Calgary Zoo Reviews

Zoo lights was very cool. I don t think it was the full price of the zoo so if you want to see a great display of for a decent price go to zoo lights. It take a decent hour and a half to see all of the displays they have set up. It s a great way to get in the holiday spirit, with lots of activities for kids to do on along the walk. There are a few shops open to get a hot chocolate or a snack. There are no animals to see, as I m sure they are all in their shelters for the night, but that was ok for me as the ticket isn t full price. My favourite part was the botanical garden decorated for a story book theme. This years was Snow White and the seven dwarves. The zoo in the summer is great as well.

I love the Calgary Zoo, I found with Panda area closed it was very expensive if that is what judged on. I feel the money sent is more a donation to the Zoo which I am absolutely ok with.

Loved going to see the animals! There's lots of new animals to see and the new exhibits are a bit more interactive like the penguins and lemurs. Going to the zoo is definitely a family friendly activity and could be enjoyed year round! Best bet for tickets is to buy online and save a bit or buy in person if you have an AMA card as they offer savings there too. Otherwise it can be pricey to go.

Calgary zoo is so much better then edmonton's, only thing we missed were the giant pandas, but they were heading back to china, due to bamboo issues.

My kids had a blast, will return in the near future

Zoo is great. Food is crazy expensive. $7.00 for a small sandwich. Next time we'd bring our own snacks.

They definitely need some better organization... Maybe more maps and directional signs. Wider trails would be great too!

Love this place! I bring my daughter here multiple times a year and it's always a great time. I highly suggest getting the memberships if you are planning on going twice or more in a year.

One of the best zoos I ve visited. Excellent exhibits and very knowledgeable team.

Love the zoo so much, it is one of the best places in the world.
All the staff are absolutely fantastic. The my family is especially fond of Jordan, he is the most amazing teacher. He always has new interesting animal facts every time we see him and always seems genuinely excited to share what he know.

Going for the Panda breakfast is an awesome way to see the Pandas. We went on a Thursday and it was a small group so we had a long time viewing the Pandas without feeling crowded or rushed. Definitely a great way to see the popular animals. The breakfast buffet was delicious which is an added bonus.

Went for zoo lights. They sure put on a good light display covering a good portion of the zoo. Takes just over 1 hour, probably more for a family.

Pros: The Zoo is an amazing place to visit with your family or alone.

Advice: Make sure you get rest before your adventure because there s a lot of walking involved. Also maybe eat something before coming to the Zoo or bring snacks because the food is expensive. Best time to go is in the Summer.

Cons: During the winter it doesn t have much to offer in the way of animals.

Always a great time! So many great enclosures and well taken care of animals, plus lots of rest and play areas for families!

First time going to the zoo lights was great had the best time with my girlfriend. The lights were breath taking

Zoo lights is gorgeous and fun! Cold but they have bonfires for warmth. Very good experience.

Such a great experience, the staff were so friendly

Great experience. Highly recommended going here. Great way to spend many hours. Be prepared for the weather, and be patient when looking for animals

Zoo lights are an incredible place to take friends, partners and family. Bring a camera because it's a very photogenic and beautiful place!

Very beautiful set up. If anyone thinks it is expensive there are discounts. Online tickets saves $3.00, AMA save $6.00 at the gate. Membership is worth it if you live in the area. Screaming kid was a negative. :). And the dinosaurs just stood there.

Always a great and exciting place for our family. Loved the penguins and how close you can get to them. Didn t have enough time to see the whole zoo, which is great to explore new areas.

Wonderful place. Best zoo I've been to in a while. All kinds of animals, and really friendly staff.

Only reason for 4 stars instead of 5, is the price. Really REALLY expensive. 2 adults admission is over $60.00. A drink from the vending machines is $3.50, etc.

Other than that, wonderful.

Fun but disappointed that wee not told about closed exhibits

Besides how busy it was it was great overall. Bears were my favourite. Wish they had rules against strollers and families shouldn't be able to come in groups of 30.

Really fun zoo. Lots to see and very interesting demonstrations.

The Calgary zoo is a great place to see, for kids and adults alike. They have a great representation of many different animals which is always nice to see. A note to consider though, the zoo is quite expansive so if you are wanting to see most of the animals, allow most of the day. And if you are taking kids, a helpful suggestion is to pack a picnic lunch. The food line ups tend to get a bit long at lunch time. There are tons of pretty picnic spots scattered throughout the zoo.

We ve gone there on many weekends, some that were busy weekends like Mother s Day and half their food shops are never open. Tough to get food and drinks when not many of the shops are open. Overall it s a great zoo, but when you have hungry kids they need to eat!

This is such a fun place for taking the kids or even without the kids. My husband and I with our 3 kids had a blast! There are lots of animals and they are right there almost within arms reach but you dont touch them of course! The penguins were my favorite. They make it so much fun to see. All the staff were smiling and friendly. I didnt see one sour face! That's such a great thing for a good experience in my opinion. We spent 4 hours there and probably could have spent more but the kids legs were getting restless! I did notice as we were leaving they rent out wagons! I would have gotten one so for anyone planning check that out! I would come here again.

Such an amazing place! Very clean and so many animals.

The Calgary Zoo is a great place to take your kids. Lots of stuff to do and lots of animals to see

We love this zoo and we really think the value for being an engage or inspire member is worth it. For a Single visit, the zoo is too expensive for the small zoo that it is. But if you get the engage or Inspire membership, it s great. The passes pay for themselves in 2-3 visits, and you have a whole year to enjoy the zoo. We ve been at least 20 if not more times this year. We love to go just because it s a great place to walk and fun to see the animals and now that we have the passes, it s a completely free thing to do for us.

Love the pandas and the penguins and the hippos were just a joy to watch. The lions just laid there unless it was feeding time. I feel like the Canadian wild doesn't get much love but one of these days I will walk through it. My children loves the dinosaur section, but we do miss the moving dinosaurs. Bring those back please!

We visited Calgary Zoo in winter while some of the areas were closed, yet we still spent a full day exploring everything else this deceptively large place has to offer. One of the highlights has to be the open Penguin enclosure, with unimpressed views of these magnificent creatures. We would highly recommend a trip to Calgary Zoo to families of all sizes.

The zoo is nice but not very much actually happens or changes there. However, for young children, visiting the zoo can be a great learning experience and also lots of fun. After a while it can get quite boring and all the walking can be quite tiring so be sure to bring water and snacks so you don't need to buy the overpriced (and I mean imagine the opposite of Costco) food they sell.

Zoo was ok. Good for kids, my daughter really enjoyed the animals. The restaurant was excellent food was very good and cheap, thanks to Gregory our waitress for the good service. Tiger training was cool as well

I nvr got to see the pandas and the dragons, also the baboon wasn't around, did he leave?

The zoo is a always a great place to take the kids and cold days mean no crowds and the opportunity to see the animals in a different way. We were lucky enough to see a baby black and white colobus on our last visit. They were in the Gorilla enclosure (their usual spot is around the corner to the left).

Great place to visit, be that you're local (take your kids, very popular with them) or just visiting. The entrance fee is around 25$ plus GST. But it's totally worth it, as you can see some animals adapted to tundra weather like the snow-leopard, mountain goats and sheep, reindeer, elk, grizzly bears etc. which you don't get to see in other zoos of the world. There are also animals from African savannah like lions, giraffes, hippos and lemurs, and Asian favorites like tigers and pandas.

Great zoo. Clean washrooms, water fountains everywhere.

Great for a day out. Especially liked the engaging playground. The pandas are too cute!

Great variety of animals in nice enclosures. While the wild cant ever be replicated the animals all looked healthy and had enrichment items in their enclosures to keep them occupied.

Would definitely return when the weather's a bit warmer!

I love my zoo. The Calgary Zoo is absolutely amazing. They have done well to put everything back together since the floods. Google "2013 Calgary flood". We now have Panda Passage. It's really cool to have the pandas back.

Beautiful with variety of animals. Need a day to explore and enjoy some beautiful nature

We enjoyed our trip to Calgary Zoo. There is lots of walking but it's ok especially when you see exicited shows.

Lots of cool animals. With the covid social distancing there are waits for exhibits, and sometimes there's a long walk between exhibits. However, the penguins are extremely cool (literally) and the exhibit is well done.
The admission is pricey, you pay for parking, and the refreshments are not cheap, so come with a full wallet.

I can see the cost to go in BUT the price to park is a bit ridiculous. $12..even if you go for 3 hours. And not with cash..but to be paid with a card. The rest of the day was good. Look forward to going again. Adult ages start at 16.not a cheap day...but we only do it once a year..so it was ok. Lots to see..lot of walking

Panda bears were great. I could see the gorillas very well.

Always love going here. Tons of animals to see. A little overpriced for the entrance fee.

Members for several years now, still love the place.

Love Calgary zoo. A year pass might be a nice idea.

Despite a global pandemic the Calgary Zoo does a great job of keeping everyone safe and still providing a fun environment. Food is a little expensive, however if you have a pass then you get 10% off your meal when you show your membership. They also just opened a new bug park that is awesome for all ages!! Highly recommended the Calgary zoo.

Great Place to take your family or go with friends. Highly recommend to anyone. Be prepared to look around for parking if you go after 10am. luckily they have quite a few lots available to chose from. Bring your own food though as like most places food is over priced.

Omg where do i start, honestly one of the nicer zoo's i have been too all over! Tons of walking so make sure you got good footwear and tons of water! Animals ate3 well fed and taken care of ......we went later in day less people and the animals where getting fed most spots which was cool to experience! Love this zoo !!!

So expensive to get in! If it were a little cheaper for the children i bet this place would be packed

The penguin walk was amazing! So much fun for my family. Unfortunately, due to the season, not all exhibits were open. We'll certainly be back!

Awesome z00 I loved it 4hours seeing wonderful animals panda bears where so cute

My daughter loves this place, a year pass is a very very reasonable price.

The Zoo is beautiful all seasons of the year! Please go! Support!

Great place for both adults and kids.
Have been zoo membership for years and which have brought lots of happiness to my family.
Especially this year with the adorable pandas coming in, we have been visiting zoo more often.
Recommend everyone who have kids to get a membership.

Nice zoo, but unfortunately very crowded keeping it hard to keep social distance.

Calgary Zoo seems to be very hit-or-miss. Some days are fantastic others are mediocre. This last Saturday there was limited staff available, only 2 places open for food, and several pathways closed as crews set up lights, thus only 3 stars. Previous have merited 4 or 5 stars, however not this past weekend.

Love this place. If I lived in Calgary, I would be there every weekend!! The Sunday Safari Brunch was incredible.

No fair entry button to buy tickets online? Are the fair entry tickets available in-store or not at all?

World class facility. We'll laid out and maintained with educated and helpful staff. Allow at least 3 hours and even longer for a crowded day.

Easy to walk around and plenty to see. Be careful, because if the day is too warm many of the animals will of course not want to be doing much and trying their best to hide in the shade if they can.

Wonderful zoo with very friendly staff. was a great family outing

Great variety, friendly staff. Overall a really good experience. Would be even better if you had kids, although I could see the whole thing being too much for little ones. Finally, we went during the week and it wasn't too busy. I can see this placing being packed on a weekend.

Great place to take your family. Passes are reasonably priced. The grounds are very clean and you can tell the animals are looked after

My favorite zoo experience thus far in any city! Loved all the animals exhibits even though it was freezing outside. The price may be high but it is so worth it!

If you love animals, this is the place for you! Animals here like early mornings on warm days in spring.

Had an amazing time with my family, would highly recommend going here.

So many hours spent here on all the different exhibits! Great setup and variety of animals as well as activities throughout the zoo! Parking was $12 which seems kind of expensive as well as almost $75 general admission for 2 ppl so definitely not an option for someone on a budget! Overall great place though and would recommend!

The Calgary Zoo is a great space to spend some time. Lots of great exhibits and informational panels. The Dino park could use some maintenance though.

Loved it .. first time going .. beautiful zoo .. if you get the chance definitely go !!!

Its fun to go here on school field trips. The animals are adorable and interesting to see

Zoo lights is an awesome, family friendly experience. The displays are beautiful and they have some camp fires in various locations to keep you warm. You can even go skating. The lights are gorgeous and well worth the price of admission.

You GOT to see the pandas.. Great place, the tiger does tricks.. But only stuff needed so a vet can do a visual examination, in times of needed care. Was nice to see the animals either playing, or lazy .. Not stressed

A great variety of animals to see and learn about. Many exhibits you can walk through such as the penguins as well as leamer land. They have the butterfly pavilion as well. Very family friendly. Lots of snacks and food option spread throughout the park.

Loved this place sooooo much, there is so many animals and would definitely go again. This place would take all day if you want to just enjoy and relax. My favourite was the Africa area.

They also have a butterfly area that you can enter and butterflies will fly all around you. For the price it is well worth it and easy to get to since the Uber is just right in front.

So much to do there. A nice day out. Large variety of animals, flora and fauna.
Will go back in yhe future for sure

Good zoo, not as big as Toronto but the experience is closer to the animals. Don't miss the penguins!

It is very well maintained place with in downtown Calgary. There are different sections for Africa, north America, etc. Snow leopard, grissely bear, double humped camel, giant panda, bison, tiger , Penguins, hippopotamus are some animals who interested me. One can also see a portion of bow river. There is a small dinosaur park which kids may enjoy.
Time required- minimum 3 hours.
Eateries - few are there inside.
Rest room and washrooms - plenty.
Open are to covered area - almost 50/50.
Nearby attraction- Calgary fort

Love it every time. Fun watching feeding times for the animals.

I come here about once every 3 years. My most recent visit was with my uncle and my daughter. We all had a good time. The admission is a bit steep, but there are enough fun exhibits to make it worthwhile.

Negatives - Some of the animals I saw in past visits are gone, such as the rhinos, the kangaroos, the koalas, bats, elephants, and I noticed there are not nearly as many monkeys as before. But I understand they are expensive and need a certain amount of space. Also, I was disgusted and disappointed to see garbage in the butterfly room! There should be a security guard stationed in the building so ignorant people throw their trash away properly!

Positives - The animal collection is still impressive. I always learn something new and interesting whenever I come. This zoo has beautiful landscaping. The animal cages are clean and they look content. My young daughter thoroughly enjoyed the spaces for children. Her favorite was climbing into the pouch of the kangaroo statue, a relic from the now defunct Australia exhibit. We visited the panda exhibit on a Wednesday, which seemed to be a good time to see them, as it was not overly crowded. And their ice cream is delicious.

Random thought - this zoo should look into getting ocelots. I would visit a lot more frequently if they did.

Check out this place if you haven't been. Or if you have, keep coming back as they always have something new. It makes for a fun day out.

Great zoo, unfortunately Covid has had some significant impact on walking paths, delivery of services, etc .. by no means any fault of the staff

The Panda's are unfortunately going home

Love love loved the penguin exhibits

Loved this zoo, seriously one of the best that I've been too! The animals look well cared for and it's so clean (:

Still one of the great places to visit rain, shine, or snow for all ages. Oh and are here!