Calgary Zoo Reviews

Pandas and komodo dragon enough said... Great mother's day brunch tooo....

Always a great time....so much fun seeing the Animals and walking on a beautiful day.

Went and saw the Zoo lights here at around 7 PM. The amount of time and detail that went into the lights displays was truly incredible. If you are going to Calgary this is a must!!

It's fun. Not a big fan of the big predators or primates being kept in captivity but plenty of the other animals seem happy enough. Kids loved it.

Magical experience. We loved the different themed areas

One of the best zoos I ve ever been to this far. It s impressive how close you can get to the animals. They seem well taken care of and the facilities for them are clean. There are always caretakers cleaning or caring to the animals and clearing the enclosure. Amazing place to see penguins although that space does seem tight for the amount of animals that are there.

very nice. various Wildlife found here. Very clean. Good envenvironment. No foul smell. Traversed by Bow river and another.excellent atmosphere!!

Very good place for kids

St. George's Island was Calgary's first park, used by the community for picnics, relaxing, and socializing. The first collection of animals appeared on the island in 1917. The Calgary Zoological Society was established in 1929.

Several animals died during floods in June 1929 when St. George's Island was swamped.[7]

A great place for kids of all ages. Lots of extra information on signs and informed volunteers to answer our older kids' questions

Animal selection is very nice, lots of facilities, helpful staff, and the wagon rental for the little one made it easy to see a lot without wearing the kid out.

5 star zoo. Animals are well looked after and in great condition. The Pandas were probably the highlight for me. Very clean all round. Good choice of food venues at affordable prices. Animals grouped in continents. Good zoo keeper talks. I spent 5.5 hours there.

Always a great place to wow out of town guests! The penguin walk at 11am is a must see. Going on a weekday was an especially great experience. No big crowds and lots of knowledgeable volunteers!

It s an okay zoo. Lots of animals. We were there on a Thursday afternoon and only one cafe was open (all other food places were closed). The lady that had us pay for our tickets was very rude. There are no attractions other than animals in cages though, so I think we left wanting something more.

Lovely little zoo. Great lay out and a few good eateries. Great location. Shame you have to pay for parking.

End of May was the best time to go! The animals were active and it was loads of fun!!!

Wonderful and amazing place for kids to explore and learn. Adults can enjoy too as there are lots of animals, birds, reptiles and dinosaurs skeletons which are devided based on where they come from.

the place is great for kids,kids at heart and bondings

Our family had a great time. Ate at the sit down restaurant and food was really good. Overall a great visit.

Now that renovation to almost all habittats are done it is a really nice place. Where all the animals have room to move.

We regularly go to the zoo as a family. It s one of the best features of Calgary in our opinion. They focus on conservation and education and make it very interactive for everyone.

Great as always, went to the zoolights. Had some delicious fries and chicken fingers as usual, they were amazing. Unfortunately my favourite lights exhibit wasn't there this year, but overall it was really enjoyable.

Always a great time at the zoo! Staff are great and the animals are awesome. You can stop reading reviews and just go!

If you are a fan of zoo's than this one is a good one. Huge selection on animals from all over the world. My favorite is the Chimpanzee sanctuary. Always some action from these interesting primates.

Except the enclosure in African area...they are way too small. I loved the part where you actually get to interact with the animals

Could easily get through it before nap was needed for young ones in the afternoon. Animals were nice and active in the morning too. Parking for west entrance was not clear though and had to double back which was a 10 min detour. But better parking options when you arrive early!

Awesome zoo, a wide range of species are in the zoo. Interesting and fun!!

Nice place.....arrived at noon and didn't have enough time to see everything....but we saw some sweet panda bears! My little girl loved it!

my kid loves coming in here.. it's a good place to have a family bonding and a good walk

Hundreds of thousands of Christmas lights turn the Zoo into a magical winter wonderland. Make sure to check the ice skating rink, which is free for those who purchase the Zoo Lights admission ticket.

The zoo is a nice place to spend an afternoon. The panda exhibition is very busy. If you are buying a one time ticket, you can get a timed ticket to visit the Pandas. This is useful if you don't want to wait in line for a long time. We showed up 15 minutes before our time and they let us in, no waiting which was nice. Also I highly suggest the Botanical gardens. Its a nice chill place.

Went to see the zoo lights for 2018. Really nice new setup compared to 2017.

Very cute animals. Social distancing was respected. Its a lot nicer going here now lol.

Had a wonderful time . Pandas , penguins ect. What a great day we had

Great fun for the whole family and if you plan on going more than once a year you might as well get the season pass for all the awesome benefits that go with it!

We had a fun time here. It is always busy and the layout isn't the greatest. Definitely takes a long time to walk between exhibits and the animals don't seem to have a lot of space. The butterflies were fun! Not enough bathrooms and the signage were terrible.

This was such a great zoo. We have visited many around the world and this would tie for first place so far in our opinion.

We did the lockdown evening. The zoo was great, but thr clues were a bit generic and the food was mediocre.

The Zoo is always a fun time. A full day of serious walking to get it all done. The Pandas were neat to see but they were just eating inside so it wasn't as cool as the Gorillas. Hearing the hippos' making noises was pretty awesome too.

Fun family outing make sure you buy your tickets before going and bring a mask.

Great place, besides the hotdog stand you wait 15m at for a hotdog ???? Wow

The lemur show and enclosure was amazing, the penguin exhibit was a lot of fun. Went for the Pandas but liked everything else better! Better the the Toronto zoo by a lot.

If I could give zero stars, I would.

Why did you euthanize Kali, the grey wolf?

According to your representative Larissa Mark, you killed her to make room for a pack of young wolves that you wanted to put on display, and were worried that Kali would not integrate well. You euthanized her for "social" reasons. Huh?

Okay. Then why not transfer her? There must have been other options. You could have sent her to a sanctuary, you could have sent her somewhere where she could live her final days in peace. She was a healthy wolf, and you killed her because you didn't want to put forth the effort/money/time in placing her somewhere else. Instead, you chose the quickest, cheapest option - euthanasia.

You reaped the benefits that Kali provided you - she was voted as Canada's greatest animal species by the public. You declared her as your winner. You used her popularity to attract more visitors. And when she could no longer provide for you, you killed her to make room for a new pack of wolves instead of finding her another option.

This zoo has a history of prioritizing visitor experience over animal welfare. Look it up - in 2016, an otter died after getting tangled up in a pair of pants given to him as an 'enrichment item'. Seven penguins drowned despite being aquatic animals. 41 stingrays died from lack of oxygen in their tank. A capybara was crushed by a hydraulic door.

Don't go here. RIP Kali.

The walkways were not maintained well. Most of the features were being changed so not many animals were there to be seen. The panda exhibit closed early so we did not get to see them. The only good experience here was the penguins.

Pretty much what you'd expect out of a zoo, not much less and not much more. Most the popular exhibits are pretty over rated, in my opinion. But it's still a zoo. I probably wouldn't pay to come here but if I was offered a free ticket here I would come, which has happened in all the past times that I've been here.

Nicest park in the City of Calgary for scenery and all the rest of it plus chocolate soft serve ice cream as an added bonus.

Caged animals. Some effort made to make them comfortable.

Lots of fun! Lots of Walking! We really appreciated the wagon rentals. So many exhibits. Definitely a great way to spend the day. Very friendly and helpful staff. Can't wait to go back again.

This zoo is top notch compared to some.All of lthe enclosures (except the cougars) are super cool and spacious with fantastic up keep.

Love the Calgary Zoo - doesnt matter how many times I go, I really enjoy it. Would recommend an annual pass if you live in or near Calgary - well worth it.

Phenomenal zoo! I mean they have penguins!!!! How can it he any cooler?

Love it here! We go as often as we can, the only reason I am giving 4 stars instead of 5, is because of the condition of the Prehistoric Park. It is in need of some TLC. The rest of the zoo is just awesome! We are members and have already gotten our money's worth in two visits! All photos taken by me. I have so many more but my child is in most of them and I will not post those publicly. I used to go in the morning but found most of the animals to be sleeping/hiding. These pics are from our recent visit that was from about 1pm to 5pm. Lots of action

The Calgary zoo is a great place to take the family. Easily accessible and manageable in a day. Purchase your ticket online for easy entry.

I went by myself to the zoo and had a great time watching the animals come out of their pens to search for food that the zookeepers left for them. That was around 10 a.m. Yes, a lot of things are closed, but I still managed to spend almost 3 hours there exploring the zoo. I'll come back in the summer to see the rest even though I know it will be much busier than a November visit. Guides and shop workers where very friendly and helpful.

My family and I really enjoy the zoo. Beautiful park setting, great playground in the middle, and the animals are presented in as natural a setting as possible. We usually bring a wagon or large stroller and spend the day hiking around the large area. The cafeteria is reasonably priced and you are welcome to bring your own lunch to eat there. All in all, it's a great day out with the kids

Maybe it's the time of the year, Halloween day, that makes our experience less awesome. We went to every daily activity and it was fun but would be more interesting if it was more interactive. Nothing to do with the animators. I still appreciated my experience. Would be interesting to know a bit of history on the animals in the zoo on the information panels. I enjoyed the pumpkins in all feedings since it's Halloween. Happy birthday Hippo! Almost a 4 stars, but had to go with 3.

I was surprise how much the calgary zoo jas changed. It looks awsome and very exited about the continue of improvements, keep it up

The Calgary zoo is an amazing place to spend the day. However the food suck everywhere. Pack a lunch

Love the zoo so much. We would definitely come back. Its totally worth the money.

Absolutely great! Love the exhibits and the new panadas are a great effort to educate the public on a disapearing spicies. Lines are well managed and its just fun!

Great zoo. Great for families or just for people looking for something to do close to downtown.

Very nice zoo. Definitely need walking shoes of you want to see the whole zoo.

We have a family pass for the year and we always can t wait to go once it isn t so wet and mucky! Always a great time at the zoo!

Great zoo, especially for locals. I wouldn't call it a must see for tourists though.

They are constantly improving things and cleanliness is quite high all things considered. They also have a great variety of animals and fun events like zoo lights which are an absolute blast!

I remembered going to the zoo several times as a kid and the experience was new everytime. Recently on a school trip, we visited the zoo and it amazed me how much it changed and the new exhibits the zoo had implemented. The experience was better than I had expected and I am anticipating my next visit to this location.

Nice relatively easy hike to some very nice waterfalls. The canyon itself is remarkable. There are some nice falls right off the parking lot, but the ones 1km off are much better!

It s a great time for the kids and family but prices are outrageous. And half the animals you can never see. But still take the kids cause they enjoy it and that s what it s all about.

We went for the Zoo Lights and it was magical! All of the staff were very friendly and helpful while so informative about what great things there were to do within the festival. I 10/10 recommend

Much better then the Edmonton zoo and I'm from Edmonton... It hurts to admit it...

I d say it s a world class zoo, and I ve been to quite a few. The price is a bit steep, but it s definitely worth checking it out.

Always a good time. Have year passes and very worth it with young kids!

Highly recommended especially now since you can see pandas. Zoolights are fantastic too

I love this place because, you can observe wildlife in a safe place

Great place to take the whole family. Animals looks in good health and well taken care of.

Greatest zoo I've gone to so far. Amazing layout and organization.

Penguin exhibit was terrific. Everything is expensive including parking.

Great zoo, well spread out and enclosures not crammed together - nice to really between them and lots of greenery between.
Good variety of animals who all seem happy, reasonably sizes enclosures for most. Lots of information about the conservation too.
The bear and Tiger 'training' they do each day (until the Bears start l go into hibernation) is a must see, not seen anything quite like that.
Penguin enclosure inside also unique, although they don't have a great deal of space compared to UK zoos.
Seeing the Pandas also a highlight.
At this time of year, most of the food outlets were closed, but still a few to get snacks/drinks.
Overall it's definitely worth the entry fee, we spent over 4 hours and could have easily spent longer.

I've always enjoyed the zoo, however today was the 1st time since covid and we were shocked at how packed it was. Zero social distancing. People brushing past each other and not even attempting to give others space. There are markers, but on a number of times today someone would just shove past us. Pretty disappointing. I thought the zoo was limiting entries more.....so, if you are "covid conscious" stay away, if you aren't, have at er lol

Great time. A little on the pricey side, a family membership/entrance program would make this a 5 star rating.

The exhibits were well done. It was small but you could actually see every animal.

Was rainy so it was quiet but all the staff were great about letting us know about animal activities were coming up soon in the area and we still saw most of the animals in the rain.

Very nicely laid out. Makes for a good day trip with the family. A little pricey, but worth it.

Went with the family and had so much fun we are buying a season pass! The animals all seem happy and healthy. Lots to look at and lots of places to stop for breaks with the kids. Great family friendly destination.

Went on a sunny Sunday with 3, five and under grandkids to entertain. Arrived early so easy to get around and see whichever animals we wanted. This was especially true when visiting the pandas without any queuing or rushing around. The sunshine brought a number of big cats out that can normally be a bit shy/elusive.

We have season tickets so always plan to cover specific areas of the zoo on each visit. Again, this saves rushing and means that each visit is successful, without tears or frustration.

The grandkids particularly enjoy the dinosaur park (the dead animals)....go figure!