John Ball Zoo Society Review

It's a smaller zoo, but they have a pretty nice selection of animals. There are aquarium is pretty nice. It is well run and they have nice programs

Got right in and it wasn't busy at all. We had to wesr masks in the buildings but that wasn't an issue for us.

It was fun but thing are too expensive like food and drink

Great zoo with friendly staff all wearing masks. However, the patrons generally don t wear masks. About 1 in every 10 wearing masks which is disappointing considering the most recent stats about the effectiveness of masks. I was disappointed that even in the enclosed structures like the aquarium, masks were not enforced.

I love the JBZoo! I especially love that they are working to enrich / improve the enclosures so the animals are happier.

Had a great time celebrating my grandsons birthday. Loved the Lego exhibits!

This is a great place to take the kids on a saturday or sunday afternoon. There are many different animals that the children can see but more importantly most of the enclosures that they are kept in are very spacious and the animals are well cared for

Great little zoo in a great little Midwest town. The enclosures are very nice, even compared to much larger zoo's. Great place for kids. You can get through the whole place in just a few hours without even rushing. Many interactive stations with the animals as well, from petting farm to camel riding and urchin garden.

It's a fun place to going with family or friends too

I really enjoy this zoo. It's small enough that I don't feel like I need to make a day of it, but has enough packed into it to feel like I am seeing stuff. My family gets the family pass every year, and we are glad we do.

Clean, small and manageable to do with kids on my own for a quick outing.

Best zoo I've ever been to! Very interactive. Lots to do and see. Feeding the budgies was probably the coolest thing ever. This place made my birthday spectacular last summer. We will definitely be returning on our next visit to the area when our daughter is older.

There staff and volunteers were so knowledgeable. Great family fun, and loved there new gem mining idea. Really creative for all ages and definitely a do again.

Great place to take the kids or just yourself if you like animals.

Being from Chicago and having the Brookfield Zoo, I did not know what to expect with this zoo. A little pricey to get in (2 adults and 2 kids was $45), free parking. But the animals, attractions and vendors there were worth it.

It's a small zoo. You can cover the whole thing in under 2 hours. Many of the exhibits are very close. You get a great view of the animals. A great way to spend a couple of hours.

Almost all the animals were out playing and the petting zoo was real nice.

Lovely zoo. Clean. a little confusing to go through even with the map.without doing extra we went through about an hour and a half ... a lot of the animals were in or not in their space though.

Friendly staff, beautiful animals, clean facilities

lots of fun for the family and animals are well kept.

Great place to take the kids. Plenty of animals, friendly and knowledgeable staff (and volunteers), and fun activities throughout the season.

Lots more eating places than lively and easy to see animals. Good attractions for first-timers.

There was no soap in the women's bathroom at the entrance. They need to make stairways up to see stuff (like the lions) bigger. It was uncomfortable trying to squeeze around families especially with kids that do not watch where they're walking on the small stairway. Some of the drinks were flat when received. Other than that the environment was fun and family friendly.

Pretty cool went there on mothers day so my wife was free which is nice. Cool exhibits and active animals. Although not every animal was out due to weather, it was fun. Kids had a blast!

A clean zoo with good viewing areas. Downside as of 5/12/2019 is there is construction going on, so some missing exhibits.

Small and cozy zoo. With just the right amount of animals. It is well taken care of and the employees are helpful and happy.

Illumizoo was a wonderful experience of the zoo at night. Although we didn't see any of the animals the light show and natural walk of the zoo was great. This experience goes on until Nov. 15th and you don't wanna miss out.

Not much animal activity, nasty green stinky ponds and pools for animals, truly disappointed! Been a John Ball zoo going for 60 years, now taking grandchildren to this zoo and I feel you need to focus on the animals, not what you have to sell!
The buggies were the best!

This zoo is one of my favorites in Michigan! I highly recommend it. They take good care of their animals and the otters rock.

I like the monkeys and the ducks. Let's feed the ducks grapes. Can I pet a lion? The zoo is clean.

Awesome loved it I went
to it for a carnival

Has been a long time since I've visited the park, is still fun. Took a couple of kids with us. Made it more fun.

Had a great time at John Ball! Staff was excellent and all the animals seemed happy and healthy! Plenty of covid safety measures in place that made us feel safe and welcome, I would highly suggest taking a visit here anytime!

The zoo was super affordable and not very crowded. There was plenty of parking and a decent amount of animals to see. The layout of the zoo is a little odd with lots of dead ends but all the animals seemed really happy and active. There was a lot of workers at the exhibits with information about the animals. It was well worth the trip!

I couldn't give less than 5 stars since it was a holiday i was there and they weren't open. I did get to enjoy the pond, and the picnic grounds. The place was clean and well maintained. I really like this stunted but whimsical tree.

It was ok. Not really impressed with it. Binder Park Zoo in Battle Creek is so much better

M6 wife and I got married at the Bissell Tree House, and would absolutely recommend it to anyone looking for an amazing staff, view, and hall!

Great zoo! I buy my daughters family a yearly pass with a guest pass for me. So worth it!

Love this zoo! My family has been members for 3 years now but have been coming for over 20 years. Loving some of the new additions and improvements being made. Today we were lucky enough to hear the 2 female lions roar! Can't wait until our next visit!

Beautiful place. Charges you for everything food is nasty and over priced. Lots to do.

My daughter loves the zoo plus they are building on to it and more animals..

Especially during Covid when you can't do much else, the Legos were awesome

Great Zoo to go to for a few hours and have a great time with the family!

Who doesn't love the zoo!?!? Great place for kids of all ages. Love seeing the new(ish) exhibits that are here such as the new Tiger enclosure. The membership is a great value for families if you are local as well.

This zoo just keeps getting better! We are members so can drop in whenever we want but we almost end up spending the entire day here everytime.

Awesome zoo!!! Some of the animals weren't out yet but still had a fun experience and the staff that we all encountered all very friendly!

Not as big as I had hoped but a cool place to visit.

Larger than expected, well laid out. Cool attractions - ziplining, ropes course even a camel ride! perfect for a few hours of fun- even the animals are friendly!

Very fun but the enclosures are pretty small and they aren't great for the animals.

Such a great zoo to bring the kiddos! Lots of animals to see!

surprisingly packed with critters, great design and setting

We loved seeing the new tigers and the red panda. We missed the new snow leopard because she was shy. But we understand it will take some time for the snow leopard to adjust to their new home. We still enjoyed all of the other exhibits.

We can't wait to go back in June to check out the new Canadian Lynx!

Awesome zoo! I loved the upper path leading through the trees and water falls. The way this zoo is set up, it allows the Observer to get very close to the animals. The zip line was totally fun and so were the camel rides. We had a blast here. There is beautiful landscaping everywhere you look in the staff is super friendly. Do not miss this Zoo if you are traveling to Grand Rapids.

Always a pleasure to visit the John Ball Zoo. Because of the quality, I am an annual member for multiple years now. The events they offer are fun as well.

Wow! This is a smaller zoo, but absolutely phenomenal. The animals generally have larger habitats that look more natural but you feel like you're right near the animals for the most part (instead of staring at an enclosure wondering if they're there). The petting zoo has chickens just roaming around, and there is an area where I GOT TO PET A WALLABY, HECK YESSS. Beautiful place. Nice coffee stand outside the gates too. Wear comfy shoes, there is a lot of uppy-downy action as you walk around.

It was r daughter's 1st time at the zoo. She had a blast

Our family loves JBZ! They add new attractions and improvements all the time! So glad we got a membership this year.

Great local zoo and good membership prices. Our 2 year old son loves to come here!

Nice place to visit and site see. Concession service could be better, wasn't a long line at all, but only had one cash attendant assisting the guests while standing in sun and heat which made the wait long!

We love John Ball Zoo! It has some hills so we certainly get our exercise! The variety of animals is great, there's something for everyone and every age. I do wish the bird feeding space was bigger, I haven't ever been in there because it always looks so packed. And with other zoos I wish some of the animals enclosures were bigger for them, it makes me sad that they have to be stuck in there. But it's a good zoo!

We enjoyed a great day at the zoo. Our grandsons especially liked feeding the parakeets.

For the price, was really neat. Loved how close to the animals you can get. Lions we're my fav, rrraaaarrrrr!
And the howler monkeys.

Great place to take the family and see the little animals

Just a nice hometown zoo, well kept grounds , not huge but big enough

It was a nice Lego park with a cpl cool animals lol. Detroit zoo is way better.

Nice zoo. Was a really hot day, so a lot of the outdoor animals were napping, but a nice, clean, affordable way to spend an afternoon with one s child.