The Toledo Zoo

Much nicer zoo than the Detroit Zoo. Cleaner, friendlier, not as far to walk between exhibits. My husband and I now have a family pass saves us money for our large family.

I am not a fan of Toledo (yes, I know… I live here), but I DO have to say that they have their hidden gems!
One, being the Toledo Zoo! I love going here. It doesn’t matter what time of the year you go (prefer Fall or Spring), because they always have so much going on. I went there for the lights at Christmas and in the Fall, and had a wonderful time. Their aquarium was definitely worth the wait. It’s amazing! The staff are always helpful and nice. The animals seemed to be treated well, and the places are clean.
**The only thing is, I wish a lot of the animals (esp the larger ones) had more room. It seems like I noticed many enclosures seemed to be lacking in space, which can be very hard on the animals.

Was a little disappointed with my visit yesterday to this zoo… I wasn’t sure why it’s such highly rated. The zoo itself was pretty small and many places were closed. We barely saw any animal so I didn’t find the tickets worth it… The only thing that I really liked was the aquarium! It’s not huge in scale but nicely designed.

Great place. Animals well displayed despite some work going on in a few exhibits. Love the park all together and the aquarium is awesome.

Went today to go to the aquarium with our little guy who is 15 months old. The website said the aquarium would be closed from 5−630pm, ok, perfect we thought. We’ll head down after his nap and check out the aquarium for a couple hours then the lights on our way out. Well we drive over an hour and when we get there the aquarium is closed from 3pm to 630. We asked the ticket girl and she was very short and said well they are having a wedding and they obviously have to set up for it. Ok, well we planned our visit off your website info. So we walk around and see the aquarium and ask the employee out front for any additional info. She is very short and said it’s closed and there are multiple signs saying so.
So we decided to just make the best of it till 6:30 when the aquarium was supposed to open. Well almost everything opened at 5pm so we were walking everywhere trying to see some stuff. Ok, we found a hippo in his tank. Cool! Now he gets up and starts eating right in front of us. Very neat! Then the lights get turned off in the exhibit and an employee comes out and pulls a big panel over the window! What?!? We asked why and they said the exhibit is closed! Serioulsy? Train was closed till 5. Museum was closed till 5.
Ok, so we walk over to the flamingos cause they are out. Nope, zoo keeper is just locking it up. So we get some pretty gross café food and wait till the aquarium is open at 630. Well 630 comes and goes and the line is huge. It’s now around 7 and we can’t wait any longer because we have to drive home and get our little guy to bed. Truly disappointed.
The zoo itself looks decent. Not anything great. Old and some of the exhibits could def be bigger and cleaner. It’s just sad to see a business that obviously is more interested in money than customers.

We’ve been wanting to go to this zoo forever. We finally went today and it was GREAT! Very clean, well laid out and the best thing was that the animals looked very well cared for. They had more room to move around and yet it seemed more up close and personal.
We both agree that well be going again even though it a hour from us. Detroit zoo take notes!

The Toldeo Zoo is one of my favorite zoos.
There are a lot of great animals at the Toledo Zoo, and they all look happy. The exhibits seem to be well maintained, and they always looked clean and well stocked with food, water, and happy looking animals. It’s not the biggest zoo, but it’ll still take a few hours to get through it all.
One of the highlights of my visit were the giraffes. They’re kept in wire fences, and a giraffe poked it’s head through and touched its nose to my nose before retreating back into its habitat. It was equal parts terrifying and awesome.
There’s a lot of activities for younger kids, making it a good place to come for any ages. There’s a chance to pet animals, movie showings, crafts, and a ton of souvenir stores so you can remember your visit.
My favorite part of the Toledo Zoo is admittedly a weird attraction. I adore the café here. It’s in the old big cat house building. The bars are still there, and it’s just really neat to be able to have your lunch in a building that used to keep lions. It’s memorable, for sure.

I had been to the Toledo zoo about 10 years ago and remembered being pleasantly surprised. Since then I’ve spent a lot more time in the other Ohio zoos and having small children has significantly changed my perspective. I was a lot less impressed during this visit.
I do think the Toledo zoo has some amazing stand-​out animals that make a visit absolutely worthwhile. The hippos for sure are always mesmerizing. The rhinos at the Toledo zoo have the biggest horns I have ever seen. The double-​waddled cassoways are so entertaining, and look like something out of a Dr. Seuss book. The reptile house is also jam-​packed with interesting animals.
The layout of the zoo is probably my least favorite of all the Ohio zoos. The fact that it is divided by a highway is probably unavoidable, but that doesn’t make it any more pleasant. I also felt like I was constantly walking past the same exhibits twice, like we’d get to a dead-​end and have to backtrack to the center to move on to something new.
The biggest negative for me were all the «no strollers allowed» signs everywhere. I feel like a zoo of all places should strive to be as family-​friendly as possible, and they have really missed the mark. No strollers in the bathrooms. No strollers in the aquarium. Luckily for me we had plenty of aunts/​uncles/​grandparents along to help out. If I lived nearby, this no-​stroller policy would definitely prohibit me from taking my two children to the zoo by myself.
I think the price ($ 17 adult, $ 7 parking) is steep for what this zoo offers. I think the zoo is comparable to the Akron ($ 11 adult, $ 3 parking) or Cleveland zoos ($ 12.25 adult, free parking), but the prices are more in line with the Columbus zoo ($ 15 – 18 adult, $ 8 parking), which is much larger and nicer.

The Toledo Zoo often gets rated as one of the best zoos in America. I think those reviews are inflated, but it is a good zoo at a good price.
The zoo is not giant. We did the whole thing in about four and a half hours. The layout is pretty good. When you first enter, there’s a small section then a bridge over the highway. It’s a pain in the neck to climb, but you get a nice overhead view of a few animals, like the double waddle cassowary, a ridiculous looking Australian bird. From overhead, you get a better view of its ridiculous feet and gait. Once you get across the bridge, the layout is in a nice circle.
The bright spot in the layout is a large section of gardens with overgrown paths and calm benches. A wonderful respite for the adults in the zoo.
There are several exhibits that are just really worth the price of admission.
The African penguins are only a handful, but you can walk so close to them on their little beach, then circle around underneath the water to see them swimming. Getting this close to them is a real treat. I uploaded a photo of them.
The polar bears have a gigantic window half above and half under water. There’s an additional set of windows inside a cave and one bear came in to lay down, getting right in our face. The sloth bear also had a window the bear could get close to. The sealing may have been wearing away at the corners, because he could definitely smell us at the corners and he was snuffling away. It was nice to feel so close.
The hippo exhibit was the best I’ve seen. I have read a lot recently about hippos and realized of the many great zoos I’ve been to, none highlighted the hippos. Toledo absolutely does. These gigantic, terrifying animals have two enormous windows half above and half under water. You get nice views of their surprisingly dainty feet, their twitchy little ears, and how they swim. I’ve uploaded a photo of them swimming. There is also an angle to see them wandering around above ground without a window. You get as close, but seeing them walking is worth it.
They have two excellent rhinos that chose to stay far away from us. I have as yet to ever see a truly great elephant exhibit. Like most zoos, the elephants were too far from me to feel anything.
The orangutans may have been the worst exhibit. They are in a little house with windows that are walled in. We had to fight to get anywhere near the windows, and even then, only half the window had a good view. It not for the walls, we might have been able to look through the windows at an angle.
The zoo was very crowded, though it was half price Sunday late in the summer. A lot of people were pulling wagons with coolers and food, which is new.
The price was very reasonable, even at full price. Parking is only $ 7 (cash only) and admission is normally $ 17. We’re thinking of getting a membership, though.
The choices on food are not great. Everything is very cheap snack bar, but at typically inflated prices. I know you don’t go to the zoo for the food, but it would be nice to have a better choice. Also, the souvenir cup costs $ 1.75 to refill, a price at which soda would be reasonable.
In all, it was a good zoo. I would not put it down as something to travel for (unless you love hippos), but if you like zoos and are in the area, it is a good choice.

The Toledo Zoo was cool. The parking situation was a bit weird. You park across the street from the zoo and they have a shuttle that takes you up to the bridge to cross over into the zoo. What we didn’t know was that the walk to the bridge isn’t that far, maybe a mile. So we felt like idiots waiting 20 minutes for a shuttle.

Wow! I haven’t been to this zoo in a good 5 years.
There is a new aquarium and a few changes. I was curious since this zoo has been voted #1 in the nation by USA today readers choice! I just had to check it out again. As for being #1 I, don’t know that’s a bit of stretch for me, but it is great!
This zoo is nice and compact on the small side with just a bit over 50 acres, compared to Detroit’s zoo which is over 125 acres. Your feet will thank you!
I really like how the exhibits are a bit smaller and that you can get really close up views of the animals. The animals seem very well cared for and the zoo very clean. The weather today perfect for a visit.
My favorite exhibit here is the elephants. The exhibit is lovely and large with a huge play area plus something you can’t see in Detroit, due to their stance of it being unethical due to our winters.
The aquarium was lovely but crowded, lots of rude little kids stepping on your toes, being rude and not saying excuse me; which was annoying while the parents stood stupidly by.
The polar bear exhibit is lacking and I must say Detroit’s state of the art exhibit is light years ahead and way way better. The penguin and reptile house are also a bit lackluster, again Detroit taking the prize in those areas as well and to boot no Butterfly house.
The admission price way more pricey then Detroit, 17 for adult, 14 for kids under 12 compared to Detroit’s 14 for adult and 10 for kids under 14.
All in all a great little zoo, a bit more costly however still very nice. I do struggle with it taking 1^st in nation, my opinion. All in all a great way to spend an afternoon.

This zoo is huge and has a lot to see. The new aquarium is great! They are always updating and bringing new things to the zoo so it’s always nice to visit yearly. I love that they have a kids area where they can explore in the water but I do wish they would make the petting area larger. I remember when I was younger there was a lot more to do in the petting zoo. It is also nice that they have free Monday’s admission to Lucas county residents.