Reviews of Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo (Zoo)

Gil Schaper

Mist tents and lots of shade allowed my family and I to enjoy a lovely day walking around the zoo. Even though it was sunny and warm we were able to find a lot of shade and mist stations. Kids loved seeing all the animals.

sdfert4 .

This is a small but nice zoo. It is a peaceful place to visit. I would like to see it expand a bit. The food here is ok, which is the 4 instead of 5 rating. They were out of pretzels when we were there, also the small food concession stand closest to the carousel did not have any hot dogs ready at noon. Had to go to the bigger building to get. Not a big deal but nonetheless they should have been ready. Parking can be a bit of a challenge also, but it is free. Al in all a very nice place though.

staryquare Malk

Some walking but i liked it also there was one animal i rate it number four.

Gale H

The people who work there are friendly and answer any question you have. The animals are well taken care of. It's fun to go .My granddaughter loves it when we take her there.

kevin gustafson

Fun experience. Beautiful environments for the animals.

Ramon Carrion

Its was ok until the cop kept making the noise to get out the park when we had 10 mins to be there before the park close then he stay there until we left i was a lil upset but other then that i had a good time

Carla West

I recommend this zoo for everyone. Very easy to walk around in a few hours. Diversity of animals is a little limited, but they have very interesting animals. I loved the different wolves and how lively the animals looked. Staff was quick in addressing questions and concerns. Excellent placw for the price.

Valorie Kolitz

Kids Love it Great educational programs Easy walk with a lot of places to stop and sit in the shade. VERY AFFORDABLE

D C

Though if you're going with a 8 and 4 year-old's don't to the little game app thing. You'll either get left behind or your "quests" will just keep popping up one after another and can't clear them as fast

App Fdrtu

It might not be the largest zoo I have ever been to. But your so close to the tigers you can almost think about petting them. (Wouldnt recommend it). Great for small children and people like me who dont like a lot of walking.

Elizabeth S

Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo is a great place! Their work is important because they are actively involved in the conversation of endangered animals. "As an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and participant in its Species Survival Plan (SSP) programs, we are committed to the preservation of endangered animals and are actively developing strategies that will protect species and preserve their wild habitats. Through education, conservation, research and recreation, Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo provides a wonderfully wild experience for students and families."

William Eroh

It's a fun little zoo, and a great place to kill some time with your kids. If you love local the season pass is worth the money. As it was somewhat rainy the place was fairly empty, which was a plus. There is a decent variety of animals, and the zoo is clean. We were disappointed that the souvenir shop had closed early. The kids really enjoyed the carousel ride. Overall it was worth the trip.

Colleen Palomino

Great place, nice layout. Close enough to home.

Brittany

Went last year was nice and small food for my two year old to walk and stay with not very busy either was a nice day

maria dominguez

I love this park its full of tree, fresh where you can bring your family and enjoy the nature

Michael Kolanko

Wonderful zoo, Great keepers and staff. Great way to spend the day!

Jennifer Wolfer

Great quick place to walk and see animals, you'd not normally get to see, especially if you can't get to bigger zoos. The Carousel is always fun, the grounds are pretty.

The Guy

Nice zoo, great pricing and those prairie dogs are my favorite

Haley Dutra

This was the first time I have ever been in the Beardsley zoo and it was just a wonderful day and I love all of the animals that they have there the zoo keepers are very well trained with the animal that they are attending to the animals are so incredibly loving to the guests that are looking at them..... they have so many different types of Foxes and Wolf's leopards tigers and the have a great big bald eagle he was so beautiful and they have this Condor and his wingspan was just so incredibly beautiful they have prairie dogs and the kids loved that because they can go under this tunel and pop their heads through these holes in the ground and act like they are a prairie dog and get closer to the prairie dogs and the kids are protected by a tube around their heads it's a fun thing that the kids can do they have a carousel that you can ride and they have a place to go get something to eat and they have a nice gift shop over all this is a great idea and I will definitely be going back to there again so take a day off for fun with your family or friends your going to have a great time and it will be worth it to take your family out for a day of fun

Chris Kelley

Good for a short visit, 2 hours. Nice exhibits

Brian B

This is a great zoo if you need a fun, family activity that won't take up your whole day. I would suggest getting there early, as it fills up quick with huge groups that make it less enjoyable. So, get there when it opens and get in before the crowds. Maybe I am just used to going to larger zoos, but a lot of the animal enclosures only had one or two creatures. Not that I expect them to be pact full but when you bring your child over to see the one loan alligator or the one loan eagle, or the one loan wolf. Ha, maybe the rest were just sleeping. Anyways, easy to get too and the price is just right. It's about an hour or two at the most for the whole park.

Michael Kutzer

I think this place as well as the park its self is one of my favorite places to go. The kids like it too.

Thomas Reichart

Semi easy walk in a short loop with multi animal exhibits and inexpensive food cafe. Cute gift shop. Animals look well cared for and WOW this is unique so much packed in a small package. Tigers and prairie dogs, cheetah is real plus some of our fine feathered friends, super family friendly.

PapaBear Fabre

Our first time going, on a snow day, middle of winter. We had the place to ourselves and loved it. Some of the animals were hibernating but we still got to see a lot. If its chilly, definitely visit the reptile room or the wolf den. Both are beautiful and toasty. Overall loved it and recommend anyone to visit.

David Kennedy

The last time I was here was in 1993 lots of new attractions will visit again

Joe G

Great Experience! Haven't been in years and took some of the family. Wonderful 2 hours of relaxation and learning on a beautiful day!

Jzon Gonzalez

Nice cool zoo plenty to see and have fun. Great for kids and the animals look healthy and plenty of space

Yumari Baez

I chilled for a bit in the park it was nice peaceful its much more cleaner then back then that's good ...

Eric Cheung

Have taken my little ones here a few times now. A great variety of animals and exhibits. And not so large that it's overwhelming for my toddlers

Chelle Phelan

It's not huge with tons of animals but they do so much to help endangered spieces & truly do it for the good of animals .

Gabby Valentin

It's was good and awesome all the animals are good and I wonder is there new species I hoped is cool

Louis Rosen

Small, but well played out. Went with dtr, son-in-law and their children, ages 4 and 28 month twins. They loved it. Petting zoo was closed, making the whole trip 90 minutes. A worthwhile excursion.

Kimberly Smith

Beautiful small zoo. Great day trip! Wonderful interesting exhibits.

Eugene Armstrong

Very nice well laid out zoo

Ewa Hlebko

I was very happy be over there with my nice husband Cameron,and their cute son Casey.

Wade Anderson

Great place to take younger grand children. Good cafe, but line can get long at busy times. Check out the 'merry-go-round', it's a classic.

Jennifer M

Nice place to take your children or to with adult to see the zoo. You will be there for an hour to hour & hour half

Miriam Surita

Something good to do with the family. It's a beautiful place to go to.

Margaret Gough

The zoo was great! The new Panda and Spider Monkey exhibit are beautiful.

Disipha

Decent zoo. I went with my wife and nice and nephew. It's a small fun zoo it's that's decent for the cost but there's not a lot to see. A few of the attractions we wanted to see weren't available and it didn't take too long to visit the whole zoo. I wish there was more to do and it was a bit more interactive and fun for the young ones. I would recommend if you're local but not worth going out of your way for.

Nadine Keller

Fun experience. Better than I expected.

Pam C

My hubby and I went on Aug 4th for my grandson's 5th birthday. We also had two 2 yr old grandkids, my two daughters and one son-in-law. Enjoyed watching the 3 grandkids with the different animals. The reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is the food is pricey, farm animal section was closed and the park closed at 4. Could maybe stay open a little later during the summer months.

Shannon Police

Great place to bring the kids.. not so big that you get tired out before you finish (like the bronx zoo). Always fun... we love the carousel

Janet Serra

Connecticut's only Zoo is accredited and cares for some of the rarest animals left in the world including Amur Leopards and Amur Tigers and many other species. This zoo is perfect for the young and young at heart. The new red panda exhibit is amazing and the two new and very rare amur tiger cubs born last year are thriving because of the zoo staff's care. This is a must see for anyone that loves animals and for those that want to see rare and endangered animals that will not be seen at many other zoos.

Scott Matlock

Such an awesome time. Great place for family outings! And the sloths... Soooo cute!!!

Christine Plum

The walk around the zoo is a lovely mix of sun and shade and offers great views of the resident animals. There are also a wide variety of interactive activities to keep my toddler entertained. The man who runs/performs in the musical show is excellent and my very active 2 year old watched and sang along for over 30 minutes.

Craig Miniter

Great local zoo. It isn't very large but it makes for a fun day with kids. The food prices were very reasonable compared to most zoos and or aquariums. In addition to the good selection of animals they have done botanical exhibits.

Marlin Borjas

Great place for the family. Lots of new exhibitions and updates.

Starzappa xoxo

The Beardsley Zoo is beautiful, the animals are beautiful, but the food is terrible and expensive. It’s a great place for the kids as far as seeing the animals but bring your own food.

Jordan Salit

Nice little zoo. Enjoyable to walk around for a few hours.

Evelyn Velez

I had a great time with my family. Granddaughter birthday

Chris Latka

Great conservation, well taken care of animals, young baby animals are cute.

Karissa Donna

SO much space and beauty to enjoy whatever activities you want!

Adam Goldberg

Great little zoo in CT. $16 for Adults and $13 for a child. Prices are worth it. Daughter loves going and it will leave enough time in the day to do something else.

Jamie Alascia

What a pleasant surprise in the middle of a city. It was gorgeous and we'll maintained with tons of great things to see and learn.

Rachel Kachuk

Nice little zoo not a bunch to do but love the animals

Kimberly Dejesus

It's fun place but alot of animals missing when we went on memorial day not sure why no new or notice about it. Food cafe is good. Beautiful place overall

Wesley Maltas

outstanding zoo. so many different activities, restaurants, playgrounds, etc. it has it all. definitely recommend

Shirley Pulawski

We only had enough time and energy for a short first visit, but it's a very nice place. Clean, nice displays. Not much food selection, though, and the cafe closed early.

Tom

Great place to go with the family and at affordable prices. Some new animals this year and more to come. Can't wait to see what happens next. Always a good time there.

Jose Mendez

Very nice. Fairly clean but people still live garbage behind.

Suzanne Malafronte

Love the red pandas Reasonably priced for an afternoon of fun

Angling Shayera

It's a very fun place to go to. It has lots of interesting attractions, with a large variety of animals. It's a great place to take your kids to as well!

Bill Jacobs

Fun quick trip for the little ones that can't handle an all day zoo trip

Tyler Holloway

Not as many animals anymore. They removed the petting zoo. But still a fun day!

charlene lewis

Always a great place to spend time with my grandchildren

Tiana Fillmore

Just went to this zoo today. It was in the 90’s and the whole time we went through the zoo we did not see one employee tending or checking on a single animal. The only workers we saw were standing outside of the cafe. And near the rainforest. We were there for 2 hours. There was a deer that was panting with its tongue hanging out. It got up and you could see allll it’s ribs. It was struggling to even walk to the water area. The fox were laying in a red wooden hut trying to get away from sun but were still right in it. There was not a single thing in their exhibit with water. All the enclosures are so small. The farm life area was being re-renovated and you could see all the animals laying on wooden steps which looked like a porch and they were damn near on top of each other. No ones heart is in this zoo at all. These animals need to be free

Kathryn Ilvento

It's an okay zoo. Lots of overgrown foliage. Could use a weed whacker and fresh paint. Just seems run down

Melissa Mavilla

It is a great place to take my 2 year old son, he absolutely loves it.

Ted

Nice little zoo. My family and I took our time through it and it maybe took us about three hours. The tigers were especially easy to see and watch.

Lance Carmack

Quaint zoo, doesn't take long to see everything, which is nice.

Rich Bernardo

Tigers, Spider Monkeys, Sloths, Giant Ant Eaters. Beardsley Zoo is nothing like I remember it as a kid, it's so much better.

Evan Robinson

This zoo was pretty good. If you're from florida it might not be worth it to you though. Almost 30-40% of the animals there, you can see outside of your house in florida. They had a few endangered species in exhibits as well.

Shawn Vine

I enjoyed it quite a lot. Interesting displays. Get there early, the lots filled up fast. Went there for a photo walk, lots to photograph.

Eric Sommer

Great place. we have season passes every year. great place to bring the kids

Alexander Zapatka

I am very torn about beardsley zoo. The grounds are beautiful and you can tell the animals are very well taken care of. The staff is very knowledgeable and helpful when you can find the. Prices for drinks and what not are very reasonably. But on the other hand it is a zoo. Enclosures seamed small for the bigger animals. The tigers were beautiful but their area to Rome including shelter was no bigger than my yard which is about 1/4 of an acher. In the wild tigers territory can be 50 square miles or more. I think this is a fundamental problem with zoos in general. I know there is lots of knowledge to be gained by studying animals up close, bit to mention the conservation of endangered ones, but I still feel bad for their limited space they are allotted.

Alex Alapatt

Small zoo but you can get up close to the animals. I loved the Prairie dog exhibit!

Marty Erickson

I have always had a hard time going to zoos as I tend to get emotional at the fact that these animals are cooped up in small cages, but this zoo had appropriate accessible information explaining certain predicaments pertaining to "struggling" animals not cleared for release just yet. I also appreciated the fact that some of the animals were kept offsite due to the weather not being quite right for them, it did not bother me that they were not there.

Moulham Alroumi

My backyard has more variety of animals

John Udiskey

Understand that I have been coming here for 50 years. This place has gone back and forth as a local attraction to a adjunct to the park and back to a focal point. I was brought here as a child, and have gone full circle bring my own kids here. Always well-kept, interesting and lively, I never tire of walking the zoo, the property and the park. It is an unique experience that I recommend to anyone

Gerald Bohannah

I visited the zoo twice this summer with my mom. We both had a great time viewing the animals. Our favorite without a doubt are the leopards. I'm amazed by the story of the the two Cubs. All three are such beautiful animals. The city of Bridgeport may have little to offer visitors and residents but Beardsley zoo in my book is a great attraction. The staff is very knowledgeable about the animals and will take their time to answer any questions you may have. If ever in the area you should visit it's great family fun.

Boxer Mcguire

the zoo! There is something for everyone here Babies and little people? better bring along all you need.....it's bigger than you think plus zoo excitement level goes way up when everyone is feeling good and having a good time! For family,friends,dates you name it you won't go wrong , Price point good, membership worth a look food is standard fare...earlier cooler temps did I mention ice cream down the street, Enjoy your day!

Kim Banker

The zoo is small, perfect for a hot afternoon with a toddler. The spider monkeys and baby tigers were beautiful and fun to watch. Our favorite spot-the farm animal section was closed this time, but probably will be better than ever next time. I love that they have this section for babies that love seeing real life farm animals up close.

Efraim Natal

Decent Zoo. Fun activities for the kids. Interesting place.

David Poirier

Nice little zoo! Took about an hour and half to see everything....We were able to get a discount through our local public library which saved us about 60% My one complaint is the parking and flow of pedestrians through the parking area is a little problematic. That being said, the parking is free, but that would be a great thing for them to work on.

Big Johnson

This is a pretty nice place. You can even bring your own lunch.

L. S. Young

Enjoyable for kids under 12 I have to say any older they want more out of the Zoo

Casey Esposito

It's a smaller zoo expected more animals and attractions as a adult but im sure children will like it.

William Gittings

I've been to this zoo so many times I've lost count. My problem is it never changes. It looks now like it did 30 years ago. If you are new to this zoo you will enjoy it. If you have been there several times you will be bored.

Clevern Davis

A decent selection of animals to visit

Jamie O'Brien

We love coming to the zoo. Our 3 yr old loves to see all the animals!

Nikesha williams

My kids love this cute little zoo. It is great for a day out with the kiddies.

El bocon cortes

Had a great time with the grandchildren we spent the whole day there.A few photos so you can see what they have very nice place to relax and walk around food was gd wish the cafe was a bit bigger for more seating but overall experience was great will go again

Kjell Sands

Short and sweet, affordable great for kids. Especially love the cats here.

Paula Jones

I have not been to the zoo since my daughter since she was younger. She's 32 . The park had grown with many added animals n mammals. There were many exhibits to see. Great day trip

Brenda Gravatt

for a fun day with all kinds of animals

jeffrey malave

Great place to visit for walk, fish, bike ride, zoo, picnic, etc.

Diana Cruz

Such a fun filled place for my toddler

Kevin Berard

We came all the way from Massachusetts to visit. This is by far one of the best zoos in New England.

Christine Martin

It's a small zoo but a decent enough price for somewhere you might spend a couple hours. There is a nice variety of animals including tigers, leopards, monkeys and even a anteater.

Nancy Arruzza

Nice zoo, they have a lot of animals to see for a small zoo. Easy to get around.

Remi Skjelbred

Great small zoo with my favorite tiger ;)

Eileen Perry

Excellent zoo . The barn was getting renovated when we went. The animals always look well cared for. The paths are well laid out so you don't miss anything.

Tom Hunter

verry clean animals are kept verry clean and well taken care of.easy to get around and to see the animals.people take pride 8n what they.do.

Kahlida Moss-Coker

This is a real cute zoo, especially good for young school age children. The Beardsley Zoo is small and can be toured in one hour. There's also a playground with sprinklers on the other side of the zoo in the park, which is also cute for young school age children. We enjoyed our trip.

kingbros king of crazy

Was fun intill my annoying cousin annoyed me

Raven Walters

I am a justice of the peace and performed a wedding in one of the cabins within the zoo's property. First the cabin is very well maintained. The outside give a beautiful backdrop for wedding photos. The price point was exceptionally cheap considering what's included. Honestly if you are looking for a venue for a wedding babyshower or even a birthday party. You should consider having it here you won't be disappointed!

Mint Drops

Compact, fun for all age groups, only if they had elephants, giraffe and hippos!!

Kenny Kaplan

I really like the zoo, is a smaller zoo but seems more intimate with the exhibits. I wish there was more to do and once they finish we doing some of the exhibits like the farm section it will be great.

christopher turull

Wanted a larger reptile house but zookeepers extra knowledge of animals was impressive

Dave B

Very quiet place. It's cute with a small array of large animals but not clear what it wants to be. Kinda feels like someone accidentally left a zoo next to a small planitaritm or vise versa. If you live locally it is worth a visit.

Scott and Kendra McHenry

Very small zoo but we enjoyed it

Stacy Marinaro

Very nice little zoo. Easy to find and parking was free. $16 to get in for non members . Cool tunnels to pop up and see prairie dog exhibit. Wow tigers so awesome. Cool rainforest exhibit.

Kailynn Cerny

Super cute zoo. Animals were very active today and it wasn’t very crowded. We got in very quickly and through the zoo in about 2 hours. Hope to see the zoo grow in the years coming.

Sa Clarke

I love visiting zoos and seeing animals that aren't a part of our daily life. I brought my 12 yr old nephew and most of the animals he had only seen in a book or on TV. He was truly impressed! He also liked the refreshment stands!!

Alec Cieniewicz

Cool little zoo to spend a few hours at. Animals are close up and active, the tigers love to play tag. Maned wolves, big tortoises, giant anteaters and big cats. Lots of kid stuff too if you have one of those things

R S

Beardsley Zoo is a beautiful peaceful place. Perfect zoo for children from infants to teenagers. I always felt safe bringing my twins here. My children and I created a lifetime of memories and always had so much fun. The special events like Howl-O-Ween are planned wonderfully and the staff is terrific. And don’t forget the historic carousel

Janice Plass

First time going to CT zoo with the family and it was lovely, entertaining and educational. Will have to go back when the bear finally comes.

Mari Love

Great local zoo it'll just take you a couple hours to explore the whole place. Small zoo but plenty to see my kids and I loved it

Mariano Santangelo

This is a great p,a e to take the little ones or just spend a couple of hours away from the noise of the city. Don’t go to early, as many animals are still eating inside or sleeping. 11am is prime time for animal watching.

robert wallis

Always a go-to attraction for us during the spring. Great experience and even though we've been to Beardsley Zoo plenty of times, we never get enough.

Tina G

Not as big as the Bronx zoo something quick to do

Michael Thomas

Great for young kids. I've seen some improvement in the enclosures over the last few years. Seems like all the big cats have a bit more room than they used to, which is good. We are excited for the bears to come when we visit again next summer.

Toni Sterling

Great little zoo! Would recommend

Cecelia Broadnax

It was wonderful I can't wait to come back. God bless everyone who takes care of the animals.

Carol Ann Swan

Wonder place to see animals and learn about conservation.

Yvette Piminov

Fun! It's a small zoo but there are many animals of all types. Also, they seem very well taken care of and happy. The food was a little flavorless but everything else was awesome!

David Thomas

Entrance staff were friendly and helpful. Some of the exhibits were a bit tired and overgrown, and some were closed. Nice picnic area. A couple of hours should be enough to see it all.

Jennifer Ghirlanda

There is a good variety of animals to see. The food was inexpensive and they also have a large picnic table area. The gift shop was cute and the prices were reasonable.

Roderick Rogers

GREAT for Walking. Good Hills

Johnpaul Van

Not worth for $30 for one day only in the park. Family came from out town and wanna spend time in the park couple day more for the holiday weekend. I know there so many parks that I have visited are way beautiful and cheaper. By having a zoo nearby so what's that post to mean, it nicer? not a lot of parking anyway for the zoo.

Al Cap

The only zoo in CT. Its gotten nicer. As a kid I rarely saw anyone in the place. Would go all year, all day. Was almost like a forgotten zone then. Big difference now, and because of that and my faith that the animals are treated properly, I feel ok about it.

Randy Outhouse

Let me be clear. I dislike Zoos. I have 4 kids ages 7, 4, 2, and 2 months. My wife has been on me to take the family to a Zoo and I finally relented when my Uncle wanted to spend time with the family at Beardsley. It was a nice enough day outside, but hot in the sun. There was plenty of shade from the trees and quite a few viewing areas were air conditioned. Even though we visited in the afternoon, we were able to see every animal even if some were sleeping through the afternoon heat. After making it around the zoo, we arrived in time to watch a Show before leaving. Beardsley was the perfect zoo for my family. It is small enough that we made our rounds before the kids were tired and cranky. It had quite a few visitors, but not a crowd so large that I couldn't let my kids run ahead to the next exhibit and lose eyesight of them. I can see where older kids may want to see more/different animals, but this was just right for us.

Noah Moon

I really love how much they care about their animals. While some zoos only focus on impressing the guests, the Beardsley Zoo impresses their guessed and takes well care of their animals.

Brandon Campana

Fun, animals look healthy. Kid had a blast

jeanna dittmar

Didnt realize how small the zoo was but it was great for kids and workers are very friendly. for the size of it has lots of diffrent animals.

Kevin Mackowski

A very nice zoo! Good variety of animals, birds, and plants. A little expensive to go, but discount passes are available at local libraries.

nick v

This was our first time here. It may not be the biggest zoo out there but they have lots of great animals to see. It was very clean and every employee we encountered were super friendly and filled with info. They took time to give some knowledge and pull the kids in more instead of looking at a bug or plant that wouldnt have kept them there they stopped listened to the info and even sometimes asked more questions and learned more. The animals really do seem happy here they had clean areas and the food givin to them looked better than some of the fast food places I've seen serve around here. If your thinking about going just go its definitly worth the trip.

Nancy Reme

I have always had a hard time going to zoos as I tend to get emotional at the fact that these animals are cooped up in small cages, but this zoo had appropriate accessible information explaining certain predicaments pertaining to "struggling" animals not cleared for release just yet. I also appreciated the fact that some of the animals were kept offsite due to the weather not being quite right for them, it did not bother me that they were not there.

trash and more trash

Some exhibits were closed but the ones that were open were very cool. Loved the pygmy marmoset the best. So cute!

Beth Mosher

Great zoo! The otter was very entertaining while I was there. One of my favorite animals. The food staff was a little gruff with the customers.

Erin Philbrick

Lots of awesome animals, superb prairie dog exhibit, free parking, great for kids, animals seem very well cared for.

Jeanine Billingslea

This is zoo is so lovely I can only imagine how lovely it will be in the summer! The staff is fabulous and it's a nice day out seeing the animals is lovely I highly recommend to come visit the zoo preferably in spring in the winter is not too bad I definitely enjoyed myself come visit the Beardsley zoo in Bridgeport Connecticut!

Halo Rodriguez

Kind of a small zoo but still enjoyable

John Maldonado

We are zoo members and love this place. We love to see the animals, have a picnic and go on the merry-go-round. The staff is always friendly and welcoming and the special events are great!!

Kathy Jennings

Small zoo focuses on North and South America. No African animals here. Many exhibits are quite dated. However, it is manageable with small children and they now have an app that takes you on a sort of scavenger hunt. Great addition to the experience. They also offer a kit for children with sensory issues that you can check-out at the entrance and return when you leave. Noise cancelling headphones are included.

B.J. Loveislove

Manageable size, good flow/setup, updating a couple exhibits so they're closed but still plenty to see. Staff very pleasant. Gift shop/Trading Post prices quite reasonable, staff very nice... just wished they had a book about the Beardsley Zoo itself.

Tina Nolan

It’s a decent sized zoo for Connecticut. However it needs better upkeep. The enclosures for the alligator, and the monkeys? When you walk into the “rainforest building,” you’re OVERWHELMED by a horrible smell. Today I took my children and it just smelled like old water and garbage in there. It really made me feel bad for the animals that were stuck in there to have to deal with that. The water inside of the “pond-like” strictures probably isn’t filtered well? It’s just still sitting water that’s collecting germs and debris. Also while there is plenty of signage to explain the animals you’re seeing it would be super awesome if there could be some staff doing “shows” with some of the animals. The animals could probably use the attention, and it would be more for your money. It’s not a bad zoo but there’s room for improvement. Plug your nose when walking into the rainforest building!

Darcy Chambers

We had a lot of fun exploring with our son.

Nicole Ford

Definitely 5 stars, recommend to everyone. Parking easy to figure out, professional photos at the entrance. Awesome face paint and spray on tattoos that my son was obsessed with. Tons of animals, tons of cool things to do. Great place.

Robert Jean

Very well maintained zoo. This zoo is not large, thus very family friendly. Animals are well cared for and very healthy. We enjoyed a great afternoon. Will. Return.

Katie Iassogna

It was amazing. Saw so many cute animals.

Jessie Lee

The staff was awesome, and the zoo was great. I gave 4 stars instead of 5 because there were quite a few enclosures closed, one being the alligators which was one of the reasons we went. So a little disappointed, but overall a great experience!

Wynter Tremlett

Staff are knowledgeable, I will give them that. However... the enclosures are SO SMALL. The big cats just pace around or pant nonstop. It's sad to watch. Also, can finish the whole park in an hour if you wanted to... not really worth the high admission price.

Seamus Bradley

Really good to see the new Amur leopards, red pandas, and spider monkey exhibits

Lisa Brelsford

It's very expensive to visit zoo it's not affordable for the average family it's nit right poor kids should be able to go too

QueenCi FitLife

Visited the Zoo with my Girl Scout Troop for an overnight program and it was so much fun! The staff is super friendly and really puts their heart and soul into caring for these animals. They’re very knowledgeable about all of their animals. It’s not a large zoo but it will not disappoint. Their exhibits are lovely and really allow you to get a close look at some of the animals like the grey wolves, red maned wolf, and you won’t believe .... a BALD EAGLE! Definitely recommend!

Joshua Mead

For starters, this zoo has the potential to be an amazing gem for Connecticut. The animal variety is decent with the focus being on animals from North and South America. Ironically, their biggest draw, the Amur Tigers, is not from either continent. The carousel museum on site is a bit juxtaposed, but can enhance the experience for the right audience. I went with my two youngest daughters, ages 7 and 5, and they loved everything about the zoo, to include the carousel museum. With all that being said, there are some glaring issues with the establishment. First, I visited on a Thursday, and was completely taken a back at how many people were visiting during a week day mid-day. I'm not sure if this had any contributing effect on the ticketing lanes. The wait time to get in was abysmal for the size of the zoo. I shouldn't have had to wait 20 minutes to get my tickets. Secondly, this wait time was dwarfed by the wait time we suffered through at the cafe. This ended up being a 45 minute wait for two hockey-puck burgers and a side of fries. Again, not sure if the staff to park attendance ratio was off, but next time I will just bring my lunch and eat on one of the picnic tables provided. Lastly, I do wish the farm exhibit was open. It was currently unavailable for viewing. I can understand individual exhibits being closed, but having nearly a quarter of the zoo closed is a real bummer. Again, the zoo has some great potential for Connecticut day-trippers and I will definitely be giving the the zoo a second run, but maybe next year.

Luke Greika

Wow. Great place and right here in CT. Loved it. Had a birthday party with my best friends kid and mine. Awesome