Turtleback Zoo Reviews

Free the animals to the natural habits. No lions want to be lock in a cage

It's a good local zoo to visit. If you don't like to walk then it's not the place for you. You can feed the giraffes, cost three dollars for the lettuces. There's a lot to see. Staffs are very friendly and knowledgeable. Your admission included train ride. Traffic can get very congested when there is good weather.

The zoo was not crowed temperatures was taken staff was friendly .but too many bees. going back to do zip lining because it started raining but had a great experience kids and God kids had a great time.clean atmosphere.

Toddlers heaven! All the hands on experience plus train ride make this place our favorite zoo!

Great zoo, varied exhibits that change constantly and a huge assortment of animals. Due to COVID 19, there are certain precautions imposed (temperature scans, mandatory masks, etc.). Unfortunately, 30% of the visitors either don't wear their masks properly or don't wear them at all.

4 out of 5 stars since I didn't see one zoo staff enforce the rule (which is to keep us ALL safe). Either hire security to enforce the rules or more staff.

Very nice zoo! Getting better with new exhibits!!! Excellent for families with little kids!

Really nice atmosphere for kids. Some new animals from Africa coming. Hopefully there will be some elephants and lions. Thoroughly enjoyed!!!

Great Hidden treasure in West Orange NJ.
This Zoo has a little bit of everything. Reptiles, Monkeys, Hayenas, lion and Tigers even Giraffs. They even have a sting-ray petting aquarium.

Prices are very reasonable. Children 2 years and under enter for free. And prices are about
$10-12 for children and $15 for adults.

During Christmas time you can enter for free after 5pm and walk around the whole park and watch the Christmas decorations and lights show.

For a small zoo this place is amazing! Animals look well taken care of and very clean zoo. Great assortment of animals; has carousel ride;train ride; pony rides for small children; you can feed billy goats and giraffes; you can pet a sting ray; has lawn theatre where kids get up on stage and dance to a live singer playing guitar; has indoor eating area and picnic area with tables outside; has a turtle nursery and snake exhibits. Has sprinklers that blast you with a refreshing mist of cold water through out the zoo. For older kids has a treetop obstacle course.

We happened to go on a free Saturday, so free parking and admission. Only paid $3 ride for carousel, and 0.50 to feed the goats (bring pocket change). The giraffe feeding area only took cash so unable to do that.

The parking lots are very confusing. And very confusing long walk to find your car, if you park right away when you enter the park. Saw a trolley outside in the entrance to the park (not sure where it goes). Wish they had more stands through out the zoo that sold refreshments and snacks. Bring your comfortable sneakers/shoes because it has areas that are uphill. Don t throw away your zoo map or you might get confused trying to find the exit (the zoo should place signs along the path to indicate this way to exit) or your way around the zoo.

Great local zoo. Essex has invested heavily in Turtle Back. Been coming here for 30 years and love it now. New parking garages.. new enclosures..

Great place for the kids. Its called Turtle Back which may indicate to some that its just for little kids. We went on the rope climbing course with our teenagers and they had a blast!

Very nice place to enjoy for kids for 3 to 4 hours..

In addition to paying for admission, bring change cash for the $2 Carousel, $3 Giraffe feeding, and the .50 Gist Feeding. The goats are so friendly and they have a hand washing station right next to it.

This is such a nice little zoo. Nothing overwhelming and fairly priced. There is plenty to do with little ones. You can pay to feed giraffes! I would absolutely go back.

No temperature checks are done. Employees walk past people not wearing masks and say nothing. When we asked about it at guest services we were told "we can only do temperature checks when the county assigns us a nurse." And "the sheriff walking around is the one who enforces the mask mandate." Just not safe.

Love it there. It's not too big and not too small. But it's sure to fill the little ones with excitement.

LOVE this Zoo, right here in West Orange. So much to see. Exhibits are clean. The train ride is fun. Workers are very knowledgeable. Great day trip!

Its was the first time i took my boy to see animals in zoo, he was so excited and didnt wont to leave !! I live very close to this zoo park so i probably visit there again with my son ;)

I love TBZ...
The most amazing zoo in New Jersey. I seen this Zoo develop from a small exhibits of animals to now Lions and Giraffes. The staff are awesome and the animals look well care for. I've been coming here for 13 years.

This zoo was something else. They had everything. You could get close to the animals and even feed the birds, giraffes, and even the friendly goats. The zoo offered many eat out areas and awesome attractions. I had a great time there. So bam five stars :)

It is so fun to go with your family. They also have a train ride.

I was there two days ago it s very a good place for kids and adults

I always enjoyed this zoo but this last time left me lacking. Many exhibits were closed no shows and made you wear a mask the whole time. Which would not have been bad if they enforced it but they didn't especially on kids were running wild in parts of the park no mask and even some parents.

I was in a bad mood when going so it ruined my visit there. I didn't really get a chance to view all the animals they have and saw lazy lions and lazy hyenas

Hands down one of the best zoos in New Jersey! Even though COVID has caused for some exhibits to be closed there are still many new ones that have opened and are absolutely beautiful! The grounds are very clean, the animals are very well taken care of and they keep the crowds to a contained amount. The admission is a fairly decent amount considering all the exhibits they have! The best hands down thing to do is the short train ride through the grounds that is truly the highlight of the trip. The staff is amazing and polite and it s just an all around great place to go for a great family day- Hopefully next year they will be fully open...

Great experience for your kids. A lot of interesting exhibitions, great and very kindly staff, clean place. Free parking available for zoo visitors.

it was very crowded and no room to walk around. we went for a birthday party but when we got there it was so hard to pass by everyone. It was in the gazebo and that place was far from the entrance especially if you have a baby. Van Saun Park is way better.

That's a wonderful place!.
I had a great time with my family

Really cool animals and a rlly amazing experience but there was a massive bee issue! Everywhere u went there were bees especially by trash cans but also everywhere in general. We were on the train waiting 4 it 2 start going and the bees came in and were on my brothers! One of my brothers even got stung and after tht we were just done and we left! We didn't even see most of the zoo it was just 2 terrifying for all of us. It's also extremely dangerous for those allergic 2 bee stings, one child tht got stung there was allergic and it's rlly very dangerous.
WARNING: if u are allergic to bee stings DO NOT GO HERE!! And even if ur not it's still very scary. It totally ruined the experience for us and none of us want 2 go back anytime soon... Turtleback zoo needs to do something about this issue ASAP otherwise it's rlly dangerous for ppl 2 go

I love this zoo and so does my 2 year old daughter. Very helpful staff, reasonable entrance fees and good parking.

Took my kids here. They loved it. Staff super friendly. My 7 years old caught a panic attack at the obstacles course. The staff reassured him he wont fall and could do it. Thx guys!

Great place! Clean, affordable, great for adults and kids, even a nice restaurant with bar!

We all had a wonderful time beautiful place for everybody

Perfectly sized zoo for children. If local recommend buying the annual membership. Well worth the money.

A wonderful experience. Animals have large area to roam around in. Petting zoo was fun for kids. Pink flamingos are gorgeous.

Great family experience for all ages. New exhibits and constant improvement

Recently renovated family friendly and affordable with an add on obstical coarse and mini golf course

Great prices, easy to walk thru, good for smaller kids especially

It has been seriously upgraded, lions tigers, bears, antelope and lots, lots more.

Zoo is good place for few hours. Has fewer animals than advertized.

Great place. Feeding the goats and touching sharks / stingrays is great. Minus one star for there always being 8000 kids there (to be expected).

Helpful employees in this zoo. The animals look well taken care of. The zoo itself is well maintained. The reason for the 4 star is the facility itself is a little on the small side. I hope it gets the funding it needs to expand. It was a wonderful visit otherwise.

So much fun for me and my family! Great variety of animals and not too big that it takes forever to get to see it all! Definitely will return to do more!

Great day at TBZ with my StinkY love him to infinity n baCk

Nice use of space by a small zoo. Lots of animals in well planned exhibits. A great little hilly walk that extends to an area around a lake if you are interested.

Amazing. Incredible service with employees. Thank you for making this experience more joyful abd easy with the help of transportation to and from parking lots and Zoo Entrance. God Bless.

Bath Room are not clean enough .. biggest down is that, else it's awesome place for kids

Very enjoyable facility with lots of things to see for a small sized zoo

Small zoo but has a lot of animals.. Do recommend ~

Great place for kids!!! Cheap entry and quick visit to all animals!!

Kids love it here. I just wish there was more shade. It gets really hot in the summer time.

Went on a moderately hot day (80 degrees) and most animals didn't have water. A lot of the animals were pacing (a sign of anxiety) and the enclosures were TINY! This entire experience was sad, seeing how they treat them that way. They have zoos that actually seem to care, big areas, food and toys.

Took my 2 toddlers there. Had a great time. We have a membership and have been here atleast once a month, and the kids love it every time. At this point they most look forward to riding the train (it's free!) and the carousel, haha. Would definitely recommend, especially to families with toddlers! Very family friendly.

I like the zoo but some animals I didn't get to see because it was too hot. The options for food can be better for those who need to eat healthy.

The kids enjoyed walking through the holiday lights. We were surprised at the penguin exhibit was not open

Very nice place to go with kids. Not too big and not too small. It's nicely decorated with statues of animals. Kids liked the train.

I wish I can givea 5 star for there. I like visiting the zoo but this one totally mess . There is no guide sign and you cannot where you are and which way is going to which animal. Plus because of covid some animals can not be visited and the staff which sell the ticket is not kind. So if you decided to visit this Zoo, my advice is buying tickets online.

The best family place to share a nice fun and clean day for all...

Very clean and well maintained. Great day trip for a very reasonable price!

Great place and lots of animals. Cute little train ride. Very cool that you could feed the giraffes

Me and my family loves Turtle Back Zoo. The experience is breathtaking. We just live the animals and attractions they offer whether it's Spring, Winter, Summer or Fall. We can't wait until the Giraffes arrive especially my 33 year old daughter

Lots of fun for kids. Clean zoo. Animals habitats are well maintained. Love the train rides.

Nice sized zoo that's very clean and has free parking. This has become our favorite zoo in the tri-state area. Some of the new additions are really great. My son can spend all day at the petting zoo and the train is always really welcome to cap off the day. The staff is great and you can tell that there is a lot for care to the park itself.

Fun little zoo! Was a chaperone for a school field trip. We were able to cover a good portion of the zoo attractions in the two hours we were there.

This zoo is great! It's totally manageable for young kids. My 20 month old and 3 year old loved it!

Great selection of animals. Also an animal hospital and rescue. Free train rides, $2 fire show extra exhibits such as bird cage (for feed) or butterfly exhibitm

Great place to just spend some time with the family

I love going there. Perfect place to bring the kids for an hour or two. Definitely bring the kids to the train ride. That's always fun. If you want to see all the animals, be sure to go during the summer months. Some of the animals are not there in the fall when the weather start to change.

It was a great day, the animals were beautiful the park was clean and we will visit again.

Wonderful family friendly place. Wide variety of animals to see and exhibits to help visitors learn more about them.

It was nice, new places for penguins and seals are wonderful

Great place for kids lots of animals from several continents.
Little less from eastern continent but is still fun place to be at.
Rather go early.