Austin Zoo and Animal Sanctuary Reviews

Love the Austin Zoo and how they have animals who have been rescued!

This zoo was great and just the right size for my kids. We've been to a few zoos, like the Houston Zoo and San Diego and they're big enough that they seem to be cities of their own! My children were able to walk the entire zoo without getting too tired or losing interest. Their gift shop had cool toys. We genuinely enjoyed the entire zoo.

Edit: I wanted to add after the fact that the people who worked here were all amazing as well. They were kind and all had smiles on their faces. They all seemed interested in what my kids had to say or had awesome answers when we asked questions. We'll definitely be going back next time we're in Austin.

This was an amazing place! We are in town for a conference and drive out there this morning to visit and we loved it! When we are back in town we will definitely visit again. It only took us about an hour at the Zoo. If my child has been with us it would have taken longer!

Can't wait to go back and visit my animal friends! I love how all of the animals are rescues! Didn't get to ride the train, as we were too late. Unfortunately due to the pandemic, a lot of areas were closed off, but we will be back once it's safe

Smaller than expected, 100% donation zoo. All animals are rescue , found or donated.
Totally for children.

The train ride was cute and we went at 11am so we got to see all the animals out eating their breakfast.

The children & I had lots of fun! The turtles are huge!! The babies were 400 plus pounds!

Gravel & dirt rustic pathways .
I will go again for sure! Petting zoo bring a bag of feed with you from the gift shop. You will have so much fun!

Good place for little kids.. good amount of animals.

Really great place and I enjoyed the fact they care so much for the animals

Took the kids to the Zoo, it was hot but we enjoyed our time there looking at the lions and bears, think kids enjoyed the monkeys more. Train ride was nice.

Beautiful location especially for a zoo! As others have mentioned, this is not your typical zoo which our family loved. There are various types of rescue animals scattered throughout who all seem to be well loved and taken care of by the park staff. Visit with an open heart and mind, you won't be disappointed!

Fantastic place, lots of animals being well taken care of

Amazing animals wear comfortable closed toed shoes and bring snack and drinks

Small and quant. Great place for the family especially for small children. It's the right size for small children.

It is beautiful, it is seen that the animals are very well cared for, the only thing is that a person was in a wheelchair and if it was very difficult to move, that's why I put 4 stars.

It's pretty, the animals looks that are taken very well, the only is that in our group there was a person wit wheel chair and it was hard to move around, that's the reason I give 4 stars. Other than that it was a great visit

Kind people. Sweet animals that have a better life now.

Smaller zoo but cute, and good exercise walking on the uneven paths.

me and my family had such a good visit. it was not a far drive. the animals were great to see, more than what i expected.

Austin Zoo is more of a Rescue Sanctuary than a traditional zoo but it's quite fun and there are a variety of animals.

It was okay but they didn't have the most common of zoo animals. If you're satisfied with lions and tigers and bears then this is your place. Nothing exotic here.

Over all, good experience but, I made the mistake of coming with higher expectations. DO NOT come expecting the San Diego, Houston, or even the Audubon Zoo... This is a small rescue zoo, it is what it is. Throughout the day, my creative side distracted me with ideas that would have made the experience more appealing but, I won't go into that here. The peacocks roaming around were a hit. For the most part, the animals seemed happy, as well as the staff. Very friendly. To me that is more important than the sub-par food and lack of amenities/activities. I do recommend going early in the morning for a better chance at seeing the animals, especially during the hot Texas summer months. Will return to bring my kiddos someday soon for the experience.

Awesome little zoo. The kids had fun. Cool mini train. Very affordable for the whole family. There is usaly a groopon. Very nice and friendly staff. Bring an ice chest and have a picnic. No real food or drink options except a soda machines. It's about a 4-5 hour experience. Call ahed to find out if there will be any feedings, they are awesome and educational for the kids and kids at heart. BTW this is a non profit animal rescue!

It's very small and not well kept up. When my fiancee and I went, we were attacked by bees that were gathered at various garbage cans.

This place is always fun, and forever growing. The people there are pleasant and informed.

This was Very disappoinment!! It was 107 ,ok, I get it after all.it is summer. But those animals had green water if any. There were 3 bears in one small cage ,unable to see if there was any water. They could barley move. More than half the animals we could not see and the ones we did, looked like they had no way to cool down. Oh and that poor donkey was so very thin his back saged and you could see all his ribs. Very disappointed. Do not recommend. Visiting from California.

Fun, authentically independent zoo. You can see lots of animals. A few empty cages. Feed the friendly goats and smell the manure.

I thought this was going to be an actual AZA Government funded or Conservation Zoo. It's a sanctuary zoo that doesn't seem to get much of a budget. Most of the animal cages look like a dirty backyard with the exception of a few exhibits that look like actual Zoo exhibits. The animals look well taken care of though. I guess if I knew what kind of Zoo it actually was I wouldn't of had as high of an expectation. The parking is kinda bad so get there early. Their admission line was about a 20+ min wait. I won't be returning.

Unique zoo. You can get really close to the animals.

I didn't see we're the animals food was and you could only feed like goats and three other speshies,this zoo I don't recommend as much because it's so expensive like $40 for a family of 3 adults and 1 todler 3 years old plus $3 a person for the train ride and like $3 to $5 on snaks plus if you want to donate to the animals in there cages Wich make you feel guilty and some animals don't show up so you can see them or there so laisy. The zoo is also limited in parking so it's difficult to find a good spot.but at least you get to get really close to the big fetherd birds.

small but cute place. every animal has its own story, which makes Austin ZOO very special place. like coming back there from time to time.

Small but cute place with lots of animals that have been rescued.

The Austin Zoo is a great place to take younger children. You can walk the entire zoo in under 2 hours. The trails are mainly unpaved and there are some slight hills, so wear comfortable walking shoes. Don't miss the train ride for $2.50 a person and the bags for feed for $2. The best time to come is in the mornings when the animals are the most active. This morning we enjoyed watching the three new bear cubs play. This is a great place to learn about animal rescue. Once we brought in donations of toys for the animals and saw them immediately put to use!

Good place to take the kids to get outside and get some exercise over the summer

Aside from my step son getting heat exhaustion after being there for an hour or so, the staff was AMAZING! They even gave us passes to go back again because we had just gotten there when all that happened. I can't wait to check out the rest of the zoo.

Very casual zoo, no bells and whistles but you get pretty close to animals. Peacocks walking everywhere. Closes at 5 though, so be sure to arrive early - it takes about an hour for a full tour, possibly more with children and stopping for food. Be sure to check out the capybaras, they're really cute!

We are members and love the Austin Zoo! Lots of shade, easy to walk around with littles. We love that if you walk a certain way around the zoo the train is the last stop. They have dipping dots ice cream or snow cones for hot days! Make sure you get animal feed to feed the goats and deer.

Its sad couse they don't set animals free they feed them poorly dont waist youre mony on this

This was literally the worst zoo experience I have ever had. The zoo was so small and most of the animals were in small cages and looked depressed. On top of that the ticket lady was rude. There was literally nothing enjoyable about the Austin zoo. I have been to many zoo's, including small zoo's and usually enjoy the zoo, but this one was not enjoyable at all. I do not recommend.

This is a small nonprofit zoo but the animal verity was worth the visit. Can't wait to go back.

Great little zoo. Perfect little day outing for the kids. Train ride is fun and kids love feeding the animals.

Very small zoo, but really great. Interesting selection of animals, good exhibits. Would have liked some more benches on the main trails and some more concessions.

If you're expecting a Large Citified Zoo, this is not it. However, this is a GREAT Zoo because they take animals that other people cannot take care of or animals that have been hurt. This is great for anyone who loves animals. There are lots of animals from all over the world and lots of peacocks freely roaming throughout the zoo. Something for everyone. I also love how the you can get fairly close to the animals so you can see them up close and personal. Watching their behaviors and having fun with your family, what more could you want.

Impressive rescue zoo. We saw lions and tigers and bears.

Great rescue zoo . Animals are well taken care of and enclosures are very clean and spacious. All the animals seemed very happy the staff is very knowledgeable and friendly. A great day trip.

They have the best staff and plenty of parking but make sure to wear good shoes

I really enjoyed myself here. It is a small zoo, so if you're from someplace larger then Austin, don't expect anything major. We found a discount that made it a good size for the price. They are all rescue animals which makes it fun to read about all the ways the animals got there. Even on a really hot day, we got to see most of the animals, though many were hiding in the shade. The proximity to the pens and the usually close to 360 views made it even easier to see the zoo animals. The criticisms of fat petting zoo animals were legitimate, but I've never seen petting zoo animals that were fat from all the food. There was plenty of shade, and the pathways were well kept.

If you're expecting a large zoo, like San Diego or Fort Worth you'll be sorely disappointed. This is a rescue zoo, and it's a good one. They have a pretty good variety, you can feed some of the animals, and they have a mini train ride around the zoo. A really great place for families with small kids.

I can't wait to go again. The train ride was nice and long. But the animals and zoo keepers were above expectations.

Waste of money..Most exhibits are closed....the lions have very little water for such big animals and the water they did have was green..i don't recommend this place and will never go back

Lovely zoo!!! Best zoo in Texas. I also like the Austin Nature & Science Center, but here s a list of reasons why I enjoyed the Austin Zoo:
1) Almost every animal (I think except the prairie dogs) have a plaque that say where the animals come from. To animal lovers, this is a big deal. It shows that these animals were acquired humanely. They weren t purchased or traded. They are all surrendered or rescued. This was a huge deal to me and I appreciate it so much.
2) Fun interactions! I loved feeding the alpacas and goats etc so much, I went back to the gift shop for more feed! I went November 1st 2020 and feed costs just $3! That s a great value for the fun and interaction.
3) All kinds of animals- monkeys and large cats and birds etc. I loved the variety of animals they served
4) All the animals had enrichment!!! Every single enclosure had toys or a fun way to feed the animals. The animals just seemed really well cared for
5) They have a fun train. To ride the train was $5, and it was a fun little ride. Really nice if someone if your party wants to just sit down but still have a good time

Great place to spend a few hours. Lots of families with kids

Great Zoo that rescues & takes surrendered animals. Clean & worth the visit! You can take in your own water & snacks. We will be back.

We took our grandkids and family who were visiting and they loved it as did we! Everything was family friendly and the staff were extremely polite and helpful. I would recommend for sure.

To be the zologico of the capital of texas. It is very neglected, full of forest, the roads are not even in conditions

It was ok ... they need to work on getting more animals

Good for what it is. Small but seems to be well run

Austin Zoo is a really special place! I sure love the stories about all the rescued animals!

Had a great time, love what they are doing for these rescued animals.

SO incredibly happy this "zoo" is an animal sanctuary .. amazing time, some sad stories but happy endings

I purchased 2 adults and one child ticket to the zoo. I never got my confirmation email. So I printed the web order confirmation. When I got to the admission stand the woman said I only purchased 3 child admissions so I would have to pay the difference. She said it happens all the time. I refused to pay the difference because I know what I paid for. She made a scene and called the manager who refused my admission unless I paid the difference. I WAS HUMILIATED. If this happens all the time you may want to look into why this is happening on you website so that folks who came to support your business don't get embarrassed at checkout. It was just poor customer service and I will not support an entertainment business who cannot understand that the customer experience is what you selling. I hope you know how sad that is for the poor animals you have rescued.

Pretty small not that many varieties! Watch out when u walk around there's bunch of little snakes running around.

Super great place to take your little ones! This is the best zoo experience I have ever had! Super and open place! definitely a must do if you re ever in Austin.

It's more of a sanctuary than a zoo, but if your heart isn't full when you leave, then you may not have a heart

Such a great place to visit. The animals are well taken care of & the workers are so nice & caring . Their dedication is noticeable. Thank all of you for your good/hard work . Your a blessing for all the rescues.

This place is 15 acres of many different species of rescued animals. You can pet and feed llamas, alpacas, sheep and goats. There is a small food truck with snow cones, pizza, hotdogs and snacks. Restrooms are clean. Well worth the price of admission.

50% of cages where empty. Only half of the remaining animals were not visible. Not a very big zoo..resuce zoo.

Well shaded and the animals are friendly. Would recommend coming here in the morning during the summer because the animals sleep through the heat of the day.