have visited. They didn't have many animals. The kids enjoyed feeding the goats and the deer. We rode the train, it was okay as well. Lots of bees all over the place. Got snacks and had to wait in a very long line while some lady in front of us ordered for about 20 -30 people. Overall decent experience for a one time visit. The San Antonio zoo is far better. I was also very upset that they had no fish. Being a zoo you would think they would have at least some aquatic animals but they had none.

We had a great time at the zoo today. Arrive early (we got there at 10 a.m.) when most animals are active and many are eating breakfast. Don't skip the 15-minute train ride at the end. You can purchase water, popsicles, goat food, and stuffed animals in a socially distance store at the end of the trail.

Very nice sanctuary. The hybrid wolves are amazing along with all the other animals. My girls had a blast. The train ride was also fun!

The animals look healthy and have great personalities. It was a good experience feeding the alpacas. Would go again!

LOVED IT! I was pleasantly surprised with the experience and quality of the Austin Zoo! Very inexpensive and great memories will be made. WONDERFUL time and I will be going back!

We don't know what to expect, because it is a rescue zoo, we are very surprised. It's not a big zoo like a big one, but there are many beautiful animals around the world. We were fed with big animals when we were there, and it was nice to see them searching for their food. I found this very interesting. Walking is Quite good, but on the uneven ground. Recommend everyone to come and give yourself a good two-hour visit. If you have children, they have a small train, which seems to be very popular.

This is a rescue zoo so it's a really wide and interesting selection of animals. Some if the fun is seeing how animals got there, like the binturong that was on someone's porch. How the hell does a binturong end up on someone's porch!? Anyway, it's now at the Austin Zoo, yay!
The enclosures are pretty basic, which means a lot of wire fencing. If you are looking to do photography, bring a camera that can focus beyond the fencing. That being said, the bigger animals have a lot of space and they try to provide a lot of stimulus for the animals. It's not going to blow you away, but it's quaint and it's saving animals that would otherwise be put down or living in bad conditions so it's awesome for that! Kids get a good close up if a lot of animals.

Our family loves the Austin Zoo! We bought the annual pass and go frequently. You have to understand that this zoo is a rescue facility, and the zoo operates on donations. There are a good variety of animals, and depending on the time of day you choose to go, they are very active.

The staff takes incredible care of the animals and are very friendly and knowledgeable when you all then questions. The food is moderately priced, and you will need a few extra dollars to ride the train. The parking is a little tight and in a dirt lot, but staff is there to help you find open spots.

I can't stress how awesome the staff is at Austin Zoo! Take your kids and have a fun time!

Nice easy zoo. Only rescued animals makes it special.

My family and I try to go to the Austin Zoo as much as is available. The staff is always friendly and I know that my money is going back to caring for the animals. As a desired monkey owner, I find it interesting to read about where each animal came from whether rescued or surrendered. I would recommend anyone in the area to visit the Austin Zoo, 1) to support a local non profit organization and 2) it's perfect for all ages but find it most age appropriate for my 5 year old son and younger children as it's large enough to give the zoo feeling but small enough to feel comfortable with your child being outside of a stroller.

Been here many times and most recently with my 2 young girls. The animals were all out if you go in the morning. We saw some amazing bear cubs playing, lions and monkeys. All so cool! The only reason I rated 4 is because this place sucks for strollers! The natural gravel makes is so difficult to push two babies around.

This isn't your average zoo. This is technically an animal sanctuary for rescued animals. It is privately owned and fairly small. The animals look healthy and happy, and that's what matters most. We will definitely be going back when we are back in Austin.

It's beautiful that these animals are given refuge when they "retire". It's better to keep that in mind when visiting because many of them sleep a lot or seem tired. Wonderful, quiet spot.

This is the perfect place to take little ones for the zoo experience. Not too big but just big enough. Nice layout and staff is extremely courteous.

This zoo is quite small. If you are looking for a day out I would go to waco zoo.

It is great if you look at what it really is, more of a rescue than a huge zoo. No need to make comparisons to Houston zoo. Employees and animals alike are very happy. Very clean environment. Awesome place to take the kids. They have interactive animal talks daily. Free parking. Prices are reasonable. Highly recommended.

This is a great place for anyone that likes animals!

Many different exotic animals. Each animal has a sign near the enclosure that details where they came from or how the were rescued

It is a small park. I liked visiting it. I give it 4 stars because it does not have bathrooms, at the moment they are portable and in poor condition. However, the animals seem to me to be in good condition, they are rescued animals. It is an easy and fast park to explore. It has no food places.

I will say the san Antonio zoo and Houston zoo is better and much larger. Wasn't all that impressed

Nice zoo. Essentially a rescue for the animals. They are well taken care of and their facilities are in good standing

The way the animals are cared for and the animals I got to see while there was very educational and eye opening experience.

This place is super kid friendly and very well taken care of. There are peacocks walking around and the fact that you can feed some animals make the kiddos enjoy even more.

Family loved it
Very clean and friendly staff lots of animals!

Firstly it is cheap and good for little kids to feed some animals and have fun.I went for my birthday, soo most of the animals that were supposed to be there weren't, and the ones that were looked extremely sad. Usually that's what I expect to see in a zoo because they ARE in captivity but these animal just made me feel supper sad for them and some should be in colder habitats I feel it was too hot for them. Over all an ok place, but I woldnt go back.

The best day ever it had really cool animals i will recommend the best place were to see animals i liked were the birds would say hello thank you Austin Zoo

Super clean, great staff, small but very comfort, good price. All the animals looks in good shape and healthy.

My girlfriend and I decided to go to the Austin Zoo on Valentine's Day 2014 since it was a beautiful morning and afternoon. She had been before and told me that it was basically just a bunch of farm animals like pigs, goats and llamas. She was either completely out of her mind or the place made some major improvements. This zoo is AMAZING!

First things first. PEACOCKS! There are peacocks everywhere! Just walking around, digging holes, looking majestic and all outside of any confinement. They have like 5 tigers, a lion and some leopards. As well as a ton of monkeys and some foxes as well. It's a really neat place to take your kids if you have them. I don't have kids but if I did, they would enjoy it. Not only for the animals but also for the train! They have a train that goes around the zoo kind of like the one at Zilker Park if you've ever been there.

All in all, the Austin Zoo was a wonderful experience and I highly recommend it. They could use the community's support since they are an animal sanctuary as well.

Small privately owned zoo so don t expect a lot from this place. It was clean over all but the vending machines do not work properly.

My family and I went here during spring break. It was a really great experience! They have a lot of educational shows, and different kinds of animals.