Mesker Park Zoo and Botanical Gardens Reviews

It is much improved from a few years ago. They are constantly trying to make more improvements.

Ok, my friends came here on Tuesday and it started off great. We went to the Amazon part first, and several people took a shortcut instead of going on the path, so we decided to do it too. Nothing happened at all. The person who was working the doors, let the people in front of us get through without any issues, but he was quite rude and aggressive about us cutting off the path. Like sir, I m sorry that it wasn t even a foot off the ground, and that it was just easier. Also, we went into the carousel, and the person working there wouldn t help my friend get off one of the animals. It wasn t like she absolutely refused, but she just literally told my friend that she would get off eventually. So, overall rude service

Great place to visit on a day trip, well worth the trip down. Very kid friendly.

I so want to be able to give you 5 stats but there is a lot of work that needs done. We need an elephant or multiple back and a gorilla enclosure that has eye to eye viewing of these magnificent creatures. I Know It has to be funded but the revenue you would gain Because of increased attendance it would be recouped rather quickly. The only reason I give 2 stars is for The future penguin project and Amazonia.

I have always loved the zoo..I went inside to the darkend room recently...I felt so sorry for what looked like a house cat....The poor thing was pacing in a frenzied state ...Going back and fourth stuck in the dark with a red light only pacing non stop....I didnt enjoy seeing this animal on display it made me feel so bad for this animal....

A lot was closed but still was able to see a lot of critters. Cages seemed a little small.

Well laid out, large diversity of animals, admission price is fair.

This was my daughter's first trip here and we really enjoyed our experience.

Long ago (about 10 years ago) Mesker Zoo was a joke. Horrible enclosures, no animal variety, etc... They have done well. The animals have become diverse, the enclosures are better for them, they have begun to renovate and upgrade. I hope the trend continues.

The staff is extremely knowledgeable. Not overly packed, which is nice while observing the exhibits. The Amazonia Exhibit is impressive, yet there are multiple exhibits that are in desperate need of TLC.

Perfect for a smaller zoo to take younger children to visit. Neat options such as carousel, swan boats and playgrounds for a break in the walking. Great cost.

Great zoo. No gorilla deaths here. RIP Harambe.
.............................................................................................................................................................................................................

The zoo is a great place to get outside and get some exercise with the kids. Love all of the improvements.

Overall a good zoo for what it is...but it needs more exhibits and animals. I pay for the animals not to see plants and open fields. I wouldnt pay to come back unless they improved a lot. I was concerned the zebras had no grass at all, and some of the exhibits seemed small for what land they have. $30 for 2 people to eat and get a drink for my son was steep and I wont be eating there again. Seeing as we cant bring outside food in, guess I have to eat before if I ever come back. Just could be way better.

Needs more food options throughout the park
Needs more animals and exhibits.
If you have a hard time with walking hills I wouldnt come unless you can rent a electric chair...

I love you zoos. I ve been to the one i m Indianapolis and St. Louis. $10 a ticket should make enough money for renovations. Every animal was depressed and most of the turtles (which they had a surplus of) weren t even moving and looked dead. Most of the animals had no companions and just walked aimlessly alone. The enclosures are TOO SMALL for 75% of the animals. This was the trashiest zoo ive ever been too. Looks handmade because it s falling apart.

Awesome place really cool location to walk around and watch the animals.

We went in morning to beat the crowd. But most of animals weren't out for us to see. Kind of disappointed that they don't have as many animals as they used to

Mesker has a wide variety of animals and plant life. Several upgrades and new amenities are being built. It's good to see they are actively improving Indiana's first zoo. There are locations for parties and black tie events. A tram is available to take guest around to different stops throughout. Various memberships are available and are valid at other zoos around the country. One of the few places in the area that are worth the cost of admission.

Great zoo! Small enough to see everything but large enough to keep you entertained for the day.

It is a great, little zoo! I urge you to go, and immediately check out Amazonia! Some hills to climb. Very clean. We enjoy riding the carousel every time we go. Meskar Park Zoo, also has a AWESOME playground for little send big kids. I think it does need to be more handicap accessible though. I like that you can fill your water bottles up for free at different stations and the zoo recycles! Pricing is really good for the size of the zoo.

I love this zoo! It's one of my favorite places to go in Evansville. The staff is knowledgeable and works hard to provide an enriching and engaging environment for both the animals and the zoo patrons. This is a wonderful place to bring children or to spend the morning strolling about and watching the animals. Also they are open to the public all year!

We had a great family day. Some repairs going on but it's kept out of sight

We like the animals and a good hilly place to walk. Later hours would be beneficial.

The Mesker Zoo is by far one of my favorite places. The staff is great, the animals are happy, and the keepers know all about the animals in there charge
The moment that stuck out the most was the giraffe enclosure. As we approached the giraffes we were sure that we were looking at a model giraffe. Turns out one of their females is completely comfortable with hanging out right next to you at the edge of the exhibit. At times it was less than 6 inches from us at it nibbled at the fence posts surrounding its exhibit. It turns out that she is very photogenic. And even a bit goofy!

The new giraffe is adorable. So is Mr. Pickles the giant anteater. Really enjoyed the August evening visits.

This is the most family friendly zoo I've ever visited. The staff members are courteous and knowledgeable. The animal are generally very active if you arrive in the morning hours. The layout is circular and fenced. A family pass is only $65 annually and gets you free admission to many other zoo's around the country or HUGE (generally 50%) discounts.

Love this place! We got a family membership so we can come and jist get awesome excersize! And my daughter LOVES the girraffs zebras and tiger! Usually make it a point to go through once or twice a week if we have no other plans

Beautiful zoo! I'm glad for every visit enjoyed by kids over the years!

Go! They need the money to keep up with improvements! It's finally getting there!

Have a very good time would of liked to stay longer but was after 4 already

We went during COVID, so naturally some of the exhibits and activities were closed off. But for the most part it was a great experience.
Please know that reservations must be made before arrival.

This zoo is very clean. Be ready to walk up and down hills. The animals are grouped based on where they are found in the world. There is a new carousel coming soon. The Amazon exhibit is very nice. Before you leave check out the gift shop.

We enjoy going to the zoo. Great atmosphere. Friendly and informative staff.

Fantastic experience! We had a great time with my 1 year old.

It was a good day with family but half the Zoo is shut down you can't see about half of the exhibits because of the pandemic

Seams to be several enclosures vacant and in most enclosures they are constructed with places the public can't see like the little tiger cage that's sad a couple of kudo does no buck a antelope with one horn . And allot of green space with no animals we did like the new electric tran the old gas was is gone they need to make the Tran stops near benches and shade our granddaughter go very hot it was 90 outside and the pick up by the carousel has no shade or places to sit . Not sure it's worth the money also notice allot of regular walkers in park heard a group of 10 talking how they hoped the heat would have kept people away then laughed one of them entered when we did and she had her granddaughter in a stroller she is a (member)
She walked in right in also parking is a pain we watched people from golf course using parks parking I told a girl upfront she said ok and did nothing maybe Evansville gave up on there zoo to bad was a pretty good one back in the day (Tran operator knew allot and was one high point of our visit )

Cheap season passes. Open in the winter. Great family fun!

This is an okay zoo. Not very big but we ve been twice and saw that they put in a carousel which is okay but I m very disappointed in how small and confined that poor tiger is. I really want to report this. They have a wolf and birds in bigger grazing grounds and then the poor tiger is literally in a small net confinement, it s quite pitiful and sad to see. Maybe use your money for a bigger home for him rather than a carousel next time. Lastly there is a lot of places for shows and not once have we seen one. The pool area where the pirate ship is has been empty for as long as we ve been going. I m sure if this place put in more shows, concession booths and other fun things rather than looking like a ghost town then it would bring more ppl and draw in more money. Otherwise I probably will be going to the Nashville zoo from now on.

For a small zoo, it was ok. For older people it is a tough walk. Locations of exhibits was very confusing which was not helped by conflicting arrows.

Friendly zoo staff, reasonable admittance price, and a fair amount of animals to see even in the winter. Peacocks roam around which is fun especially if they re ruffling their feathers. The amazon enclosure has free flying birds and lots of plants, so that was my favorite part. The other enclosures were mostly fair sized for the animals. The tiger has a very small space to roam though, which was a bit sad to see.

They don't have enough animals for the price. No elephant, a few monkeys, I didnt see a lion and they had wolves before but didnt see any this time. It's just not what it was several yrs ago.

Staff was great Amazon was great the rest was not good not enough animals had to see big cats dark room was a wast of time couldn't see at all

I have a malayan sun bear there and we are best friends

Still needs later hours. If you get off work at 5pm like normal people typically do, then no zoo for you.

Seemed run down in places. Animal variety was ok. Would have thought it would be more to it for a "Pay to enter Zoo"

Im not writing this out of ill will but rather with the hopes that those who are charge may make some very important changes.
The park as a whole is very poorly kept and in extreme need of an entire make over. Knowing the age of the zoo did provide some insight into it's condition but in all fairness the things of which I'll share are simple conditions that should never have existed.
First, there are animal droppings all over one of the main trails. Im not sure who is in charge of cleaning up the poop but when we have to watch where we walk in order to avoid it tells that's it's really gotten out of control. Granted, it's a zoo where animals are going to poop, but the asphalt trails around the park should not have aged animal feces. The next item up for discussion is one of the exhibit building's was atrocious as far as the smell of animal dung. Again, I know it's a zoo but this was simply neglect. On to the next item, the Tram...extremely in need of junking and replacing with something less than 20 years old. The driver's seat literally has tears in the side and back from simple age. As we rode it around the park we kept hoping and praying the drive shaft didn't fall to the ground. One of the universal joints was ka-thumping all during the ride, and unfortunately that's simply unacceptable. The famous paddle boats ere also broken and as much fun as they are they need a whole new fleet. Out of the 8 paddle " in he pond, only two worked and were available. The girl that was in charge of the 66 boats was terrible with respect to people skills. When we first arrived she stated that she wasn't open yet in a very ugly posture. We left to return in the 15 minutes she stated it would take her to finally be open. We returned and did the paddle boats but the employees attitude really did make it so much less enjoyable. As with any zoo there's always a fear that particular wild animals may get out and considering the neglect of the grounds and the attitudes of some it's only a matter of time when someone will leave a door or gate open and God help the person should they be attacked.

Excellent! Great place for family. Electric scooters, restaurant, gift shop, party area.

It is the best place to be. But not when I feel that day

We love going here with our grandkids. There is so much new to see. We really enjoy all the new exhibits. The grandkids LOVE the new carousel. Great place for families!

This place was great! It is spread out so expect to walk a lot, and there are some pretty steep areas. We didn't have any problems navigating through and I had a heavy toddler in a large jogging stroller to push. There are a lot of areas that just have plants and such, so there probably could stand to be some more animal habitats, but overall it's a really nice zoo. The staff are very friendly and took the time to explain the animals. It's clear they really care about them. I would definitely visit again. I've been to a lot of different animal habitats and zoos and I would recommend this one.

Our 1st visit to this zoo...we did enjoy it... Very warm outside.... Nice cooling stations...

Absolutely terrible. Enclosures are WAY too small for the animals.

Wonderful zoo with lots of animals to see and fun interactives for children of all ages. Nice gift shop although somewhat pricey. Play areas and rest spots throughout. Nice indoor exhibits as well. Love this zoo. Great experience for little money.

This is the perfect place to get excersize and relax. I am also very impressed with the new bird enclosure, one landed in my son's hair and walked up my arm, it made me laugh so hard I had happy tears, the joy we get from going here is priceless

It was cool but not all the animals were out n some of it was closed bit ima go back when it gets warmer n c

A nice casual way to spend an afternoon in Evansville.

Nice zoo to spend the day with your little kids. Nothing to special

Boo at the zoo is a great place for kids a lot of fun activities for the whole family.

Need more animals. No lions, no orangutans, only 1 tiny bear, and too many animal exhibits closed.

Nice Zoo, friendly staff. It's laid out in a large circle so you can't miss anything. Though if you don't bring your own drinks be prepared to pay up at the vending machines and definitely at the cafe. Other than that, it's a great way to spend the day.

Peaceful and pleasant place to get some exercise plus many beautiful animals.

Nothing special, nothing for kids. Barely any animals. No tram, no splash pads or feeding animals etc. Nothing hands on for kids. Just a lot of walking to aee minamal animals.

Nice zoo. Animals are up close. I'll be going back soon.

No too many animals out at 4pm but it was fun walking around the park see the ones that were out. I even heard the tiger making noises,and came up close. Very cool