NATURAL BRIDGE ZOO Reviews

It was great! Animals and enclosures were clean and looked good. Only complaint is there is only 1 reptile and it's an alligator in (to me) a too small of an encloser with a lot of algae in the water. And $10 to ride an elephant is alot if you have more than 1 child.

Absolutely disgusting how much abuse these animals are undergoing. Not adequate amount of space, not enough staff to care for them, not even enough shade. Want to take your kids somewhere? Go walk the trail somewhere else and show them animals. THIS is not a place to go spend ANY money at or take ANY child. SHUT THIS PLACE DOWN - Don't believe me? Google the Humane Society's Undercover video of this place. ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING

This is an awful zoo. Animals are not treated well as you can see by the exhibits. It has been investigated as well and show photo ops with abused animals. Don't pay money for this zoo.

Being able to see the animals so close was such a gift. Being able to touch the girafes was the highlight. God's creation is so beautiful and complex! The details in it declares His glory and grace to us.

Horrific place that has no business even being open.

The elephant is 35 years old has no companions. Gives rides 6 days a week in the summer heat three hours a day for profit. If this zoo cared they would retire her to a sanctuary and not allow her to be chained in a barn during frezzings winters. Save Asha!!

We went out 4 kids had a amazing time.. we love the bird area it was great

We visit every year or so to ride the elephant. Nice zoo, friendly staff great experience for whole family.

The Natural Bridge Zoo is a hidden gem. One of the best experiences that encouraged a lot of interaction with the animals from the guests. The kids and adults enjoyed it alike. The animals were very engaging and you witnessed a ton of interaction between the caregivers and the animals... all of which was nurturing and kind. Each animals sanctuary was well equipped for the animals needs from housing, toys, proper shade and food to fellow housemates / different species that you could easily see the effort of care.

As an animal lover I m not an avid circus, zoo... animal captivity supporter but the reality is, sometimes it s the way it pans out. These animals appear very happy and well nurtured ... at the end of the day it s not as easy as let them go as they can t support themselves in the wild. If you stop supporting this zoo... the animals will suffer more than anyone or anything. Support people who are caring for animals and finding a way to raise funds to continue to do so and building knowledge of love of these animals by allowing guests to interact and fall in love. Trust me when I say this zoo is not sitting with a multimillionaire behind the scenes while the animals are suffering. It s a labor of love.

I m somewhat shocked to learn this place is still in operation. I visited this zoo several years ago after hearing about how terribly the animals were being treated. I didn t want to think it was as bad as people said, but I couldn t make it 20 minutes without leaving in disgust.

After seeing a YouTube video exposing acts of animal cruelty in 2015, and reading that the zoo had numerous citations/failed inspections in 2017, I was certain this place would be closed by now. It s disheartening to learn people with such an abysmal track record of caring for animals are still being allowed to exploit them for profit.

If you want to show your appreciation for animals, consider taking whatever money you d pay Natural Bridge Zoo for admission and donate it to the Humane Society or ALDF.

Awful how they treat the animals - especially the elephant, Asha! Do not visit, do not ride wild animals. 2 thumbs down for these greedy owners who should be ashamed of calling this a zoo!

Good variety of animals. The whole park is gravel so it can be a bit tough to push a stroller in some places.

I took my 5 children ages 14, 11, 10, 10, and 2 to this zoo today and every one of us had a great time! What a special place. They have such a nice variety of animals to see and interact with. You can feed many of them and if you can't then you can get up pretty close to see them. We love the goats that you can feed and pet. Our favorite was the parakeet exhibit where you can enter and be surrounded by beautiful parakeets that you can feed and even hold! The elephant ride is a little short, but well worth it. She's a sweetie. We were impressed by the fresh food that the animals had to eat. They looked happy and healthy. Staff was very friendly.

Zoo is in horrible conditions Gabrielle the giraffe was force to be bred and died because of it . Horrible zoo animals in unsafe closures

Please read the history of this place before visiting--terrible, terrible record of animal cruelty violations! Dirty cages, moldy food for the animals, not giving the animals vet care even when they are injured and dying. And unsafe conditions for visitors, too--the enclosures do not adequately protect people from the animals. The owners breed and sell exotic animals, so there you go--that is where their hearts are, in the money. I would never financially support this zoo or endanger myself or my kids by visiting. Looks likely to be shut down, anyway--they continue to have more citations all the time.

Elephant rides in the heat, improper habitat, no other elephants to socialize with? That poor animal, please put it in a sanctuary

We had such an amazing experience at the Natural Bridge Zoo. My advice is spend the money and do the close encounters tour! It does not disappoint, and the tour guide is amazing.

A natural masterpiece! You simply can't beat natural bridge for a weekend getaway. The kids had a blast, and the Indian village tour allowed them to learn a lot.

I see that this place gets a lot of bad reviews about the enclosures and the treatment of the animals. Upon entering the facility, I believed the same thing especially with the elephant. However, we took the close encounter tour and got a kind of behind he scene look and a lot of people on the tour asked about the enclosures. What we learned is that a lot of the enclosure you see are not the animals' actual "homes." Specifically, the elephant actually stays across the street in one of the largest enclosures for an elephant in North America. Also the other animals have access to larger enclosures and big cats have connected cages that allow them running room. I was glad to learn that he situation was not as bad as it first seemed. However, I would like to see the animals always in a bigger enclosure which is why they lost a star.

This is a great place to visit and will be visiting again for vacation. The workers are very passionate about what they do and everyone should not only go through the zoo but also get the interactive tour because going through the park and getting up and personal with the animals are two completely different experiences. We had fed the animals, and also got to ride the elephant but don't think that you will be able to get through this very quickly to read and get through the whole park and also included in the interactive tour took us about 6 hours. This definitely was worth the amount that I had paid for my girlfriend and me as part of our vacation. Now time to give why the reviews are like they are on google. This is because they are probably animal activist and they don't understand that the animals have been in zoos open areas for many generations and us humans are starting to take over there land or starting to take their food away by moving into their land. So we are taking them to places like this and in most cases, the animals that are in zoos are living longer than what they would have if they lived in the wild. So don't listen to people that give a bad review because I m sure 95% of the bad reviews have not even visited the zoo that they are giving the review for.

Great for kids 5 to 25. I took my bf here for his birthday and he had a great time feeding the animals.

DO NOT COME HERE! THIS PLACE ABUSES IT'S ANIMALS!!!
DO NOT SUPPORT BUSINESSES LIKE THIS.

I ve never been to this Zoo , so some slug used my account to write a bad review . Sorry !! Gutless troll

If it was possible to give below one star on this rating, this place definitely deserves it. Please do your research before going here, the amount of neglect and abuse that goes on here is absolutely deplorable. Waiting for the Humane Society of the US to shut this place down.

Its funny to see so many animal right activist who never been to this zoo, and only see and read things online and make a review. I've been here and if you believe these one star reviews then don't go! But I chose to go and see this place for myself, I did have mixed feelings about the elephant rides but if you watch the animal handlers you will see they truly care about the animals they work with. I rode Asha and hand fed a giraffe needless to say it was a awesome experience. Please do you own investigating before you listen to the people who have never visited this park, wouldn't you rather be a leader then a follower.

We had a lot of fun there though we missed safari and elephant rides. There's opportunity to feed deer, alpacas and a camel. They have a pair of black bears, a bengal tiger and a casowary which you can see really close!

Old-school family of animal abusers. Daughter was found criminally liable in NOVA zoo. Let captivity be handled by zoos that want to do good in the world. Don't support this hell of animal suffering.

One of the zoo keepers, was very nasty. Someone was on a private tour and she was very rude about people standing on the other side of the enclosure while the private tour fed the tiger. Then later on in the visit the same zoo keeper, was nasty to another guest as she was walking out of one of the monkey enclosures as he asked a simple question.

Perfect zoo and wonderful people. Someone is obviously jealous of these people and is trying to hurt their reputation with horrible lies. Go to the zoo and support this fine place and these wonderful people who give so much.

Small. was not impressed, some of the animals look like they could use more than what they got..

There is a elephant your can ride, and cassowaries, which is cool. However, maybe it was because it was a kind of hot day, but none of the animals cared that we had food, and the parakeets in the bird area super did not want anything to do with anyone. Moreover, a lot of the enclosures, especially for the bears, were simply sad cages. Choosing between here and the nearby Safari park, is no contest.

Great place not many places let you ride elephants great up close and personal

Absolutely heartbreaking. The animals all look exhausted and malnourished. The facilities are disgusting and broken down. Please do not support this place - they need to be investigated and shut down.

This place can do lots of improvements. Cages are just too small for those poor animals.

My family had a great time at the Natural Bridge Zoo. Very interactive and my daughter loved being able to ride her favorite animal, elephant.

This was a really fun little zoo. The animals were very interactive and seemed well cared for. The staff was very friendly. I would recommend this zoo to anyone who is in the area.

A bit of a tourist trap and there have been all kinds of questions and suggestions of animal mistreatment. Take your business to the Safari Park instead.

Do not waste your money! Huge disappointment. The place is so run down and you can t even see most of the animals. The staff is very unfriendly.

I was concerned about going to this Zoo at first from all the bad reviews I read. However, I am so glad that I did go. It makes me wonder if those people that wrote those reviews have actually been to this zoo or just jumped on some bandwagon to bring the ratings down. My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed our time there, seeing such a wide variety of animals. During our visit, we saw a lot of keepers cleaning the cages and feeding the animals. Their produce looked fresh. The grounds and animals looked well cared for. The exhibits had appropriate climbing structures depending on the animal. We enjoyed feeding the goats, giraffes and camels. Loved all the monkeys!

This place was fantastic. The animals were well taken care of and the people actually enjoyed their jobs. You can interact with many of the animals and can even feed the giraffes that are well-behaved. I would go back here again and again just to sit and watch the people and their reactions.

This was the worst zoo I have ever been to. The enclosures were not safe or big enough. I was terrified the whole time the large animals were going to escape.

The worst part was the animals looked as if they were never taken care of. The enclosures were tiny and all of them seemed starving and so skiddish. The cow was even bleeding from a huge gash that looked as though it needed stitches.

Also, rude staff.

No water fountain. And no place to eat with a card. Cash only. No place for drinks with out cash. But the staff was nice and let the kid play in the spicket

horrible place. after 20 years i still cant get the image of him hitting the elephant from my mind so sad she is still there all alone. this place needs closed, they abuse and starve the tiger cubs. its endless abuse on many counts. please dont go

Much better than anything I would have expected. Great place for kids as well as families. Was actually surprised by the number and types of animals here. A white Bengal tiger as well as giraffes and Monkees. Additionally there is also a petting zoo where you can feed some of the animals as well. Take about 90 minutes to walk through and see most of the place.

Good place to take the family, good variety of animals to look at, also many animals you can feed and interact with, it is also a very clean

Please do your research before thinking of going here. Place should be shut down & animals rescued to live in a proper environment & get the care they need. Have no idea how it's still open when they practice such obvious animal cruelty.

Cute little Zoo with Elephant rides. Perfect for little kids as it is not too much walking.

A lot of effort is spent on the individual enclosures, however the foot paths are unkempt.

Very nice place. A ton of different types of animals. I was very impressed. The animals all seemed well cared for.

Great little zoo. Some of the cages, to me, seem kind of small for the cats and bears.

This place is so much fun if you like to do petting and feeding for animal. You can spent 2 to 3 hrs here. But compare to Safari park experience is not much excited. Can visit once if you have more time.

The zoo has over 100 violations of the animal welfare act. The elephant that they have called Asha lives alone. Elephants should be house in groups as they are highly social and intelligent beings. Please do not support roadside zoos that are not accredited by any reputable organization. There are many other ways to learn about animals than to visit these places.

The zoo has made enormous changes to improve the animals welfare. I highly recommend.

Never go there again, horrifying how they treat their animals.

OK Zoo, nothing special, small enclosures. They let you feed a lot of different animals though.

The workers were very nice. Animals were well cared for. You can get pretty close to the animals and some you can feed! So many different varies of animals! Never bore and was always excited to see the next animal, I didn't want to leave! I very much recommend to people who love seeing animals

11/10 recommend

Love this place best zoo around we go here every year the kids and adults have a blast!

The zoo was absolutely amazing. You get to interact with the animals in so many ways and my baby sister (who is afraid of animals) had a blast. The animals such as llamas, camels and deers got close to us without any hesitation. Also, the staff is extremely friendly and seem to care deeply for the animals. I definitely think that the natural bridge zoo is worth visiting if you like to personally encounter the animals.

This "zoo" is a disaster. First impressions walking in with some young pregnant chick with a kid running around and a "I don't want to be here" attitude were disconcerting enough... The parakeet feed sticks were HOT GLUED and the bird couldn't even consume them, even at a dollar a piece I feel cheated. Half of the enclosures did not even have the animals in them with nothing about that listed in the website. Now I get it this time of year there are several types of animals that cannot be exposed to this type of cold like the alligator. But however there should have been some sort of discount or special price on admission. Or at the very least some sort of announcement on the website or even on the front door if you're less than text savvy. Several of the animals had Cuts or some sort of scar on them the tiger enclosures were way too small and unkempt. They're clearly has to be some sort of animal rights violation here even the elephant look like it was about to collapse the trainer that was with him yelled and berated the animal for turning around to look at me and my family there definitely needs to be some animal rights groups that come in here and shut this place down and get these animals to a proper zoo. The only reason this zoo is getting a second star is only because my kids still had a lot of fun out of it but as an adult who knows a thing or two about the world and animal treatment I cannot justify even one. Also the bathrooms had feces smeared all over the back and under side and don't look like they've been cleaned ever

Me and my family came out to this zoo summer 2019. We really enjoyed it! There are so many different animals to see ; to walk around the whole zoo took us approximately 1 hour.

Very courteous and friendly people let you enjoy the real experience of all the animals

Over priced. They charge by the person, not by the car.

We have learned to appreciate smaller zoos for the same reason we appreciate this zoo. The animals looked to be well card for. The elephant looked to be in great shape. They have an adorable baby camel that was super friendly. All the animals were clean as well as their enclosures. I'm not sure what the bad reviews are about but don't let those folks keep you from going, form your own opinion.

This place is sad and terrible. I was ashamed of myself for purchasing a ticket and contributing to this business. The enclosures are too small, the place stinks and is not well maintained. It should be closed down.

The animals are not took care of at all broke my heart to see them the poor things had no water and the alligator could not fit in his pool and the elephant had no water and was given ride's all day in the heat the place needs to be shut down

Loved seeing the white tiger, Bengal tiger and cougars! Everything felt so close up!

Please don t support a place that has had its license taken away multiple times from the welfare of its animals. They refuse to give up their elephant, when it s been alone for decades. Elephants are meant to be in groups, why won t you retire them to accredited sanctuaries?

great for free kids day but prices are too high for average family to visit.

Don t waste your money! This place is in humane and depressing you clearly can see the living space is too small and that they have barely any water for these poor animals. The only reason I feel anyone would give this place more than one star is they know the workers or they all happy they got to touch and play/show clout with the animals UNLIKE AN ACTUAL ZOO WHERE THEY KEEP THE ANIMALS SAFE!!

Wonderful kids and I loved it super good place to spend the day birds porcupine big cats camel everyone was there !!

This is a MUST SEE wonder of the Virginia's. In total AWW

Very poor enclosures for the animals, especially the larger ones. The elephant gives rides for 3 hours straight. Honestly would like to see this zoo closed down or improved significantly.

Wonderful place to visit on your way to the mountains.

We enjoyed a great family outing with fun for all ages. Animals were well taken care of and the grounds were kept up. I would HIGHLY recommend (PLEASE!!!) including changing tables/stations in the bathrooms. We weren't the only family with a small child in diapers and none of the restrooms had a changing facility.

It is a very inhumane place , was grossed out by the conditions. Wish I never visited, I checked it out afterwards and it has had numerous issues of public record with animal care issues. Don t waste your money.