Mesker Park Zoo and Botanical Gardens Reviews

Very nice zoo. Definitely feels tourist. And I grew up here. Definitely improved over the years.

Awesome Zoo! Very clean and customer-friendly several animals to choose from for such a small Zoo. Kids really enjoyed the feeding of giraffes. Also several inside exhibits with air conditioning for the summer. Can't say enough good things about this small Zoo that acts and feels like a big Zoo.

They are doing some updating. Overall is was a Good experience.

A lot of animals missing for the price of admission...

We had a great time. However, it seemed like several exhibits were under construction. We didnt get to see "north America" because we went the wrong directions. Spent 3 hours walking the zoo

Ample parking space.
There is no restroom for the disabled.
The admission fee is $10 for adults, and you can watch it on the shuttle bus with this admission fee.
It's good to go with family.

Nice small zoo. Employees all friendly. Tram available to help you get up and down the hills

It's a really clean and friendly environment for the family. Bring your walking shoes for its a little hilly but overall a wonderful day at the zoo will be had.

Some of the exhibits were closed high price on snacks

Love the zoo they even ran the tram due to impending storms the driver was super friendly and was offered a tip by other patrons and refused

All the animals were sick or hiding. It was almost like a ghost town amusement park from a scary story like Goosebumps!

They had a lot of exhibits closed and that was a bummer

I love going to zoos on cold days because nobody is there.

Well the place is built on hills.used to be a strip mine.when my family visited a lot of the attractions were closed.but still a nice zoo.we'll go again next year.should have more of the attractions open then.

Loved it. It's small, but we had a blast. We drove from TN because,of the good ratings and weren't disappointed! I feel like Mesker beat the Nashville Zoo by a mile! It's clean, the employees are friendly, the exhibits are nice, and there are tons of cute picture places. We will be back!

Nice try I'm sorry but if anyone has been to any other zoo they would be as mad as me I walked the worst hills with my kids and seen 50 birds a tiger and a giraffe everything was closed or shut down. Animals looked too hot and most spaces didn't even have an animal. Wasted my time and a day I wanted my kid to smile all day. Never coming back to this wannabe zoo! Not mad just disappointed.

Seein different animals and gettin alot of walkin exercise they have the best burgers but they are $7.00

Lines were slow getting I to Boo at the Zoo, but once un we moved along and the kids had a blast.

Only issue I have is $3.00 for a bottle of water, $5 for a can of beer and $3 for a bottle of powerade or Gatorade?? RIP OFF!!

Mesker Zoo has been a part of the community since I can remember. It is certainly not the largest zoo, but it is well maintained and a very neat place to walk and take our grand kids. The displays and animals are always fun to visit and they are increasing the zoo 'population' all the time. The Botanic Gardens was a great addition. It is full of interesting exhibits as well. Mesker Zoo is a GREAT family attraction for both visitors and residents alike.

Half the exhibit where not open lots of the animal where stressed or bored not much of exhibit where suitable for the animals that where there

Not a huge place, which is good. Good interaction with the animals. Relaxed and not crowded.

A great place to go and take the family and grandchildren

I'm only giving this 3 star because the price you pay isn't worth going. You pay too much for what animals and so much walking. They should allow the tram ride for everyone without charging since it such many hills. If you wanna over priced zoo then go for it!

It's an ok zoo to see mainly small animals and reptiles. But the grounds were poorly kept the grass around the enclosure were high and the tigers enclosure was so small and pitiful looking. They don't have many animals and half the animals were not out. My son was quite disappointed and he wanted to leave. This park lacks maintenance for sure and we won't be visiting again it was a waste.

Zoos are generally places parents only go out of necessity. The kids want to see the animals. It ends up being a sweltering day with temperatures in the low 700s and no shade to be found. Not this place! They have a pretty good assortment of animals considering the size of the city. And there is plenty of greenery and shade to keep the parents happy too! Definitely check this place out.

It was awesome! My son and I had a blast. The new bird exhibit is awesome and we will definitely be coming back!

LOTS to look at and see! Enjoyed it a lot!! Only $10!!

Run down local zoo. Needs help, or needs to be shut down. Seems like a waste of money for a place that hasn't been updated since the 50's. Lots of hills and not enough exhibits between the long walk's.

I don t go very often, but when I do, I usually leave happy and sad at the same time. I hate seeing animals caged up, but it s such a magical experience to see so many animals from around the world! As a photographer, I love photographing them.There Amazonia exhibit is the best, but it needs an update again. The whole zoo needs a face lift...Contribute now and help save our zoo!
*Photos are mine and copyright protected.

I consider myself to be a zoo lover and can say I was highly impressed! Nice clean environment, exciting animal habitats, and an overall friendly atmosphere.

Everyone likes the zoo, the paddle boats are fun and zoo is big enough for plenty of exercise

Everyone always has bad stuff to say about our zoo, but I absolutely love it. For the size of Evansville, this zoo is perfect. In recent years, interest in the zoo has risen, and they've brought in more animals. The new Budgie exhibit is amazing, and I see great things happening in this zoo's future.

Cute zoo. A little dated in need of funding/refresh but still a great place

Nice place to see animals, and also plants. We went there for the orchids - hundreds of them, and all beautiful.

This zoo is incredible for a smaller town. I was smitten as soon as I saw the capybarra.

BOTANICAL GARDEN IS AN UP TO DATE EXPERIENCE. very cool. You get great exercise. This zoo was built a long time ago. Parts of it even having been built by the CCC. Monkey boat is gone. Sadly, however for good reasons. They have paddle boats on a beautiful lake. Quite a few hills and a great variety of animals you won't find having home anywhere else in southern Indiana. I HIGHLY recommend to wear out the kids, feed the giraffes and have a great experience indoors and out and walking their a real rainforest atmosphere!

Nice place. Very enjoyable and informative. Friendly staff.

Staff and Park were great. We had an amazing time here.

A good place to spend time with family. Better visit in summer. In winter you may not get to see many animals.

It's hard to say anything bad against a zoo which has exotic or hard to find animals but this place is fairly disappointing on the lack of those type of animals

Amazing even with covid. Beautiful place and awesome animals

Pretty nice zoo for the kids, they have a tram that goes around the park. Plenty of animals to see. Park is clean and well kept. Snack bars and soda machines all take cards.

Medium sized zoo with a low price. Nice attractions but missing some of the big hitters like elephants and lions.

This particular visit was really more of a 3 star visit, but I gave it a 4 because I ve previously had better experiences here and I think COVID is taking a toll. It s very hilly so I would not recommend going on a hot day unless the tram is running or you don t mind a good sweat. They have opened back up since COVID and have marked off the path in a way that you kind of have to walk the whole zoo in a particular direction, which may be nice or not depending on your perspective. No indoor exhibits were open, nor was the gift shop or children s area, which was a bummer, but is on par with other zoos at this time. Several of the outdoor animals were not on display (not sure if they were being treated or sleeping or what) which was also disappointing since we were already missing out on the indoor animals. Weeds/plants were overgrown in some areas, not sure if this is due to reduced income or if it s typical as prior to this visit I haven t been in years. They ve recently enclosed the carousel in a building which looked nice. And I remember the indoor exhibits being nice when I had come before. The giraffes come up pretty close to you which is cool. Overall a nice smaller city zoo during normal circumstances, hopefully people will continue to support them so they can maintain the animals and facilities for when they fully reopen.

Nice place. Very reasonably priced. A lot to see if you have the patience to wait on the animals to present themselves. Was hot day so the animals were not as active. Will probably return in the fall when it cools down a bit.

There are a lot of hills. Hard to walk in some places.

We took all these prickly pears, I had growing, to the zoo to donate to the tortoises. The people at the zoo were nice in return and allowed us a free entry. It was right before Halloween, they had the place decorated nicely. We really enjoyed our visit. I just hope the tortoises enjoyed the pears as much as we enjoyed our treat. We truely enjoyed our visit and plan on returning next summer.

Have loved this zoo all my life. Went there this time as part of the co-operative Museum Wander. An amazing three days of reciprocal visitation between most of the museums and the zoo here in town if you had a membership in any of them. What a great time. Hope they do this again!

Kids love the zoo. Definitely worth taking them to the family events that are provided. Membership is also a huge plus! Don't have to have a giant zoo to keep the kids happy.

It's decent! Better than it used to be
Staff is very nice, but it's not like a big city zoo like at Louis or Cincinnati.

Nice smaller zoo. Some good exhibits. Kids enjoyed it.

Fun days here, as well as a great work out! The employees are courteous and the sites are good. I would love to see more animals, but all in all I am very happy with meeker.

It was great. My kids learn something new each time we go.

Great zoo tucked out of the way. Great Amazonia exhibit wonderful staff

Reasonably priced. Healthy looking animals.
Lots of different species.

Love this zoo. Wish more people would donate to keep it nice and ecomical.

Small zoo. Good landscaping. Pleasant. Token purchase required for some activities. Wide paths, easy walking. $2 to ride the tram - best used to travel between exhibits as you can't see much from the tram. Friendly employees. Skip the wolf exhibit - mate died and he is not doing well - very sad.

I LOVED IT !!! My first time at a zoo and it was a great experience!!

A great scenic zoo that has some great exhibits. I thoroughly enjoyed the giraffe encounter where I got to feed a giraffe. There's a lot of hills in the zoo, and it was a lot of walking. Very affordable. Free parking.

Our visit to this zoo was very disappointing. We saw very few animals. The exhibits were poorly cared for. We didn't really see any staff. Even with the map, we couldn't find anything. It felt like we just kept walking in circles passing closed exhibits. We wanted to feed the giraffes. After finally finding the exhibit it says feedings are only at 11 & 2. It didn't say this anywhere before you got to the exhibit. I had heard great things about this zoo... I will not be recommending this to anyone, nor will I be back.