Turtleback Zoo Reviews

One day won't be enough to have a look at the whole zoo.. amazing place!

The grounds are beautiful but most wildlife were locked in so we didn't get to see any lions, crocodiles, bears, giraffes or zebras so wasnt wearth the $54 we paid.

Awesome place just as cool as I remember it was when I was a kid

A lot of the exhibits were closed..sea lions, penguins, touch a tank, lions. Really disappointed.

Wonderful zoo to bring the kids! If you have a family of 5 like me it's better to get the year pass. It will cost you $70 for a 1 day pass but $155 for a full year! Definitely worth it!

Visited Zoo 2 days back. First of all got temp checked and I didn't book the tickets online so had to be in a long ' qqq ' for 45 mins while guys who booked the tickets online was bypassing us and entering zoo.. so if you wish to visit zoo purchase ticket online.. Staff were welcoming but I found very less Maps inside zoo it seemed to me like everyone one was lost.

Ticket price was 17 USD.

Great mix of animals, reasonable price, and friendly staff. Go later in the afternoon before feeding time for more animal activity

So much more animals to see. We love the Zoo. We go every year. Definitely recommend it

If a great place for the family! Lots to see and lots of thing for the kids to do.

Small zoo, but good for kids... and a 2-3 hour visit

The kiddies went here for a field trip and had a blast! Loved the mini train ride, did that a bunch of times. they enjoyed the playground and looking at the different animals. Very clean and well maintained facilities. The lids loved climbing the animal sculptures and enjoyed the roaming peacock.

Park in the tower so that your car stays cool in the summer heat. It's free anyway!

Cheers!

Beautiful zoo. Ultra clean. The expansion is amazing. Great place to bring the family!

We loved this place! Not far from the beach, easy to get to, parking in the garage was free, and the animals are captivating. Loved the up-close experience with the bird feeding area!

Loved it!! Make sure to stop and pet the sting rays at the touch tank. They even have sharks!

Great family fun well run lines are never to bad and although busy it never feels overcrwded

Great zoo! Great variety of animals! Very impressed! Disappointed the petting zoo was closed. Ridiculous covid rules.

The zoo itself is beautiful but there are no rules once your inside people had their masks down, there is no order you just walk around to any exhibit. If there was more order I think I would have felt more comfortable with my kids being there.

The animals were very active which made the zoo so much more fun for the kids. The prices for food are not outrageous.

Best for young kids. Not a big one, few annimals but has enough for younger kids to walk and appreciate the animals. There is ample parking. My kid loved the toy train ride, the penguin enclosure and the bird feeding enclosure. There is pony ride as well for kids.

Went for the Christmas lights celebration. Absolutely beautiful, and fun for the kids

This zoo is an amazing family fun destination. It has all the bells and whistles that every large zoo offers like, giraffes, lions, bears, monkys, and more. What really hit it out of the park are all the activities it offers. Once you and the family are done exploring the zoo you can swing on by to the zip lining adventure they have right in the zoo. It's an experience the whole family can enjoy while taking in the breathtaking view from above. My son can not get enough of this place and I melt when I see his face painted there. Even enjoy the magic shows they offer are fun for both kids and adults.

good park, but they are fully not ready for huge crowds of guests

Plenty of parking and great place for kids. Wonderful local zoo.

Was disappointed at the lack of enforcement around social distancing, especially on line for the train but really in general. Fortunately we were part of a group and had our own line.

Every single anti bacterial station that we tried to use during our visit was empty, so definitely carry your own and have it handy. No soap provided at the touch tank hand wash stations, but they do have the restroom to clean hands. Restrooms had dirty floors and needed to be cleaned more often.

We will not be visiting again until after the pandemic.

This was a lovely zoo. I was pleasantly surprised by it. I went at the beginning of the year around early March in 2020 before things shut down while it was still fairly cold out, so some of the animals were not out. But that was okay!! Really cool to see all the animals I could! Would love to come back and do more volunteer photos for the zoo! Parking is convenient for the zoo.
For more photos, follow my Instigram: rahsphotos

A lot of walking but the animals are so lively. They have a lot to do here for both kids and adults. Will definitely return soon

My daughter always love the train ride and seeing the animals.

Great zoo! On a week day we can see all the attractions in one day. On weekends in the summer it can be crowded, but still very enjoyable. Most memorable part every time we visit is feeding the birds! They have a large room filled with parakeets that you can feed. You can also bring in your own food and they have a nice picnic area.

I never knew about this place, being from Virginia. I had a friend of my mother recommend it. Upon arrival, it is a massive complex. Once inside the exhibits are amazing. You clean see the animals from different angles and their pens are large enough. So many various animals. The one downside is that while the price is lower, inside various exhibits have prices attached. For instance pony rides $2, feed sticks for the birds $2, and carousel was the same. But again you do not have to do those. Prepare to walk, as the complex is massive but well worth it. We did not get a chance to see everything because of the heat but when we return to NJ, we surely will return.

This was an amazing zoo. Close enough to Newark airport that we rented a car for the day, went to the zoo and made it back in time for our evening flight. They have a great variety of animals from Lions to monkeys to alligators. My 2 year old son and husband and I had a blast.

We spent 2 hours here with a 19 mth old. Her first time at a zoo. Perfect day, covered about 2/3 of zoo. Not crowded, some exhibits closed for reno. Started and ended with free train ride. Will be back.

Fabulous place for the kids, well managed by the police even though so many people, had a great time, nice clean, well kept, only thing was the pony ride, sign said no one OVER a certain height allowed, fellow at the ticket counter would not allow a child just under the height for what seemed to be a weight issue and would not allow children under 2 even though there was NO SIGN regarding weight and age.

Wife took grandchildren, if wasn't so expensive would be five stars. A day at the zoo for five $200.00 wow

Cute local zoo. Nothing crazy but nice and affordable.

Clean and well kept. Friendly, knowledgeable staff. Great membership rates. Love it!

It's always a nice treat when I take my family there. Went for a Heart walk for work then decided to take the kids to the zoo. Even though it was raining, we saw lions and giraffes.

Fantastic zoo with great animals. The train ride is great too. Came here numerous times and I love it. Perfect place for anyone living in Essex county along with other places next door like a stadium and a miniature golf course.

Excellent zoo! Staff is helpful, knowledgeable, and professional. Always an enlightening experience. Exhibits are always clean. Animals appear healthy and happy. Interactive experiences (feeding giraffes, butterfly exhibit, budgie exhibit and feeding) are run well and always a big hit with kids and adults alike. Parking is convenient and free. Some hills are steep but everything is paved and well maintained.

Fantastic! TBZ has been here for many years and never disappoints. Very clean and very professional staff. Animals seem very well cared for. On this summer day all animals were out and about. Water fountains and vending machines are unavailable due to COVID. Great varied exhibits. The park train ride is a great way to cool off and is included in the price of admission. Full COVID protocols are in place with face coverings required and temperature check prior to entry. Great new signage for exhibits as well as COVID reminders. They really thought of everything. Free covered safe parking. Very nice gift shop.

Took my son there. He loves animals so i knew he would love it.

I do love this zoo, but I do not like how they continually try to expand into the surrounding nature preserve of South Mountain.

It seemed like lots of animals were not there and some things were being worked on. Otherwise it was fun for my granddaughter

Well organized And fun for the kids. A wide variety of animals. Pretty well maintained. They are doing temperature checks before entry and enforcing mask use at all times. Overall they have done a good job in minimizing contact while still making it an enjoyable experience.
The only con.... The bees! All the trash cabs had yellow jackets swarming around. Feel like they should fix this in some manner before some kids get stung.

Great zoo! Drove over an hour to bring my daughter here and was well worth it. It's not enormous but has enough to do that we spent the better part of the day there even tho it was cold day. They have pony rides, a train ride, and a carousel which I remember being extra cost but only a couple dollars. Decent food court as well. Secure parking in a parking garage right across the street. They also have a petting zoo and a touch area inside the aquarium section.

Great place for family. Although not the best zoo I've been to, it's certainly worth the price and if you have kids. If you're local and have a family, I highly recommend the annual membership. It's a great place to go to on a whim if you have young kids and an annual membership.

The zoo gets better every year. My son attended the zoo camp for three years . he had the best time!!

Nice and clean. Felt a bit small and a lot of animals were not available for viewing.

Enjoyed the Christmas lights, though there really isn't much to see. But it is a nice atmosphere to walk, even if it's a bit crowded.

Decent but small zoo, lot of designs that can draw kids but has a bunch of parts where you have to pay extra for

I came with my wife who walks with a cane. We asked for a wheelchair and it was busted. I asked for a different one and I was told they only have one. Beautiful Zoo but must become more handicapped friendly.

Although we picked a hot day to go it alone as fun. And we all enjoyed ourselves. We will do it again...

TBZ hoisted an October fest to raise money. Good time good people

Very nice Christmas display, and train ride for free

First time here had a great time the kids didn't want to leave

Great zoo, perfect size for an afternoon with kids. Clean animals well cared for. Train ride is great!!! Ask for Linda the conductor!

Amazing affordable family fun. They have all types of animals. Even an african safari. You can feed the giraffes thats an extra charge just $2
They even have a train if you get tired. Thats free.. it takes you on about a 10 min rude on the border of the park and the view is amazing. You can see the river and you can see the love birds water ride for adults. And you can bring your own food and parking is Free.. its right next to a learning center where kids can climb obstacles and they even have hands on exhibits....its awesome...me and 3 children cost $51 for entry

A beautiful place to take the kids, they will enjoy it.

Best zoo in the area.Nice family placeand the parking is free!

It was great. Get there early enough to explore all animals. Walking shoes and plenty of water on a hot day. The kids enjoyed themselves. The price is reasonable.

It was great. I haven't been there in a while. It has been updated and is a pleasure to visit. I love seeing the animals being taken care of and content.

Visited during on 30th December. The place was decorated with lights and was free for all to visit with family. There was also a night toy train ride as well. Really appreciated the effort put in by the zoo.

If you love walking and animals this is the place for you.

Sweet little zoo. Turtle hospital was interesting. Liked the idea of misting stations throughout the zoo to help cool down.

1st time there , nice adventure place, staffs where helpful ,clean and well maintain rest room ,have lots of animals but couple of animals were not on display too which is a bad, all the sea lions are not on display till next fall but other than that it's a great experience......

We like this zoo can be kind of pricey but we enjoy going.

Great zoo, ideal for toddlers. Went there for a birthday party and stayed for a couple of hours afterwards. My 5 year old had a blast.

Very nice zoo for little ones 1-5 yrs old. Just enough to tucker out my 2 year old. We will be back to ride the trolley and train.

Great Zoo. Touched a babi shark. Feed the birds great experience.

Excellent place to visit for the entire family. We had a one year old and a four year old with us and both had an amazing experience with all of the animals.

The zoo did an awesome job with the new penguin exhibit and flamingo exhibit. Great place to bring the family!

Really good place to go out with your kids so that they can see animals and feed them

The ongoing pandemic has definitely taken a toll on a lot of businesses and public places since a consumer s mindset to buy anything outside of essentials or to visit a public place like a park or beach, has crippled down significantly. Now by living with what has become the new normal, it is commendable on how these businesses and public places continue to remain open and cater to the general public by following the safety standards. It is now all the more important that we as customers, support these heroes during these dark hours to mankind.

It s only a 15 min drive from where I live and I didn t know about this gem of a zoo until recently. I was impressed by the reviews from fellow Yelpers and Google Local guides that I couldn t stop myself from going here.

When you get here and drive to the parking, you start realizing that you are in a little park like zoo and feel rest assured that the animals wouldn t be cramming for space in little cages. The parking is inbuilt in their facility and is pretty huge. We booked our slots through online in December during holidays and the checkin was as smooth as a butter and top of all, it was FREE (May be because of off-season).

They have a mandatory mask policy inside their facility and their staff are masked up at all times and their kindness will beam out beyond their masks. They were kind and answered to all our questions about the animals that were in their facility. The ladies who takes care of the reptiles facility and the Manta ray facility are very knowledgeable and seem to be enjoying what they are doing.

We went here towards end of the day and could not cover the entire space. Was lucky enough to capture a very active young Leopard, a snow leopard, Hyena, Lions, Flamingos, sea lions and a gentle Peacock. The giraffes and cheetahs were locked away due to the cold weather and we could not see all of the attractions.

The zoo is currently closed temporarily for the whole month of January 2021 and I would love to return here for taking more photographs, once they are open again.

Visited the zoo for holiday lights post close. It was loads of fun esp for my 3 year old.

Nice place for families. A Zoo should have as many animals as possible. Expecting to see Giraffe, Lion, Snake, Monkey, Owl etc but they were missing.

More of a park than a full size zoo. Not much animals to see, I see more at Great Adventures Safari. Place can get packed on weekends, more of a family park. not good for people without kids.

The Turtleback Zoo is one of the least expensive zoos (I think it was $12 or $13) and still has a lot of amazing animals. I wish they would have had a sign or something when you came in saying which exhibits were closed because we were disappointed by a few that were missing. We knew that some animals are not out in winter but there were others that were not out for other reasons (construction, etc.) Our favorite exhibit was the gibbons, who are very smart and human-like!

Great place for toddlers. Petting zoo, feeding birds and giraffes, pony rides, train rides are wonderful memories for your little ones. Consider getting membership if you will go twice or more a year.

My daughter really enjoyed it. Look at how close we were to try lions! I do wish it was a little bigger but all in all we had a great time.

The zoo is very clean and laid out well. The staff seemed very accommodating and friendly in the interactions I had with them.