John Ball Zoo Society Review

Super nice staff and a lot of animals to see. Decently priced. Would have been better if they had giraffes but all around a good zoo.

Tue park was beautiful and there was plenty of shade and benches to sit and relax on. Also I was pleasantly surprised with how reasonable gift shop prices were.

We had such a great day there we were so fortunate long lines at the snack bar but up on the hill by childrens campground was a sandwich truck wonderful food their first day healthy sandwiches and it was a great day out in the sun :) People were polite and the animals great to see we walked around for 3 hours and the cost to get in was so easy on the pocket and the long line moved fast. Thank you for such a great day last Monday :)

Always loved this place. Its always growing and evolving with time. How could you not love this place. Great for the kids minus the kids always want you to buy them everything but still great for the family and great for the community

Been going to the zoo since we had kids {9 years). Love feeding the 'birds, looking for the mountain lions and snow leopards, riding the camels, watching the penguins,...Kids never are bored there. They don't fight and we can easily spend a day walking the whole park getting fresh air. If you bring a lunch it can be next to free; if you pay for a membership and use it more than once. Family membership very affordable. We always ride bikes there and make it a destination. The surrounding park has plenty to explore also. Easily a place to make a regular stop at and great for young kids and parents who don't want their kids spending our wonderful west michigan summer inside watching TV!

Always love this place and the red panda is super awesome! We were here all day as a school trip. Staff helped us the best they could on our amazing race with answers. Thank you John ball zoo!!

Lots of hills - not the best for accessibility. It's OK, but relatively small.

Great value. I've been going here since I was a kid and zoo continues to grow but the ticket price has remained reasonable. Thankful they call Grand Rapids home.

Went there for the illumizoo in October. Kids had so much of fun, there were a lot of awesome lights.

It was great!! The weather was uncomfortable (rain, yet warm), but it was still a pleasant visit. The animals were very active so it that exciting, especially for the kids. The staff were still very chipper even with the chaotic on and off downpours. (Today was Kid's Day so admission was only $4)

Staff was very helpful and friendly. Multiple sanitation stations and helpful signs

Plenty to see and do here,
Including getting exercise along the way
I haven't went recently but I did see the Otters,
Penguins, Monkeys, Camel Rides, Lil Wallaby
Joey's climbing in and out of mother's pouches, Ziplines and much more!! You don't have to take my word, check for yourself

We love this zoo! They have a great variety of animals and it s easy to walk the whole thing!

The animals have lots of space compared to most other zoos!! Pineapple drinks by the tiger exhibit are yummy too

Over priced and the animals were not out hardly.. the ones that were my 3 yr old was not tall enough to see and food was outrageous and not good 22 dollars for a slice of pizza a few fries and two drinks... really

Love John Ball Zoo! Friendly staff, great refreshments, plenty to see and do. It s be nice if the funicular ride would work, but that s not the reason we go to the zoo. All in all a great, little zoo!

Great place to take the kids and grandkids. Will be getting another membership next year this was our first year doing so.

Zoo is well maintained...good place for day out with friends and family... kids will definitely like this place...

Great Zoo in Grand Rapids! I am very impressed with the improvements and expansion i saw last week. One of my favorite Zoos!!

Very sad place. The areas are too small for the animals

This is a nice zoo once all the animals are back! And all the construction is an eye sore

Grand Rapids Gem!! We had the BEST day. Very affordable.

I love this zoo there is a lot of fun activities, for children and adults

Only reason for not getting five stars, is because they took government funds. Boo

Okay zoo...girl screaming as loud as possible at every exhibit was not great

Havent been since i was a kid would love to return.

Plenty of walking to get your steps in and they have plenty of new attractions as well as many on the way!

expensive and the animals dont look happy in some of the enclosures.

Small friendly zoo... great for smaller kids! Friendly helpful staff...

Always love the zoo along with all the animals! The Red Pandas are my fav!!!

Decent place to take kids at... but I feel that they had 1/3 of the animals missing when I went. Also... compared to other zoo's like Toledo or Detroit, its underwhelming.

Navigating within the zoo is confusing. Animals are in token numbers. Vegetation is more native to Michigan than to the exhibits they suppose to represent as in the so called monkey rain forest. Parking is survival of the fittest. The teachable moments about exhibits look like they were thought up by interns & not fully developed. Disappointing attraction for the second largest city in Michigan. One must wonder where money is being spent. Maybe a good impartial audit is due.

Nice zoo. They have made lots of improvements over the last few years.

Great place with tons of animals. Handicap and wheel chair accessible.

We got our first membership for the year as a gift and we will definitely continue to renew it from now on! My 2 kids, my husband and myself never get bored of John Ball Zoo regardless how many times we go in one season & the extra perks that come with a membership make it well worth the yearly price.

II havee beeen theree likeee a milionn timess itss justt soo manny timees that Ii canttt even counte

Been many years since a visit. Truly fantastic and very reasonably priced.

im not sure if id come here again, the staff had an alright additude, but some seemed really bored, tired or just out of it. its more of a smokey mountain national park sort of zoo, but with obnoxious children running everywhere screaming... i had such a bad headache that i had to ask the staff for ear plugs, but maybe it was just because it was a busy day. not a zoo in my case.

Great new remodeling of exhibits. Enjoyed the visit very much and the new animals. Good experience for a small zoo.

We loved this zoo! Much bigger than I expected. The kids really enjoyed the Tree Tops course and the Zipline! Plenty of great animals to see. Even caught the penguin feeding at 3:30pm. A definitely stop if you're in the area!

Nice family outing the Lego animal sculptures are wonderful very beautiful great customer service

Love this zoo been going since I was a kid over 30 years ago.

Absolutely lovely small zoo. Clean. Many displays.

We always have so much fun here. It's a nice zoo with friendly staff.

Very family friendly and a lot of animals! Lines went decently fast!

Dont be late for a show. By a sec they wont let you in

My kids had a great time, the ropes course challenged them in a safe environment, simply amazing

I had never been there. Loved the train ride up! Ticket booth checkout was fast and very helpful!

I've been coming to this park ever since I was a little kid and some things have changed and some things are the same I love they reopened the top of the hill again. I wish they would have ice skating on the pond out front again like the 70s it's easier to park at John Ball then Rosa Parks Circle and you don't have to pay to park

This is a great zoo and a great place for all people and all ages.

In two hours you go through it is well you need animals but for the time if one is distracted.

While I would like to see some better signage for pulling in to the zoo, the zoo itself is fun to walk. I love the shade and the picnic friendly areas.

Over charged at the gate. No remorse. I haven't been to the zoo in 20 years and nothing has changed as far as I'm concerned. The animals that I could see appeared sad and bored. It's a shame that they have to live their lives like this. The poor American eagle can't experience the freedom that he portrays. I think zoo's in general have run there course. This one especially.

Not many zoos are open in March! We had a lovely time and were pleasantly surprised by how much was available during the off-season. The map and signs clearly show where to go to find exhibits. My favorites were Wyatt the red panda, watching the penguins get fed, the tide pool, and the tigers!

1st timer and loved it. Beautiful animals and habitats.

We had a great time. My girls loved it. The rest rooms could use some cleaning bad. Bit other than that everything was great!!!

so much to see & do! my son loved every part. the tram wasn't up and running due to a storm but the rope course and zipline was a blast!

Animals very well behaved, inside and outside their enclosures! Food and drink a bit pricey but hey, attraction pricing is always high!

The redesign of the entrance is really nice. It was a little hot today, but their is plenty of shade.

Great place with helpful staff. Signage could be better.

A great place to visit! The zoo keeps growing so there are new things to check out. We also love to visit to see all the animals that we have seen before because it is always exciting! We love it when the staff feed the animals or do a demonstration. And we love checking out the special events.

Had a good time with the family here. Lots to do for a smaller zoo. Social distancing was in play and everyone seemed to respect that. Food and beverages where a little pricey but that's to be expected. Zip lines, skywalk, panning for emeralds still in play though. Animal exhibits where pretty good we had birds saying, "Peak a boo" to us walking by and lions and tigers where active and impressive. All in all for a small zoo I give it 5 starts for cleanliness, nice staff, good walkways and lots to do with the kids. No complaints at all

Very enjoyable place to visit with alot of interaction.

Was closed upon my arrival but it looked good up until the front gate, Michigan is beautiful

Love this place but it's more rundown than when I was a child