I'm glad we have this nice little zoo in Roanoke but we were a little disappointed overall. Most of the animals we saw were the natural wildlife in the area visiting the animals in the exhibits. I feel like it would have been a better experience pre-COVID because we would have been able to see more of what they have to offer.
Great location on top of a mountain for a zoo. It is smaller, but clean, shady, and many childrens playgrounds and activites provided
A complete waste of space. The enclosures were far too small for most of the animals. Very sad to see many pacing around in their enclosures! The staff seemed very nice but my vote is that these animals need to go somewhere where they can thrive and live with others of their kind.
Much better than it used to be years ago. We and the grandchildren and had a great time
Ok so what isn't wrong with this zoo. Animals need bigger enclosures. Walk ways need improved before someone seriously gets hurt. Poor things have no room to move and explore. Parking was horrid need bigger lot. The staff wad not so very friendly or knowledgeable.
It's a small zoo but has nice paths and very well taken care of. Enjoyed our visit here.
There weren't very many animals. It was SO sad watching the racoon because it was so obvious that it wasn't happy!
I have always loved Mill Mountain Zoo, it's a local landmark and the biggest little Zoo around. But at this last visit you can tell they are falling on hard times. The cages need upkeep and the animals need recreation. When I visited 5 years ago the cougar had her own swimming pool and an exercise ball that she chased around. Now the swimming pool has been filled in with wood and brush, and she mostly lays around. I hate to see the zoo needing such obvious financial help, I for one will be attending fundraisers to support our local Zoo
The zoo animals seem very well taken care of, however this is a very small zoo. Too small. I expected the zoo to be bigger. The discovery center seemed more exciting i think. Also the discovery center has a woman by the name of "grace" a blonde working there. She annoyed and rubbed our group the wrong way. She's a very eccentric woman. Not sure you can listen to or trust what she says.
Zoo was ok,but the staff was excellent.Needs new upgrades.
My grandchild loved it.
Wonderful staff, the train ride is fun, and our son
Loved the animals! A great trip.
Great staff and enjoyed learning about each species there
Cute little zoo up by the star, only $10 for adults, not as big as i expected but still worth a visit. They also have certain things to watch at certain times (I watched the foxes get fed)
It's a nice atmosphere but there aren't many animals. Even taking our time we saw everything (somethings we saw twice) and we were done in about 1 hour.
Expensive for what it is. They wait until you pay to tell you what parts of the zoo are not available. Very little to see and do.
Could do better with a larger variety of animals or more activities for kids
Hardly any animals and not most of the ones you would expect. Too far out of the way for the lack of species.
Very small zoo. The people are friendly and the animals are almost always out. I do worry for some of the animals though, they don't seem to be cared for as well as they should
The poor raccoon was obviously stressed and going crazy because he was pacing back and forth for as long as I was at the zoo which was 2 hours. Some of the animals looked very lonely as well.
Small but interesting zoo and gift shop. We went during winter so many animals were safe inside. But the snow leopard and wolf were beautiful to experience.
Wasnt worth the time wad a nice walk but half the animals were just coming soon
A treasure for the Roanoke area. Not many places are lucky to have a fully functioning zoo.
pretty inexpensive for the amount of fun you have! plenty of events for families! great for toddlers and young children!
Animals to hot not out. No train to ride and to high on price.
I love this zoo so much! My fiance and I have been to this zoo twice, both on summer trips to Roanoke. We love the location, the animals (especially the red pandas, pallas cat, and snow leopards, although the snow leopards could use better fans or air conditioning for their thick fur), and the atmosphere of the zoo in general. We will be going there again in a couple days for the 65th anniversary.
If you are looking to be impressed, I do not recommend this zoo! Some of the exhibits were closed and we didn't even get to see half of the animals.
If you haven't been to Fort Chiswell Animal Park yet, you should go. It's worth it.
This zoo was depressing, I honestly felt bad for the animals. There weren't even many animals there either but the enclosures were small and most of the animals were by themselves. Then the other half of the enclosures were empty. I went with 2 other people for 30 dollars; it wasn't worth it... I just hope the animals got funded for something better. They seemed to be doing well though so that's good.
For a small zoo and for something to do on an afternoon it's fine. we went on a warm day and a lot of the animals were inside their houses staying cool. Can't blame them for that. there were some new exhibits that were waiting for the animals to arrive but due to covid a lot was on hold. We spent more in the gift shop then we did for our tickets to get in, But from what I understand all the money goes back to the animals so I wasn't mad. This is definitely something that the local community should support. We will be that again to see the new exhibits like the black bear when it opens.
Love this zoo. Great for a Sunday afternoon with family.
Very small, very minimal "zoo". But still cute for kids
Really great zoo! The staff were helpful and answered all our questions. We saw all the animals, and there were signs telling you where to find them if they have the habit of hiding. They even have windows into the private areas for the animals just in case they are in the back. I think some people reviewing just weren't patient enough to wait for all the animals to come out. The best aviary I've ever seen as well.
Animals seemed very lethargic. Maybe it was to hot for them.
I will definitely be going back
Enjoyed it all.
Nice little zoo. Friendly staff. Interesting assortment of animals. Can't beat the admission price. I would say that it has about as many animals as the Good Zoo in Oglebay Park in Wheeling, West Virginia in a more compact area. Allow for about an hour to go through. It's a shame that due to COVID the train wasn't running, but still worth the 1 hour drive that it took us to get from the campground where we are staying to the zoo.
Horrible. Not worth the money. 20 minutes will walk you around the whole zoo and it costs a family of four, $40. Not worth it.
Lovely little zoo. Idk wish they would remove all of the poisonous/invasive nandina from the grounds though. So many more desirable fruit bearing natives that would be just as pretty.
The zoo was rather disappointing. The parking lot is about a quarter mile from the entrance. People with disabilities will have difficulty reaching the zoo as it s not entirely handicap accessible. $9 for admission and the only animals that were visible were the eagle, foxes, tortoise, crane, otters, and birds. The most entertaining aspect of the zoo were the two squirrels my family saw fighting over an acorn. My wife and I joked that we seen more employees than we seen animals. To make matters worse, the ramps in the park have large inclines making it difficult for people to maneuver with strollers and wheelchairs. Finally, ramps are placed inconveniently requiring people with strollers to take longer routes when leaving the park as the ramps ultimately lead to the stairs.
Used to be fun now ghetto nothing is hardly there like 10 animals
Small but very nice zoo. The animals are well cared for, and I love that the zoo participates in conservation programs that help endangered species. The zoo is laid out well and is well maintained, and there are great views of the valley from various lookout points. The employees are always friendly. We have a membership and love to visit. My son loves the Zoo Choo!
We had a great time. This is an ideal outing for families with younger children.
Missing some common animals seen at a typical zoo but still great
Great little zoo. We had a fun experience and my daughter loved the Zoo Choo!
I don t ever give them one star. There animals have terrible care. It s way to small and the animals are all alone and pacing back a forth from stressing. It s terrible and needs to get shut down.
Nice place small zoo but a great day trip especially with small children
The snow leopard is beautiful! I couldn't stop watching it. Please be sure to put a donation in the lock box at the exhibit. It was chilly when we went, plus covid, so several exhibits were closed. Would have been 3 stars, but that leopard made it worthwhile.
Not all the animals could be seen. Very disappointed and paid full price when everything isn't ready. What animals we saw were well taken care of.
Very well organized space, with gentle reminders of distancing, and arrows leading you through exhibits. Very impressed with the quality of the exhibits and the entire zoo. Smaller in size, obviously, but of great quality, having been to places like Pittsburgh, San Diego, Milwaukee.
This zoo was super small. Do not go in with the expectation of the major city zoos. We already read reviews and knew what we were getting into. We have a 4 and 8 yr old and this was a perfect size. There were only a few animals and when we went it was raining and foggy which made it all that much more tricky to see some animals. That being said, we had the zoo practically to ourselves. The otters were playful and even went to the window to interact with my daughter. The snow leopard was putting on a show, the birds were doing the callings. The wolves weren't fond of the weather so we didn't get to see them but most every animal was visible. The little garden was pretty too! We saw it the day before but it was still covered in leaves as expected (considering it was fall in the mountains). I also learned while there that they are deeply involved in conservative and their wolf pack is part of that. They have a few new exhibits being built and updated. All in all, we would visit again hopefully when it is not raining.
Very cute and picturesque....great place to take children
Great place, despite being a small zoo, it has all kinds of rare animals such as the endangered snow leopard, red wolf and the racoon. 10/10 would racoon again.
Small zoo. Went through it in about a half hour. We went on a Monday though and apparently they shut down some of their stuff on Mondays.
It's a small local zoo, but perfect for small kiddos w short attention spans. With the other activities around the zoo it's a great spot for kids in general (small nature trail, playground and a discovery center)
It's ok for a small zoo. They dont have a large variety of animals. The snow leopard and red panda are beautiful. But other than that it's a couple of pigs and raccoons.
Not worth the price. Train wasnt working and very few animals there.
I took my 2 year old and 8 month old today to the zoo. I wasn't expecting much but I ended up being disappointed. Although my 2 year old loved running around there really wasn't much to see today. I was bored myself. We watched the raccoon walk around in circles for 20 minutes, the snow leopard sleeping, the bull eating and the hogs laying around.
Could've been better if some of the animals weren't out sick.
I'm just a little biased I Supply and maintain the bees at the Discovery Center at Mill Mountain Zoo the Discovery Center is a free attraction and it's great for kids of all ages
Was very disappointed. Alot of the animals looked so malnourished. Alot of empty exhibits under construction. Didn't have good view on alot of the animals for picture taking. Definitely NOT worth the price they charge. Make sure you book ahead for tickets to get in they don't tell you this on the website.
mmzoo.org