Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden Reviews

You've got to get here, the Cincinnati zoo is the best!

It was raining yet we had wonderful time. All the animals loved the rain and of course it wasn't crowded. Actually was good time to go

Beautiful zoo and well maintained. The only reason I gave it a 4 out of 5 was because the map didn't really match with the exhibits and it made it easy to get lost. Also we went to a few enclosures and the animals weren't there but instead elsewhere on the property. Great place for kids!

My kids love this place and the season pass is very cheap

Festival of Lights, once again, did not disappoint! Make sure to visit Mrs. Claus in the gift shop! We love our zoo.

The zoo was fantastic, most were careful and wore mask. The vfc employees all did. Wished they made it mandatory for mask.

Great diversity of animals that you would expect at a zoo. The staff is very friendly and helpful. All the plant life enhances the scenery very well. Highly recommend.

The zoo was great! We went in early October and several of the animals were inside for the cold weather, which was a bummer. But feeding the giraffes was AMAZING!
The only reason I don't give 5 stars is because parking and then finding the pedestrian entrance to the park was a tad confusing if you aren't from Cincy.

Great facility...lots of shade to beat the heat and sun...definitely worth spending the day...can see why it was voted #1 zoo in the nation.

Not busy, unsurprisingly due to coronavirus, but everyone maintained social distances and wore masks when unable to do so.

The kids enjoyed the trail like layout. Being regular visitors to the Memphis Zoo, most other zoos dont impress them. Still a great way to spend a day with the kiddos.

Was a beautiful day to see all the lights with the grandkids.

Went with Family for the PNC CHRISTMAS LIGHTS. Absolutely Beautiful. If you have never gone to the Festival of Lights....then YOU NEED TO GO! Bundle up, you will need to grab your gloves and hat and heavy coat and some Hot Chocolate.. And enjoy the lights.

Also, if you are older, or have trouble walking then bring a wheel chair or rent one from the Zoo. There are a lot of Hills to walk up , not real steep, but my elderly mother had a hard time walking them.

The zoo is great. The workers are always great about answering questions. Food is good. Also I love that you can bring in your own lunch and have a picnic. I go all the time with the kids and never have had a bad experience.

Great as always. The staggers entrance times keep it nice and not too crowded. Most people were also wearing masks.

We're members and love to take our kids here frequently!

One of the cleanest zoos I have ever visited. Staff very friendly on the grounds. Animals all looked healthy and well cared for.

The zoo is great and always fun to walk around and look at the beautiful flowers. Its definitely worth getting a yearly membership to go during all the family fun events.

Such an amazing zoo! The insect exhibit is incredible.

I've been coming to this zoo for more than two decades and it has never failed to wow me. The Festival of Lights this year was more impressive than ever. This zoo is well appointed and over the years the enrichment and habitats have been being improved so well. This zoo cares a lot about their animals and the importance of wildlife conservation. They make many strides for public education and they give back to groups to help research and environment preservation. I'll be happy to see them update and expand more exhibits. I hope they can one day expand the area by purchasing more land around the zoo to enlarge more of the exhibits. Love this zoo.

The zoo is really beautiful... so many trees and plants to enjoy. We went in the late morning and a lot of the animals weren t active, but we saw so many still! It is an easy zoo to navigate and the staff were very helpful.
If you re in town, check it out!

Beautiful and well maintained. Staff seems very polite. Map and signs aren't very good though.

Great place alligators, giraffes, komodo dragon were interesting to see and the lights were amazing

Nice size zoo. Layout kind of sus. Better to go in the morning. Would die for Fiona

Great variety of animals to see. Lots of nice shaded areas and water features.

Went as a couple, we got there at 10 am and we highly recommend that for couples. We got to see every exhibit opened, enjoyed it without (sorry) kids and strollers running us over. Park was extremely clean and the staff were so friendly and keepers knowledgeable with information about the animals there. We left at 12:30 just missing the massove crowds coming to enjoy the day. We will be back!

The grounds are among the most beautiful I have ever seen at a zoo. I suspect they use the ultimate ornamental program.

Good place to spend time with family. Train ride time could be 10 minutes. Carousel revolves just for couple minutes, that can be extended with some music. It's affordable, but the food is expensive.

Hard to navigate if handicap, lots of hills. But you can rent wheelchair $10 & power chair $30. Also not enough directional signs.

Loved bringing the kids to this zoo in years past! They have a reciprocal membership agreement with the Louisville Zoo so that made parking and tickets much better for members.

April is the prettiest time to go. The flowers are amazing.

Always a pleasure to visit. They're doing their part to keep everyone safe during our covid-19 crisis. Unfortunately you can't control other patrons behavior (WEAR A MASK YOU SELFISH JERKS) but the zoo is, as always, beautiful and well maintained.

The staff are wonderful and accommodating and the gardens are gorgeous!! Definitely a gem in the city's crown.

Loved this zoo. Lots of great animals to see. They only one we didn t get to view while here were the black bears. The polar bears were active as were most of the animals. Cats are my fave so I loved the creatures of the night with all the cats. Some were hard to see but it s for their benefit. Parking is the only downfall. $10 and that s for over flow parking, too. That s the only reason I am giving 4 stars. Beautiful landscapes. Bathrooms were clean. We ate from a pizza shop and it was good and not overly priced. Zoo admission was $18 which was about what we expected. You must go at least once if you haven t been. It was our first time and we enjoyed our day very much.

Bought our tickets online before entering and walked thru without wait.

I lost my prescription glasses somewhere there. Boo me.

This is a fun place to go for different holidays and special events. Animals are usually sleeping during the day so it's ok to go get some exercise on off days. It's a safe place to go.

The place where you change your stereotype! I was an inveterate foe of zoos. Not anymore! I m full of happy peaceful emotions. This place full of good caring animals and a lot of fun.

Cincinnati Zoo is a great place to visit, enjoy walking around seeing the animals and people of all culture enjoying themselves, a great place to just six and relax and enjoy the surrounding, I felt like a kid again on a school trip, havent visit the zoo since elementary, many years ago, nice to just take some time out of your busy schedule of life to enjoy
nature, visit our zoo Cincinnatian, you surely enjoy yourself. Linda j

Our first visit to the Cincinnati Zoo was a wonderful experience, even though it rained for the first few hours! We had no idea it was this large! You d almost need to make two days out of it to see everything! We were still able to see the main areas we wanted (Fiona obviously) and walk around the main loop. It gives a whole new appreciation for zoos when you get to see all these animals up close and well cared for! I d recommend trying to see the cheetah experience if you can! We were so close to them almost touching distance even! A memorable experience, highly recommended! Plus, parking was easy at their lot across the street.

I love this place so very much and so does my daughter! Children 2 and under are free! If you get a Gold Pass there are so many perks like discounts everywhere inside the zoo and Newport On the Levee! Also they have special Members Only Hours and days! No matter what the age, this is a place for everyone!

Such a great zoo, also a botanical garden so beautiful fauna and flora. Go see Fiona, the newly adopted orphan manatee, the giraffes, the lions...we love them all!

Decent zoo, nice and hilly for walking enthusiasts. Some of the habitat s could use a little work and more room (Polar bear). Enjoyed my IPA as I strolled.

This zoo is great! It's clean and tidy. There are places for breaks and kids to play. As well as plenty of animal encounters for kids to interact and learn about the different animals. I would highly recommend this zoo!

This place is awesome and I really loved it ( even though we drove an hour to get there ) it was really cool I loved all of the cute animals and the lights where awesome they where so beautiful and I wish I could see it again but we had to go so it was really good

Great zoo. Well organized. Small enough to see all the attractions in a day. Lots of food options. Lots of indoor sports to beat the heat too! My son loved the nature playground. I liked how close you got to be with the animals.

Love the animals, love the fantastic Christmas lights, and am thankful that they have wheelchairs for handicapped guests. Couldn t have seen nearly as much without it

This is our favorite zoo. They have so many animals and they do social media right. Hilarious posts. Love all the zoo babies. Every time we go back home we stop there

Very disappointed.
Visiting Kentucky and saw the rave reviews for the zoo a half hour away and decided to check it out.

The only zoo I'm familiar with is the one in Asheboro, NC which I've been to several times.

The Asheboro zoo is much larger, much more beautiful, has many more animals and exhibits, and is cheaper.

There's nothing wrong with the Cincinnati zoo, but comparatively, it's a small attraction in a big city.
Seeing construction cranes, buildings, and hearing sirens in the distance takes away from the natural experience.

Fun place for kids and adults alike. I got more than 10k steps

Went with the whole family, kids had a great time and staff was super friendly.

Spent nearly 4 hours and could have stayed longer! Teenage son wore himself out catching all the Pokemon at each exhibit with Pokemon Go. Lots of babies throughout the zoo. Knowledgeable staff at most exhibits to teach guests about animals. Daughter fed a giraffe and loved it! Definitely go early enough to hit the major talks & interactions with animals. Lots of benches and cool gardens for resting.

We really enjoyed the zoo with our family of 5. I thought the exhibits we're set up well for walking, so you don't end up really far away from the next exhibit

Not a natural flow to the park. No one wearing masks and many people not observing appropriate distance. Some of the exhibits allow you to get fairly close to the animals. Some exhibits shut down before the park closed.

Beautiful zoo, the layout is a little confusing but we still had a great time

The zoo is generally very nice with great botanical gardens making all the animals seem very integrated into a wild setting. Some of the enclosures seem very small for the number of animals inside. I was very disappointed that a zoo would have almost no vegan food options given the point of a zoo is to educate and bring awareness to the beauty and importance of animals as well as conservation efforts.

We are truly blessed to have the best zoo in the US!

First time going. Have no idea why this is rated so high. All the animals i wanted to see were either asleep or not out. Also the park itself was dirty. As expensive everything is here the park should of been alot cleaner. Also having no water fountains up. Selling cans of water for $3.50. We also ate here. Had to clean the table and chairs ourselves. We stood in line 25 mins just for a drink after we got food.. the taco
truck fountain machine was out of order.. Portion size super small and food was not worth the money at all. Also had no sugar free drinks beside $3.50 can of water. Just soda soda soda. Yuck.

The best zoo ever! They truly care about their animals and raising awareness for their preservation.

This zoo has done wonders over the years making their exhibits more spaceous for the animals & have been creative with treats and games

Great employees, amazing staff and very well kept animals

The Cincinnati Zoo has great animal enclosures and amazing botanical gardens. Well worth the price of admission.

One of my favorite places to visit , but I still have a little bit of trouble finding it!

As of this writing, the Cincinnati Zoo was listed as the best zoo in North America by USA Today. It also holds a place in history being the second oldest zoo in the USA and is the last known residence of the now extinct passenger pigeon. My family holds a zoo membership and we visit about once a month. We love this zoo! It's large, well maintained, and the animals are treated with great care and respect. The director of the zoo, Thane Maynard, has appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Good Morning America, The Today Show, and CBS This Morning to promote the zoo, educate viewers, and encourage conservation and good stewardship of our planet and the life it harbors. In the warm months the zoo provides up close encounters with zoo animals with their excellent enclosures and special events. The botanical gardens, featuring gorgeous and large areas of flowering plants, are not to be missed if you enjoy colorful plant life. In the winter the Cincinnati Zoo offers a "Festival of Lights", where a large portion of the walking paths are covered, practically dripping, in colored lights. It's beautiful and my children love it. We enjoy visiting in the winter just as much as visiting in the summer. The perimeter of the lake, fountain, and passenger train tracks are covered in lights timed to a selection of holiday songs. Every year we get pictures with Santa. The Cincinnati Zoo is one of my family's favorite and most often visited local attractions.

The animals are always entertaining, but it's overpriced.

Went to the Festival of Lights. Good show. Plenty to do while you walk around. Food prices seemed too high. Cheeseburger, garlic fries and Gatorade for two was over $31. Access to the zoo is limited to the entrance by the parking lot. I did not know this till the day we went. My son and I had to walk from the other side of the zoo where Metro dropped us off. Guess I should have planned better.

Best zoo ever. Been to a few zoos around the US and the cincy zoo is the best.

We celebrated our anniversary with a trip to the zoo this year, and we had a blast! There were a few things we wanted to see and do, that we couldn't due to Covid, but it didn't deter us from having fun! We took in the Cheetah Painting and Purrs encounter (with our artist Tommy T). It was AMAZING!! To get to see one of the cheetahs up close and personal was beyond compare! And the paw print painting was the icing on the cake!! Each and every zoo employee was absolutely friendly and helpful! We will DEFINITELY be going back after everything goes back to normal to get the full experience we were looking for!

We have been getting zoo passes for 4 years now and we never get bored of The Cincinnati Zoo! They are always adding more interesting exhibits and ensuring guests have a great experience!

This place was great a good place for kids and to see some exotic animals

First time coming to the zoo and I loved everything about it besides the layout. I found the layout to be a bit confusing and found myself back tracking a lot of areas because of missing animals while walking around. The zoo made sure to keep everyone distance and plenty of sanitary stations. And of course meeting Phiona was the highlight of the trip. Her cute antics and love for humans was a great relax from the world.

We had a great time the zoo is well staffed they're knowledgeable. It's clean from the walkways enclosures and bathrooms only bad thing I noticed is some of the penguin looked sick and were missing feathers I felt they should have been separated from the healthy birds but all together great experience

Been going to this zoo ever since I was a kid. Get a membership every year. 1-2 visits and it pays for itself. The festival of lights is AWESOME but the traffic & parking is UNREAL. On nice days plan to get there 1-2 hours before they open if you want to get in.

It was a good time for my children. A lot of the animals weren't able to be seen, and it seemed like a lot of exhibits were empty. However, there was still plenty to see. Staff was friendly and the zoo was clean.

Always a great experience. Usually a good crowd but it varies when you go and the based on the weather. Lots to see and plenty to do around the park. Staff is always helpful. Highly recommend to anyone in the area.

Huge layout with different themes for different areas.
Parking looked insane, so we left and came back the next day. The next day, it looked just as crowded, but it was our last day so we went anyway.
Was really glad that we did!
My husband and I really loved the trails and it was an enjoyable walk around.
The otters were our favorite, followed closely by the nocturnal sections .
Lunch was what you would expect- cafeteria style.

The kids had a lot of fun but we couldn't find the polar bear and the elephants looked so sad. Bring your own drinks because the price of food is ridiculous. We ordered 2 pizzas and cheesy breadsticks I don't remember what it cost but for the price we paid it was gross. I took one bite and thought I was gonna puke, couldn't choke it down even though I was starving. The kids like the fruit shoots and bug juices that are usually around a dollar even at the gas stations but at the zoo they was 2.49 or 2.59 a piece.

A perfect time of the week. It wasn't busy at all. All the animals where mostly out. I got to see the cute Red Pandas sleep high in the tree and feed on the leaves. I'm so happy I spent my birthday there :)

I absolutely enjoyed the visit. Some of the animals were not out but that was weather related. Excited to see the renovations and improvements.

I live out of town and I've gone every year during the holidays for my entire life, and now for the first time in the summer. This is the best zoo I've been to. Huge beautiful and clean layout with a variety of animals. The best defining factors are the focus on the welfare of the animals and sustainability. The animals have large and stimulating habitats; they genuinely look happy (as opposed to other zoos I've been to where they have bare enclosures and look sad and lonely). There are signs all around the zoo about how what they do to protect the environment; the parking lot is shaded by hundreds of solar panels. In the winter, the Festival Lights is just so magical and romantic. This will be your new tradition year round.

Had a great time. Figured it was gonna be to cold for most animals. But they were very active. Staff was helpful . It was very clean. Down side no food places and not enough restroom.

Best in the nation! If you're in Cincinnati it is an absolute must!

I love this zoo. My family and I come here several times a year. It's just the right size to spend a nice day without feeling like you've walked for miles and miles to see everything. The membership is definitely worth it if you come at least twice a year.

The parking lot is a good size and right best the front entrance. The street to get to the zoo is narrow and can be difficult to travel, so just watch out.

Always a great place for adults as well as kids to spend time together observing the well laid out animal exhibits. During Christmas time the festival of lights is second to none. I highly recommend visiting.

I loved this zoo! The enclosures didnt appear to be too small. The animals looked happy and healthy. It wasnt a busy day thankfully. We really enjoyed ourselves. We spent the whole day here and even had lunch. They have a lot of delicious food options. I'd go back if it wasn't too busy!

Even as crazy as 2020 is, the Cincinnati zoo is still the most welcoming and friendliest. My sons are obsessed with feeding the giraffes now. & while you may complain about masks in certain areas, it s how the cookie crumbles. Be responsible and you ll have have blast. We love the zoo and that will never change! May you and yours enjoy as well.

Amazing as always. I have been to many zoos and the Cincinnati Zoo is the best.

Fantastic place to visit any time with cheap entry. For those in the area, the annual pass can save you a lot of money if you plan on going more than once.

Parking isn't too bad and the overall zoo is well kept. Animals look healthy and the habitats are great. Highly recommended for a quick day trip.

Amazing zoo! Super cute animals (duh!) and an amazing care team to take care of them! Make sure to see Fiona the hippo! She's quite the character.