John Ball Zoo Society Reviews

Probably the cleanest, nicest zoo I've been to. Animals have large areas which is nice to see.

Pretty nice layout, nice walking paths. Exhibits are somewhat small though. I personally prefer Binder Park

Amazing experiences for the whole family. Animals are more active when it's a little cooler also.

The animals all seem well cared for and happy. The exhibits appear to have plenty of enrichment and the zoo provides good viewing areas. Definitely would recommend a trip here.

Like how they remodel the zoo. Walkways are easier to go thru and lot more stroller friendly. Thought they did good job with the pandemic we are in. They have signs where they say "frequently touch area". Many wash stations for hands.

There are so many animals and they are so cute. When we were there we saw a cute little Kitty and it was so so so so so so cute!!!!

I loved it! The enclosure were actually big enough for their animals to have plenty of space. The staff were very friendly and helpful. Definitely be back!

First time here. Great for a smaller zoo. The "Birds" Show with eagles, other raptors, an African Locust (I think she said) which likes to grab it's favorite prey, poisonous snake's, and slam them repeatedly against the ground until they die. This was demonstrated with a fake snake, and it was hilarious! The birds flew very low over the audience, the Merlin brushed the top of my granddaughters head. Food was a bit expensive. We enjoyed it all.

We made an impulse decision to add this zoo to the last day of our Michigan vacation and I'm so glad we did. Everyone was pleasant, the zoo was very clean, and the animals were well cared for. My son had a great time running from animal to animal to say hello, and the hilly terrain didn't phase him a bit. We got to pet the goats (free!) And found ourselves face to face with bears and chimpanzees, I couldn't believe how close we were!
If you are coming from out of town remember to check if they reciprocate with your local zoo. Our membership at Lincoln Park Zoo got us in here for free! :-)

It's cool to have a decent zoo so close, but the addition 8s ridiculous and the expansion makes getting through the zoo kind of difficult. I love the new trails through the woods. It would be nice to see more great lakes animal exibits while walking down the waterfall trails from the back of the zoo to the buggies.

Very nice trip this time around. The animals appear to be well taken care of and the zoo was clean.

The lego animals really make up for the fact we cant have elephants

This is a fantastic zoo with a great selection. You can see bears and tigers, feed birds, and marvel at some otters. My only complaint is that some of the exhibits seem small, but they do donate their money towards conservation efforts, so it's not all bad.

Awesome zoo with lots to see. Fun for kids of all ages.

I've been too this zoo on a couple of occasions and pleased each time. It's not as big as the Detroit Zoo. Animals are well cared for and lot's of tree's to provide shade as you walk. You'll enjoy it.

My little girl loved it her mother takes her often. And I haven't been to a zoo since I was a child. Had a great TIME!!!!

I've been going to this zoo since I was a child and now I'm bringing my children. Certainly a bit on the expensive side at 45 dollars for me my wife and two kids but it has grown a lot. It took about an hour and a half to make it through everything and the boys had fun that's all that matters to me.

Love this zoo! Whenever I m visiting the west coast of Michigan always make a visit to JBZ. Great small little zoo, love the penguins!

It was ok. I was surprised at how small some of the habitats were. Some of the animals looked distressed; though being caged up, what do you really expect.

So good to finally come back to John Ball Zoo! It's been MANY years! Some things have changed but some things I still remember from my childhood. Highly recommend checking it out! Also, Zoo goes Boo is a fun family event that happens there during the month of October near Halloween.

The zoo is just wonderful..All the animals are beautiful..check it out !

Incredible place with outstanding guest service I love bringing my family here.

Cute furry animals! Zipline was closed for the season unfortunately.

Nice to spend the day with family. Kid friendly. I use to go alot years ago. I feel it's a little expensive. Most new attractions, cost. It's hard to get from place to place.and not miss one of exhibit s. Still nice day.

I enjoy going to the zoo with my kids! They love going to the zoo and they also play at the playground afterwards

We love our GR zoo. Big enough to tire the kids out. Great extra experiences. Super friendly staff. Excellent selection of food and really reasonably priced too. We do have a pass so do not pay each time for entry.

Very uniquely set up! Very interesting to see and walk around. Animals, etc, were well placed, and habitats nicely done. The Lego creatures and displays were great! Reasonably priced. Ready to go back whenever we are in the area again!

Such a great place for families!! Always well maintained and the animals look healthy and happy!

Had a good time here! Was a bit hot but we survived! There Lynx was very cool!!

Awesome zoo had a great as t time with family seeing all the happy playful animals

Such a great place to visit. So many fun family options.

Love the timed tickets, the crowds spread out that way. Staff is helpful and friendly st all times.

Really cool and staff was really nice. I liked the petting zoo and the wallaby exhibit.

This is a nice zoo medium sized zoo. I wasn't expecting it to be as hilly as it was, so expect to get a workout with your animal viewing. The hills also made it tricky to see some animals as they were up high in the exhibit. Overall I was a little underwhelmed on the amount of animals they had compared to the size of some of the exhibits (great for the animals to have extra space though). As for parking there is ample parking in the lot connected to John Ball Park, so no issue there. Timed tickets are still in place as of this visit.

Great fun and amazing love the park outside the zoo and its free to get to

The power was out when I went. The park was closed.

The exhibits allow some really good viewing from several different angles. Staff was also very helpful and knowledgeable.

Beautiful zoo. Up close to the animals and the landscaping was enjoyable.

Nice place. Not your typical, flat ground, walk around, looking at animals. Enclosures with exotic animals. And lots of information about the conservation of the species.

Fun for the family!

Was a wonderful time Everyone was friendly, the animals looked healthy and happy, I hope to continue taking my business here.

Really nice, medium sized zoo with interesting design and some interactive features.

Don t expect the San Diego zoo, but for GR this place is excellent. Very well laid out, clean, and well maintained. A great experience with kids

I never saw any John's or Balls but this place sure has a lot of caged wild animals.

I wish the octopus enclosure was bigger and easier to see.

Absolutely amazing experience! I can't wait to come back!

Suppa duppa experience. The fish, tigers, and finicular are musts.

Beautiful zoo and the staff was around we got to get extra information about the animals! Thank you!

Just fun. Worth being a member though if you go more than twice a year.

They don't have many animals. The Tigers were no where to be seen. There were no bears. They had a petting zoo with goats and hens. The best part were the Penguins, & Chimps. I wouldn't waste my money or time on this Zoo again.

Perfect size zoo to spend 3 or 4 hours at. Great for the family.

A fabulous zoo for kids that features play areas, a zip line and rope bridges. For adults it is a very nice smaller zoo with several enclosures where you can view the animals up close. The outside cages are beautiful with many having flowing streams or even small waterfalls and lots of beautiful foliage. Interior cages are not nearly as nice and in some cases too small. The zoo is built on a hill so expect steps and some climbing or at least walking up and down sloping paths.

We visited for one of the adult only nights and I just wish there were more of them. Like one every other week while the zoo is open. Even if they re not Pour and Roar alcohol related events, just having a nice evening where you can visit the zoo, it s a little cooler, and you re not having to fight children for a view of the tigers.
Anyway, we really enjoyed it, the new habitats are doing well for the animals, it seems like they all have the ability to actually roam and play and seem to be enjoying it.

Great place to visit on a nice day. They seem to get better every year and I can't wait to see what comes next.

Clean and we'll maintained. Will be happy to return there soon.

Great place for an interesting walk, but the ten dollar fee is a bit steep for the visit.

Zoo was very well maintained, got to see so many animals up close!

We went shortly after open at 10:30am. We got in with no wait. Enjoyed the whole park without any complaints and made the full walk through in 2 hours. Its clean, inexpensive family fun and on par with any other zoo in the state.

Great zoo especially for younger kids. While John Ball Zoo isn't the best zoo in the nation by any means, it is wonderful to see that it is always improving and adding animals. If you haven't been here in the last 5-10 years, you need to revisit. Annual membership for a family is a super bargain.