The Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens Reviews

I visit this zoo with my son about once a week. Its attractions are truly wonderful. However, I have two big complaints that sometimes ruin my visits.
First, the doors to the restaurants should be handicap-accessible. I am always fighting to get the door open with my stroller. I can t imagine how frustrating it is to open the doors for zoo visitors in wheelchairs.
Secondly, there is a huge amount of the zoo with nothing to see. If you take one wrong turn (which is likely, considering the zoo s horribly confusing layout), you end up walking around sections of the zoo where all you see is the back of small buildings, chain fences, and pavement. The botanical gardens aspect of the zoo is breathtaking, and I m not sure why there can t be more plants in all of the places where the attractions are lacking. Plants would be the least they could add...

Great little zoo. But even with all the shade from the trees can get really hot. Bring water

Doesn't match the Columbus Zoo, however educational. Too much hawking of tourest traps.

Fun for everyone. However, expensive and the food is not that good.

Fun place to visit with the family. Lots to do for the kids!

Numerous exhibits empty, overgrown foliage makes it hard to see the animals... Exhibits look in despair, not worth the money and time.

Very nice place for the whole family. Affordable prices on food and beverages

Me and the family had plenty fun, especially the lil one...

Good Zoo location and very nice place overall i recommend getting the membership. If you live nearby you will benefit from the experience

What a great place to spend the day! So many animals to see. There are a lot of really interesting presentations. I love the petting zoo, such sweet animals. Their events are always phenomenal.

Super friendly staff. Just wish the markings mapping for animals were a little more clear

Boo at the zoo was such a fun and safe way for my son to trick or treat.

Great petting area for kids and special stalls for close up encounters with snakes, an armadillo and more.

Many animals, well frequented and quite crowded. A tour for the whole day.

I love the zoo! It's best to go when it's not so crowded.

27, visited from Australia with my gf. Always forget just how good the zoo is.

clean nice place to go with the family - i recomended

I loved it here but there is a lot of bee's so be careful

Not very big compared to San Diego zoo and exhibit are small. Only 1 Tiger which was hard to see as well as the Lion exhibit was hard to view

I won't be bringing my kids here again. My child, under 2 years old, was asking why all the animals were sad and why there was garbage all over the place. I couldn't come up with an answer other than they need to try harder and do a better job. It was depressing, and we have not had the same experience at other zoo's in Oregon and California. I expect more, the kids expect more, and its just in the way of caring for the animals and keeping it clean enough that you aren't stepping on garbage on the paths between enclosures.

The zoo is still open. You have to get a reservation online right now because of the pandemic. The zoo is much quieter and it's easier to see the animals, so I think it's definitely worth going. There are sanitizer stalls everywhere and people are practicing social distancing, wearing a mask etc.

Beautiful, definitely a must-see & bring your kids!

I liked the L.A. Zoo Lights, but I think it needs more lights and music. I want them to be more attractive.

Very good place to be with the family and learn more about the animals

Great zoo to visit with family. Hills are not too big for all ages to handle

Its not like it used to be ..thers hardly any animals.

Fun trip with our 8 year old. Gave her the map of the zoo and she led us around for hours. Never got a good view of the elephants though they were always on the far side each time we checked.

Very few animals and lots of walking between them. Heard more kids crying than excited after 30 minutes in.

i like the la zoo its a nices zoo i seen all of the anamels that i needed to see next time ill come back i had a good time

The best of the best to enjoy nature and animals as a family and only too.

A good place to walk and be will be from the jijjij family

It is OK for visit. I wish the animals would look happier, but who can blame them... The place is big, and they have some spots that you will have to purchase extra tickets if you want to see the section. They have some cool animals, they have some sad animals. I would expect better experience.

Great selection of animals, reptiles and more and just the right size not to totally tire out a 6yo.

A small zoo. An easy walk for young children and out of shape people. The enclosures are sad and small, but the animals look fairly happy.

Seemed a bit lighter on the lights this year but still a good time for the family

Not nearly as famous or as visited as it's sister zoo down the road in San Diego but still worth a visit.

Went to zoo my son had fun going too his first zoo seeing all animals first time

My husband and I went to the first night 2018 of LA zoo lights. It was raining outside so there were very few people that attended and we had a great time. A couple days later I got a rain check or refund sent to my email because LA zoo was not happy with their first night show? I was surprised because I thought it was absolutely beautiful and so did my husband. We didn t get to see animals but this was a different side of the LA zoo that was very cool and I highly recommend.

Came to the lights show at night and was really nice. It felt a bit short.

Great zoo, but some of the large bird enclosures seemed so small for the birds they were housing.

Had a good time my first visit my 17month loved her expression on her face was priceless

This zoo was one of the first zoos to arrange its exhibits by region instead of type of animal (all monkeys or bears together regardless of where they come from), and I like getting to see which animals would live together with each other. It's also a botanical garden (my parents say the first time they took me there as a baby, I just wanted to look at all the plants!), and the animals are in nice habitats. This is a favorite place for my family to take the kids, and they especially love getting to feed the giraffes! What a fun place!

Well, if you buy tickets on a third party website...it should direct you to call LA zoo to reserve your time and date. Unfortunately for my family, we were unable to go in on Easter. The good news for people with reservations... you'll have plenty of parking. The line to go in looked long, but they have to do their new protocols. They are doing the best they can due to Covid19 regulations so please be patient.

Okay some animals are missing but it is nice more where the piranhas are

A beautiful place to walk with the family. Cold water fountains are missing.

So i came for the Zoo Lights and was pleasantly pleased very nice well done everyone!

I liked the Safari, the seals, otters and the ice cream

Nice place to spend the day, it's pretty clean and my son likes it. There is plenty of parking and it's free.

Great experience for my kids. We came around 10am on the morning and I have to say we did not have enough time to see every animal. We missed the giraffe and black bear. Will come back to see them again

Good place for family hang out with kids. We got some trick or treats too since we visit it close to Halloween. The zoo's animal varieties could use some additions tho. They don't have rhino, camels...Some of the animals don't look very well taken care off, or they're just too old. Snack prices are a little high, too. 1L water bottle costs close to $5 is a little too much, imo!

All and all this is a good zoo. It is large and well maintainned, systemized. However, there are still rooms for improvements.

I feel very sad for the lions..the place where they living is veeery small..!.Otherwise excellent place to spend time with the family .

Very nice to go for a walk with family, in my case accompany my son on his school trip we did not travel all xq we did not have much time, the bird show very nice I would like to take my son again with more time to travel all

Very nice place to share with family . To spend a pleasant weekend, good security and very clean and organized I recommend everything

I did not like!! Very few animals and very high prices !!

LA Zoo is open, it is better to buy the ticket ahead of time than in person though.

We love the LA Zoo and especially the membership perks. The animals are well cared for and it shows. The zoo keeper talks are very informative. We've learned a lot and my children have developed a great respect for all living beings.

Roads through Griffith park were closed today, June 1st 2020