Potawatomi zoo Reviews

Would like to see more interactive displays and some updates but it is a zoo.

Very beautiful my grandkids loved it beautiful Christmas lights

Only zoo we have and for as small a population as we serve, we have a lot of animals that we have the opportunity to see at Potawatomi. I hope it sticks around for new generations to have the opportunity to see animals the way I did.

Oldest zoo in Indiana small but great for parents with small childern has a train and carousel rides are $2 each unless the child is under 2

Normally I'd rate the Potawatomi zoo 3 stars but right now they are doing a major construction project and when we arrived Feb 2 for the winter day it felt like they weren't expecting to have visitors.

The parking lot had a lot of construction materials in it so it wss difficult to know where to park. The entrance had wheelchairs blocking the path so we had to trudge through the mud of the parking lot to get to where the line would start had there been anyone else waiting. And the paths weren't plowed so it was deep with slush.

All in all I'm still glad we went since we hadn't been to a winter zoo day and it was fun to see the Bobcat and Chimps more active than they are in the summer, but it wasn't fun enough to warrant another trip this winter. I'd recommend to others to make sure to have waterproof boots on. And if you don't hold a membership, I'd hold off until the construction is done.

Great place to go with the kids. They had a wide variety of animals and was very clean.

Best zoo around! they have 2 bars with wine and beer for the adults. food and picnic seating. it's all there.

My sons been going there since he could walk never no bad stuff happening only kids haveing fun big kids included peacefull to just sit and relaxe good grills and tables 2 play obsticals wet pad the zoo a pool big slide great carvings atrium stage greenhouse great family friends environment

Very clean, good paved areas for strollers, nice picnic area

Been visiting since I was a kid growing up in River Park. An absolute staple of the area. Legendary.

Even in the rainy weather there was plenty to do. The playgrounds are great for kids, they even have a water park. And the animals were fantastic, monkeys, gazelles, warthogs, lions, an ostrich, and more. I'll be attending again very soon.

Small zoo. Animal habitats are too small. 2 hours north is john ball zoo in grand rapids Michigan and is much better. Also john ball has a program that allows free entry for low income households

Fun time with the family. Enjoyed the splash pad outside the zoo in the park

They have something smart to say they made me switch my shorts in the pool

It's not a big zoo but it's a good place to take the kids parking is free the staff was nice and the kids had fun

...... Threesomed with kids kingdom and the park imbetween'em.. A great local place to get the family together..

Went with my mom and 1 year old niece. Pure enjoyment listening to my niece try to roar like the tigers and lions, and making noises likea monkey.

My 2 sons visited with their cub scout pack and earned their level 2 conservation badge. We had a great time.

Always a Great Time! As a Family who is local to the area we visit quite often. The special events the zoo hosts are a wonderful way to keep the local community coming back. Always Clean and The Staff is Always Great!

Zoobrew was an awesome fund raiser. Wonderful idea, experience and beers from local microbreweries!!

Half the park is blocked off due to construction so you can't see some of the exhibits and some the animals weren't able to be seen.

Nice and easy walking paths. Good place to go to get away for a few hours.

Had a nice picnic there yesterday. Very nice with all the trees and so on.

Amazing zoo! Perfect for children! Recommended to get the membership as it is a great value!

They seem to be doing so much to make the zoo a better experience. Not sure I love the liquor idea. Just waiting for someone to slam thier drink on a 90 degree day and hurl. Hopefully people are to smart for that, but there are always those that don't practice common sense. All in all I absolutely love it here. The River Otters are my fav!!!

Clean zoo, went on a school day on school field trip. Lots of animals. Outdoor ice cream wasn't open. Long line in gift shop while ice cream melts.

Construction made it difficult. Exhibits are moved and sometimes hard to get to.

Very nice zoo. Lots of animals. My granddaughter loves it!!

Tiny, terrible experience, animals were trash, and the employees don't smell too good.

Good size zoo. You will see some different animals. Habit well kept. It's worth an afternoon.

Always fun
Please become a member

Had a lot of fun here and wasnt super expensive but they're under a lot of construction right now. It's for the better but was a shame when we visited.

Great environment for family and has the essential pieces to make an enjoyable but fairly quick trip to the zoo. The park seems to be very limited in the quantity of animals.

The zoo is the perfect size to take young children through and has a great variety of animals!

Nice small zoo.. Sad there were no giraffes or elephants! Wish some of the habitats were more like the real home of animals.... But most of the animals seemed happy and active

We had a nice walk through the Gift of Lights! Food stands were open and we were able to see a few animals too.

Great little zoo. Has more than I expected. Carousel and train plus lots of information about the animals. Highly recommend. It is especially good for younger children because they can be overwhelmed in a large zoo. This had a great variety of animal species and experiences. Price was reasonable too.

Beautiful lights got to see a few of the animals. Fun time.

I have visited this zoo many times with family and we always have a good time. There are places to get food, feed animals, and ride a miniture train that travels around the perimeter of the zoo.

Cute little zoo. Bought a pass... Lots of 'pokestops' and great exercise for the fam. Train ride is a wash. Conductors commentary made the lack of any actual sights not a total waste of time. Lions tigers but no bears.

For a small zoo it is great. So much to see. I just wish they still had a bear but love the remodeling that has been done so far.

They are remodeling the Zoo, can't wait to visit there when they re-open again. The children playground across the parking lot is really nice. Very kids friendly for age 2-12. They even have mini rock climbing and spinning wheel. They also have many other attractions there, including the open theather. Summer must have been extremely crowded there.

My daughter and I have been zoo members for at least the last 8 years and we will continue to be for a long time! We love our zoo! There are many exciting renovations and additions that have happened over the years, like welcoming red pandas and a white rhino, and so many more coming, like the new entrance and gift shop/info center! Around Halloween, Zoo Boo is a lot of fun for the kids and Zoo Brew is great for adults! We are very grateful for winter days - where the zoo opens one Saturday a month in Dec, Jan & Feb), because our zoo is only open from the end of March to the beginning of December (due to our super cold & usually pretty snowy winters here in South Bend). Also, the education staff is phenomenal! My daughter has attended several classes and camps over the years and has had so much fun every time! We are just very grateful overall to have access to such an amazing place so close to home!

Over priced for how small it is , had some cute exhibits and the petting zoo was a bonus,

There are bigger, fancier, more expensive zoos you can go to (and you should), but, it is close, inexpensive, and, It's a nice zoo.

Viisted the Zoo on Aug 1st, 2016. Heat of the season. Admission was a bit high for the quality of the zoo. The general grounds were unkempt. weeds were overgrown to the point of obfuscating many exhibits. It seemed generally run-down. The atmosphere was kind of depressing, as reflected by one of the primates, and not what it used to be in years past. I was overall unimpressed. Will not return until my son is a bit older, say 3 years or so. Hopefully by then admission isn't rediculous. I would reccomend people start donating, time and money, to this zoo for I fear it wont be much longer without.

This year I would have to say I am disappointed with the zoo and staff. Me and my fiancee have been member holders here for a few years now. They are doing alot of improvements to the zoo which will be great when completed. Issue I have is memberships and daily entry fees remained the same during construction while numerous times we have went this year, certain exhibits have been closed. I understand at times exhibits will have to be upgraded which will close for a while but they are trying to get it done as fast as possible so multiple exhibits closed at one time. Issue with the staff is just over a week ago we were there spending the afternoon and went to outside concession back by otters to grab our little girl a bag of popcorn. The lady made an honest mistake and hit the wrong button and charged me 21.47 for a bag of popcorn then said she was sorry and then charged me the correct amount of 2.14 for it. I asked her if she was going to refund me and she said she didn't know how but promised me she would call someone back to get it done and wouldn't forget. With a 4 year oI'd and 6 month old with us. Sitting in one spot is not an option so I made sure I got her name before I left. 2 days past and still no refund. So then over the next few days I left multiple messages to 3 different managers. No calls back. My messages started getting more frustrated and then finally someone returned my call. Not only did it not seem like keeping their members happy was a priority to them when It was their mistake but the lady who was supposed to take care of it forgot. When I spoke to them over the phone a lady said she would give all my information to her assistant to get my refund back and so far it has been a couple days and still no sign of it. Let's see if they forgot again.

Great small zoo. Perfect for young families. We have enjoyed several season passes here. Our family always has a great time. The only thing we wish they had was more healthy food options in their food area. No gluten free options. That is just a preference though.

Very nice zoo and only zoo in town lol the only reason it's not 5 stars is the price. It's not that big but it's a great zoo. Perfect for small kids and a nice family outing

Staff is friendly. We usually go early to avoid the crowds. I stay away from any big time events such Zooboo which equal tons of people and no parking.
My son enjoys going to see the different animals and riding the train. He doesn't mind that it is a smaller zoo because he understands that it's a smaller area and we are fortunate to have it available to us.
He enjoys the big cats and seeing some of the smaller animals. We typically go 2 or 3 times a year.

Excellent local zoo to visit! This zoo has been around a long time, and even as an adult I enjoy going to see all the animals.

Great small zoo. They are continually improving and updating to make it an even better place to visit!

Always a great experience ! Zooboo for the little kids is always a fun & friendly atmosphere! Staff and volunteers are courteous also.

It's a reasonable sized small zoo. They're adding some new animals soon. Prices are great. It's a fun small town zoo.

The zoo has sure come together nicely. With all the new attractions train and carousel. It's a nice zoo to spend the day. Parking is a little congested. But not much you can do about that. Overall. I love the zoo..

Zoo was closed today. We checked the website twice and the official website stated zoo was open until 6pm. However it was closed for a private adult only event . Worker stated it was posted on the Facebook page which is an unacceptable location for official announcements when an official website exits and has no such information.

As yearly pass holders I am extremely disappointed with this decision to not only close the zoo on the last nice Saturday of the season but also to not post this information anywhere easily accessible.

Love this zoo, super nice and helpful employees, could always use more cleanliness.

Nice little zoo with some interesting animals I hadn't seen before. Great signage to tell you about each animal. Inexpensive. Small gift shop.