Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo

We love Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo! Download their free mobile app. Enjoy lots of things to do and tons of events at the zoo. Wonderful for the family!

Great day out with 2 year old. They have a lot of farm animals — deer, goat, ducks, geese etc. Some nice wild animals — tiger, skinny leopard and bison. Not a great animal collection but the park is great for kids. Free roaming peacocks were cute.
Kinda expensive for a zoo with not many animals. No elephant, giraffe, rhinos, hippos, lions, bears…

With our triple a discount we had paid around 11 dollars for our admission.
Overall the zoo took us about an hour to get through, but I will say it is probably best for children rather then adults.
The animals are in very small enclosures & most of the big cats were pacing back in forth in their cages. Although it is nice to see them so up close, it does damper your mood to see them so unhappy.
I will say that I think it is great that the zoo is trying to protect these endangered species, I just wish their enclosures could be more thought out.

This is a really great place for the kids, I really enjoy how
All the profits go to research and the zoo!
Even Though, it might not be a big zoo, their membership
is awesome, You can get one year or two!
This membership allows you to go more than 150+…That’s right
150+ other zoos for discounts! For Cheap!
Really nice small zoo

The perfect local place for kids who love animals. The place offer great interaction between people and animals. And my personal opinion is that children should be connected to nature when they are young. I believe it can contribute a lot to the child. But hey, as an adult I also had good time here.
Cute little zoo. With specific animals. Do not expect to see the Bronx Zoo, but unfortunately get ready to pay more than you would in the Bronx Zoo. Small restaurant that provide a solution if you are hungry, and you can eat on one of the picnic tables.
Could be much more attractive with lower prices. But still recommended.

Awesome place to take your kids! My husband and I love going for a day trip when the kids are off from school. Easy to get to and lots of fun!!!

I think I posted maned fox, but it’s really a maned wolf. It looks like a cross between a fox and a deer.

Excellent place to go great amount of animals carousel horses very historic plus camel rides

It’s a classic staple of ct living and one of my favorite places to bring friends especially since Bridgeport is such a black hole for the internet, not much escapes it.
A cozy zoo, it’s a nice walk with some excellent viewing angles for animals. Some say the tigers need lots of space and perhaps it’s true, but since big cats in captivity tend to sleep all day I don’t think it’s that big of an issue.
The animals here are shared with other zoos and all the big cats are apparently recovering from something, like roadside zoo captivity, so try to keep that in mind when actually browsing the park.
For what space they have and what history they’ve come from, I give them a five for a providing a wonderful service and always updating to keep new and exciting. This does mean they’re renovating, so your timing may be poor.

I love this zoo — my family and I are members here, and have been since we moved to CT. Since we live only 15 minutes away it’s perfect for us to come by just for a quick visit and spend an hour or two looking at the animals with our little ones.
This is not a big zoo, the «main attraction» is the tiger. What it lacks in size and selection it makes up for in cleanliness and fun. The children’s area is nice with tons to do and our kids (4,3, and 6 months) love it.
Bring lunch, or grab a relatively inexpensive lunch at the lunch shack and go for a ride on the carousel. Your kids will love it, and it’s fun to watch them smile. Parking is free so that’s a plus.
We had our sons 2^nd birthday party at the zoo, it was a nice party but in hindsight I think he was a little young for it. I would do it again now that he’s older and his friends would sit a little better for the animal «meet and greet».
In summary — it’s a must see. I would rate it higher but it is a smaller zoo.

The zoo would be a ⁴⁄₅ star rating if not for the pacing tiger and leopard. They are clearly insane, probably due to their imprisonment and very small enclosures. Is anyone from the zoo reading this? Are employees afraid to say something? This is not the place for these two specific animals. Visitors are quite content with more deer, sheep, and goats. I encourage visitors to voice their outrage.

Very small zoo but I guess I’m use to bigger cities. I would say this zoo is more for the little kids, like 8 and under. Honestly, there is much to see. Causally, just walking around, walked the entire park within 30mins.

Very disappointed. So many things closed or under construction.

Great zoo and park. Took a drive up from the Bronx after seeing this place online. We had visited the Roger Williams Zoo in Providence RI on the weekend prior and had a great experience. Drive was about an hour, with small stretches of traffic on a Sunday early afternoon. Upon exiting the highway, there are a few winding smaller roads (directions by navigation) until you hit the entrance of the park. The parking lot is smaller, but people are coming and going, so spots were opening up. The woman at the ticket window was very nice. We saw online that there was mention of a AAA discount and asked her about it. AAA gets you 15% of the admission fees!!! Before discounts, adults tickets were about $ 14, and children were about $ 11. They close at 4pm. The zoo isn’t as big as the Bronx Zoo, or Roger Williams but it was enough. Not too busy for a nice Sunday afternoon. I liked that the animals are pretty close. I have been to many zoos before but I have never had the chance to see wolves. There are three here! The grey, mexican?! and the maned wolf, which looks like a tall wolf. A good variety of big cats in this zoo as well, including lynx, tigers (two types) and leopards. Birds include the bald eagle and the condor, with an amazing wingspan. The prarie dog section was too cute as you can go in a tunnel and pop your head through a hole to see them. The rain forest had some monkeys and reptiles. For a zoo of that size, there were definitely a lot of animals, and animals that you don’t normally see. We definitely had a great time, and hopefully will be returning in the future. At the time of our visit in May, 2015, there was some renovations being done. I will be anxious to see how it looks when its all done. There is also a gift shop at the entrance which has the basic zoo gift shop stuff… rubber snakes, stuffed toys, and books. Off to the side is a smaller house/​building that said «private event» so I am not sure if you can rent the place out for a party, but that may be an option. The grounds of the surrounding park is lovely as well. Nice for walking, biking or having a picnic. The park section is free as parking is along the roadway.

If you want any time to see the zoo, eat before, after or bring your lunch. The café is painfully slow.

We had an amazing wedding on Saturday, April 4^th, because of Lindsay and her staff at the Connecticut Beardsley Zoo. My daughter was married in the carousel building with the carousel as a backdrop. We also had the reception in the carousel building immediately following the ceremony. Lindsay, the Event Coordinator, for the Connecticut Beardsley Zoo and her staff were fantastic! She answered all of our questions, made recommendations, worked closely with our caterer and DJ from start to finish. The day of the event, she did everything she said she would do and was there for the whole event making sure everything was going smoothly. Her staff shuttled guests up to and back down from the event and made sure the carousel was running for anyone to ride, and we ALL did! The carousel also made for beautiful pictures and wonderful memories.
We would recommend the Connecticut Beardsley Zoo and its carousel as a wedding site to anyone. Lindsey and the rest of the staff made it easy to pull off and a beautiful worry free day.

One of my favorite places in Connecticut.
Beautiful little zoo only twenty minutes away from my house in Ansonia.
Remarkably busier during April/​Easter school vacation week in the 50s, then when I was the only guest in the teens.
Inexpensive concessions, great job with the wolf and rainforest area.
I do think basic admission should be more like $ 10, but a wonderful place. Came once and became a member for 2 years at $ 90 with some guest passes. Excellent investment, wonderful place.

We decided to come randomly in the coldest part of winter. The pros of this were that we pretty much had the entire zoo to ourselves. This was great for getting to enjoy the animals, take pictures, etc… The cons were that we were obviously freezing, and several of the exhibits were closed.
Our one complaint was the price. Given that many of the exhibits were closed due to weather and construction (reptile house, prairie dogs, plant house, carousel, camel rides, and others) we thought paying $ 14 a person was a bit steep.
Price aside we had a great time. We really enjoyed the monkeys at the rainforest house, and the roaming peackocks were a cool surprise. It was nice to see notes at most exhibits stating that the animals were there because they had some sort of problem that didn’t make it possible for them to go into the wild, like there was a 3-​legged bobcat and a note about removing their elephants from the zoo for their wellbeing. Most zoos I almost feel bad going to, but if most of the animals are there for rehab or housing purposes because of injuries, it is a much nicer experience.
This isn’t the most impressive zoo in the world, but for CT it is a lot of fun (even for 2 immature adults like us). I’m sure it’s even better for kids.

I wish they would add more here.
I know it’s great for the little kiddies but it’s like they don’t make an effort to do more.
In some of the cages there was non-​existant species. Where did they go? The prairie dogs weren’t there either! It’s a bit run down. They need more attractions.
I felt so sorry for the camel that everyone was riding on. I know they can handle the weight because that’s what they were meant for but I still feel bad.
I also felt bad for the beautiful peacocks that were roaming around the playground area. All the little kids were chasing them and scaring them and it just didn’t look right. Poor peacocks just wanted to walk around and look for crumbs of food that ppl drop but instead they were running for dear life.
Even the cages for some of these animals were just so-​so small. I wanted to cry!
I must say though, we went last year and this year and this woman just sticks out in my head. She works in the gift shop and she is just great! So positive and cheerful all the time and she makes the kids smile as your making purchases.
It’s refreshing to know that some people still enjoy their jobs. :)

If you’re like me, you just realized CT has a zoo, in the midst of a large urban city, and thought, «Nope. No way is that worth visiting.» Well, we were wrong.
This zoo is a total gem. Double that sentiment if you have small children. Triple it if those children are under the age of six, you are a stay at home parent, and it is summer vacation.
The Beardsley Zoo has a fun collection of animals, many of which were rescued or are zoo «shares,» like their current camel exhibit. The camels are available all summer long to both gaze upon and ride. At $ 5 a rider, it’s a pretty irresistible offer. I, for one, couldn’t say no. As I rode Goliath, the gentleman with the gold «grill» spouted off interesting camel facts, and stopped Goliath about ¾ of the way around the circle for photo ops. It was pretty dreamy.
There are different sections in the zoo. The barnyard is always a huge hit, with baby piglets and tiny goats frolicking about. I am also a fan of how many interactive displays Beardsley has, like the prairie dog habitat where you can climb into a tunnel and pop up into a plexi-​glass tube in the midst of prairie dog paradise. Don’t try this in a dress. You’ve been warned.
Due to limited space, Beardsley only houses animals whose homes it can replicate without traumatizing the inhabitants. So, you will not see elephants, or rhinos, or fast cats from the African plains, but there is a glorious tiger and impressive buffalo. You can also enter a rain forest habitat with tiny monkeys and fancy colored birds (very scientific, I know).
Oh, and peacocks strut their stuff freely, so, control your excitement when you see them in all of their fanned out tail glory. They didn’t escape. You’re safe.
The best part about Beardsley is that it’s a small zoo that is easily traversed with strollers and small children who could flail, scream, and go boneless at any moment. I also think it would be a pretty excellent date idea.
There is a small restaurant that offers burgers, sandwiches, french fries, and the like, all reasonably priced. The wait, however, is excruciating. There are lots and lots of picnic tables, and at Beardsley you are welcome to bring your own lunch. I learned my lesson and will be packing a picnic next time.
Beardsley Zoo is definitely worth the trip to Bridgeport. Take advantage of these gorgeous summer, soon-​to-​be-​fall days, and get your adventure (camel ride) on!