Turtleback Zoo Reviews

Great zoo for little kids. It is relatively small but offers a lot

Awesome for kids, free parking, can be covered in 3-4 hrs

Very nice zoo for families and couples alike. Plenty to see-you should put aside at least 2 hours for your visit.

Great small zoo ..we go at least once a month
$90/seaonal pass for family of 4 well worth it!!!
Staff is super friendly nice and professional and GREAT w kids
I love it during the off season best it feels homey

Always a great experience. My kids love it. The new area with giraffes and lions are their favorite. Price is reasonable and usually not too crowded the times we went.

Great family experience. During Christmas time they have a great light show to walk through. Perfectly sized for a day trip, not crazy large where you could never get to everything.

A very nice little zoo with many different animals. And it keeps getting better with many new animals. One sad thing is the big python in the reptile house has been moved to another zoo.

Great for children and adults we had a great time in the zoo and the boats

Great place for kids and families.. they need to have someone to guide you where to go next the zoo is huge is very clean we recommend to brin your own lunch and stroller..

What's not to like? Went to see the special Holiday Lights the zoo put up all around the zoo. Very nice!

Beautiful zoo. Great place to bring children. Nice landscaping, nice exhibits and a free kiddy train ride. Unfortunately many of the exhibits are closed for renovations.

We really liked the Zoo and can't wait to go back. So many positive things to say: for starters price is really right and free parking. You can bring in your own food and there is ample outdoor table seating to eat a snack or lunch. The exhibits were all well laid out, clean and animals looked happy and well cared for. I would highly recommend a visit!

One of the best zoos for family picnics. But do a favor and pack yourself some food as the restaurant inside the zoo sells garbage fast food for crazy expensive prices
Or you can just walk out of zoo and eat at a restaurant outside and hey back in as they allow multiple entry on same day. There is a subway and manhattan bagel with in walking distance

Great! Excellent place for young kids! Well kept 3hrs of entertainment. Petting zoo, giraffe and Super cool canopy course! Must visit area has awsome free park by mcloones with many varied games. Would have taken more photos but having too much fun! Must check out!

Great experience ! I hadn't been there in years,and am amazed at the transformation ! A big-city quality zoo, at a small town price ! Convenient and we'll laid-out. And amazing array of animals & birds. And the beloved train ride is still available ! Fun & educational. Loved it, will return !

Our only complaint is not everything was open, but we also went a day or two after a snow storm so i understand why nit everthing was open or cleared

Turtle Back Zoo is wonderful. The animals look well cared for and their exhibits are fantastic.

Pretty Zoo, nice for children. However, it is smaller compared to Chicago Lincoln Park zoo for example, and felt a bit haphazard. May add more categories and guided flow for visitors.

Great place to be. Very nice to go with your family.

Really Nice place to visit, you get to see the animals and interact with some of them.

Amazing Zoo. Went on a Sunday and saw some beautiful animals. The Zoo is usually very busy weekends in the summer, but almost every exhibit is full and active. The wildlife they have and care for is pretty diverse too. They have sea turtles, giraffes, lions, bears, gibbons, and tortoises as big as a grand piano! My advice is to bring a water bottle as there are plenty of water fountains around and on the hottest days they have misters and sprinklers on the trails to keep you cool. They're always open until 430pm every day, and the parking is free in a parking garage. The area is gorgeous, and easy to get to. Highly recommended!

Perfect for kids & families. The zoo is big enough to spend a few hours but not too large you're overwhelmed. They're continuously adding new animals / exhibits.

I have been going to the Turtle Back Zoo for years. I hadn't been in a couple of years and I was pleasantly surprised by the quality additions to the zoo attractions. There's so much to see and do. The day went by too quickly, and we didn't get a chance to see everything! A worthwhile and fun visit!

Loved the ease of parking, food was good and park was clean!

I enjoyed my time here although some exhibits I couldn't find animals maybe it was their eating time. I like the set up they have with one way entrances to see exhibits especially during covid-19.

Nice zoo for toddlers. Not a lot of animals but overall a nice way to spend a day.

This is a very family friendly zoo. Just the right size! The staff is very helpful and informative. The place is well maintained. The animals seem to be taken care of very well too! Parking is very convenient too! The food selection is pretty good as well.

No parking available, not in the lot or anywhere around it. Drove around for more than an hour and a half and gave up. Zoo may be awesome, I couldn't tell you...

We love this zoo been coming here for years sinse I was a child and now my kids absolutely love a day trip tp the zoo. We really are impressed with all the additional exhibits they have added in most revently.

We did the Festival.of Lights. What a nice family outing.

This zoo is constantly growing and getting better! Great place for kids and good exercise for the family because there are some steep hills and a kiddie park inside and outside of the zoo.

Great place to for a family outing with younger kids

Turtle Back Zoo is such an awesome place, tons of animals and the staff is always pleasant. Great place for a fun day with the family

Great place for a day trip with the kids. Very clean and a sizable amount of exhibits to see.

Its an amazing place fun for ur whole family and its cheap

Small but fun place. I feel bad for animals because they are kept in such small places but since most are rescued I guess better than nothing.

This zoo was a bit small but it had quite the roster of animals will visit again

I am an animal lover. This small zoo has so much personality. I ve been here many times and it always changes. They have nice employees and love that they hire special needs people to join their staff.

Gorgeous zoo and a fun experience for everyone in the family. The touch tank was a wonderful experience Also, they have excellent educational and conservation opportunities.

Nice zoo but very hilly. We were there with a wheel chair and it was too much for us.

My 4 year old is a huge fan of the stingray petting yank and the bitd sanctuary.

This place is a New Jersey institution. If you live in New Jersey, you owe it to yourself to go there, and if you don't live in New Jersey, you should still go to this zoo. Very kid friendly, like a zoo should be. The cafe is kinda lame but it's what you'd expect at your average concert/event overpriced fried stuff kinda cafe.

Very creative first time going at night great for families to see the holiday/animal lights.

I've been coming here for nearly 40 years. The zoo has undergone an incredible and welcome transformation. We are members and come all the time year round.

We had a great time and will definitely return very soon.

I decided to spend time at the zoo. I liked that they have free parking, strict control over the observance of COVID rules, and also an excellent territory. I am impressed! Thanks!

Such a cute, clean zoo to visit with an infant and toddler! Not over whelming and plenty of animals to see!

Small zoo, nice park, park train ride. Time worth spent.

Great zoo. So fun for the kids. Includes being able to ride a small train as a family. How can you beat that?

Great Holiday Light Display! And completely free, even the parking was free! Thank you for a special family evening!

Took my kids our for an awesome day of fun experience. The learned a lot from seeing the live animals.

My favorite zoo! Great to walk a few hours with kids and to see many animals. Great activities (though extra money). Definitely ride the train.

Great experience for toddlers. My 3yo daughter enjoyed feeding a giraffe and riding the train the most. My 1.5yo got really excited about farm animals (you can also feed them) and the lions. The kids also loved the playground there. We spent about 4 hours in total at the zoo.

We are members and love all the yearly changes and additions. We will be returning year after year.

Love this zoo. Clean, diverse and what a walk. Plus a train, paddle boats on a beautiful lake right next door. Great outdoor activity with the family

Lovely zoo to visit and view entire place at leisure. Kids and adults will enjoy. Plenty of shaded areas to take a break from the sun and the local area has eateries and parks.

Each time I go back this place has something new each time. This zoo has grown over the years. I purchased my membership card this year. Well worth it if you like to go pretty often.

A great place to spend the afternoon. The recent expansions and redesign has really turned this into a must see.

Getting a season pass to this Zoo is well worth it. Great place to take the kids and it's never too busy except for early spring.

We had fun going here. My son was very amazed seeing the giraffe and sting ray and specially riding the train.

Great place to go with young kids for a morning or afternoon visit. Smaller than your typical zoo although very nicely done

Turtle Back Zoo is located in West Orange I used to go here when I was younger it s been I while but the memories were amazing I love animals they have lots of cute animals I can t remember what kind of animals they had I know they had giraffes sting rays and birds

Great place for small kids but would be nice if bigger

It's was rainy day, but we still had a lot of fun, very nice clean place. Recommended for kids and parents.

Great day at the zoo. Only thing annoying was they told us the lot was full when it wasn't.

Went for the Halloween festival it's was fun but crowded and they didn't hand out enough candy. But if you love animals and want a safe place to trick or treat it's a great afternoon. Plus admission is only $5 on Halloween.

Went during the Christmas light showing .. free now 5 to 9 pm. Most of the animal exhibits were closed.

Went there for Halloween with my son and it was awesome we got there at 4:00pm and for $5.00 we got to see so many awesome animals and got to treak or treat with and my son got his halloween bag full of awesome candy! its a safe and an awesome place!

My son enjoys coming here soooo much. So close to home and not as crowded as the LA ZOO. Every time we have a chance we come here loves the tiny monkeys.

The water fountains taste discusting . Not enough shadows to sit while kids and wife wall around.

Too expensive the ticket. There is not a lot of animals.

Surprisingly awesome experience. The zoo is big, has lots of animals and many other fun things to do like the train and the carousel.

We love taking our grandkids here. Recently went on tree tops and zip line. Great fun.

A nice place to spend a day with the family. My kids had a wonderful time there. Parking facility is also good.

A wonderful place for a walk with an impressive collection of animals that seem well cared for. Exhibits include sea lions, lions, giraffes, hyenas, buffalo, bears, wolves, pigs, alligators, gibbons, and so many more. The new flamingo exhibit is beautifully done, and the new entrance is eye-catching and so modern.

Accessibility issues:
-Hills are extremely steep. I would definitely not count on moving a wheelchair on one's own; have a friend or helper to push up the hills or slow your descent. Also consider skipping some exhibits which are up the steepest hills, like the barnyard animals (sheep, pigs, etc).
-there are handicap accessible bathrooms as well as single stall companion restrooms that can accommodate a wheelchair and helper. The companion restrooms are located near the carousel.
-Some terrain surfaces are more challenging to traverse than others. Some of it is plain asphalt, but other surfaces are textured for authenticity/theming, which may be harder on wheelchair users.
-there are ramps in/to all buildings and amenities. I did not see automatic door buttons on all the buildings, though.

The complex is clean and looks "expensive" . If you went here a decade or even a few years ago, it's worth a return trip.

Consider the membership to save money if you plan to return several times over the summer.