Lee Richardson Zoo Review

I want a zoo like this! Free to walk through and a charge to drive (and park?) near each exhibit. Very nice.

Great zoo focused on conservation of endangered and threatened species.

A nice, large place, although it closes "early" and I think it needs a little more to show.

I never get tired of visiting look forward to every visit

Great place, largest Zoo and Park in Southwest Kansas, museum and the great big pool.

Nice zoo... free to walk thru...don't miss the museum that has the largest hair ball :)

The zoo is awesome and well maintained if you do not want to park your car and walk through it all you can drive your car through as many times as you want for $10

Slightly disorganized and patched together. Over all a great zoo! They had an animal I had not previously seen at a zoo, the Takin, that got me quite excited. Places for the kids. Lovely, quiet, educational experience!

Awesome zoo, I've seen the changes it's made for over 20 years now.

So fun! We did the bike with 6 people and loved it. Small town zoo but animals were all very active. The mining bag had great gems! We had so much fun we went 2 times in 1 weekend.

It is a beautiful place there is not much variety of animals but it is free and that is enough, they are remodeling hopefully and bring more animals

It is bigger than I thought it would be. Lots of fun!!

Very scenic with the trees and landscaping. The different animal exibits were amazing. Would have liked to have seen the otters.

Great for a small zoo but they need to clean up the trash

My children and I love this zoo. It takes awhile to walk it but it has some great animals and they are close enough to see.

This place is a little gem! It was a lot better than many zoos that I've visited in that past that had a large cover charge.

For being free it is awesome, and it is very well run besides.

An awesome Zoo for the entire Southwest region of Kansas to enjoy. The animals have great exhibits and there are plenty of amenities and encounters to enjoy!

It's pretty amazing for the price (free!) The zoo is well cared for and large enough to spend several hours looking at the different animals. We love visiting whenever we are in the area.

Love the animals an the walk about all in all a good zoo

Like this place, learned a valuable lesson here 35 yrs. Ago. Don't ignore the no dogs allowed signs. The lions see them as prey. Very scary ordeal being chased by a hungry lion. Silly things 18 year Olds do....

The zoo doesn't have all the animals it could considering the funds they have

We have a zoo to be very proud of in southwestern Kansas!!! Our zoo compares to zoos in the big cities! If you love a great zoo, you really need to make sure to visit the Lee Richardson Zoo in Garden City, KS. You won't be disappointed!

Great zoo and wide variety of animals to watch and see

Good experience but most animals were not available for viewing

It's a small local zoo with a decent selection of wildlife. I was preleasently surprised on how very clean and we'll kept the site was. I wish they had more room for some of their animals. It's a must see if you're in the Garden city area. It's free to walk through or $10.00 if you take your vehicle. There is also a town museum on site which had a lot of very interesting history.

ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT! Amazing walk... Made for a fun family day of seeing different wildlife. Must do if in the city or nearby (worth the drive).

It is free and they have a wonderful little zoo. It is really beautiful during the fall season when the leaves start to change.

A free zoo. They can operate if they keep half the exhibits closed for remodel. No it's good. How can you complain about a free zoo. Lots of play areas. The kids love it.

This place is super cool, AND it's free to walk through. Very nice size and really nice enclosures for the animals. I was very surprised to see giraffes at a free zoo. It's a lovely place.

It's a family friendly environment and as you go through the zoo you and your children can learn new things. And by chance if you happen to run into a trainer they are more then willing to talk more about there little critter that isn't on their information boards.

What a wonderful zoo in South Western Kansas. It's free if you walk through it. And great pavilions for picnics.

Amazing the kids and us adults had a blast. Plus it's free!

A great treat, and free to the public. If you can't walk far, you can drive through the zoo for a nominal fee. The only negative I found was a few of the closures were small, but most seemed quite adequate for the animals lucky enough to reside in Garden City, KS. Also, some animals were difficult to photograph due to the type of materials used for the enclosures. All in all, a great asset to Garden City!!!

Great for a FREE zoo! Enough diversity that it is worth visiting again and again. Most exhibits are reasonably close. To see large animals takes a bit of walking or paying to drive through. If you do not wish to walk very much, the drive through option is nice for $10 per car or zoo membership. Great family membership price. It can also get you into other zoos for half off.

Nice free zoo. It's free if you walk through. It costs $10 per vehicle to drive around and see the animals from your own vehicle. Nice park nearby. The best animal exhibits were the giraffe and rhino. "Wild Asia" exhibit was also interesting.

Surprising animal exhibits and very nice price, free!
Of course donations are appreciated!

Made my daughter's birthday celebration extra special! Would recommend their birthday party special to anyone at any age!

I have not been to Richardson Zoo since 1996. I actually took my mother and my sister who happened to be in a wheel chair. Being able to drive thru and stop when we wanted to and look at the animals close up.

I grew up with this zoo and even though it's small and there's not much to look at when you've gone so many time, I absolutely love coming back here! Fortunately it's still free too which is convenient for taking kids for an afternoon and then wrapping up at the park that they have inside. And there's still new animals being added! Last time I went, I saw that they added wild horses from Mongolia. They were beautiful, I've always wanted to see them, never thought I would see them here!

Fun, free, and beautiful. The scenery is beautiful along with the animals. There's a play ground inside as well as picnic tables and a pavilion. There is a little novelty/canteen at the entrance of the zoo. Drink machines and restrooms inside zoo as well.

Wide variety of animals and has cute park for kids to play in. Will definitely be returning!

Awesome zoo panthers and Pumas are in the zoo how amazing

A big surprise to find this during my stay in Garden. I would expect a zoo like there's a much more populated city. They have a very nice campus that seems much bigger than 50 acres as well as many unique animals you don't see at other zoos. My favorite was the rhinos.

Love bringing my kids here when we visit, they look forward to it so much

Amazing zoo. Free to walk through and cheap for a drive in Day pass. The lawns are great for picnics and barbeques, and the animals are awesome.

We always enjoy our time at Lee Richardson Zoo! By far, the best free-entry zoo we've visited. We prefer weekday mornings... it's still cool out, no crowds, and the animals are active. However, there are many extra things available on Saturday and Sunday like animal encounters, rock mining, and tours of a historical home. LRZ also does a great job of providing fun and educational opportunities throughout the year including zoo camp and after-hours events.

Highlights:
*Large variety of animals
*Well shaded
*Playground with equipment
*Nature playground
*Plenty of benches throughout
*Multi-person bicycle carriage for rent (our family of 8 loves doing this!)
*Well kept restrooms in multiple locations
*Drive-in option ($10)
*Animal encounters (Sat & Sun)
*Walking paths inside and outside the zoo

To note:
*Bring plenty of quarters to feed the ducks/fish and for the penny press machine.
*Wagons are available to rent.
*Outside food and drinks are allowed.
*There are no paper towels available in the restrooms (air dryers only). So throw some napkins or wet wipes in your bag if you might be needing something of the sort.
*Safari Shop with souvenirs and snacks.
*You can also visit the historical museum and Finnup Center. Both buildings are on zoo grounds and have free entry. Snakes, spiders, etc are inside the Finnup Center.
*There is also a large park area directly outside of the zoo.
*The zoo is located next to a water park so plan to do both or prepare your children ahead of time.

Our favorite exhibits to visit:
Maned wolf
Otters
Siamang
Red pandas
Aviary
Rhinos

The new additions (lemur) are awesome!! Nice to see these things happening

It was nice and the girls in the safari shop was really nice. We was a little upset the others was not out but that's okay cause we will definitely be back for the spring or summer.

Love this zoo just wish they would get done with the construction of some of the new features.

The zoo is well kept and beautiful! Not to mention it is free.

It good, lots of animals, lots of fun and education.

Sad they do not have tigers or elephants but the baby giraffe is beyond precious and I am able to open my sons imagination up in this zoo...who knew there were forests and jungles in the local zoo?!

This is an awesome Free place all the family can enjoy

Really nice park. Animals are cool lived the rino and giraffes!

Spent the. Mid morning. At the zoo. It was a nice day. . it was spring break for the kids. And was glad to see all. The parents that was able to spend time with their kids. As well as the zoo keepers. Cant wait to see. The zoo in the summer. Some of the exhibits where close due to the cold still

Clean well taken care of zoo and animals.
Was disappointed the snow leopard wasn't out or is no longer at the zoo. Always a great way to spend time with family!

Great little zoo! Nice selection of animals and pleasant walk

Enjoyed walking through this zoo. There is an interesting section of Asian animals. However there were dead fish in the one pond.

Free parking and free admission, so right away we were happy. Great zoo with large enclosures and active animals. We spent a few hours and could have spent another few if the zoo hadn t closed.

Always a great place to go walk around. My son loves the otters and bobcats.

Small zoo has the option to drive through it or ride your bike and walk. And it's free