The Oregon Zoo Reviews

Crowded but wide lanes and well signed to keep people moving. Very well kept

Went to the Portland Zoo like 2 weeks ago with my kids was a very wonderful experience I recommend it to anyone to go see it

Several exhibits are closed for remodel, monkey, polar bear but still a good day! The zoo for all program is great! $5 if your on ohp, WIC or snap

Great fun but not enough parking had to wait almost an hour in the cold for a shuttle bus.

Brought our family here for the day. Well worth it. Lots to see. Have kids? Bring your stroller or rent a single or double stroller. The staff were friendly and helpful. There is WiFi outside the restaurant across from the gift shop. The layout is well thought out. There is the long way down and a short way down depending on your time line. Very family friendly and easy for the kids to see many of the exhibits. We would come again. In fact we would buy memberships if we lived locally.

Ready for the construction to be over and all animal exhibits open. Also the train ride needs to be extended or somehow show more than elephants and buildings.

It's a nice place to go with family. Can't wait once they finish the whole construction of parts of it.

One of the premier stops in Portland. A must see if you haven't before and will keep you coming back for more

Loved to see how well the elephants are taken care of

Came by for the cool evening event. The family and I enjoyed ourselves as it wasn't too hot and everything was open, Plus music and food trucks. We haven't been here for about 15 years and it was nice to stroll through with the kids as adults. :-)

Always a fun place to go with our family. And we're happy to see them expanding the exhibits

Always enjoy the Oregon Zoo, and while I appreciate their consistent attempts to make normative environments to compensate for animals being in captivity, they are ALWAYS in a state of construction as a result. Just once I'd love to enjoy the full facility without a detoured exhibit or quardened off area (seriously, not once in 30 years).

Great time with the family. Easy to get to via the max.

I like going here on weekdays to convene with my spirit animals.

Photos are too expensive but otherwise great family place.

Definitely has changed since I was a little girl. Be prepared for an Active nature walk....long walk around. Train will not have visible parts On track to see animals. Bummer....great to go middle of day.

The new elephant exhibit is amazing! Not the most fun to be out there during the rainy season, but other that this is one of the cleanest Zoos I've ever been to.

Disappointed that several exhibits were closed during our visit

My daughter and daughter-in-law take me every other year to see the Christmas lights. They do such a beautiful job!!

Awesome place and accessible prices for everyone. I was very excited to see the lights and it's just wonderful. At night the temperature drops, better be prepared and get ready for a walk. You won't be disappointed.

What a horrible place, how many animals have died because of neglect here? They just cut a lions tail off by closing the door on it just to showcase the lions, these animals deserve to be in a sanctuary not on display for people to profit from.

Great overall experience. First time visit with my family. Beautifully laid out, gorgeous landscaping and fun exhibits. 10/10.

Great place for family and friends....for a nice walk

My 3yr old never wanted to leave! The animals all seem really well taken care of and there's tons to see. Bring a camera for sure! There's a few sand pits for little ones to play in, so it's great if you want to take a break!

I had a awesome time at the zoo! There was a food cart selling something called a elephant ear it was amazing! I saw all the animals and they were right at the window. They had a awesome thing were there was a fake Jeep you could get into right next to a cage of cheetahs. it was awesome and a had a great time.

There are quite a few animals here, and while their habitats are designed to keep them happy, visitors can get great views. There are also different places to eat scattered throughout the zoo. Kids are happy to not have to walk far to get a snack.

Great zoo, the enclosures are on the larger side so the animals seem happier, yet there are viewing spots that still bring you up close and personal.

The zoo kids are very knowledgeable and facilitate a variety of educational (often hands on) centers right at the enclosure.

My kids LOVE coming here and we also enjoy it too.

Fun but nothing exotic that I haven't seen before at any other zoo in Washington state. By my god the parking was absolutely insane.

This is an amazing zoo!!! Great exhibits, fun things for the kids to do. Prices are high but that's to be expected.

Pretty nice zoo. Animals are fairly visible and active. Side note: espresso was made with some sort of pod and wasn't very good.

ZooLights presents a nice environment to stroll through the zoo and see great light displays and minimal animals. It's something to do... But I wouldn't put it on my bucket list.

The grounds are well maintained and the animals appear to be well taken care of. I knock this down a star because the price is high and it's almost always crowded. Usually high prices would keep the crowds at bay but I think the zoo offers a lot of deals and discounts to large groups. So I guess if you have large groups maybe the price would be fair, but for a small family it is a very pricey outing.

Pay admission and parking? Too expensive for a family outing. We are actually members and have been for over ten years. Honestly won't be renewing our membership this year because I don't think it's appropriate to charge for parking in that lot. Zoo is ok, not the best. We use membership to get discounts on camps and concerts. Haven't used membership for admission because kids don't think the zoo is fun anymore it's too crowded and I don't want to pay for parking because it's a hassle and doesn't make sense.

Took about 1hour and half for 2 adults to look around. We made reservations as we were eating lunch to visit the zoo. You need to book your entry time on their website but super easy to do so. Gift shop is pretty small because its set up outside the original gift shop. But I purchased two mug cups as my souvenir.

A Little disappointed their is always construction going on at the zoo, and to top it off their was a concert that day so some areas were closed down.

We love the zoo and the memberships really help when you have young children. I would recommend anyone with children 4 and under that live in the city to get a zoo membership! It's nice to be able to go whenever you want and not worry about admission.

Went for zoo lights during the holidays and kids loved it. Train was fun too.

Renew our membership annually. Every trip to the zoo is full of wonder, excitement and education.

It was very fun for the family. The zoo lights looked amazing.

Wonderful zoo! Loved seeing all of the animals. Parking was super full and busy, but found a spot after circling around a few times. The gift shop had amazing things, and I loved the atmosphere. Would definitely recommend and I wouldn't mind coming back here again.

I love the Oregon Zoo. As much as I'm not crazy about zoo's they really do a great job. It's clear they really care about the animals. And it's beautiful.

. . . good i went to the zoo lights tonight but otherwise the zoomis great i geuss

Loved the place. I could not see the polar bear and the hippo though as they will arriving in 2020 September.

Very nice zoo, even though we're in a pandemic, the zoo operators have managed to keep this a great experience. Balancing social distancing with visitor experiences being enjoyable, although several buildings were closed many remain open, and the staff clean and remind visitors to keep their distance. The layout of this zoo was very natural and creates a fun and relaxing environment to explore and enjoy the animals. Our family had a great time here.

It's a nice zoo but most of the animals were gone and the ones that were there we asleep because of the hot day. Not saying that's not going to happen but it could and they state that at the front entrance. Plus currently they are build a large schooling/learning area so it gets a bit louder than normal.

It has become a well built zoo that can take up a full day. And easily accessed from downtown by way of the city train.

The elephant exhibit is awesome. There are many updates throughout the the zoi.

Go on weekdays! The crowds are less. Adorable animals always, despite covid. Some exhibits are closed, but the best ones still remain. The whole loop takes ~2 hours including resting and photography.

A lot is under construction right now. But all of the new stuff is fantastic! Love the new elephant area!

A lot of construction but a beautiful day and had a very good time.

If you haven't been to the Oregon Zoo in a while, you really need to go! There has been so many changes in the last decade or so. Our last visit was so exciting. We had great views of the cheetahs, painted dogs, and we even got to see the tiger close up, which is a rare treat! They have a huge new exibit for the elephants. The large exibit of the Lions never fails to be impressive. Now they're starting to renovate the whole Arctic area. They have the plans posted for what it's going to look like. I can't wait to see it when they're done! I love how they always seem to be trying to improve on the zoo and make it better. It does make me sad when they get rid of some of my favorite animals, like the sea lions. But now they have seals instead, which is a nice change. The family membership is a good deal if you're going to visit the zoo more than twice a year. If you're a family of 4 with older children, about 2 visits pays for the membership. Not to mention you get in to see the zoo lights at Christmas time for free, plus you get discounts on other things like in their gift shop. I highly recommend a visit. I don't think you'll be disappointed. :)

Literally 1/4 of the animals on display. The zoo has been going under a renovation forever. They still charge full price. There is no indication that 75% of the zoo is closed and under construction.
Safari cafe charges 9 dollars for a combo meal of soggy fries 20 oz soda and a half frozen burger. Condiment bins empty or old condiments.
Catsup mustard empty and this was when they first opened.
Habitats need major work and the rehomed animals are in environments that dont really fit them.
Portable toilets are a mess and have sanitation issues.
I recommend visiting in 2022 when they may be completed. Until then unless you really need to see a black bear an otter and a harbor seal save your time and money and do anything else.

I went with a group from the HIV DAY CENTER, and would have scored the zoo higher but it's in transition and allot to of the exhibits I wanted to see were closed.

The zoo was a great place to take the whole family. It seemed to have a wide array of wildlife there. I would go back anytime I'm in Portland

Lots of construction, but the kids still loved it. Decent food carts but expensive.

Very well laid out. Easy to link all the areas together in a nice loop.

It feels terrible to look at cages animals. My child did not like it at all. If you like looking at cages animals you may enjoy it more.

One of the greatest moments of my life. The animals are truly cute! And the staff is nice, careful, the habitats are clean. Not too overpriced either.

Not too bad, as long as the exhibits aren't under construction.