Rosamond Gifford Zoo Reviews

Zoo Boo is such a great time for the family. Even when the weather forces it to be held inside they do an outstanding job.

I was so impressed with this Zoo. I did not have rond memories of this zoo from my childhood but it surpassed my expectations. We went during this time of COVID and felt very secure and safe with their precautions.they had a lot of sanitizing stations and require masks for all visitors over 2.
The slight hills made me and my kids feel like we were on safari making animal discoveries along the way. There were ample staff present to answer any curious kid questions as well. The elephant enclosure was HUGE and had a baby (1.5 years) and an adolescent (5 human years). They were our family favorites but we enjoyed all of the outdoor enclosures. The open indoor enclosure had enough animals to occupy us and was very well ventilated. We were pleased with the variety of animals and the layout and space available for the animals to roam. Plenty of information was available about the choice of animals in order to withstand our harsh winters. It was comforting to know the animals natural habitats are considered in choosing to be at Rosamond Gifford zoo.

Great zoo great size for our kids and the dinosaurs were amazing

Great day to spend at the zoo and to see the baby elephant! Beautiful zoo well put together great day with the granddaughter

I love the zoo. I don't know why, but the animals are always up close to the windows when I visit. I came here on a Monday with a few friends and we had a great time. Its a great relaxing day to just walk around.

Nice zoo but many of the attractions closed because of covid understandable but when I went it must have been 100 degrees and no spray for the customers nor animals

This is a terrible zoo!!! I drove 2 and a half hours to this zoo so I could show my son the lions and elephants among other animals. Spoiler alert, the lion died, they put a wolf in its pen and then covered the windows with paper, and ooooo yea if you want to see the elephants you can have your kids look into a window 50ft away and see the back of an elephant over their pen. Some animals they claim were just in places they couldnt be seen, by leaving a note on the glass to their respective areas. I wouldnt drive 5 mins to go, to this place again. Do yourselves a favor and take your kids anywhere else, absolutely nothing worth seeing here. You can see more animals by taking your to a dog park or petting zoo.

Been here multiple times and I always enjoy myself. Great place to go with family or on a date like I did. Prices arent bad either

Pros
Nice and friendly staff, cheap admissions, not crowded, nice and clean restrooms.

Cons
Very small zoo comparing to Jacksonville & Houston zoos, most of the animals are asleep and almost impossible to find them (you feel like walking between empty cages), the food in the restaurant is bad quality and expensive.

Went during Covid. It was an interesting day, but the staff and precautions were appropriate. We got to enjoy and support some of the zoo and made our kiddo happy.

It's a nice zoo with a variety of animals that isn't to terribly limited. Plenty of choices to eat while you're there, and you can always stop and take a break on the carousel. Plenty of benches along the park paths in case you need to stop and take a breather

I love this zoo! It's one of the best places to bring people in Syracuse, especially in the winter with the reduced admission prices!

Awesome day!!!!! Animals came right up to the glass. My son says it was the best day!!!

I grew up with this zoo. They have done beautiful renovations. Food is not terrible. A little pricy. I don't mind tho.

My son Javier loved the zoo. The staff there was very helpful and friendly. They even gave him a mini pumpkin to keep.

Really nice zoo and very reasonable admission price. Good place to spend a few hours with family. Great Elephant area.

Most of the exhibits were being worked on so can't really judge

Went when it was snowing it was fun to watch some animals. They had closed the path and didn t even told us up front so we had to walk back, animals were missing and the guy upfront told us all the animals are out . Monkeys looks so so sad.

The animals look so unhealthy and sad and dead inside. If you could picture a plant half dead that lost its color sagging down instead of perky that's them poor animals that place needs some serious r&r they need more employees trained employees to help the animals seems like they just want to make money at the door nothing else Matters

With the shutdown its understandable alot of things are unavailable. Definitely not worth the 2 hour drive from home. No bears or tigers, most active animals include the birds, bison, and the elephants, the primate cage was okay, primates seem very lethargic. Overall okay experience, 3 stars is very generous, would not recommend going out of your way to visit.

Fantastic day to go to the zoo, we gave not been in years, walkways are fantastic, exhibits clean easy to see.

We had a great morning at the zoo today... the grandkids, all of us enjoyed ourselves. Staff was great, lunch there was very good. The animals were quite active and seemed happy. We saw the new baby monkey and submitted our name choices. Fun day! Thank you!

Had an excellent day! The staff was helpful and friendly and we had great weather

Good place to have family fun. My kids were excited.

I DO NOT ADVISE THIS INSTITUTION, KELOMETER TURNS, HAMLO STAFF
RUSSIAN HERE DO NOTHING

To many mom's with strollers and Jean shorts getting in the way.

Truly appreciate all the effort to keep patrons safe during the pandemic. Requires some forethought to go, but well worth it and plenty to see! Get outside and enjoy the zoo and all it still has to offer.

Ok zoo. Not many animals and very depressed. Not active at all.

Nicer then the Zoo in Rochester for sure. Have seen many improvements in the last year.

Very nice for a small zoo. Several animals weren't visible or not in their enclosure. Staff were informative. Very enjoyable!

The staff is very helpful and friendly. The exhibits are very well kept. My kids love it no matter how many times we go.

Older zoo but new elephant area is amazing and the zoo gives you a nice walk as your enjoying the animals

Very nice and clean zoo. Not the largest zoo but a nice variety of well cared for animals. It's a family friendly environment!!

It was great, just wish It Wasn't Covid going around, so more things woulda been Open!!

Great nature centered place walk and study animals family place

Fun spot to visit. Great, well kept exhibits. Always improving.

Kids love it. Got to see the camels up close and personal today.

The trip was amazing even though it was when i was 5 years old. But all kids love animals!

LOVE Syracuse zoo!!! We go there often as it is free for military my daughter loves it and we have never had any issues going here. Staff is friendly, nice environment, zoo is clean, bathrooms as well. Always fun.

Always a joy to visit, though new elephant walkway could use a little more shade.

Fantastic! Excellent exhibits and a super friendly knowledgeable staff!

The animals appeared to be well cared for as well as the walking paths. It was a nice place to visit!

Awesome place to come to, well worth the hour plus drive from ROC area, evem for a 5 year old

Love this zoo! Small enough to do in an afternoon with young kids, but always lots to see.

Great price for a very nice zoo! Loved the layout and the atmosphere was definitely centered around animal conservation and education. The penguin exhibit was my son's favorite. The design of peekaboo windows around the animal displays were More

Love going with the family. Staff is quite informed of all aspects of the zoo.

Fun place to kill time even if it's raining. Active Military and vets get in free + 3 ppl.

It is awesome. Clean, well maintained. So improved. Appreciated the free use of a wheelchair. Great zoo for sure.

For a smaller zoo (compared to larger urban areas), this one is amazingly well-designed. The flow of the footpaths both in the enclosed exhibit areas and the open air enclosures is very organic and well-spaced. The variety of animals is good, and they all look healthy and generally content, which isn't always the case. The literature posted at each station is clear and well-written, easy for visitors of all ages to understand. Nicely done!

Always a great place to take the kids! Prices are very reasonable and even on a busy day like Memorial Day the bathrooms are surprisingly clean. We will be going back soon!

Awful awful awful.. stop supporting this business it just gives them rights to poorly take care of the animals!

I wish the no smoking thing was enforced I really don't want my children forced to be around that while looking at the primate exhibit, I still give this place five stars because it's always a fun day with the kids

Small zoo that is great for a family outing. Military discount got my family of 4 in for free.

Nice zoo, they are doing some work so some animals are not in their exhibits, but better than the zoo near me

Great zoo! Lots of things to see. And great for the kids to learn and exhibit different environments with the different animals.

The animals are usually available, it clean for the most part and Veterans are free.

Visited Zoo last Saturday and all the animals were active and most were outside! Loved the leopard cubs!

Really great zoo. Lots to see, even with the restrictions because of the virus. The elephant exhibit is fantastic and looks like a natural habitat.

Animals are cool and the employees are knowledgeable

Another great place to bring the kids in Syracuse. They have been making a ton of changes. They added a new walkway which gives the elephants more space and allows you to get a little closer to them when they are out. The new path also gives you more of a panoramic view of the red wolf enclosure which used to be difficult to see into.

After the passing of the lions, the zoo got a two new snow leopards and a new ocelot. When we were there yesterday the nocturnal section had a new enclosure that was spraying mist. It did not have an exhibit yet, but I'm interested in what it could be.

Drove over an hour to get there and it definitely was not worth it at all. Was very disappointed in the lack of professionalism. Everything at the gift shop was over priced, horrible quality and also there was a lack of stock to chose from. Also horrible advertising and more than half of the animals weren t even out and also some of the ones that they said were going to be there were not. And half of it was under construction. Not at all worth the money.