Turtleback Zoo Reviews

I haven't been there since I was 6 years old, makes me happy to know it still
Exists after all these years

Everything was awesome I just went here! The experience even with masks on was great..i recommend bringing your own snacks and drinks as the vending machines are closed but the savanna cafe was open..not to many options but good food. The treetop adventure, well no words. Amazing. The adult one is challenging in my opinion but that's just me. The zipline is great, I just wish we could go more than once and it's very short, but the view is very nice. Overall great experience. Definitely coming back

My son loves this place. At the moment there were a lot of closed exhibits and animals out. The zoo is doing well with the time slotted social distancing. They need to install some shade in places where you wait in long lines like at the train ride. The train ride was the only annoying part. The line was moving until they stopped to spray it down without any warning and took there sweet time spraying it down.. I would at least put up a sign detailing to people The Times of when this would happen so that people come prepared and if they so choose to not wait on line during this time.

This is a small zoo so it's easy to see all the attractions in one visit. That is if all of them are available. A good portion of them were not open when we came. The staff is friendly and helpful. As long as the weather is nice and the attractions are open if recommended this place

Great outdoor heated dining experience with an overhang and an umbrella. Spectacular views of the changing leaves on the mountainside across the water. Great service, fabulous fall beverage menu and broad menu. Many gluten free options as well.

Amazing zoo , it is was awesome to see so many animals and other species very well preserved in their natural habitat. Few photos posted

A growing zoo with Jersey roots. My family loves the giraffes and other expanding exhibitions, services and activities. Whether it's been days or years since your last visit, I recommend making the trip.

Much nicer than i thought and much better than when i was there as a kid.

Had so much fun with the kids so happy to see that it was better than ever. My 5 year had a blast on his birthday.

It is a beautiful place to spend time with your kids!

The zoo is large and quite diverse in terms of its attractions, although the animals are themselves seemed pretty over it, lol. Some of the exhibits stunk to high heaven, but it is a zoo after all.

I do wish the land animals had a bit more space to roam so that they could feel like they were in their natural habitats.

Overall, a standard, nice looking zoo that I would visit again.

Great zoo. Not too much to walk from one exhibit to the next (looking at you Bronx zoo).

It had noce animals. You were able to see majority of the animals. --- they used to have water sprayers last time I went. Now no more.water prayer.

Very family oriented we had a nice time , the food was ok but expensive, i suggest you byof.

Just the right size of zoo for little kids with onsite parking for free. We love everything here! Do check out the shows, petting zoo and train ride at least if you are in a rush.

The new exhibits are nice. Giraffes and flamingos. The bird house is really cool, you can feed them and they fly all around you.

Giraffes were awesome and you could get really close! Hyena was cool too, haven t seen one before.

Great experience! Very organized and clean zoo. Way better than the Bronx zoo.

Love this place! Beware it gets pretty crowded later in the day especially on weekend and nice days.

Great place also the reservation is a great place to walk relax etx

NIce zoo with lots of other stuff for kids to do besides look at the animals. They have a dinosaur-themed #playground and a miniature train ride that goes around the lake

Excellent, clean, lots of animal to see. Food and shop.. great

they make this zoo better every year its so nice and they do so much for animals. the sea turtle exhibit is just amazing. they help and release the turtles back into sea. so great and you can do birthday parties there.

Went there with my friend and his parentsit was bombastic!

They keep on adding and investing. It was a lovely trip growing up, but now it's a truly amazing place!

It's small and they charge extra for most fun stuff

I had so much fun I was an adult on my own checking out all the exhibits. The staff couldn't have been more friendly or accommodating. Everyone there seemed to be families but we all kept our distance. The gift shop waa a little pricey but most are and it had a.c.. I really recommend it.

Lots of space for the kiddos to roam. Most of the water exhibits were closed for renovations until Fall 2019. Went early on a Saturday - busy but not overly crowded.

Great layout with some cool animals. Excellent place to take kids. Good restaurant on site

There s two parts to the zoo the older part and the new Africa safari part. The older part is way too small for all the animals, they usually cram 15-30 animals of the same species in an exhibit and leave almost no free space for them. The Africa part is extremely open and huge only wished the entire zoo followed the same way. Also the most terrible part would be the reptile exhibit because there was an exhibit that was about 6x6 filled with 2 ducks one toucan a lizard and turtle and they were all fighting with each other so hard that everyone in the reptile room thought the Toucan would decapitate the turtle terrible experience and hard to look at the bird biting the turtle.

The Turtle Back Zoo is a great place for children and adults. It's not too expensive and they're adding new exhibits regularly. The next new exhibit is lions coming in spring 2017. A great inexpensive zoo. During the holiday season they put up Christmas lights everywhere for an after hours walkthrough that is free. However they do take donations.

Great place for kids and families outside attractions as well as inside well worth the trip!

Turtle Back Zoo is an amazing place. From the great animals to the layout of the park like zoo to the people that work there, everything is perfect. Their new additions are fantastic & go before Labor Day to see the Butterfly exhibit before it is gone. This zoo is a must see for anyone with young ones. Our 2 1/2 yr old has been twice & cannot stop talking about the
Sea Lions & the Wolves. AMAZING 5 star must see Zoo. We cannot wait to go back.

My first time there, as an adult. But I've also been there as a kid. They did some upgrades. They made a play area for the kids. Great idea!

Great local Zoo...great for family price point very affordable for many of us whom have larger families . The attraction were great they have horses and a live pony ride , petting zoo. They have resting station and large Cafe and eating indoor and outdoor . And for those who adventurous they have course and finish it off with zip line to the end. I recommend visiting and supporting the Turtle back zoo . They help so many exotic rescue animals . They also offer free parking which is a plus.

Gotta check out the train. Good family place. Better for littler kids than the older ones.

Great place to spend summer with family! Ideal for toddlers.

Very nice zoo. Well maintained. We loved the shark and Ray patting pool

We absolutely adore the TBZ! Can't wait to go back!!

A great place to see and learn different kind of animals from around the world

I didnt go inside but just the walk around the lake I spotted these little guys.

redone job well done nice way to spend an afternoon

Amazing time with my kid at Turtle back zoo. This place has great pathways and layout and water mists in between the pathways to keep you cool. My 18 mo had a blast here as he was running around on a sunny day and would love the water mists break that would come in between. I have given 4 stars for the number of animals there. They have a variety but not many, so dont be surprised. Also, they do charge extra for small things when you go inside, but not much. For example, food sticks for birds, lettuce for Giraffe. We also loved the mini train ride.

Making lots of upgrades. Always a nice place to spend the day with your little ones.

This is a Christmas tradition for us. The holiday lights are beautiful. They added more this year like fire pits n marshmallows n the Polar Express train ride is fun. Great for kids n adults. I want to go in the day time in the warm weather to see all the animals outside.

My family of two kids (toddlers) rode on the buggie for two and my husband and i took turns with pushing the kids around. We had a work out. The food court was nicely cool and air conditioned. It was a relief to go inside from the sunny sky. The meal options were pretty good in variety. Chicken tenders were juicy and had the right amount of crunch in them. As were the fries. My husband loved the flatbread, guilt free (tehehe). The animals were present but some were hiding (so hot out there). The kids loved every minute of this place. We decided to get a yearly pass. I hear the winter holiday is also a wondrous event. Money and time well spent.

I love Turtleback...as a local resident. Its a perfect quick trip when I want to get out of the house and walk around. Edited for spelling

Went today and a bit disappointed with the mask enforcing inside the zoo. I understand it was hot and all but there needs to be more enforcement of the masks. There was plenty of people not giving a sh I T about wearing them coming up next to us when watching animals.

Love the zoo, we did the toddler program which a lot of fun

Big, like a 2 day place to see and the best part is there are places to eat close by so you won't have to eat in their restaurant.. too expensive

Completely enjoy the experience coming to the Turtle Back Zoo. Free parking, and plenty of exhibits to see.
Super clean and staff is very friendly. I do plan to come back again in the near future.

Excellent zoo for kids between 2 to 8 years of age . Whole zoo can be covered in half a day with kids and adults only can cover it in 2 hours. Train ride is a must for kids

We didn't last long. The bees are unbearable here. The Crowds Are Good the face masks is not a problem the bees are the problem. We couldn't ride the train because the line was swarmed by bees. I will not be returning until the bee issue is solved.

It was horrible. Way to loud for the poor animals and the touch tank which should be altogether shut down. Animals being forced to be handled all the time with no where to hide... sounds like cruelty to me. There are very few animals in a large area yet the animals do not have enough room... they also all looked very thin. This zoo should be shut down in my opinion. I have a low opinion on zoos altogether and this was the absolute perfect example of everything I hate about it.

Neat and clean. Better then both Brooklyn and Bronx Zoo in my opinion.

Amazing zoo! Animals are always visible. Love the new cafe and african animals exhibits.

A great day trip for families. The food is as expensive as you'd expect, so it might be better to pickup food locally before or after. We brought our daughter to the Livingston Diner just down the road after our first visit.

She's asked to go back many times (at two years old). The season pass is worth it if you return a few times.

Excellent Zoo
Animals are visible, facilities are up to date and constantly improving. There is always something new for my three year old to do or see. It's an easy, fun day with free parking, reasonable prices and so much fun.

Nice zoo - completely unnecessary moving on of visitors watching the animals though. Was trying to get photo at one enclosure so maybe stayed on a bit longer, but had some over- eager guide asking me to make way for the other guests ( ignoring the family of 8 beside me rapping the glass, and ignoring the fact that the other window (same view, 3 feet along the path) was empty. Spoiled an otherwise nice day

A great day out with the kids. We didn't even see it all before our little one was too tired to continue.

Enjoy visiting here. The scenery is so nice. I'm glad when I went it wasnt toi crowded. If I remember correctly, the prices are a little high here but still a nice place to visit.

Great place for family fun. Parking is free a huge plus. Price is fair considering, you can easily enjoy a fun day while cooling off with water mist all throughout the zoo. Feed giraffe up close, eat in or bring your own food. Worth checking !

Great place. Staff enforced covid rules and were very knowledgeable about the animals.

Loved this zoo. We did go on a hot day so almost all the big animals were hiding in the shade. But it was a very nice experience with the family.

It's so clean, and the animals are very well taken care of!

A great day at Turtleback Zoo. Not too hot, nor to crowded. However, many exhibits aren't open yet for the season.

Very nice but small. The whole zoo could be lightly toured in 2 hours. You should plan for another activity after.
But generally people are friendly, it's clean, wheelchair and stroller accessible everywhere