I grew up in GR so we made a trip to John ball with my kids. Nobody was disappointed. My only gripe would be the price to rent a motorized scooter. Its not right to charge that much for someone who needs it.
Honestly it is much better then it used to be but the indoor exhibits are still fairly small as well as the snow leopard and mountain lion. They are doing more enrichment too which is nice to see but just because they're doing better does not make them good. Hopefully they can keep making progress in the right direction and continue to expand their exhibits.
We went to the animal encounter at the top of the hill. Had a great time
I like it, only animals need more space and more comfortable
I take my nephews ALL the time. We love the zoo. Would like to see more hands on activities for children. Food and beverages are overly priced for the socio-economic climate of the community. Could be cleaner in the buildings, but we still love the zoo.
Lovely spot to spend an afternoon with my grandsons!
I wish the zoo was bigger. It's a fun hole in the wall zoo, but nothing compared to other city's zoos.
Great place to bring family. Lots to see and do, you go thru many trails up and down you get to see every inch of the Zoo. Staff also educate on many animals they have so thats a plus. Only animals we didnt see at this Zoo was elephants, giraffs and zebras. But still an amazing place recommend this place for family time.
We had a great time. Wish we would have bought tickets ahead of time, because they were at max capacity for 2+ hours out. We got there at 2 and the earliest tickets available were 4:30. So we played at the park, which was fun! Someone was having a birthday party (good idea!), there are little park grills to use, lots of shade and picnic tables. Once we got into the zoo, the animals were out and very active. One of the workers said they are most active at the end of the day because it's almost feeding time and most of the animals prefer the cooler weather. Awesome experience, our 3 year old and almost 1 year old loved it!
If you have a MIBridges card (EBT or WIC) you can get in free!
John Ball Park zoo is a great zoo nestled in Grand Rapids. When you are walking through the attractions, you do not realize you are right next to downtown Grand Rapids. The animals are usually active, and they have a decently diverse selection of animals to see. All-in-all a very fun place to visit.
Great zoo! I love the new red pandas. I hope they keep adding and making it better each time. My son loves going there. He likes eating pizza by the tiger.
Nice zoo. There were quite a few animals off display though.
Nice, but lots of walking (hilly) not able to see the animals well. Practicing social distancing and sanitation, as well as lots of hand washing stations and sanitizer all over the park.
Beautiful zoo! It's been years since we'd been there and definitely enjoyed it! Even the teenagers
Jaxon and Nana just monkeying around at the Zoo. 7/12/2019
We have so much fun every time we go to the zoo. We got a membership for the first time this year and it is totally worth it. We normally don't go until it is warmer out, but we went today and a lot of the cats were much more active than in the warmer weather.
So, so sad. We are never going back. I'm ashamed of Grand Rapids. The animals are literally in small cages and have literally no quality of life.
Taking the tram and walking down is a great idea for those with children.
I love going to the zoo, it was nice fall day for boo at the zoo, most of the animals were up and active.
We love JBZ! We visit weekly. Membership is very affordable. They do an amazing job updating and taking care of thier animals. You can see by their behavior they are happy!
They have added so much to the zoo in the last two years, it's great!! Spent 4 hours with my 5 year old and had a blast!
Plenty of interesting animals. Red Panda Wyatt is the newest attraction. Wyatt and the tigers are at the top of a hill though, not the most convenient.
I've been to larger and better zoos and maybe that's why the experience here was less satisfactory. It seems like a place more for very little kids. I took my parents to show them around, and there was ample walking to do. We were all exhausted by the end. Lots of great animals to see, but some exotic animals were only in numbers of 1 or 2, which was a shame. It was hard to find them in their particular areas in the zoo. The employees are very enthusiastic and really enjoy their work - which is great to see! Nevertheless, overall a good experience, but I don't think I would go back until it expands a bit more and there is more to do.
Great small zoo. Only sold one type of picture frame so that was disappointing. Camel ride is two laps for $6 but worth it for the kids.
I had alot of fun all the animals I want to go again
Besides all the regular exhibits, we went when they had Taste of Grand Rapids & found our New Favorite Band!! Bootstrap Boys!!! So many things Always going on at the John Ball Zoo!
The zoo is well organized. Enclosures were clean, and the layout had a good flow to it.
This is the best zoo by far!!! I love the fact that you can(safely)get so much closer to the animals. All of the animals seem to be very active. I would recommend for sure!
Had a great time. But it is very hilly and probably not a good place to take anyone who has issues walking.
Great little zoo tucked away in a neighborhood. Lots of ups and downs in the zoo, gives your calves a workout. Great place, must see.
This is probably the best zoo in Michigan. Very nice exhibits.
Says it closes at 7. Got there at 6 and they stop letting people in at 530. They were really nice about it, just wish they would advertise it somewhere
Had a great time at the zoo! My boys loved it! Great staff and an awesome layout. I would definitely recommend it to everyone.
Prefect it is by child's safety and the 6 ft away distant and a amazing place to see and do things
They have made lots of upgrades. The red pandas and new baby monkeys were well worth the trip.
Cost of entry should include more in the park, and few animals weren't in their exhibits
Very nice zoo. They have come a long way since I was a kid, although many enclosures still need improvement. We went to the zoo's halloween event the past two years. Highly recomended if you have kids!
Had a great time at rock, roar and pour. Zoo was amazing.
Who doesn't love the zoo? Was here to play some jazz for members ' night. We enjoyed playing for everyone.
Its not binder park so you know its not great. It could use some work. But nice quick one or two hour type of thing.
Very meh . Zoo overall seems outdated with no upkeep. Carpets were dirty and missing in certain parts. Water in enclosures was filthy.
Small animal enclosures. Like, way too small for the animals. Felt bad for them.
Got 1/2 off entry with my Detroit Zoo membership, so that was good. If I paid full price I would have felt worse.
Not that is has anything to do with the zoo itself, but the clientele is... odd. Within 200 feet of the entrance I saw a swastika tattoo, countless parents smoking in front of & hitting their kids, etc.
I won t return. Not recommended.
Go to the Detroit Zoo or Binder Park Zoo.
Took the family there for a wildlife experience fun in very informative every time
I loved the experience! The staff was very courteous and informative of the animals. Membership proceeds go towards helping endangered species protection programs worldwide, would recommend buying one. My only problem with the zoo is it seems to focus on multiple projects at once that are spread thin throughout the zoo. We weren't able to see the Canada Lynx they will release soon. We saw everything else though.
Beautiful well maintained zoo. Helpful staff, clean bathrooms and wonderful displays. If you're in the area stop in and enjoy a few penguins
Friendly staff and everyone was knowledgeable about the different exhibits and animals.
Very big zoo with tons of animals. Not many zoos can claim to have all lions, tigers, bears along with many exotic ones. My only problem is it's kind of sad because the habitats are not big enough for the bears and golden Eagles. There are some other animals whom also dont have the best space for how big they are.
Food prices are a bit high for what they offer, but other than that, this zoo is wonderful. Lots to see and do for all ages and there are many ways to engage you in the the animal exhibits.
It's a nice place to spend an afternoon with the grandchildren.
Excellent zoo! The animals have plenty of room and seem very happy. This is a beautiful place. They also have a ropes course, petting zoo and zipline. We had a wonderful experience here.
Had a great time at the IllumiZoo! Definitely worth the visit
This is a really nice and affordable place to take the family!
Great place to take the kids, we saw lots of animals from across the globe. We had a great time, it s a lot bigger than the Potter Park zoo here in Lansing.
Although they have made lots of improvements over the last couple of decades it's all still uphill which is fine if you're able-bodied but for people like my elderly parents with Walkers it's an insurmountable task to take them to the zoo unfortunately did not take Fred's land and money
I was there with my boss/buddy/randy finch and we was working on doing some pumpkin carvings.
I grew up going to the John Ball Zoo. I haven t been in the last few years. Went back today and I was soooo disappointed!!!
Pros: It really is beautiful. They have changed a lot and it looks nicer than it used to.
The LEGO animals are pretty cool.
The meerkat exhibit where you stick your head up into a dome is fun.
Cons: There are more LEGO animals than real animals. Seriously. I could forgive most anything else... but we go to the zoo to see animals, and there were hardly any to see.
The petting zoo and the wallaby walk were both closed. We paid full price and couldn t see the two exhibits I most look forward to visiting.
This place is not worth the no money you spend. This type of zoo is obsolete and needs to close down. Or they need to find a place that has a lot more land so the animals can roam more freely and naturally. I have lived here for 56 years and this zoo is going down hill and not getting better. Go to the bigger Zoos you will be much happier.
Great experience for my daughter and I, would definitely attend again in the near future.
We has a blast at the hero day at the zoo!! A day to remember
jbzoo.org