Houston Zoo Reviews

Although decently entertaining, yet short, the seal show is really just an excuse for a liberal agenda lecture on saving the planet. Less lecturing, more seals. Other than that, it's a good zoo.

Had a great time here with the kids. They liked seeing the animals and learning about where they come from and what they like to eat. There is a playground for the kids to play and a kids zoo which is great.

Besides the heat I really enjoyed myself. I think they should have had a section with reptiles I did not see one single snake. But they did Save The Best For Last which were the elephants my favorite

Great experience for me and my daughter. I will return annually.

Great visit with the family. Did not see some of the animals as last time like aalligators but overall had a great time. Had to take the long way to get parking because of construction was only issue.

Beautiful scenery, there where chickens up close and personal. I especially like the elephants. The baby elephant is soon to ba a year old. The birds even posed for pictures.

Membership is key to enjoy the zoo. The early first Saturday and not having to pay admission makes this a good choice if you want to visit multiple times a year. We go often and our son loves it. They have nice programs in the summer and they used to do photo days which I loved. Good zoo, go early on warm days and dont forget to see the birds as we have a nice exhibit.

I have grown up going to the Houston zoo, I can remember going with my grandparents as a kids when the monkeys were kept in tiny cages! We went back recently and I am so impressed at how far the zoo has come. It was a great trip all around!

Had fun. Didn't see everything available but that was alright. Bugs and Reptiles were my go to and there was a good variety. Fed the Giraffes, and toured the bird area. Parking is an issue. We came just before a big rush that filled the adjacent lot in no time. Plenty of staff roaming around ready to assist you.

Cant forget this experience so many variety of animals and staff was friendly to black plp

Love the Hstn zoo, very well taken care of and big.

If I let my family choose, we will go to the zoo every weekend! The only downside is parking, there is never enough parking, so be prepared to take a few laps in this pocket. The zoo itself is large and offers and displays a wide variety of exhibits and animals! So be sure to wear comfortable shoes and bring a bottle of water! The best time is Christmas, and the zoo provides lights for night travel.

I ve been coming to this zoo for years and it just keeps getting better! The newest Gorilla Hall is amazing - inside you have a close up and personal view of the amazing beasts and the outside is so well designed!! It definitely complements the long-standing walk through monkey exhibit! It could be a hot day in Houston but the lovely old oaks provide a lot of shade and the inside buildings for reptiles and fish and small mammals provides wonderful AC d respite! We didn t bring little ones but the Children s zoo is so fun and is right around the corner from the giraffes. Can t wait for the opening of the Texas Wetlands!! Make sure you che k the website - always something new happening and the behind the scenes tours are well valued!

It was nice, just smaller than I expected! But couldn't beat the price!! Today was free!

Zoo was great with this kids. There is some construction going on in the zoo so some routes were off.
Biggest issue is parking. Took us at least an hour to park.

Great family enjoyment and price was worth it PLUS they offer Military discount

Pretty big. Nice exhibits and animals. Especially enjoyed the dinosaur exhibit.

Zoo!!! Great place to visit

Another best place to visit around Houston. If you buy "Official Houston CityPASS" then the rates will be lower but you have to wait in a queue to get the ticket.

The days we traveled; some of the parts of the zoo are under construction, I think they are expanding the zoo exhibits.

So many animals are there and grouped accordingly. Best time is the morning time and keep 3-4hrs to cover all the exhibits. (Open 9 a.m. - 7 p.m./Last entry 6 p.m.)

Key areas to watch are Wortham World of Primates, The African Forest, McNair Asian Elephant Habitat etc.

When we talking about the parking spaces; sometime it will be difficult to find a parking near the zoo area.

Apart from that, there is a John P. McGovern Children s Zoo

Great place with family

Awesome zoo, great customer service,animals. They treat the animals really well and they have a new class of animals coming soon, so I suggest coming to this family freindly entertainment ASAP!!!!

Amazing to visit, even with Covid-19 happening. You have to purchase tickets online but, they are practicing social distancing and have assigned a pathway for you to go throughout the zoo but you still get to see almost everything. Be prepared, not much food places are open but bring a cooler and your good to go. It took me and my husband 3 hrs. to walk the whole zoo at a casual pace and still stop to look at the animals and had lunch at the tables at the cafe, which we brought in our cooler. Loved it!!!

Small, they need to get rid of the golf course to allow the animals more room. The parking is a nightmare come prepared to roam around looking. It's ok, they make due with what they have.

This is a great place to roam around with the kids, rain or shine. We tend to see more of the animals if we get there first thing on cooler and/or rainy days.

Even the animals are happy in the usa. It's a good place with positive vibes. Happy place.

The animals we're very active and we saw an awesome bear fight!!

Beautiful zoo. One star because you have to waste 3 hours to find parking to spend one hour walking inside

They are working to improve conservation in the city and world. Their are volunteers programs from teens, major corporations and schools. The elephant pool is the best! Plus the Houston Zoo has many new babies.

The only reason I am rating it as a three is because parking Is absolutely the worst! If parking wasn t an issue it would be a 5. Some days I leave because i spend over an hour looking for parking. The parking issue ruins our zoo day whether we find parking or not. :(

My kids really enjoyed the walk and it was really safe for the kids to watch the animals with a clear view.

This trip was for the sparkling zoo lights! Great visit. They've changed up the path which has improved the lights (what the main focus should be). Clean, easy to get around, and don't forget to grab some hot chocolate and s'mores :)

We just did Zoo lights and it was magical. We got there just before 5, when it opens. Because we chose a week night it wasnt crowded. It took us 2.5 hours to go through. We rode the carousel and took a ton of pictures. We stopped and talked with Candy the red striped zebra. Whoever was behind the scenes doing the voice is fantastic.

Had a really great time with my family , the only downfall, is that I have seen too many vehicles with broken windows, I think there needs to be more security in the parking lot. The zoo is expensive enough , my heart breaks for the ones who had to leave the zoo and find their cars vandalized..

I've always loved this place. I've been behind the scenes to see that the animals are treated well. The zoo is dedicated to environmental causes, and the non-profit proceeds go to bettering the zoo and even rescue procedures!

Loved loved loved the zoo! Best thing now is that it s open till 7pm during the spring and summer! We went for a few hours on a weekend and even though the parking lot was packed - it was still easy to move around. The exhibitions are all great and can t wait till they reopen the bear exhibit!

Great place to hang out and membership pays for self.

Amazing family fun. Dinosaurs was a GREAT experience.

Great place to take the family. Plently of animals to see and their nature walk area to see all the monkeys and apes is very pretty. Our son loved everything about it. We would like to see more Marine life how ever ... Maybe a larger aquarium.

Friendly staff, loved the animals. Can't wait till all of the areas are open.

Fantastic zoo! Beautiful habitats, friendly, knowledgeable staff, super-fun petting zoo and playgrounds. The Swap Shop is amazing and we utilize it as part of our homeschooling.

Lots fun for the family. Recommend doing the giraffe feeding. It's a little pricey, $7 for 3 leaves of romaine lettuce, but it does get you up close to the giraffes. There is the carousel, the swap shop, and the petting zoo. One thing I do like about the Houston Zoo, is that they are always making new exhibits. They are redoing the old duck pond, and turning it into the American wetland exhibit, should be open later in 2018. Keep up the great work Houston Zoo!

The weather and ot was safe for the grandkids to explore and enjoy

The animal seem depressed compared to Lufkin and even San Antonio Zoo, Houston Zoo animal seems a lot more down and out..
But overall it's a great experience being in the middle of downtown Houston at least it's a little get away from the Concrete Jungle.

The Houston Zoo is really worth becoming a member if you have children or would like to become part of a community which cares for the preservation of animals. Not only does the zoo have camps, events related to holidays throughout the year, daily opportunities for education on the animals and important topics concerning each species, but the zoo is also constantly expanding and doing more to give these beautiful creatures a more natural environment to live in so your experience as a visitor is always a new surprise. Certain times a day, kids and adults can feed the giraffe, which I found really exciting and I'm in my 30's. There happy hour events if you are a member to benefit the zoo if that is your thing. Currently, Zoo lights are underway which is a great way to kick off the Holiday Spirit with family and friends. I can't say enough about the Houston Zoo. As cheesy as it sounds, it truly is fun for the whole family!

We loved visiting the zoo. We haven't been in 7 years and it has changed a bit. There's lots of construction going on but it doesn't get in the way. Great family adventures to share. The elephants have a big area to use. The lions were majestic. I believe the Bald Eagle is getting a new area.

Visited the Houston Zoo with my girlfriend. It was our first time going and it was even better going to the Zoo lights the same day. We will definitely go again next time

Great zoo!! Wait till summer is over though because it is HOT in Htown in the summer.

It's such an easy walk through with so many unique habitats. Lots of animals throughout the entire zoo and it's always getting better

Lots of animals. Pokestops galore if you play pokemon go

About half of it is under construction but free Tuesdays is worth it.

A great zoo the animals are well treated, my family really liked

Its always a pleasure to visit the zoo. The children love it! Its beautifully decorated this time of year for zoo lights!!

One of the best zoos in the country, very easy to walk around, lots of shady areas and places to sit and watch animals. Always see staff on grounds and they are always smiling.

Always love the zoo , so I had a bad experience and I was gonna put a 3 star but Valerie from the cafe by the giraffe made it the best experience ever thank you so much you have great customer service , definitely coming back now

I love the variety of animals at this zoo. It was really a bit cold out, so all of the primates were kept inside. The sea lions were very active! I was excited to see the long horns as well. If you have never seen one before you will be very suprised. The giraffe pen was quite interesting as there was a window to the barn where some of them were hanging around. So we got to see where they go indoors as well as outdoors. There was another side to the lion pen where you can see them closer from a semi underground viewing room accessible from the outside. The zoo was not packed as the weather was too chilly for many people to be outside. Only one food area was open and they only had pizza and pretzels. There were signs for a new gorilla habitat opening in 2015. I can't wait to go back!

Learned later about Animal captivity for human pleasure is not I will ever get involved with. Zoo's are not the place for these beautiful creatures. They have their own places to live freely. Please don't visit any zoo. Go to big parks where animals are free and observe them in their own habitat.

The Houston Zoo is such an attractive place to bring kids my kids love all the animals available to them for educational purposes instead of books.

Fun place to take the kids for the day. There is dining on site. Free parking. A splash pad once inside the zoo. There is also several places for the littles to play. My kiddos live the petting zoo! Restrooms can be found very easy and I believe they are handicap accessible.

Always fun. Holiday Zoo lights cool, but the traffic... arrgh. Take the rail if you can.

It was ok. Most of the animals people come to see were put up or in feeding time. No penguins and hard to see some of the animals. But for the most part it was fun

Feast with the Beast is always great. The Houston zoo is always top notch

One of the best zoos. The aquatic exhibit includes a tunnel where kids and small adults can crawl under a school of piranhas (they live in the Amazon).

Had a great time here! It's a very family friendly place. The workers are nice and welcoming. I will defiantly be going back soon!

Lots of shade to enjoy on the warm days. The exhibits are pretty big,so when crowds gather, you have space to move around.

Always a good time with the family. Only thing is that sometimes the most intriguing animals are hiding or sleeping in private areas and are not visible.. that makes my kids sad; but what can you do? Overall enjoyable and good variety

Our Experience with Houston's was great other than that the weather was really really hot they just need to do Build little bit more rides For little ones my daughter is 14 month old She enjoyed a lot but she enjoyed on the carousel which I was thinking there was only few things for little kids to do over there they also Need Drop the the price of soda

Be sure to go online and get tickets. They don't sell them there and you have to choose what time you will enter the park. You can only enter on the time window on your ticket. Other than that the parking is Terrible. It will take forever to find a parking spot.

This place is surprisingly great! Growing up in Seattle and San Diego I got spoiled by two amazing zoos but after trying this place out for the first time months ago I saw how amazing this place is and how deceiving it can be based on it's location. I had a great time but more importantly my kids had a great time, there is a splash area and the kids can run around and cool off while you sit and rest up a bit! Quickly became a member which paid for itself after our second visit. 4 hours away and I still make the trip Everytime I have to go to Houston.

This is a great place. My family and I love going to the Zoo. All monies go to making life better for the animals.

Great place to take the family. Lots of animals to go see and big enough to take you a few hours to go see everything. Parking is a bit of a nightmare though so be prepared to spend a good half hour looking for a spot if you show up more than an hour after they open.

I've always liked the Houston Zoo. The price may have gone up from childhood, but it is still a great experience. I can't wait for the renovations to be complete!

Really expansive exhibit with a very large elephant space. Not crowded due to Covid but very vey hot. Definitely walk around with some water or an umbrella for some shade. The elephants and giraffes were my favorite of the day. They had a nice Seal show too. And cool monkey exhibit as wel

Way cool. Lots to look at. Kids had a blast. Loved watching my little ones feed the giraffes!

I like going here. Been going here since I was a kid. There isn t much to say being positive or negative. It s very clean and the tickets were 20$ when I went.
I would like to say this guy right here who was sitting outside near the lake was making roses and crickets was nice and selling them. I spent 10$ on a cricket and thought it was more worth it than what you could buy at the zoo.

Great place to take the family to hangout and enjoy the day. Food can be a little pricey so plan eating times for before and after.

Lots of fun. Under construction still, better signage could help for directions. Parking was no problem for us. Jaguar was super cool. The elephant family was awesome. Good canopy for sun protection.

I love going to the zoo! This time we actually got to see the lions up and moving around. I also love the new changes coming to it.

A lot to see, you definitely should go back. Nice that you can bring in food if you wish and right by the park. Petting zoo was great for the kids.

Very good place to see the animals. All animals well fed and lively. Kids loved it.

TRIED to go to the Houston zoo yesterday, February 16th. We come all the way from Tomball so we drive a little ways. Once we got about 5 minutes from the zoo, it was a complete madness. There was no direction on where traffic should go. People were walking in and out of cars. There needs to be some kind of traffic system in place. Also there was absolutely NO PARKING AVAILABLE! People were fighting each other over parking spots and throwing things at other cars. We decided to leave so none of us would get hurt at that point. Nothing is worth the craziness.

One of my favorite places to visit, even on busy days! Very clean, friendly staff, and love the petting zoo.

A lot of the animals were not out. Not sure if we missed them or due to the weather, but prices should be adjusted when you dont get the whole experience. There was a road construction and getting to the zoo parking lot was a mission itself.

This zoo is great. It has all the major anchor animals (elephants, lions, tigers, giraffes, etc) and lots of other great animals and attractions too. Nice trees that provide shad throughout and great monkey and primates exhibits as well.