Rosamond Gifford Zoo Review

Cheap admission and a fun way to kill a few hours. Lots of exhibits were empty. Zoo is on the small side

To many things closed and not as many animals as I remember. U think with kids off this week they would do animal shows

This is a wonderful zoo. It was fun to walk around and there were all kinds of amusing and interactive features. I can't wait to visit again.

I went to the zoo to see real life animals, not robotic extinct dinosaurs. Also half the animals were missing from their cages

Great place, Great people, Great animals, Great experience! I m excited to see the new construction in the elephant area. There are a lot of animals but I d love for there to be giraffes or lions too. I recommend a membership.

We have been members for about the past 11 years. My 2 boys love it here. It is clean. Animals appear comfortable and the variety of animals is great. It was fantastic to see that some new exhibits are coming!

We went because my wife went as a kid not worth a 2.5 hour drive, but we would work it in to a trip that way again

Nice zoo, my kids do zoo school 1st Saturday of month and learn alot and get to meet a new animal each time. Animals from cockroaches to elephants to penguins, lots of walking if doing outside portion so wear your good pair of shoes

Maybe it was the time of year we went, but many of the animals were not included. The fish were pretty cool, though, and we had a good time walking around.

It is a wonderful zoo that cares for the quality of life for the animals that are there and it's employees are very informative.

Its extremely small.. The pathways are also very small and the animal enclosures are really small and not that well taken care of. This zoo is definitely under funded

Great staff just had a wedding for family there and staff was great

Amazing collection of cold weather Asian animals. Loved seeing the Amur Tigers out in the snow. Inside exhibits include marvelous aquatic species such as sea horses. You should visit now to watch the Red Panda babies, Loofah and Doofah. Enjoyed veggie pizza and great fries for lunch.

They are opening a new Dinosaurs exhibit Memorial day!

The baby pandas were adorable and you were allowed to see them

Love the dinosaur exhibits through out the zoo food is a little overpriced however there is a concession stand that's more reasonable

Great zoo! Super clean, animals appear very healthy and staff are very friendly and helpful. All animal enclures were very clean, the animals did not appear stressed. The pathways were well marked and there were short but helpful descriptions of the animals. There is a nice mixture of animals, fish, reptiles, primates, and play areas. I can't wait until the renovation is done and we can see the new elephant area. Excellent price for 2-4 hours. The jungle Cafe is reasonable and the food is varied. There is plenty of indoor and outdoor seating for a meal.

Well maintained facilities and well cared for animals. The dinosaur invasion was also very cool. Prices were reasonable and the attractions we're great. My family enjoyed this place thoroughly.

Nice, small zoo. Most of the animals were in hiding that day. Lucky for us we caught it during the dinosaur exhibit. While the kids loved that, I really took them to see live animals. Nothing special to see here but it was a nice walk. The grounds are clean.

It is a good place to visit with kids. Membership is worthy because they have several events over the entire years. My kids' favorite animal is elephants!

Love the zoo, the membership pays for itself every year. I take my little girl there almost every week, she loves it just as much as I do.

Great visit, beautiful animals. Loved the wolves. A bison was in labor we saw a hoof hanging out

For being the tail end of March, a lot of the Animals outside we're still on display, some were sleeping and some were active (save for the Elephants, as they are having a new enclosure built, but me and my GF still got to see them in their housing building.) Staff was very friendly and the woman who greeted us and sold us our tickets had a bright smile on her face, unfortunately the Aquarium portion was closed due to remodeling, but that wasn't a huge deal as the zoo still had lots to offer! Will be going back again!

Really a very well done zoo. Exhibits are well maintained and you can frequently see the animals. The octopus is really amazing right at the entrance and the penguins are a major favorite of the kids as they are quite playful. The zoo also has really cool specials like the zoo boo during Halloween when they are open after dark with many cool Halloween stations appropriate for young kids.

A large and speaking zoo but still left feeling disappointed. I'm sure children would love it more than I did. While the animals had large captivities I felt unimpressed by their actual habitats. There also seemed to be too large of gaps between exhibits where more enclosures could be included to provide a larger array of animals. Or even space to include more interactive and educational installations. Something to make the trip a bit more immersive rather than a disappointing journey through the winding paths. They could really take inspiration from The Wild out in chittenango. I could use a bit of sprucing up and a more cohesive layout.

Family membership free entrance for 1 year. To take kids to play ,eat,learn.

Rosamond Gifford Zoo is always interesting and has bred some endangered species. My compliments to the staff for a job done well!

We had a good time here today and it brought back memories as the family use to come here annually when I was a kid. My only complaint was it seemed more than expected exhibits were closed for remodel.

A Truly enjoyable indoor/outdoor Zoo.
Although founded more than 100 years ago, the Zoo was expanded, redeveloped and re-opened in 1986. It now covers 43 acres [almost 2 million ft 2]. The variety of animals- including baby Pandas, Penguins, Snow Leopards and Asian (smaller) Elephants will be sure the enthral "kids of all ages"!! There are also many opportunities to have a wonderful "hands on" experience! The zoo is a very useful and important addition to Onondaga Park, and it is yet another wonderful place to visit in Syracuse.

I hope that this review was helpful.

Had a family summer outing went to the zoo had a great time!

Great job with the reservation system, directional signage to keep you on track, animals looked great, friendly staff, wonderful afternoon visit to the zoo! Cooler winter days are great because animals are active!

Good variety of animals
Great kid friendly place
Kind of pricey for food but good snack options

It was hot so not a lot of activity with the animals. Most of them were sleeping or in hiding. Will go back tho

It was a beautiful winter day to go see the animals. They were enjoying their valentine's!

Great place.. Not very long but yet not short. Total time took me 2 hours to get through with taking our time. Kids never lost interest.

A great time even when it's hot. Lots of misting stations.

Great local place to visit with kids & grandkids. Reasonable prices for admission !!

Good and bad, the enclosures are built for the comfort of the animals as well as being what looked like as natural as possible. Down side mean you the visitor do not get to see many of them at all. Most of the animals were relaxing in the shade and hidden from view.

I couldn't get in...had to make reservations and couldn't do it on my phone

Great small zoo. Very updated. Friendly staff and reasonable prices.

This zoo is rather small when compared to some of the other big city zoos, that being said they do have a very diverse collection of animals.
We went on a Monday and being early in the school year there were no groups of school children, so the crowds were non existent. The zoo is very well laid out for easy navigation for wheelchairs or strollers.
I highly recommend it for a casual low stress getaway ternoon.

A relatively small but nicely curated zoo with interesting animals. The big cages make you feel a little less bad about keeping all those wild animals in cages. There is a surprisingly nice small aquarium also. You can easily spend a couple of hours here.

This zoo is a ton of fun and surprisingly big for the Syracuse area. The staff is very kind and certainly humane towards the animals. The zoo is very well taken care of with many different species to see. Definitely check it out if you're in the area.

Wonderful way and day spent with one of my bestest friends!!!

Rosamond Gifford zoo is a great place to take any family they have a great selection of animals there it s a beautiful zoo they have food there they have a nice store the people are nice we love going to the zoo

Unfortunately the zoo is not back up and running yet...Many of the animals that were there before are no longer there and there seems to be fewer of each animal as well. And many of the attractions are under renovation. So the tood news there are plans in the works to have a few better exhibits as well and a new animal medical center!

This is a lovely, lovely place to visit anytime of year!

A really nice zoo, very reasonably priced with a nice variety of animals. The zoo is laid out very well, with one exhibit blending into the next in a very efficient way. You can see everything in a few hours without getting tired.

They've done a lot of work to improve the environs for the animals. Including the human ones. Kudos!

A wonderful zoo, they appear to take very good care of the animals. They are open year round, with great indoor exhibits and plenty of outdoor animals that can handle Syracuse winters. If you live in the area, a membership is well worth it!

Great place to take your family and keep the kids engaged

I do not want to bash the zoo as I am sure most of the staff cares for the animals personally, however every time I have visited in the past I have found the habitat to be depressing. The exhibits for the animals seem maddeningly small, and I end up getting bored within a half an hour easily. I do not claim to be an animal expert so I don't know what the certain amount of space that some animals need to be healthy, but I've visited some other zoos in my past, and cannot think of a solid reason to recommend the Rosamond Gifford Zoo

Great way to spend the afternoon. If you have kids, are local, and plan to visit more than once get the family membership. Food court/ jungle cafe is consistently disappointing. Bring your own food you ll be glad you did.

Its not the worst zoo but its definately far from the best zoo Ive ever been to

Really good. Cheap for an activity of this caliber. Well maintained.

We had a great time at the zoo as a family. It's not too big or overwhelming for my youngest but still had a lot of great things that my older children and I enjoyed.

Some updated features since I was here last. Elephants exhibit has been relocated and updated, outdoor primate exhibit updated, and two play areas for children were also added. Nice zoo for the area. Reasonable admission prices. Plan on an 1 1/2 - 2 hours for a visit (longer if you plan to watch the demonstrations)

Unfortunately due to the current situation with the COVID19 going around the Zoo was operating on a reduced capacity and the best portions of the Exhibits were off limits but other than that it was alright

Alot of animals are gone but they are doing construction

They have new exhibits with dinosaur themes and staff answering questions around the zoo. As a veteran, you get in for free with up to 3 additional people. My dau9and I spend a lot of time here and we love it every time

Its a nice zoo that you can walk in about 2 hours and see everything. Military members and veterans get in free with three family members.

Grear for toddlers, easily walkable without stroller with our three year old. Love the new sand area.

Exhibits were a little slow, but the staff is loquacious and friendly! Stop through the cafe for a cup of hot cocoa to warm up after walking the grounds if you visit in the winter!

Lots of fun for the kids I would say. Sloth and Elephants were our favorite.

Lots of kid programming and amazing staff!! So glad we made it!

I took my son for his first birthday and he had an absolute blast! A good portion of the exhibits are inside so even on a cold CNY winter's day we were able to have a great time!