John Ball Zoo Society Review

Would've been two stars, but it was adult night, so there were drinks and no kids. This zoo isn't nearly as good as the other ones in Michigan.

Great exhibits. You need the whole day to see everything. They do offer group discounts. Consessions & souvenirs way over priced. But all-in-all, well worth the visit.

Takes forever to get a refill or food service but the zoo part is good.

Zoo is decent. Not the same size as the one in Detroit but still holds a variety of animals. Great place to spend a few hours. We were in a time crunch so we kind of hurried through but we were able to see everything in around 3 hours.

Very clean and well kept facility that offers a very diverse amount of wildlife in high quality environments, including an aquarium, terrarium, and petting zoo area. This is a pretty large zoo, so expect some walking. Entrance fees are low in comparison to other zoos, but the quality is comparable to Detroit if not slightly better.

Great little zoo with free parking, and lots of different animals. There's usually something fun going on during the on season, although it can get crowded at peak times.

Love the zoo but avoid the food there. Way over priced for cold french fries and a burger I'm pretty sure was nuked.

It's always nice to go to John Ball Zoo. I've been going there since I was a small child. I've brought my kids there and now my grandchildren. There's been a lot of growth and new exhibits and the zoo is constantly updating and giving the animals better and larger habitats. I love to share our zoo with out of town guests too.

Had a good time, even though it was early in the season :) Fun time for the kids!

Beautiful place very neat and clean. Well set up. Loved our visit. The rope coarse was a little expensive but challenging.

Not alot of animals out and most of the others were asleep. Nice to just get out of the house after a long winter.

Can we get Bigfoot?, Giraffe, or not pay 20 dollars for a camel ride?

Lots of walking as exhibits seem to be spaced quite a bit apart. Binder Park is a much better zoo.

Neat medium sized zoo. Built into a hill with a neat funicular ride, zip lines and rope course. We loved the bears! Visted during speak break while many exhibits were under construction or closed for the season. Will return this summer when everything is open!

Awesome place to visit with kids. Miss feeding and viewing the stingrays

I don't like the idea of caged animals but kids really enjoy it. It's a learning experience for them. The prices for some items could be cheaper. And I definitely think the admission prices should be cheaper when they don't have all the animals out and not all the activities are set up/running. We've been going for years and I feel like there used to be more of a specific animal. Yet I don't feel they've expanded to having any more animals. But again, I'm okay with that because the less they have caged that's one more animal that can enjoy their freedom.

It's kept clean and has nice natural paths and habitats ..Nice small zoo with a variety of animals.

John Ball is way more fun than it used to be! The first time I went there, there were only a bunch of different monkeys and a few cats and fish. Now they have more variety of animals that are super amazing to look at and just stand there and watch! I m so glad they added more animals. My favorite animals to watch are the tigers. Definitely a great place to go to for an afternoon. (:

Very nice little zoo. Love the red pandas, tigers and the new wallabys Jack and Diane. Price of admission was reasonable considering how much it costs to feed and maintain the animals.

Ever improving.
I avoided all indoor activities.
Had a nice stroll.
I chose to start at the tigers and work my way towards the front.
The big cats were all easily visible. Which made my guest patrons 5 and under very happy.

It was nice but cold. Maybe next year with warmer weather.

Cool zoo, absolutely love how close you can get to most of the animals

My family and I had a great time at the wizard weekend. Most the animals were kinda active

Close to the heart of the Grand Rapids Michigan city area. Good selection of animals to see, feed and pet. If taking kids go earlier in the day and recommend a stroller as the zoo has a fairly large area and a lot of walking will be involved. Large park and picnic area in front of the zoo entrance so bring the relatives too. Easy access just take exit 75 off the I-196 freeway and zoo is right at bottom of hill.

Very clean animals seem happy and I especially suggest doing the bird cage

The were no crowds. The animals were where you could see them unlike most zoos and they were active. Friendly staff an an awesome zip line.

Great zoo! Superb animal exhibits, friendly and knowledgeable staff. Another reason to love pure Michigan!

See just about everything they had to offer today. Lids had a blast

Lots of people. They really have done an excellent job over the past few years with improvements for the park and for the animals.

Over priced and half the attractions were closed. It should be cheaper to get in when most the stuff is closed

The zoo is great. It's not huge but it's close and reasonable. Great environment for kids. Parking sucks on busy days but it's easy to get to.

I will go back again and they have power wheelchairs

Went during the wizard weekend and had a great time. The kids loved it and the port key search was the most fun part!

This is a huge zoo. The best zoo I have ever been to. It has a good selection of animals. It's pretty clean and the animals seemed to be well taken care of. I would definitely suggest wearing comfortable shoes and dress to ride the zipline. Very nice. I plan to visit on my next trip to Michigan.

Great place to spend several hours walking around looking at animals. The park has done a a great job at updating the zoo. Walk paths are new and much wider. Everything was clean and we'll maintained.

I love John Ball. We get the year long pass & just go anytime we want. It's great exercise & you get to see some animals.

Small zoo. Most of the anmals was not out. The male lion was great.

Love the zoo! Having a membership is awesome, just pay once and go anytime you want when the zoo is open

Most of the animals were active and the staff are friendly and helpful. If you have questions the staff can answer them. The zoo is clean no trash on the ground. Well worth the trip from Battle Creek.

Not so big, but very well set. Beatific location and the way they placed everything was nice. Cheap membership as well. Great deal. Good Job JBZ.

Our family came for the Wizarding weekend and had a great time. The zoo did a great job with all of the "Harry Potter" type decorations and exhibits. The kids loved it. The animals were all out as well and saw so many up close through the exhibit windows.

I've been going to this place since I was a kid it's fun to see changes all for the better looks so nice.

Very nice zoo. They are making alot of upgrades and additions to the zoo!

It's always enjoyable. The some of the animals look a little board though.

I love this place clean, up close animals and the food is good too.

So glad John Ball Zoo has evolved over the years to meet the times. I have been a frequent visitor my entire life and will continue to be. It gets better every year!

The zoo is a small treasure on the edge of Grand Rapids. Fresh renovations throughout give a new appearance and they have lego-versions of the animals of each exhibit; which kids love.
Fun place to visit, and can be done, in full, within 2.5-3 hours. All in walking distance.

Absolutely worth it.
Had an amazing time.

Great day with the kids. Half price "Toucan Tuesday" all August 2019. All you have to do is bring 2 cans of Non perishable food on Tuesday per person and you get Half off admission! Donations go to Feeding America West Michigan. So the donations say in our neighborhood! Great day of fun for a great cause!

Can't actually rate the park was there for the taste of GR. But there is plenty of parking. We got our pic

Great place. I get a membership every year. Affordable and always adding more

I've always loved John Ball. It was my first zoo and today I got to take my 1 year old girls and my girlfriend to share their first at there

Very nice zoo. Too many stairs and the ground is uneven.

Nice zoo, unfortunately a lot of renovations this visit

This is s great zoo for an afternoon trip with kids.

Very nice zoo! I went there the summer of 2018. Good variety of animals, easy to find shade from the heat with lots of trees. Cleaner than most other zoos and close to downtown. I suggest that if your visiting Grand Rapids you should spend a day here. 5 stars.

Had a lot of construction and enclosure remodeling going on as well as spring cleaning so didn't get to see it at its best but what I got to see was pretty nice wish some of the outdoor enclosures with glass were cleaner but like I said the were doing a lot of cleaning when I went. Learned a few things and got to see some cool animals was a good time overall.

Love this zoo, but they are adding so much you don't know where to start and end. Prefer Boulder ridge over this but it's my hometown and nearly a memorable favorite for all ages. Good price for a yearly package especially if you have a big family. Staff seem to love their jobs which always makes for a better experience. Prices for food, beverages etc are a bit much almost every zoo is like that though.

Great little zoo, but I always get a depressed vibe from some of the animals, such as birds like the eagles. Will probably enjoy it better next year when my little one can actually communicate and talk about the animals she's seeing.