Denver Zoo Reviews

Born and raised here in Denver Colorado and the Denver zoo never gets old

We've been zoo members for years now. The staff are informational and you can really tell that they care about their animals. My son asked "when they drink through their nose does it taste like boogers" at the elephant show and the lady actually gave him a thorough response instead of laughing like I did. It started with my first born in 2010 and we have renewed our membership every year. The pediatrician is close to the Zoo so it was a great after every good visit. My only criticism is that I wish it were cleaner. There is always human food and trash all over and their facilities are also not kept up.

This zoo is amazing! It s pretty large! It took my roommate and I about 4 hours to get through the zoo! We missed a few animals but not too many! A lot of the animals have little educational entrances if you have the opportunity go through them! The aquatic one was better than the Denver aquarium! At first I was pissed about paying $20 but the zoo was so worth it!

Always a beautiful place to spend the morning or late afternoon... Not a 11-2 pm place to be it's generally hot and the animals are not very active, if you come early and bring a picnic to eat at the zoo or city park, about noon take a couple hour break to eat then return to finish the tour it's a perfect day!

Parking is a mess. Five hot chocolates with some schnapps was $62.00 that's outrageous. Zoo lights were better in previous years. Will be crossing this off of my list of things to do!

They have some really cool animal enclosures here, just don't go at noon right after feeding or all you'll see is sleepy animals. They have a schedule of shows as well. Great zoo!

A lion was inches away from me. That's what happened late yesterday afternoon when I visited the Denver Zoo. The great-bodied, long-maned lion, with his large yellow eyes and massive paws, was only inches away... although, luckily, he was behind strong glass. There was no one else around. I heard the faint voices of children calling from afar, but I was by myself. The lion, however, was not alone. He lay on a large rock near a brother, with another a bit farther off. They were still with a mysterious feline stillness. Twice, the nearest lion turned slowly his head slowly to look in my eyes, and then turned back again. I sat watching for a long time. A few flakes of snow drifted down, and the breeze began to rise, but these changes were ignored by the big cats. They remained still, like monuments, like myths.

I think they were waiting for supper. Perhaps they were simply waiting for a door to be opened to allow them inside. I felt lucky to be able to wait with them, for a time. And to be able to be so close, near enough to mark their breathing.

Zoos are complicated and paradoxical. They certainly offer preservation and education, but they participate in captivity, one of the worst of human behaviors. The frequently garish displays of commercialism are also quite bothersome. Of course, I'm personally just as conflicted. I can feel immensely sad during some zoo visits, but it's also deeply meaningful to be able to approach animals that I would otherwise never see in real life.

In this review, I've given the zoo three stars, despite my wonderful experience with the lions, because the rest of my visit was marred by the awful holiday music blaring near most (but not all) of the exhibits. This was an afternoon visit, remember. The zoo would close at 5:00 and then reopen a half hour later for the annual Zoo Lights event. During my afternoon at the zoo, Christmas music was continuous, and continuously distracting. Holiday music has its place - during the evening Zoo Lights event, presumably - but otherwise please let me hear the call of the peacocks, or the sound an elephant's foot makes as it slides along the path.

Love coming here no matter how old my kids get.. Went here last week with my nieces and had a wonderful experience.

We went for the first time on Friday and we loved it. Our kids had alot of fun. Some animals were hiding but most were out. Well definitely be coming again.

Awesome zoo! Very knowledgeable care takers!! Be sure to check out Groucho the African elephant!!

Great day for the zoo! The animals were active and most could be seen in each exhibit! Friendly and helpful staff and volunteers. The zookeepers giving the educational sessions were so energetic and willing to share their knowledge.

Great Zoo, good variety of animals that all seemed very happy and well taken care of. My only issue was that a large part of the zoo was under construction so it made it very difficult to navigate with entire pathways being blocked off.

Wow, we really enjoyed our visit to the Zoo. We will be back!!!

We absolutely love the zoo. My best advice is to go early- the parking is way better and there are less people.

It's a nice clean zoo! Wouldn't recommend you paying for the train ride unless you are wanting to do a 2 min ride.

The tigers wouldn't come out, yet this zoo still had elephants. I was shocked because I thought all elephants had been relocated to sanctuaries. The seals were entertaining, but it was tons of construction and the animals didn't appear to be active. Even during feeding time.

Love zoo lights so much what an awesome time it is every year !!!

This place is wonder to come and day trip. It is contently improving. They take amazing care of the animals. I would highly recommend visiting to any one that hasn't been.

Place was nice and well kept but none of the animals I wanted to see were out.

One of the worst zoo's I have been to. Feel so sorry for the animals. The small enclosures they are forced to live in are way to small and filthy. Save your money.

Always love the zoo. A lot of exhibits closed right now for remodeling

We had fun there. It's big. Plan to spend time and enjoy the visit.

Food is great and all souvenirs too. My two year old really enjoyed everything she got to see today. Every animal that she saw, her face just lit up with excitement. I'm very happy that we all got to experience this as a family.

Zoos are always a little depressing, but this one has a decent variety of animals and kind staff.

love the Zoo. wish they had hours longer during the week for us working folks.

I went to see the zoo lights this year on 27th dec 2018. It was cold at that day. So make sure you pack every single thing while visiting the zoo. Even for kids, i kept warmer packets so I can put these inside gloves and socks. The lighting was amazing. The animations for different zoo animals was done beautifully thorgh lights. The ice sculpture for snow man and penguin was good. Here are some pictures. You can visit zoo till 6th jan.

It was lights galore, so beautiful, and my grandkids loved it, with hot chocolate, smores, and the Merry go round

Great zoo. They have been relocating many animals lately and currently are not displaying as many animals as they have in the past. Still a good experience with plenty to see.

The cost to get in was high. Had a decent selection of animals to look at but a lot of the enclosures were small, mainly the large animals except for the elephants. Food, beverage, and restrooms were easily accessible.

Great variety of critters, nice layout and plantings. The Tropical Discovery building of exotic lizards and fish is the best and no longer requires separate tickets. But they charge extra for many other features, and even for wheelchairs! The carousel and train are a ripoff. We saw almost everything in 5 hours, but it'd be worth the time to find a seasoned worker (most were newbys) and get advice on the highpoints so you don't end up exhausted

Having just arrived in the city the zoo was the first place we went. Being told about the zoo and then seeing it are two different things as the zoo is a spectacular one with lots of impressive habitats and a wide range of animals. Great place for people of all ages , we thoroughly enjoyed it and will definitely visit again!

We always have a great time and this time was awesome! The Zoo gave our 4H kids a behind the scenes tour and they loved it. Great job guys! The only thing is the parking I drove around for 30 minutes before we could find a spot.

During the pandemic, you have to follow the arrows where indicated to walk through the zoo. It wasn't until after I purchased my tickets, that there were a number of areas to be closed. It was e-mailed to me of the conditions. (The More

I love this zoo! We move a lot and have been to a ton around the country, but this one is easy to walk with younger children, little educational planks for the animals, most exhibits are easy to see, and food is pretty decent so you dont feel ripped off like you often do at zoos/aquariums/museums. They handled re-opening during the pandemic really well too. I don't go as often as I normally would since they re-opened, but made sure to grab the membership and always buy something for everyone in our family at the store to try and support them during this.

I love the zoo great day the Sun was shining and all the animals came to say hi

Very large, lots of animals and space so as not to feel too crowded.

One of our vey favorite places to visit with our little girl! The Denver zoo has been a tradition in our family since I was a baby. I am so happy that continue to update and grow, for generations to come!

If you re into zoos, this is a nice zoo. If you re on the fence, this one won t convince you. They have great education programs and exhibits, but they are sorely lacking on cultural diversity and inclusion (meaning non-English speaking guests, which make up a significant percentage of the Denver area, don t have the resources they need to get the most out of a visit). We did an overnight and found it to be chaotic, with the educators being hot and cold throughout the event. Classroom management skills were sorely lacking and I suggest training specifically in that area and in culturally responsive and age-appropriate teaching. The breakfast in the morning was great and well managed, and the animal demos were really fun. All in all, if you love zoos then you ll like this one. Otherwise, there is so much else to do with your time and money.

My kids went over spring break and were super disappointed on how many empty/closed exhibits there were. Where are all the animals? And now you're doing an increase on prices? I will not return and waste money to stare at all the goose poo.

Great animal experience. They take great consideration of the animals' well being.
Staff are all amazing. 100% compost. That's amazing!

Zoo lights are so fun! The staff was very friendly though it was cold. We always love it here.

We traveled all the way from Iowa to see the mountians and have a good time at this zoo, however I was pretty disappointed. First of all I really appreciate all the shows and demonstrations that the keepers do to educate the public on these beautiful animals. They also have a fair priced BBQ place that we really enjoyed.
However several times we were confused on where we were since the signage around the zoo was pretty awful. Several exhibits were moved, but at the original location they didn't post a sign saying where they were moved or if they just weren't out today. Speaking of not being out today it seemed like almost half of the animals weren't out and most of them didn't have a sign stating that, we had to have zoo keepers tell us there is no use looking they aren't out today. This left me pretty disappointed because the admission was already kind of pricy at $17 per adult just to see a majority of empty exhibits. Speaking of pricy their suvineer shop is a joke, about $20 per small stuffed animal is laughable as well as most of their apparel. We have been to plenty of other zoos that were more fair on prices but Denver Zoo was pretty ridiculous.

The pathways have many plant species that make you feel you are actually in the habitat. It is kind of frustrating at the zoo because it seems all the exhibits are crowded with people.

Great time for the kids.all the walking gets you moving without really noticing.

We are zoo members and go several times a year. They have a carousel and train for the little kids. Not my favorite zoo of all time but still enjoyable.

Great variety of animals. Loved seeing red panda, zebras, giraffes, and lions close up. The indoor tropics is beautiful environment. Membership totally worth it.

Everything from walking in to walking out went perfect! Sanitizing stations everywhere,small crowds social distanced,Great job Devver Zoo!!!

Helpful staff. Wheelchair & electric scooter rentals. Lots of animals to see.

Good place, lots of animals, the aquarium and tropical room were good, sad to see the animals in a cage though. Would be a good place to spend time with family and children. Suggestion to go early so you can spend some time knowing about the animals and not just rush through.

A few neat animals, but only took 2 hours to see everything the zoo had to offer.

It was an excellent zoo!! All the the big animals you go to a zoo for. Only thing is it was super hot the day we went and I wish there was more drinking fountain or mist fans to help. We could of stayed longer but it was just too hot. But most animals were active

Exhibits are always empty it seems. We go twice a year for the past five years, not even close to the quality you get a Cheyenne Mountain.

Would appreciate newer, more easily accessible bathrooms in more areas. Good amount of shaded areas to rest. This trip we were unfortunately not aware the trian and carosel were closed.

I've never been to the Denver Zoo, unfortunately, the corona has changed the experience forever it was nice to go to the zoo but I guess the experience will never be the same

Nice zoo. Went for the Christmas lights. Not too crowded , nice lights, wish we could see more animals during this event.

A fun place for all ages. The exhibits are nice, with friendly staff and volunteers available to answer questions or give additional information about the animals. The size of the zoo makes it easy to see in one day or with an annual pass you can visit often to enjoy the many shows. I like the play areas for the little ones and large grassy areas for picnic lunches. You can bring your own food and drink or enjoy eating at one the restaurants. There are a lot of shade trees and areas to sit. Overall the zoo is well kept, the only reason I don't give five stars is the cleanliness of the water features and glass at many exhibits.

Honestly even in the off season there's a lot to enjoy here. If you're here around the new year the lights are some of the best, and it brings in all kinds of people, which is a very fun and exciting vibe.

All of the new areas are looking really nice and modern (big fan of the tiger), while also stylistically working with the rest of the zoo. Can't wait to see the ones they're building now.

Food is a little expensive but there's not much escaping that now a days it seems. But there are water bottle refilling stations all over, very convenient.

They're also big supporters of conservation, and fair treatment of animals.

One of the best zoos in the US in my opinion.

Great zoo with way too much to see and do in a day. Plan on many return trips with the grandchildren

Lots of walking.(as expected) Wheelchairs are available to rent for handicap or elderely...but it would be taxing to push around all day. Plan to spend 2 hours (at a fast brisk pace) or 4 to 6 hours for a memorable visit. Not a quick in and out.

I went to see the zoo lights for the first time since living in Denver. Have to say I loved it! Lights are absolutely beautiful, just wish it wasn't on a CO winter night. This would be an excellent time for a mingle night ;)

This place has changed so much since I was last there. It is like going to a beautiful park now. The landscaping is wonderful and so are the newer features they added a bit ago.

animal lovers Paradise new exhibitswere being added while I was there many animals were either not out or hiding but a wonderful place to go to see many animals (not to wonderfull with prices of food and drinks)

It's always a fun time with the family. We enjoy watching new exhibits come in.

This zoo is pretty nice place, but we felt liek some of the animals could of been better shape. Noting beats the San Diego Zoo

Not to many people but, most all animal housing exhibit were closed. Didn't get to see very many animals

Always been a member and always will be! So much fun to get out and walk around every weekend

Enchanted Hollows is a must do any Halloween season. The decorations are fun and exciting. Go to the zoo. You will not be disappointed. 4 gay thumbs up!!

Its been soooo fun. I love the service and all of the animals. Its my best experience yet. I love the denver zoo!!!!