The Oregon Zoo Reviews

Took us about 4+hours to go through. It was our first time visiting. Excited for the new exhibits to open so we can pay another visit.

I love the zoo! It's one of my favorite places in Portland! You can spend the whole day walking around and checking out all the animals. My son loves this place especially during the zoolights in December!

Simply amazing, great experience. I wish I could see tiger close enough.

Beautiful zoo. I ve been here twice and the first time I spent an hour getting through the first section and had to rush through the rest! It s easy to lose time here because there is so much to see around every corner! If you re going to see the red pandas be prepared to see them sleeping, they re still adorable but naturally they re asleep most of the day. Overall an amazing zoo and I am considering getting a membership so I can go over and over.

Great way to spend my 18th birthday, and get out the rest of that "inner kid"!

Such fun for the whole family, little and big kids alike. Went early to avoid the crowds, definitely a good choice.

Great zoo, nicely designed and will be even better once a few of the exhibits are finished up.

Oregon zoo has always been great to take the kids and do a family day, currently however there is lots of construction, but all the new stuff they've added is a good balance, i dont feel the admission prices are fair for the lack of interaction with the animals we get

Love this zoo. Spectacular. Kids loved it. The train is really neat.

They keep getting better - nothing compared to larger zoo's, but their expanded habitats give much more to check out!

Do not go to the zoo lights around this time. The staff was horrendously rude to me and my family. First when we gave our tickets they called us incompetent for not "standing together" in the right line when they were the ones who told us to separate to keep the lines moving. Then on are way out the same guy and surrounding staff workers somehow rememberd us and turned and said "remember next time to stay together"! It ruined the night for my faimly who were visiting. They should not be hiring what looked like high schoolers to run the front lines.

Not what i expected from the reviews, the train ride was a joke 5 min max on the train. Needs a lot more animals.

we recently went during off peak season, and its still the oregon zoo and great as usual. But during our visit at this time, they had many animals not available for viewing, and all the food joints were shut down for the season. Only thing open was the gift shop.

We were there for 4 hours but you could easily spend more time there. It will be even more wonderful when the new exhibits open next year. The girls remembered the elephant ears from their visit last October, so we had to get those again. There is an elephant ears food cart by the elephant exhibit.

Only the best zoo experience ever! As members we come here frequently and always meet wonderful people and learn new things. Tonight's adult only event was incredible. We bring our kids and 6 grandkids every chance we get!

I saw more construction than animals. Alot to pay to see what I can see on the street. But the new construction of habitats looks like something to see when it's done.

This Zoo is beautiful and has so many animals on view. I love how they are always improving the space the animals live in.

To be fair, a lot of it was under construction. I guess I'll have to go back fall 2020 to see it all done up. It was a beautiful day but a lot of the animals were missing. It was a bit underwhelming.

So much to see and The Elephants are the Stars!
Full house today due to free entry and the kids are loving the crowd...

The zoo was really amazing the lights are like a dream but it was extremely over crowded stressful on me and my kids also the overflow parking people were rude. But they did a a great job on the lights.

Nice place with lots of open space and good food. Forgot to mention, there were animals too

Even with the pandemic, the zoo is still a great place to walk through. Many of the outdoor attractions are open, but all the indoor exhibits are closed. They've made the zoo one-way to prevent crowding and promot social distancing. Look through their website to see whats open.

It's a great place to spend the day. Great sights, great staff, and a good time

Rain played the soil sport but when you love in Seattle, you can take on the rain like no one else can...
Loved the way the animals are taken care of. The highlight of the zoo was the fact that i was sitting right next to the lesser and the Lions with just a few inch thick solid glad between the two of us. The wild cats never looked this intimidating on TV ever. There was this new found respect towards these dangerously majestic cats. The elephants were naughty and they they were so adorable. I would love to go back here but don't want the rain next time too!!

Lots of construction. Not much to see. Took the staff to see . Lucky a beautiful day for a walk.

The Oregon Zoo is always improving and is a fantastic zoo. We ve had a membership for years and it really makes the experience better. It s a different experience when you can just pop in for an hour and don t feel like you have to see everything to get your moneys worth. The design and environments keep getting better with every new addition. Pro Tip: Loop back around to the elephants before you leave, you might get the chance to see them eating or playing in the pool!

Excellent zoo. The setting is very scenic and the animals are lively and we'll care for.

One of the best zoos I've been to! The exhibits are too notch. The layout is very natural and easy to follow. You barely even need the map to know where you are. Make sure to try to stop by the elephant exhibit when they are doing the zoo talk there for an amazing show.

Zoo is a great zoo. They give the animals the best living environments possible. Currently a lot of exhibits are under construction. When they are finished the zoo will great 5 stars

Amazing place to spend the day with family and friends. Lots to do and see. Line ups for snacks were a bit long so we didn't buy anything. The train ride was very short and not really exciting so stick to the walk about. Our day was filled with oooooo's and ahhhhhhh's and we look forward to going back for more fun.

Went here on a cloudy and slightly rainy day so it wasn t crowded. This is a very walkable zoo and I really like how it s easy to get around and see all the exhibits in a decent timeframe. The train ride wasn t awesome, but it was nice to sit down and I feel like younger kids (like toddlers) would enjoy it a lot more. There s some construction going on right now, but there s still a lot to look at. The elephant exhibit was really fun, and I loved looking at the African wild dogs.

I grew up coming to this Zoo very often because of my family getting yearly passes. It's truly an amazing place, and worth every penny. The Zoo itself is always clean, animals appear well taken care of, and the staff are always pleasant.

So sad to hear about Mikhail's passing. My condolences to the staff at the Oregon Zoo.

And for those complaining about the prices, running a zoo filled with exotic animals all that require unique care and diets is not going to be cheap. Your money also is going towards conservation, and employing a lot of people.

love this place could spend days watching the animals

Hands down... one of the best zoos! Staff are extremely friendly, and facilities are clean and accessible. Very reasonable entrance fee and parking.. $8 all day to park!

The foliage in the park is incredible...it felt more like a nature hike at times.

The animals have wonderful habitats-spacious and well maintained. I have read complaints and yes...a lot of habitats were closed and under construction. That s how they keep them nice! Personally, I m happier with a zoo that puts money into habitats than I am upset at having to forgo a visit with, say a rhino. We just walked to the next habitat and got over it.

We loved the primate forest and spent a lot of time with the elephants. My kids loved the harbor seals... and I think the seals loves the attention back.

One thing I LOVED, was the conscientious approach of the zoo. The onsite restaurants (although we did not eat there) serve sustainable foods. They do walk the walk!
We don t live close by, but will visit whenever we are in Oregon.

Great place to relax after long day. Don't forget to bring w water.

Went for the lights festival! It was so cool! Lots of awesome designs and creations. Had a great time!

Great place to learn about animals that you are not able to view in real life...in Africa

A couple of friends and I were in Portland for a few days and decided to visit. We had a great time roaming around looking at all of the animals. We happened to stop in at a time that the painted dogs were being fed - how exciting!

There was some construction going on during our visit but it didn't impact our overall experience that much - if we're in the area later down the line we'll have to make a point to check out their new exhibits!

Go early to finish games for kids. Some closures for new exhibits. Still a good experience

Wonderful Zoo where you can get up close and personal with the animals. Absolutely gorgeous environment!! Love coming here!!

OREGON ZOO LIGHTS are the best season to come here!

My favorite zoo I've ever been to - I love that there are windy trails through lots of greenery, instead of the vast parking lot feel of many zoos. The animals all look well cared for, and there is a definite emphasis on conservation and habitat preservation, which makes me at least feel better about the fact that these animals are in captivity. They are clearly working hard to improve all of the habitats too, and the renderings of the next elephant habitat are inspiring.

A regular zoo with a heart: fun for kids, no overwhelming species selection.

This is always a must, get here early... 10am all the animal feedings are between 11-2.

Amazing place to take the kids. Even my 1 year old had a great time. Parking sometimes is full but there is an overflow parking lot just one exit further with a shuttle that drives to the zoo

Portland Zoo was great even they are under constration the animals they do have are very well taken care of. The program they have for low income families to be able to bring their children to enjoy God creatures is wonderful.

Parking here is the worst, they need to do something about it. The zoo itself is adequate, nothing special, been to better.

Very well structured place. Good for a day with your kids.

Is great place to take the family a information for kids about the animals

It's not the San Diego zoo but what zoo is? Very nice, will be back

I loved the Oregon Zoo. I can't wait until they finish the new upgrades. After the improvements they made for the elephant area, the new PNW is gold to be amazing.

We went for Memorial Day which was free for military and family, thank you. The layout was nice. The orangutans weren t out because of maintenance. Two exhibits are set to be open in 2020.

Much better than the Atanta zoo. The trees and atmosphere are amazing. There are many views of each exhibit, which makes it easy to see each animal even when the zoo is crowded.

Something is always being worked on and exhibits are closed. See only 1/2 the zoo with full price tickets.

Great place to learn about NW animals. A good hike around the park. Wear comfortable shoes!

Had all my kids with me to see Nahko. Staff were great!!

The Oregon Zoo is always a decent time, but it always seems like it is under construction. There have literally been perpetual improvements since 2008 and they do not plan to be done now until 2020 at the earliest.

There are always animals gone/missing and I never truly feel like we are getting the full experience for the price. We recently went with a family group of 9 and admission alone was almost $200, with another 150+ in concessions.

It was a river of people all going in the same direction. Felt like I was getting swept away in the current of dads, moms and lots o children and strollers. The staff was friendly. Some exhibits are under construction.

Not the smartest thing for me to do during a pandemic.

At the moment the zoo is undergoing some much needed updating to many of the enclosures so there are a few areas off limits to guests, however just the sheer size of our zoo still makes for a good walking adventure, we spent several hours. For the Eco/animal rights conscious here in Portland it should be noted that the Oregon Zoo's main focus is on conservation and education not display.
Pro tip: until the Washington Park route is reopened, avoid the zoo train. It is $4 each for a 15 minute loop that only goes to the elephant enclosures before turning around.

Took my girl here for zoo lights. It's magical everytime worth every penny

Great zoo, took my 4 year old daughter during 2nd Tuesday where it's only 5.00. She had a blast. The only down side was that almost all.of the food carts were closed. The one that was open was out of half of the menu. No large cups and no hot choclate on a rainy day.

Excellent place to spend a couple of hours with the kids if you are "zoo" people. Good variety of animals, friendly staff and interesting layout. Not as modern as woodland park zoo up in Seattle, but they are busy putting together a variety of updated exhibits right now. Went the day after Thanksgiving and it was virtually empty.

Half of the animals were missing but we still paid full price kind of dissapointing walking around a half empty zoo

Ok folks this is a must to do if you are in portland. They have made this one of the best zoo's in our countey. Yes it can be pricey but its well worth it. I just cant say enough about this place and to be honest i am not a big zoo fan but i am of this one.

Many animals sleeping. Everyone was helpful. Parking was terrible. It was a zoo!

Went on a cheap day, it was crowded, but not unreasonably so, and with the amount you save, I felt like that was worth it. Difficult to navigate a large stroller however. Well laid out, lots of cool animals

A fun place to bring the kids but the parking is seriously lacking.