Reviews of Riverside Wildlife Center (Zoo)

David Philyaw

If you are EVER planning to be out this direction and have even the mildest interest in seeing folks rehabilitate and care for some highly unusual animals, you simply must check this place out! Please get past the initial entrance room - it's not exactly enticing... but once you start the tour you'll understand why this is such a great place to take your family. These folks really do understand and care about these animals.

Lindsey Taylor

My kids and I had an absolute blast !! This place is truly an amazing experience and so thankful we stopped !!! So worth the price to go on a guide !!! Thank y’all so much for a great experience !!!

Jane McDonald

It was a surreal experience like nowhere I have ever been before and our guide Jeff obviously loved every animal and reptile there???

Robert Robertson

A great experience. Our guide was India. She really knew all of the animals and explained all about them. We had 2 young ones with us. India brought many critters out and let the kids hold/pet them.

jeff W

If you like snakes and alligators, this is the place to stop at

jamie Dunaway

Colton was a great tour guide, and full of knowledge. I wish the place had been bigger more for the animals comfort.

Kipper Kipper

Awesome animals

David Bingen

My son and I stopped off here during our cross country trek back in July-Aug. Very friendly and knowledgeable staff. You get to hold as many snakes as they are willing to let you hold. Spent a nice hour and a half there. Small facility, but they do the best they can with the space they have.

Angella Derington

My kids had a good time, but the animal enclosures were in poor shape and I was concerned about their well being

Viola Rush

If I could give zero stars I would / deperesing and weird place

Julie Glenn

Weird

Baylee Hope

Beautiful animals, many unique items.

bree robinson

Was a nice and more personal tour then a regular zoo.

anette cassidy

Small place, but pretty cool. Dont have to pay extra to hold animals like the place by the interstate and the staff seem to really know the animals well.

Brandi Skinner

This place is just terrible. The enclosures for the animals are pitifully small and most of the mammals are caged right next to their prey. This isn't a rescue, this is simply rednecks making a buck at the expense of animals who never asked to be housed in such trash. Would not recommend to anyone.

Elizabeth Landsbury

Great experience!

Brandy Espenschied

My nephews and i stopped by after our cave tour and was pleasantly pleased! These VOLUNTEERS put there heart and love in to the animals they care for. We had an amazing tour guide Alli that had pleanty of helpful information. The tigers are beautiful and we snapped some awesome pictures thanks to the staff! Definitely recommend if you like to support small business and if your hands on. I personally held a skink, a snake, and a alligator!! This was the best!

Denise Martin

We love this place and visit ever chance we get.

Barbie Lantos

Love it. Wish more people would help to revamp it

Sarah Eibeck

The whole place is run by volunteers. There is a $10 entrance fee and the tips that you leave for the tour guides is essentially the equivalent of a salary. I learned some amazing facts about these exotic animals that I probably would have never found out otherwise, for sure I've never been to a place before that has let me hold a baby alligator not to mention pet an emu or a Silkie chicken. They treat the animals very respectfully and you can tell that the animals live well. And in the conversation I had with one of the volunteers, you can definitely tell that they care about these animals, they are definitely affectionate towards them. A lot of the animals are rescued from either an abusive environment or an environment that was not prepared to care for them. It's such a friendly environment that I almost felt bad about leaving. Forget being worth stopping at while going through the area, it's worth making a special trip to go experience this. This was definitely the highlight of my trip! For those concerned with the rough look the exterior of the building, Please be aware that all proceeds that they receive go directly to the animals so unless you would like to make an outstanding donation I assume the building will stay as it is due to it being a slight lack of priority, and rightfully so with such animals to care for.

Wyatt O’Neil

I've been going there all my life and I love it

Jennifer Tate

Awesome, hands on and educational look at a wide variety of animals and reptiles. Our tour guide, Colton, did an amazing job!!! I loved the visit.

Paul Whitten

Inexpensive and up close with the animals. The tigers are gorgeous.

Brielle Mabry

All 8 of us would highly recommend the Riverside Wildlife Center!! My family of 7 and I went to the center this afternoon. When we pulled up, we were slightly skeptical as the building looked somewhat dank. However, the tour was SO much fun and our tour guide, Marc, was incredibly nice, informative and personable. He knew the answer to every one of our (many!) questions, and was always happy to answer them. We were able to hold two alligators (one baby and one "teen"), two snakes, a frog, and a tegu. We were also able to get very close to many chickens, emus, tigers, lions and alligators; it was so much fun!! We bought 2 tour guides for 4 on groupon's website and couldn't have been happier! We never felt at all rushed, everyone was very friendly, and Marc was incredible. We look forward to returning soon!

Kathy Kistenmacher

Pretty cool place full of unique oddities.

jose rodriguez

I feel sorry for the animals. Not a healthy place

Manuel Hernandez

Depressing !

Brian Roberts

This place is dilapidated, dingy, and cramped--a far cry from a modern zoological facility. Large reptiles (e.g. tortoises) are kept in plastic tanks barely larger than they are. I'm sure the owners and staff are good, well-meaning people who do care for their charges but the facility itself is sorely lacking. The highlight of the tour is the two tigers and their trainer Steve. There are also numerous varieties of snakes, lemurs, exotic fowls, alligators, etc. Youngsters may enjoy the photo-op "hands-on" opportunity to hold a (small young) alligator. Sadly, I suspect this well-intentioned mom-and-pop level operation fails to generate sufficient revenue for much-needed renovations.

Cherie Davis

This place is amazing and the people there were amazing as well!!! Highly recommended!!!

Adnan Hussaini

Loved our visit at Riverside Wildlife Center. This place is a hidden gem in terms of tourist attractions in Missouri. I was thoroughly impressed at how knowledgeable our tour guide Marc was in regards to all the animals they kept at the facility. Will be coming back.

Jacqueline Ward, Ed D

Wonderful people who know their animals and profession.

Susan Loren Lovell

We made an unprecedented stop (per my husband's insistence) at this “wildlife zoo” that was basically a swamp neighboring what looked like a meth lab. We walked into what one may consider an "office" and the first two sights were: a dog imprisoned in what appeared to be a jail cell, and a woman casually changing her child's diaper on a service counter. For $10 apiece, we were told we would get a "tour"; after giving her a $20, she said she'd have to get us change. What? To his utter opposition, a boy no older than 15 years of age was asked to guide us. My husband knew more about the animals than the poor young lad. Animals were contained within cages that looked no securer than a cardboard cereal box. Showcased was a vast array of random, exotic animals such as a Bengal tiger and had an alligator pond. Steve, the Tiger Trainer was rather hilarious in his demonstration of feeding raw chicken to the tigers. The entire scene was unexplainable, inconceivable but I commend them for rescuing and genuinely caring for the animals.

Angie Dunning

Very nice people. It was a small place but the animals were well taken care of and all tours are done by volunteers.

Niknik Ashley

An amazing place! Beautiful animals and friendly people! Will be going back!

Ashley Clark

We had fun

Laura Mitchem

Pretty Kool but raining out sad I didn't get to see the huge alagator

Amanda Heibel

Always a great time for familys.

Andrew Turley

Knowledgeable staff, healthy looking animals, nice place to kill an hour or 2

Dillin Smith

Great place, great people! Worth a trip to see all the cool critters!

hawk costlow

Awesome little place to visit.

William Voorhees

Wow.

Mason Petrov

If you like this kind of thing its nice!

Kathy Martin

Excellent, hands-on experience, while learning through fun. Unlike any other animal rescue. Lions, tigers, alligators, etc. Unique animals and reptiles. Walking tour, with friendly, experienced guides. We have been going for years and keep going back. On your way to Meramec caverns, be sure to stop in. You won't regret it

Emily Stark

This is a must-see. We visited meramec caverns and on a whim stopped by this little gem. It was super affordable, very neat and informative. They had a 200 year old turtle and an ayam cemani (a pitch black chicken). My son enjoyed touching all the snakes. My family and I had much more fun here than at the meramec caverns!

Cathy O'brien

We were there today April 12th. ...4 children and 8 adults 2 of the adults were in wheelchairs. The staff and our your guide were fantastic and very helpful. Our guide was extremely knowledgeable about every animal and reptile. We all had so much fun I would recommend Riverside Wildlife. So go learn, enjoy and have fun. Thank you again. Cathy O'Brien and family.

Bianca Aragones

What a gem! I took my hubby here for his birthday and he loved it! Our tour guy was James and he was very knowledgeable of all the animals. We even were able to hold an alligator (3 yrs old) and a Python (70lb). Steve is the tiger expert and was able to answer all of our questions plus teach us a lot about tigers. Jasmine and Jafar (the tigers) have a great bond with Steve and you can see the respect between each other, it’s beautiful! There’s a plethora of reptiles and farm animals as well! Must see!!!

Dina Presseau

Great price, great experience

Kevin Anderson

Fantastic time and great people

Danielle Hodge

Very fun.. Can pet some of the snakes, smaller gaters.. Staff is friendly..

Samantha Flowers

Fascinating! Strange! The kids loved it!

BobbieJo Collins

This was a great educational and hands on experience. We were able to hold snakes and alligators. Plus pet huge tortoises and an emu. This is a great addition to any family trip.

Tara Cochran

This place was awesome! All the people were very nice and informative.. the lady that did our tour took some great pictures for me with my phone in the places we couldn't go. We were able to hold a bunch of animals and go at our own pace inside and outside! Groupon got the 4 of us in for $20 and we were there almost 2 hours! Loved it here!

Payton zzstu Ziegler

This place is amazing I have been coming for three years and all the people there are very kind and clearly care about the animals they have so many facts and is very hands on I went yesterday and today I will certainly be back. They have awesome animals like emus tigers turtles chickens a bobcat and not To mention all of the reptiles spiders birds and even lemurs it is very cheap and very informative I hope you will Check it out

Chase McDowell

We stopped at this place after visiting Meramec Caverns. No idea they had tigers! Plus aligators, lemurs, bobcats, foxes, many species of birds, and lots of snakes other reptiles. We had a great time and our tour guide was awesome! 10$ tours! Totally worth it.

Robo Quad

Staff is very knowledgeable and personable. Seem to enjoy their job and sharing their knowledge of all the different animals that are there. It's privately owned, small but extremely enjoyable.

Candy Mckee

I love stopping in for the tour. What they do for the animals is a wonderful thing. The tour guides are volunteers they are all very friendly they genuinely care about these animals. I make it a point to stop in whenever I'm in missouri.

Teresa Gordon

Not the cleanest place but good tour guides

Danielle Carson

This place is awesome. They have a decent variety of animals, and the guides are funny, and knowledgable. The staff here are pretty friendly, and overall great atmosphere. Can't think of many other places where you can hold an alligator. Would visit again. Big John, and Dakota were cool.

william hormann

A little sceptical when we pulled up, but pleasantly surprised after our tour!

Dave Derington

Interesting. Not many places you can get this up close and personal with animals. Could use some sprucing up.

Benjamin Logsdon

Awesome place volunteers are all about the animals you can tell they do what they love my family defiantly will be coming back

Lynn Fitz

Great place. Interactions with the animals.

Courtney Everitt

This place is an amazing place to take your kids! Our tour guide was an absolute pleasure!

Amanda Sheer

Always a good time.. Wish they had bigger cages 4 the animals but it never seems gross dirty & the animals seem like they are being taken care of. Love love love holding the alligators

Darren Counts

Nice family place

Vivian Lee

Amazing! This was our 2nd year going. Great staff, cool animals and an up close personal experience 100x better than a Zoo. The guide we had today was a younger guy and he was awesome. He knew so much about the animals and was very funny, kept us entertained. I love this place it is a must see!

Joe M

The place was depressing. I felt super guilty for weeks after going to this shady little animal torture facility. The laws in Missouri are VERY lax, as I did the research after wondering how in the heck this was legal. All the reviews of 5 stars have to be fake. Don't do it if you actually like animals. My back yard is 6 x the size of the tiger/lion enclosures. Also, the whole site is littered with busted up trailers. SCARY!!!

Brandi Christian

Amazing experience. Our tour guide was phenomenal

Richard Bortz

Nice place

Cowgirl Paula

It is an awesome place! ♡ed it.

Michael Griesheimer

Yes, it looks super iffy from the outside. Yes, it smells from the animals. Highly recommend. There's an absolutely amazing collection inside. How many places can you go and touch a real hippo skull? Not many, I'll tell you that. Most of their animals are rescues. The guide knew a lot about them and their histories. The reptile section has a LOT of snakes and lizards you can hold. Truly my favorite part. For real, ignore the outside. It's worth every penny.

Madison Clemons

Enclosures were very small and cramped; did not look comfortable for the animals at all. Their extremely large snapping turtle was in a plastic container the size of itself. Also had 30+ alligators laying on top of each other in a small, pitch black room. Would NOT recommend at all. Very sad

Brittany Deaton

Way too cool! Knowledgeable people giving the tours and the most kind atmosphere.

Brian Triska

Very cool experience. Very informative caring staff

Katt Smith

The tour was absolutely amazing, everyone was super nice. I highly recommend coming here. 10/10 would go again.

Mo Read

Excellent! Very knowledgeable! Lots of cool animals and reptiles! Awesome place

Steve Woolbright

Fun place. Some interesting animals to see as well.

dominika jaswiec

Another good intention gone terrible. THIS PLACE IS A JUNKYARD! HOW CAN ONE HONESTLY SAY THAT THESE ANIMALS AREN'T IN HELL??? GO SEE FOR YOURSELF... MY HEART ACHES

Art Johnson

I dont know if it can be worse than this?!

Alma Castro

ES UN LUGAR MUY BELLO MAS QUE TODO COMO UN REFUGIO PARA TODO TIPO DE ANIMALES..MUY HERMOSO Y LOS TOUR QUE DAN EXPLICANDO CADA ESPECIE Y LA RAZON X LA QUE ESTAN ALLI,DONADOS,ABUSADOS Y RESCATADOS...MUY HERMOSA LABOR LA DE TODO EL EQUIPO....

Leslie Anderson

It was a blast. It's great for little kids. Nothing big but very enjoyable

Carmelia Coney

Great place. Awesome tour guide. She was had great knowledge. It does smell like wildlife lol

Cornelis Trapman

We loved the private tour we had here, such a cool place!

WolfCraze 101

My dad used to have a pet alligator named Draco and now Draco lives down there last time I saw him he was very healthy and super big! I haven't seen him for a long time though and I don't know if he's still alive but next time you go there ask to see Draco hopefully you see him!!

Shannon Gallion

Super awesome people and you can tell they actually love these animals. They know just about all there is to know about them and are great at explaining things to the kiddos. Thanks for a great day!

Steven Bossman

Awesome time, not crowded and unique

Anna Trifun

This place is depressing

Molly Gibbs

Great place but they need to update their website. 4 yr Olds aren't free and the hrs isn't right on their page. The prices for adults and kids aren't right on the page either.

jdolan707

Doesn't look like much from the road, but my family had a great time there. Very knowledgeable guide led us through to see Bengal tigers, a lion, bobcats, a timberwolf, emus, birds, varoius snakes, turtles, aligators and reptiles. Cheap and very enjoyable entertainment.

Desiree Garcia Arce

The weirdest place ive ever experienced.

Mark Diehl

Just walk around the front room... it's packed with so many interesting things related to animals or different cultures. Tigers, alligators, snakes, birds, a 100 year old snapping turtle. Just a few of the attractions here.

Connie Elizabeth

I have mixed feelings about this place. On one hand, the staff was friendly and informative. The place was hands on and kids were able to hold/ pet some animals. On the other hand...enclosures were definitely low budget and small. Especially saddening was the alligator snapping turtle enclosure. Also, it was mentioned by our guide that they don't carry any anti-venom due to high prices and short shelf-life. They had several venomous reptiles. As previous reviews state, Missouri has very lax standards on privately owned animals. I don't feel that workers are purposely abusing animals, but I did feel guilty supporting this operation.

Donna Setzer

Needs more space

CFoot Gant

Trashy ,small ,over priced , butt the tigers were cool..

Will Hubbs

Don't let the looks full you. It's a great time and a cool place for kid's. You can see the tiger's up close & hold an alligator & snakes. Definitely worth the tour.

T Bud

My daughter (17) and I couldn’t even stay for the entire “tour”. This is one of the saddest places I have ever seen. The whole place is filthy, reptile enclosures were small, dirty water. We felt so guilty for stopping here. I really cannot understand how this place could be a legit rescue.

Carl Long

Great family stop with knowledgeable and friendly staff. Close to camping and Meramec caverns. Budget friendly for even the tightest vacations, or ifntounhave so leftover bucks to burn!

Nick Stallone

Started to stop but the outside looked like a junkyard. So many dead cars, campers, appliances, etc, laying around we choose to keep driving.

Audrey Dooley

AMAZING! The lady that took us on the tour was very nice and helpful! Loved the tigers! I definitely will be going back!

Eric Brummett

It was ok for a hokey roadside attraction. The building with the reptiles smelled a bit. They had alligators, an emu, a pair of tigers and some other stuff.

Michelle Riley

The conditions the animals were living in was absolutely disgusting. I am ashamed to have visited and supported this place. Not only were the cages for each different animal much too small, but water was dirty and clearly not kept up daily. I will admit that the 100 degree weather may have made the conditions look even worse than they already were, but in general this was a very disappointing visit for me. I will never visit again, and I suggest you do the same. I would give it half a star if that was possible.

Sheyna Edwards

During a road trip on the way to the caverns we lucked up on this awesome place. From the outside we weren't expecting much but we were surprised. The staff is super friendly and knowledgeable. They have exotic birds, alligators, emu and so much more. The highlight was getting to see the tigers get hand fed. Can't wait to go back.

satanos demomos

Very knowledgeable staff

Patty Tornow

An incredible experience for the price.

Horacio Lorenzo

(Translated by Google) I found the place small attentive employees always (Original) Lo encontre pequeño el lugar los empleados atentos siempre

Kim Connelly

Up close and personal with the animals!!!

Lori Fleming

Such a neat little place. Gracie was our 12 year old tour guide and she did such a wonderful job. We've never been that up close and personal to wild animals before.

anthonybarbie rettke

I love this place. Thank you for being so compassionate with the animals

Tereesa Tompkins

Awesome they walk you through, they allow you to hold some animals, great price. Doesn't look great outside but don't let that fool you. Worth stopping by to see

Amber Burkett

My favorite place to go..

Cathy Elmore

They are nice people and have a lot of different animals crocodiles snakes tigers Birds and more

Keith Kelley

Didn't look like much on the outside. But well worth the visit. Guide was funny and informative. Its a must see

Shannon Silversmith

Very fun visit! The tour guides are super friendly and everyone there really cares about the animals. Animals seem happy and healthy!

Mad Moe

This place is awesome