Calgary Zoo Reviews

I enjoyed a nice day here with the family. Animals were quite active as it was cool outside. My daughter was excited to see them moving around. Staff was friendly and helpful.

I went for the pandas and fell in love with the penguins and lemurs. This will likely be the only time I get to see Pandas and other animals in person. The lemurs were really cool, they came down from their ropes and patrolled the perimeter. I didn t take pictures of the hippos because they were so adorable with their little ears I was distracted. The penguin volunteer lady was full of knowledge and chatted with us about the penguin quirks. I wish the golden eagle had more room but I don t know his story he may be injured I m not sure.

Always something to see with my children. We're never disappointed & if it's too busy at an exhibit, there's so many more to see. Been a member of the zoo for years because of my kids. It's all community funded, which goes right back into the facility.

The penguin walk is great but nearly $30 per adult is ridiculous. They really should consider reducing the adult admission price to get more people out.

The pass is worth it if you go multiple times in the year

Absolutely fantastic zoo! There's a wonderful variety of animals and all of their enclosures are very well-designed so that they are comfy but very easy to see! The staff is super knowledgeable and eager to share cool details about the animals! Also, the food options are great, the grounds are kept very clean, and it's very easy to navigate to the different exhibits! I would absolutely recommend a visit and am excited to return with my family another day :D

Zoolights are such a great attraction. Really worth going to. The Zoo does a great job of transforming the Zoo at night into a Wonderland of lights. The rainbow tree is my favourite. It's a great touch to have characters to interact with guests at to have so many activities offered to participate in. Thanks for the great evening!

Such a beautiful zoo where the animals have a lot of space to move around and live in. The landscaping is beautifully done. The panda exhibit was especially great! They have interactive information/education sessions almost every hour which were fun to attend. The lemur exhibit was also very cool and you could get pretty close to the animals.

Great, animals very active when we were here. Kids enjoyed the whole experience again.

One of the best zoos I have been to. I would highly recommend. Make it a 2 day venture if you can.

Opened in 1929 Calgary Zoo, 210 St. George's Drive NE, Calgary, AB T2E 7V6, Canada, is operated by the Calgary Zoological Society, an independent not-for-profit organisation that is Alberta's oldest registered charity. A great family day out with lots to see, do and learn!

Lot's of different animals to see, there's five different parts for different animals around the world. Great for families and friends to go. Food is expensive, but overall I had an amazing experience there.

Went for a zoolight and it was such a great experience!

My first visit in probably 30 years. Penguins are cool but close early. Baby ape and mother were cool but very crowded.
It does make you wonder why certain animals are being phased out of zoos but others are fine. If you think that the animals feelings are most important then close the zoos. If you think education and awareness are important then keep them open and stocked with interesting animals that people want to see.

Every time we go to the zoo we see something different, something amazing, or something new. I've not seen the tiger so active or the mandrill so close.

Love the zoo, but they've raised the entrance price, to a unreasonable amount. A family of 4 is over a hundred dollars.

The zoo was well kept and was easy to find my way around, do bring a pair of walking shoes. Lots of animals. This zoo will be tons fun for the whole family!!!

Love this place. Nice walk while you see the animals. The shop is very cozy and the cafeteria has different options if you plan to eat in

All zoos are sad places and bring me no joy whatsoever.

Fun experience loved the Tiger talk and the lion relaxing on his ball!

One of if not the top zoo in the country. Always a fun day anytime of year!

The Penguin Plunge and the new Panda Passage are great attractions at the zoo. The Prehistoric Park is also fun for the little ones. There is WiFi throughout the zoo thanks to Shaw. Zoolights is beautiful during the winter holidays. If you choose to get a zoo membership you can use the value of your day's admission towards the membership within 7 days

Great place to spend the day with the family. Definitely recommend getting the season pass that includes parking.

Fun and huge! If you have very small children and want to see the whole zoo, give yourself a couple of days.

Fantastic zoo! Staff here are very friendly and knowledgeable. Can get crowded around midday when the weather is nice. If your goal is to visit the new panda exhibit, do so when to zoo opens to avoid lineups. My 4 yr old daughter loves to visit the penguins and bears.

Always a fun time with lots to see and do. Food prices are a bit high though.

I really enjoyed my visit. There was plenty of information in each section. The animals looked relaxed, enjoying the warm day. There was also information about different events happening around the city through the day, like the feeding times of some animals. That's very useful: I was able to listen to some interesting facts during the feeding of the tigers and the brown bears. You will definitely have fun and learn!

It lost a star because of COVID-9 restrictions. It always has been a 5 star attraction in the past. Please support the zoo by attending. Thanks

There was such a large selection of beautiful animals to see. The penguin display was so unique it was cozy and it felt like we were really interacting with the penguins. Although they let way too many people in at once so it was way too crowded I ended up getting body checked with my baby in my arms! The main eating area have a really good selection of food. We are chicken and rice.. I had a Buddha bowl.. There were burgers and hot dogs and so many sweet options. The butterfly exhibit was phenomenal it felt like magic. There was lots of interactive games and entertainment for the kids to keep them intrigued through the very long walk.

Was a great day at the zoo. The pandas are so adorable. You need to go before they leave.

A wonderful place for the family to explore. The pandas are amazing!

Great zoo! Lots of variety. Large space. Friendly staff

Nice place, good for families or if you just want to have a nice walk.

Everyone is always so helpful and friendly. I'll buy a membership every year to help this wonderful place thrive.

Excellent zoo! Loved the animals. Loved the penguin walk.

I have been a member of the zoo as well as a returning customer each year during zoolights. As a member it was a great option for a quick outing with the kids, especially while I was on maternity leave. My kids are old enough know to enjoy the animals and the open play areas/parks. There is lots to do for quick visits to a full day trip to the zoo. Zoolights amazes us each year and has become a family tradition over Christmas. Our favorite part is the rainforest which has a different theme each year and makes for a magical experience for the whole family.

Zoo is doing its best with animal conservation. The Pandas are amazing, albeit, a bit sad to see in such a small space. The little fox literally walks in circles all day. His steps have eroded a giant circle in the ground of his enclosure. It's heartbreaking. Knocking one star for animal captivity. I know, I am changing the world one review at a time.

What a wonderful facility. We came here one day even in the rain to see some animals. Because this zoo has a good mixture of indoor and outdoor facilities, we still had a lot of fun without the large lineups. We were very impressed with the new Panda exhibit and were able to see all the animals. One of my favourite parts of the zoo is actually the butterfly exhibit. I highly recommend to check this zoo out. Staff are extremely friendly and welcoming.

So much fun everytime to see all the animals. At this time they have baby mountain goats that are only a week old! Super cute and fun to see the large cats being fed on a Saturday.

Beautiful attention to detail and amazing exhibits with so many animals.

Enjoyed my first Zoo Lights experience and it was great! So many lights, cozy and friendly atmosphere, and fire pits. Calgary Zoo you outdid yourself. All that is saying something 'cause I'm from Edmonton.

Great zoo, very clean and nice. My only complaint is that it s a bit expensive, which makes it not accessible to lower income families.

Went on a week day with short lines. Loved seeing the Pandas and all of the other animals. Totally fun day for the family. Educational.

Cool to see the animals....also sad to see the animals

Can't say enough good things about the zoo. Amazing place for everyone, especially for young kids. Also great spot for parents on parental leave. Baby friendly place, lots of things to walk and look at and ability to pop inside for a bit if the weather isn't good.

Always a great time at the zoo. Saw the animals, played at the park with my 4 yr old daughter. As usual didn't get to see the whole park in one day. The grounds are all decorated and prepared for the arrival of the pandas next year.

Janna is amazing customer service and really helpful and professional and just a kick butt employee !!

The zoo was alright but Janna really made the experience alot better ! She is a keeper

Such a wonderful outdoor adventure to see so many different animals from various parts of the world! Canadian wilds is my favorite as well as the indoor butterfly exhibit. The dinosaur area is all of large stationary statues (think outdoor museum) but dino-loving-kids and little ones particularly enjoy this area. There is alot to cover and each time we have gone with little ones, we've never never been able to make it through the whole park. Recommendation is if you want to see the whole park, two days is optimal. They have playgrounds, food choices and areas to set up a picnic.

Such a beautiful place to spend the day. Be aware that weekends become very busy. Well days i find are the best. Gates close at 5pm but you are welcome to stay till 6pm.n

Even during Covid-19 there was a substantial amount of animals to see. We really enjoyed our visit. All animals looked fairly happy and comfortable.

Zoolights were beautiful. We got to see the. Camels and an alpaca

Amazing Zoo! Great way to spend the day . If you have kids, or are coming from out of town OR you are coming from out of town AND have kids, this is a must do. Really a must do for anyone who likes animals.

This zoo was great! It's beautifully situated in local flora and is pretty reasonably priced for a big-city zoo. I liked the meal options and all the informative plaques. The red pandas are friggin adorable and the penguin exhibit is pretty amazing. I'm sure we'll be back!

Lots of animals and the exhibits are setup so the animals have their privacy but you can still see them. Love it here!

We love the zoo. The member passes are so affordable. Our children love going for picnics and to visit the animals. Our recent trip to see the pandas was great. Highly recommend!

Great zoo with adorable animals. We went there during the off season so the most food station were closed, but it wasn t a problem at all.

Notice the during the off season the westside parking lot is still open but the west entrance is closed so you would have to walk all the way down to the main entrance (approx. 30 minutes to walk).

If you love animals than this zoo is the place to go! It s spread out with multiple buildings and walking paths to spend the entire day observing endangered and local animal species. There is giraffes, gorillas, bison, penguins, lions and much more! My favorite was the hippos and penguins! Only $29.99 for a adult day pass which is reasonable for a day full of entertainment! Check it out if you re in Calgary!

WE love the Zoo! Unfortunately even with restrictions on the numbers it was packed today and far too many people to stay 2 metres apart for social distancing! We ended up hiding in the park for most of our visit today as there were so many people!

I really liked it. Loved the pandas, enjoy seeing er shun and dao mao and the twins

Calgary Zoo - Penguins and Prehistoric Section.
This visit was on a Thursday. The sun was hot and the crowd was not bad.
The Penguins were nice to see. Took a walk through the Prehistoric Park and it was the same as it has been for some time. I remember the statues from back in the day. There are some children friendly play areas and a theater. There is a treed area which gives you shade from the sun and you can sit and cool off on a bench. There are signs along the way explaining subjects. As you exit the section these is a T-Rex skull slide for the children. Went further into the zoo to locate Dinny the Dinosaur. A statue of a brontosaurus which was around in the early 90s when we took the kids on a Dinosaur tour of Alberta. Unfortunately Dinny was blocked off by a construction fence. Turns out Dinny will be getting a $200,000.00 makeover. Nice!
Built in 1935 by sculptor John Kanerva, Dinny is the last remaining statue from the Natural History Park, which was renamed the Calgary Zoo and Natural History Park in 1937

My name is Patrick. This review is a project of my 4th grade homeschooling. I visited the zoo on September 9, 2020 and took notes on animals, parking and tickets.

To enter the zoo, you need a ticket. Usually, the ticket booths are open, but due to Covid-19, they are all closed. You can get tickets online for a specific date and time.

The parking is easy, but it costs $12 if you are not a member. This is a Park Plus zone and there are pay machines about 40 feet away from the entrance doors.

Once you arrive the staff will scan your ticket through plexiglass. Masks or face covering is needed upon entry of buildings. There are arrows to help direct you. Hand sanitizer stations are located outside most enclosures.

First you will see the penguin enclosure.The penguins were diving for fish outside the enclosure. The mountain goats were big, strong and furry; they can scale almost vertical surfaces and can fall 10 feet and be unscathed. The mountain aviary was closed. I do not know why. The bison were all asleep and covered in what looked like hay. The moose was near the wolf enclosure and in both enclosures was a sign that said the moose was not present at this time, ignore the sign and have a look around. The moose was very curious. There is a new playground called Bugtopia. It is a big fortress that has bridges that lead to towers that have plastic slides and a climbing wall. There is a spider net and a teeter totter. Also there are bridges that let you enter the fortress. Bugtopia was built out of fallen/dead trees. The bears had lunch at 12:15 and they were very excited; they stood on 2 legs and pounded the fence. They were each thrown a large animal bone, and loose fruit was thrown by a launcher all around the enclosure. The grizzly bears were like boulders. They are massive and their claws are like 5 inches long. Make sure you have a good look around because like I said they look like brown boulders.
The lemurs were fun to watch doing flips and spins. If you hear a loud screech do not be scared, the lemurs are simply communicating. The lemurs have 2 tongues and eat fruits and vegetables. The second tongue helps them groom each other. The snow leopard has a cub and they were resting in a small cave. The lions were all laying down in the shade because it was really hot. The meerkats were digging and playing in a bowl while an older meerkat stood guard. The hippos were snuggling together in the sun outside. You can also see giraffes, zebras, turtles, snakes and more. There are animals for all taste.

Overall I recommend the zoo for ages 3 to 100. I recommend weekdays as they are the least busy. I also recommend getting a membership. It gives you advantages such as free parking.

I hope you enjoyed my review.

Lovely walking paths...plenty of places to eat or bring your own

The zoo was really clean. There was pavement everywhere which kept the bugs away. They had several enclosures that you could go into with the animals. They put extra effort into making the park look beautiful.

I want everyone out there to know how special this zoo is. I have a friend whose wife has a terminal illness and has been too sick to go to the zoo. Her husband and her have struggled to be able to go with mounting medical expenses. It will be her birthday soon and her wish was to be able to go to the zoo. I reached out to them to see if there was anything they could do to help. They have went above and beyond in helping my friend and his wife be able to go and experience the zoo in a way that is so special them both. Kim, I can't thank you enough.

Everyone, please go to the zoo and support this incredible organization.
Thanks a million Calgary Zoo. I haven't seen my friend smile like this in a long time.

The Calgary Zoo is great for all ages! We recommend visiting the penguins, butterfly exhibit and the Canadian wild area. A day pass is super expensive, but a membership is a great deal (especially the one that includes parking).

The zoo has easy access from c-train station (right under ground the station). The signs n walking path is clear and nice. The most attractive animal is Panda. They are so cute. They also have many other animals from Canada to Africa. Its a nice place to visit with friends and families.

Will be back to 5 stars once all the exhibits are done being under construction! Enjoyed it though and always have a good time :)

We had a great day. The service was fast and there really wasn't a line up anywhere considering how many people was there!

We love the zoo. The member passes are so affordable. Our children love going for picnics and to visit the animals. Our recent trip to see the pandas was great. Highly recommend.

Loads o fun w the fam. Saw a panda irl and my dad bought mom a panda stuffed animal. Ate a pickle on a stick. Lemurs were slapping each other. 10 stars

Great place for family or friends. The panda exhibit is pretty awesome. Their penguin area is great; especially on warm days nice place to walk into and cool off some. Best to ensure you have 3 or more hours so you can see a good portion of the zoo or all of it if you have the time.

The price is very reasonable, a great place for kids. I went in a day that was a little cold at the beginning of the spring so a few animals were indoors. But during the summer days everything is green and all animals are outside and visible. It a shame they don't have elephants anymore but they do have a good variety of animals. I really recommend this place to spend time with the kids.

The lemur exhibit is amazing! The programming was very well done. The one down side is that most of the food locations weren't open on a weekday. Also, be aware that it's a very, very big zoo and you probably won't be able to do it all in one day, maybe if you rented a motorized wheelchair from the gift shop.

Best zoo around. Watch out for the killer peacocks though. They let those things just walk around freely. Make sure your will is up to date before you go face those colorful birds of death.

The Calgary zoo is such an amazing place, they have an amazing variety of animals, they allow you to witness feeding times of certain animals on certain days. They have amazing and helpful staff as well as fun stuff for the kids to do, many awesome photo ops! Fun thing to do with the whole family on a nice day

They should increase number of animals and/or activities in the zoo. Otherwise, it feels a bit expensive for the experience you enjoy in there. I always love animals.

The zoo is always the best when the animals are out. Rec going early morning before it gets hot.

Love the zoo! Exhibits are good sized for the animals to feel happy which is great! Would say the zoo is well taken care of!

Beautiful parks, tasty food but the animals looked poorly manged as the Pandas were very dirty same as the penguins, giraffe, and etc

Always a great experience! Keep up the animal love and learning Calgary

The zoo was once again an amazing experience. The grounds are quite well taken car of and clean. The animals seem to be quite happy in their habitats. The only thing they could look to improve is hire a few more workers for the food cashier stands.

Great place for the family to go. A little expensive if your only paying for a single trip at a time however. Make use of the membership if you can! It's worth it.
Great place to shoot animals (with camera that is )

Very nice place to go and one of the best zoo's in North America. . Enjoy

The zoo is always a good time, and a decent amount of walking for the day. The dinosaurs are open and looking great, indoor exhibits were still interesting, and the pandas were incredibly cute and fun to watch. Being able to get so close to the penguins and lemurs is also a great experience. They also have a new asian cat that looks like a big kitten, amazing. Always recommend the zoo.

Amazing place to spend a day. Developed love for animals here