Turtleback Zoo Reviews

Awesomeness, can't go wrong. Animals, play, train ride = happy kids

Awesome place to take the family. But beware, not many stands open and none of the soda/ drink machines work. Hydrate before and plan accordingly.

Wonderful small Zoo! Perfect for a full day or half day outing. Lots of things to do and clean and appealing. Hidden gem!

My nephew loves it here. Very well maintained and organized. Always worth the trip.

The Turtle Back Zoo in NJ is a very exciting place to visit. There are amazing exhibits from Giraffes, monkeys & penguins! A must to-do attraction is the train ride. Family fun for all.

Every-time I come here I discover something new, I have never seen wolves and cats so close. Beautiful place as well.

Good for young kids. Some of the exhibits are old school zoo with cages that are difficult to see through and get a good look at the animals. The newer ones are worth seeing. They are making a new lion exhibit. The place is hit or miss on being crowded during the week. It can be overrun with class trips and can be nightmarish. The other issue is shade. It has virtually no shade or trees near many of the older exhibits. On hot days it can be brutally hot. And the place is a bit of a maze, you can get lost easily if you don't have a map.

Food is decent albeit slightly overpriced but that's par for the course generally.

A free of cost place for Christmas lighting! Cute train ride, pony ride for kids, eating place, pizza, coffee and so many animal lighting, animal petting! All for free 5 - 9 PM!

Wow how can I say they have improved this place as a kid. Once my daughter was old enough to enjoy this we went. Have been going back at least twice a year. Used to live 5 mins away now the 45min drive is worth it. Price is not bad. They seem to be always improving as well. Many animals well kept on site. Food is too expensive as is a given for these places but you can bring in a meal. Definitely looking forward to seeing the flamingo exhibit, couldn't go back before it was completed.

Very green, clean, big and open, lots of options for the kids. Reminds me of LA zoo. Animals look well taken care of too.

Best Zoo I have ever visited. Awesome family trip, feels good and clean.

Me and family had a wonderful time here! The giraffes are special No elephants

Great family zoo. Good size and number of exhibits and species. It seems they've been working on major renovations and are continuing to add new exhibits.

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

This zoo is an amazing amenity for Essex County! Take your family here for the animal exhibits, a pony ride, or a train ride around the reservoir.

Such a wonderful zoo to take your family to. It gets better with every visit.

Kid friendly, family fun, lots of cool animals, and affordable

Well maintained facility for a good variety of animals. It was a very enjoyable experience!

Amazing experience...missed Giraffes as it was off exhibit..would definitely go again!!

Nice day with family. The zoo is clean and usually not overcrowded

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.

Maybe it was Covid related but half the place seemed closed off. Not bad but you can see the whole zoo in an hour.

I feel so sorry for these animals. They all are just laying around waiting to die. It's like jail for animals. No interaction at all with animals. Very boring & expensive. Never going back. It's not like it was years ago when you could feed the animals.

Nice family fun had a blast the giraffe feeding was cool

I've been to many zoos and I can say the Turtle Bck Zoo was the worst among them. the animals' areas are very small, this is literally an animal cell house and there are very few animals, not many animals here.

If you like to see animals in a quiet, calm environment, DO NOT come here! It's little more than a thinly disguised kiddie amusement park with a few animals as a diversion. Lots of loud music (boom, boom, boom!) and eateries. It sucks if you are an animal-loving adult.

They did a nice job during covid-19 and made everyone feel safe.

Well maintained. Gr8 for kids. Carry hats with you. Outside food allowed. Place to sit,relax and eat.

Excellent plane for kids. They love train ride. Cafe is ok.

It s a pretty decent zoo - not a lot of wildlife so it s clearly not a full fledged experience but you really shouldn t expect more at 15 dollars a ticket. There s a zip line tree top experience as well but it seems a little crowded this weekend. Probably best to visit when the weather is a little cooler, not a whole lot of shady spots.

This is one great zoo. There's a wide variety of wildlife ranging from exotic to local species. Also, this zoo is immaculate, in comparison to some of the other zoos located in New Jersey.

Such a fun day with the family! Clean and easy to navigate. They have lots of unique exhibits like feeding the parakeets, giraffes and sting rays which my 3 year old niece loved

Family, Friendly, number reason for 4 stars the animals look well

Went there with my 4 year old daughter. I was pleasantly surprised by the variety of animals they had. My daughter had a blast feeding the birds and the giraffes. The train ride was relaxing but would have been better if it went by some animal enclosures. They have performances by the train ride through the day in an amphitheater which was quite interesting and relaxing.

Great zoo property. Was disappointed in the "train to nowhere" and the many habitat constructions underway. Giraffe feeding was memorable for my 2 year old!

Clean, great layout. A nice stroll. First time and we will come back. Bathrooms were clean

Very nice zoo. Be prepared to climb a lot of hills though.

Great place to bring the kids. Petting zoo with goats and sheep. Got electric car charging stations.

It's a small zoo but there's enough to do to keep you there all day having fun.

It was the best trip i learned new things about a lion and other animal i recommend you come to Turtle Back Zoo

Very nice place! It was my first time there. Suggestion, park in the garage next to the entrance for the zoo. We asked the officer for the handicapped parking entering from the street entrance near McDonald's, he told us turn to our left but we had to walk a block to the entrance for the zoo, where there were handicapped parking spots and another garage.
The zoo was great, had to rest a lot because there's a lot of hills and I use a cane. The areas for the animals were nice, well maintained, not overpowering (if you know what I mean.) Got to see my favorites: wolves, prairie dogs, flamingos and an emu. We took a ride on the train, very short but cute. That let us see the paddle boats which we may try next time. It was a nice day, especially nice to take little kids.

Very nice zoo...lots school trips there the day we went.

Very affordable, solid exhibits, friendly staff, accessible.

Been a member here for years, they are always adding new things.
Membership fee is very reasonable and pays itself off in just a few visits

Good place to spend your weekend , Spl if you had a kid.

Just to make sure you have enough money on hands , since cards are not accept inside the park for few visits like butterfly , pony ride, birds feed etcs

Excellent place to take the kids and cheap admisson

I love coming here every once and awhile to see how all of the animals are doing. one of my favorite things to see are the peacocks that they let roam around the zoo. I also enjoy seeing the prairie dogs. They have a nice gift shop, a carousel and a train that gives you a good view of the reservoir.

I won't use this as final review because between covid & the seasonal changes there were a lot of missing animals that we would have loved to see (like the whole African exhibit). Ultimately a cool zoo, though.

I was shocked to find such a nice, large zoo in Jersey. I don't know why I didn't go here sooner! They have a restaurant/bar with outside seating for the parents (oh, and kids, haha) and loads of animals, petting, and aviary where you can wander around with the birds and feed them!

It's a small Zoo but it's an excellent Zoo. The upgrades they've made over the past couple years are wonderful. And you got to love the train ride!

My son loves this place, if he could he would live in the zoo. Great place to spend time with your child.

The kids loved it and I especially love that they were able to feed the giraffes and the adventure course was a big hit

Big zoo, you can fed giraffes and goats. They have a pony ride. Good place for kids. They lions and hyenas set up remind me of the Lion King.

I like the zoo, is a goid place to go eith children, I also like to take a walk in around the lake

Nice, clean zoo, knowledgeable staff, but lots of hills hard to push a stroller!

We're season pass holders and love this zoo! So many new and exciting exhibits thus year

There is a lot to do but they don't really reinforce their mandatory mask policy

Poorly kept. Charging full fees when the entire Asian side was empty, no sea lions. Many animals were missing even in other sections. Disorganised. Charge extra for feeding the animals 2 leaves.

In some sections the animals were not out yet, Asis, or were under construction, the aviary section & penguin house. LOTS of new animals, flamingos & hyenas. FOOD was still pricey, adult burger with fries $10.00

Awesome zoo! Really really good selection of animals and a decent amount of seating for people who need to rest. This zoo has been upgraded nicely over the past 20 years.

A great place to spend the day ,especially spring break!!!
My family loved it!!

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

Love this zoo
Animals are well cared for
They have healed and release many turtles into the wild .
Kids love it

Could not get in!! Wasted about 45 minutes in a line going up 5 flights of parking deck and never got a spot!!! Very disappointing

The only minus to this zoo is sometimes parking is hard but otherwise a nice little zoo that you can walk through in a few hours.

I went to support a school trip. I have to start by saying I find zoos depressing. Small enclosures for animals who naturally live in large habitats is cruel unless the animals are too injured to survive in the wild. This issue aside, Turtle Back Zoo was kid friendly, clean and well organized.

It's a true gem in the area. My kid had a lot of fun days here.
A few interactive fun: feeding giraffe, touch tank with rays, feeding sheep, pony ride, etc.
Animal selection is diverse, from penguins to giraffes, from butterflies to bisons.
Highly recommended.

What an awesome place!!! I loved that they have plenty of picnic tables to have our lunch! Many shady areas to get out of the sun for a little bit!!!

Love the zoo! Always have, but the other day my girlfriend and I who are now expecting our first child are obviously on our toes like everyone else when it comes to being out in the public. We expected the staff to be taking proper safety precautions and holding them to the highest standards to keep everyone around including themselves safe, but this was not the case. As we passed though the line for temperature checks, I turned around to watch closely as the staff continues to check everyone else s temperature behind us. Sadly, they were not properly taking temperatures. The first woman s temperature registered as 93.6 which is considered hypothermic and clearly is not a correct reading. Then the staff members continued to check temperatures incorrectly as they were reading the foreheads from too far of a distance and too quickly for accurate numbers to appear, as if they were just trying to get everyone through as quickly as possibly, and it wasn t even that crowded! Even if there was a crowd, there is no excuse for not taking these safety measures seriously! I m deeply upset and we do not think we will be returning to the zoo anytime soon now, because of this.

This has been an amazing place since I was a child and their updates continue to make it a great place to visit!

Very nice & clean zoo, train ride was lots of fun ,they close at 4 so we couldn't see giraffe that was very disappointing

This place is great! The animals are literally in front of you I mean look at the lion photo I posted. I've never been to a zoo that the animals are so close you can literally see every detail. The did is pretty good too with lots of choices for picky kids

It is one of the best places for family outings as well as to take kids along. The place in itself is a knowledge hub and the various exhibits depict the features of natural environment. Last week , I went here with my family and the kids in the family had a lot of fun. The best place for kids.They are so much happier and healthier there!! Definitely worth the drive and the money!! We will be making more trips to this one!

Love this zoo. Food inside was very pricey but animals are well kept and clean. My kids enjoyed their time
They had plenty of shaded places to rest do wish they had a few more sitting areas around the zoo for older people.

So the animal exhibits never disappoint! My review of 3 stars is strictly for two things one mandatory masks while outdoors is a bit excessive especially in 90 degree weather pushing a stroller up and down hills. People were doing great with social distancing so not a worry. But secondly we had the second time slot and ALL hand sanitizers were empty through the entire park - so to be so worried about masks and have none of the sanitizers filled is working against each other really. But what prompted me to leave the review is the attitude the young girl gave me as we were leaving at 12:30 when I told her none of the hand sanitizers were filled she said yeah well I m not maintenance! And then repeated when I asked if she could just let anyone know! Had someone been in guest services window (directly next to the Empty hand sanitizers) I would ve told them but she was the last employee we would see as it was the exit.

THEY HAVE A HUGE BEE INFESTATION. EVERY WHERE YOU GO, YOU WILL SEE SWARMS OF BEES AROUND ALL OF THE GARBAGE CANS. THEY COME AROUND YOU AS YOU ARE STANDING IN LINE. VERY ANNOYING AND DANGEROUS FOR THE KIDS

Awesome zoo. Lots of animals, we had our son's second birthday party there. We had kids of varying ages starting from 2-15. All the guest had loads of fun.

Such a fantastic zoo. My family goes throughout the year. Even in the winter. Very family friendly. Our son LOVES the train as well as the pony rides and carousel. So there are a lot of interactive things to do in addition to the main zoo attractions. Great way to spend the day outside with the kids.

Fun for the kids. Train ride was quick but nice break.

This is a first class zoo and the docents are so nice, knowledgeable, and friendly. The lionesses walked right up to the viewing glass today, very cool. Lots of different animals here.

Awesome, but pandemic puts a negative on everything

This is a great little zoo that is a perfect outing for families with little kids. It's very clean and everything is pretty new. They don't have every animal you can think of, but they have giraffes, lions, penguins, red pandas, gibbons, sea lions, etc. We bought an annual membership which is worth it even if you go only 3x per year.