Memphis Zoo, Tennessee, United States

4Mommytwofour 5:00 PM Aug 4, 2021

Great outdoor activity
A little pricey for what you get to see. They are currently in the process of adding on to the exhibits so portions of the property is closed off. Visit Memphis in July is seasonal hot time of year. Most likely would be a great place to see in early fall or late spring. They have a wonderful splash pad and play ground for kids. They advertise that you can see giraffes , sting rays and camels all these are at an additional fee and have limited times to experience. The overall condition of the zoo was ok. Although it appeared that the enclosures could all use a little TLC especially the penguin enclosure. The polar bears were out of view due to there enclosure didn’t offer pool for cooling off or any sort of shade. The reptile area was awesome one since it was air conditioned and two due to the many species they had to view. Due to current COVID safety protocols many areas had a 10 min wait to enter buildings which in the heat was a little rough for some. Definitely would recommend bringing water and possibly and umbrellas for shade while walking around the zoo. Family of 5 to visit cost 130$ before the additional items like feeding giraffes or touching sting rays .

4ellenbee56 5:00 PM Apr 28, 2022

a great zoo if not for its serious flaws!
My husband & I enjoy visiting zoos and seek them out on our travels; we have been to dozens of them—small, medium, & large. This zoo had a lot of great features, but it also had some big negatives, in our opinion. It was very much a “mixed bag.” First the good: The size of the zoo and the variety of animal residents afford a great wildlife-viewing experience. The Egyptian-theming at the front section was attractive. The China area was nicely done, and we enjoyed seeing the pandas very much (one was chewing away right by the window, the other was sleeping). The walk-through tropical bird house was very good, with a great number of beautiful specimens on display. (Noisy adults & kids did not respect the “quiet zone” posting in there, though!) Primates are my favorite mammals, and the variety here is pretty good. The hyperactive Francois langurs were entertaining to watch, as were the swimming and diving polar bears. The drawbacks here: My biggest complaint is the lack of maps provided—either printed, posted throughout the zoo, or even at their website to print & bring along (that one is not labeled to show habitats or even rest rooms or cafes!). The signage is poor in many areas, and I am sure we missed habitats and pathways leading to exhibits (and no, I don’t want to walk around a zoo staring at our cell phone to find our way!). Also, we didn’t like them charging extra to view the kangaroos or giraffes after a long walk back to those habitats. We found only one café open, even though it was a busy Sunday in April (80 degrees that day). We noticed numerous picnic tables scattered throughout the zoo (not near the open café), but the website says no outside food is allowed!? Finally, the restrooms seemed to be few and far apart. In all, we spent 4½ hours here (and walked over 15,000 steps, according to our tracker). We were glad we visited but didn’t find it the easiest zoo to explore due to the missing maps. Many habitats were surrounded by thick wire fences, so taking nice video or photos there was not possible. There were some long walks between habitats (at the right side of the zoo) where the grounds were quite unkempt and unattractive. There must an airport nearby, as we heard noisy jets flying overhead the whole time. For these reasons, I couldn’t rate this a top zoo.