Reid Park Zoo
Reid Park Zoo
4.4
9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Monday
9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
About
Reid Park Zoo is a hidden gem, nestled in the center of Tucson, and is the perfect place to enjoy time outside while discovering the wonders of wildlife.
Meets animal welfare guidelines
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See what travelers are saying
- Dorcas K206 contributionsA small but well stocked zoo with a wide range of animals. Lots of construction going on and some areas closed or empty. This is primarily a children’s zoo so be prepared for lots of kids, along with yelling, crying, etc. I walked the whole zoo in ~2.5 hours, including time to sit and watch. Go early in the day for best chance to see animals out and moving.Visited December 2024Traveled soloWritten December 30, 2024
- parfourrickChattanooga, Tennessee205 contributionsZoo was okay but lots of construction in the parking lots. I guess progress means some pain. Zoo was very affordable compared to others we’ve visited. Unfortunately about half the exhibits were closed or empty. We visited on a mild sunny day, not too hot or cold. Just disappointed about the animals we did not see.Visited November 2024Traveled as a coupleWritten November 13, 2024
- Jarom C4 contributionsFun little Zoo, with all kinds of animals. Way cheaper with a family annual zoo membership. They even have a cute little Park with slides inside of the actual zoo itself for children.Visited December 2024Traveled with familyWritten December 21, 2024
- NewsByScottPhoenix, Arizona324 contributionsWe were in Tucson for a week-end and had free passes from the Phoenix library, so we decided to give it a try. We were impressed with this little but solid zoo. The enclosures were well maintained and the animals are very close up for good viewing. I would say this is a great place to bring the littles as they also have a great play yard for them as well as them getting to be closer to animals than at the larger zoos. We were here the first of Sept and got there around 8;30am...It stated getting hot when we left a little after 10am.Visited August 2024Traveled as a coupleWritten September 1, 2024
- ChasingSun101Atlanta, Georgia280 contributionsWe visited one morning in April, and had a blast seeing all of the animals. It’s not a huge zoo, but it has nice wide walking paths, very clean, plus all of the cool animals. Lion, jaguar, bears, elephants, and so much more! They all looked healthy and well fed. It’s a great place to get some exercise and see the sights! The gift shop is expansive, lots of cute items. Even better, it was only $21 for the two of us! What a deal! We highly recommend!Visited April 2024Traveled as a coupleWritten April 9, 2024
- Eileen WParkton, Maryland1,140 contributionsHubby and I spent a few hours walking around the zoo. I loved the baby elephant and the young giraffe. The aviary was really nice, beautiful birds. It was an easy walk lots of critters to see.Visited April 2024Traveled as a coupleWritten May 1, 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.4
1,070 reviews
Excellent
605
Very good
352
Average
86
Poor
15
Terrible
12
juliereading22
Chesterfield, United Kingdom18 contributions
Oct 2023 • Couples
As a member of 2 UK zoos and a visitor of many other zoos both in UK and USA we visited Reid Park today and were extremely disappointed. We had visited this zoo in the past and enjoyed the experience. Whilst the admission price is low, today a big park of the zoo was shut off, namely the the South American loop. Also another section closed for a private event which appeared to be for members only for something new opening at the weekend. Surely with such a large section closed this could have been open to everyone. In addition a viewing area of the lions was covered for a Halloween display, limiting lion viewing too. I doubt we will return again when visiting the area
Written October 26, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ari
Austin, TX48 contributions
Nov 2023 • Family
Great mid-size zoo. Very clean, good variety of interesting animals, easily walkable, great areas for younger kids. Good place to kill a couple hours. Would recommend getting there earlyish as it got more crowded around 12-1PM
Written November 5, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Valerie
El Paso, TX294 contributions
Mar 2022 • Family
The zoo is small but had a nice variety of animals. It became very crowded around noon. No outside food or drink allowed as per the zoo’s website but there were a few food trucks outside the entrance. There is one eatery inside but it was closed at the time of our visit and only 2 kiosks selling snacks (so lines were loooonnnggg). We did all the things (carousel included) and finished the zoo in 2 hours.
Written March 16, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jayne C
Belleville, WI179 contributions
Jan 2022
This is a nice zoo but small. Not a lot of species of animals compared to other zoos we've been to. The layout is a bit odd as there are many deadend spaces - walk in see the animals and then have to turn around and walk out. With the pandemic, the layout didn't work well as you were always very close to others. The zoo does require masks for indoor spaces. Most people wore masks all the time which was easiest so you didn't forget to put them on in the buildings. Unfortunately, there were many people that did not put masks on in those spaces.
Written January 26, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Pamela V
Scottsdale, AZ450 contributions
Mar 2024 • Couples
We spent about 2 hours enjoying the Zoo. Parking is very easy and free. The Zoo is pretty compact and the trails are easy to follow. There is a good assortment of animals to see. You can get pretty close up to many of the enclosures. The spaces are pretty good for most of the larger animals, I felt like some of the smaller animals would appreciate larger enclosures. The Zoo is clean and very reasonably priced. It is reciprocal with many out of state Zoos, so you can enter at a reduced rate. It's a great place for adults and children alike.
Written March 18, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dawn M
24 contributions
Jan 2023
This was a clean, attractive zoo with lots of activities for small kids. Admission price was reasonable. It is a relatively small zoo, but the animals have large enclosures with enrichment and appear to be well cared for. Food was expensive but the pretzels were very good. It would have been nice to have a map to carry with us, but there is a map posted near the entrance. It was a pleasant way to spend an hour or two.
Written January 30, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Susan B
Ontario, Canada727 contributions
Feb 2023
We have been here twice now, and it is a good little zoo.
Lots of animals to see and not too much walking.
The docents around the zoo are very friendly and we enjoyed talking to the one in the south america section.
About 2-3 hours would get you to see everything taking your time to watch along the way.
Lots of animals to see and not too much walking.
The docents around the zoo are very friendly and we enjoyed talking to the one in the south america section.
About 2-3 hours would get you to see everything taking your time to watch along the way.
Written February 18, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
FlyTwa86
Sahuarita, AZ35 contributions
May 2023
I am in the travel business. I have been many places. I don’t know how the zoo gets any positive remarks I’ve read a review on here back from 2012 that said the water was stagnant. This is 2023 and the water is still stagnant for the animals. It’s OK that it’s a small zoo but being small it should be a lot nicer one Gift Shop with OK items. They could add local art items to the gift shop and make it nicer. Also more places to eat, but most important care for the animals. we witnessed dirty viewing windows… and dirty water for the animals to cool themselves in. Food left out in the hot sun. Terrible!!! I would not recommend this zoo as a first visit, or any visit for that matter to Tucson. However, I highly recommend the Arizona desert museum as a must.See.
Written May 19, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ksmith1994
Tucson, AZ809 contributions
Dec 2022 • Couples
This was seriously such a fun little zoo to visit. I really think they did a good job at decorating and making it all cute Christmas themed. I have seen bigger zoo lights coming from Columbus,OH. For Tucson I think it’s perfect sized. I brought my significant other. We had a good time just walking around taking photos. All of the animals were not in the habitat or asleep which I figured would be the case since it was dark and plus of course cold. I was surprised with the amount of people I saw. It had such a strong turnout. I also like to say so be prepared as it gets closer to Christmas is seems like it will get busier. The only main line I had to wait in with my significant other was the line to get in. The line itself relatively went fast. Would 100% recommend to visit 🥹
Written December 17, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ZimplyZuperb
USA47 contributions
Dec 2021
This is a great option to spend a few hours in Tucson. It's a compact zoo, but very well maintained. All animals appeared to be well cared for. Around 1:00 PM they feed the elephants, and an employee gives some commentary about the resident elephant family and some behaviors of elephants. When we were there, they spread out things like pumpkins, lettuce, and other stuff in the elephant enclosure, and let out a mom and kid elephant to feed on them. The way the little elephant was excitedly running to the food, and the sloppy way in which it was trying to feed, was just adorable.
They also have a few animals that you rarely find in a zoo, such as African wild dog, giant anteater, and the sun bear. And the admission is very fairly priced.
They also have a few animals that you rarely find in a zoo, such as African wild dog, giant anteater, and the sun bear. And the admission is very fairly priced.
Written January 17, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
What are the differences/ similarities with the Tucson Arizona Sonora Museum? Which is a better experience?
Written April 1, 2018
Make the Desert Museum a priority of the two. Reid Park disappointing.
Written April 2, 2018
There were when we were there but I would check before going.
Written February 1, 2017
Anyone can help me with the hotel that is near by of the zoo? I need something less then 1 and half miles away. I don't drive and would walk from hotel to the zoo. Is that possible?
Written April 28, 2016
La Quinta inn and Suites, 1.1 mile away and under 100 dollars a night. Got 4.2 rating on hotels
Written April 29, 2016
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