Reviews of Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo (Zoo)

Sir Hacker Man

Wait time

Jada Batchelor

Cool little zoo to spend a few hours at. Animals are close up and active, the tigers love to play tag. Maned wolves, big tortoises, giant anteaters and big cats. Lots of kid stuff too if you have one of those things

Jean Madden

A small zoo in Bridgeport, CT. Good place to take young children to see animals from across the globe. As of 2021/08/08, you are required to buy tickets online. The river otters were my favourite attraction as they were playful with park visitors.

Sana Mohammed

Fun visit , missed the prairie dogs, but expected due to the cold. Next time!

Sky Moulden

Reservation recommended

Emily Kordas

Price for adult entry

Alex Alapatt

I love this zoo! It is a great time to spend with friends and family! I would definitely go again.

Weronica De Souza

Weekday

Frank Soltesz

Reservation recommended

Matthew Guillet

Many of the animals looked extremely dehydrated. Many of the animals looked like they came from local ct woods. I felt it was more like a barnyard than a zoo. There was a strong odor of urine and must in one of the indoor exhibits. Many parts of the park were closed or out of order. It's sad to see the zoo in this shape.

Jackie Tolkin

Nice little Zoo especially for younger kids. Not overwhelming, and can view everything in a couple of hours. Would be nice if there were more exhibits but over all the kids loved it.

MARIANGELYS

Weekend

Angela Fritscher

It is nice, clean and quiet. Lots of visitors today!

Diana Barnum

Staff were very friendly and facilities were adequately maintained. There was no entrance control, no security team assuring zoo guests didn't bring weapons or actually bought tickets other than one wonderful person in the booth, but you could walk right by.

Caitlin Bart

$16–20

Soliana McNeilly

The walk around the zoo is a lovely mix of sun and shade and offers great views of the resident animals. There are also a wide variety of interactive activities to keep my toddler entertained. The man who runs/performs in the musical show is excellent and my very active 2 year old watched and sang along for over 30 minutes.

Merrill Allen

Yes

Sean Reilly

Very small but very clean and cute

Janet Serra

Always an adventure! Every time we go we see different animals and learn new things! We love it here!

Christopher Huertas

Weekend

Josh Lucas

1) Enjoyed the zoo. Small compared to Bronx zoo but worth a visit for tigers , recently opened farm, glass house etc 2) Ample parking on site 3) cafe with outdoor tables and ice cream shop at premises 4) All the animals are active though we visited during afternoon

BLESSED G

Really good time! Had 2 young employees explain all the animals in the park. Their passion for the animals was very inspiring!!

Leon Anderson

Great zoo. Small but full of cool and surprisingly healthy animals and a helpful and informative staff. They don't have a ton but what they do have is very well presented and cared for. Had a good time with the fam there.

Thomas TB3

Visited on

A AA

We just became members but I have been going since I was a child! My kids had a great time. Nice variety of animals and habitats. Nice morning out!

Cesar velez

$16–20

Sheldon D.

Nice place to be ????

Diem

Excellent zoo! Extremely friendly staff, very manageable with small kiddos, and were able to see all the major exhibits in 2 hours!

Jzon Gonzalez

First off this is a COVID review so it's not typical for this zoo but wanted to write it since it's relevant now. Wanted to take my baby to do something outside during these times and have a change of scenery. Paid 15 a person and baby (kids under 2) was free to get in. To get in now you have to reserve a spot early. There are two time selections a day that you can choose from. With your selection you get up to 3 hours in the zoo but with everything closed you won't really need it. It was nice to get out in the fresh air and walk around but only a handful of animals were out or visible which was disappointing. So if your ultimate goal is to see animals I would wait till this craziness is over. If your just looking for something to do in the present moment and maybe seeing an occasional animal as you walk and enjoy the outdoors and have the extra money to spend and support the zoo then go for it!

Donald

It was ok not many exhibits like there used to be I did see a bear is a new attraction that is coming soon so that may be interesting. Far too hot out when we went and only one working cooling station. The staff at the gift shop were very rude and loud I even observed a school trip where kids wanted to purchase something but were being yelled at to hurry up by staff very distasteful. As a result I chose not to make a purchase. I felt badly for the school kids some cried. That is never ok it upset me and my kids so much so that we left.

Teresa T

Nice outing for younger kids!

E L S

Yes

Terriann Kaplinski

Great zoo to bring the kids to. I took my wife and 3yr old son. There was a good variation of animals. This was our son’s first experience at a zoo and he loved it. It was just the right size and not too overwhelming for a kid his age. They also had a special promotion during the summer where kids under 18 and one accompanying adult can go for free. So we only had to pay for one adult ticket (which is not expensive either). They also have a carousel that kids can ride on only for a few bucks. Definitely worth a trip.

Leila Mahmood

Reservation recommended

Jordan Goy

Very easy to navigate and the habitats are well maintained. Most animals are rehabbed and can't be released back into the wild. ????

Vanessa santiago

Yes

Kristi Heck

A fun way to spend a few hours and see some wildlife. The place is small enough to explore in an afternoon, without being overwhelmed with too much to cover. Being close to home has made visits a tradition in our family and hopefully, enough other families make it a tradition in theirs. An old fashioned carousel ride only adds to the fun day. If you have young kids (and even if you don't) make sure to visit this local treasure.

Yari

My girlfriend and I had a great time this weekend at Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo. Small, but very nice, clean, and Covid-friendly. I'm a photographer and really appreciated some GREAT VIEWS of the animals. Especially the WOLVES and BLACK PANTHER!! I was literally inches away from the AMUR LEOPARD ????????????

Chai Landau

Great Zoo, reasonable price and plenty to see. We didn't bring our own food but it seems everyone else had. The next time I go I will definitely bring my own food, as their on-site cafe has a limited selection and is a bit pricey (to be expected for a park like this). Animals were all well cared for and had great spaces to live and play in. The rainforest building was still closed for covid but besides that the only animal we didn't see was the anteater which was sleeping or similar. Highly recommend if you like animals, or even if you don't ????

Lucas

Wait time

VC GAB

I love taking my family to Beardsley zoo. We love looking at the animals. We appreciate how well the animals are taken care of and Its just one of our favorite places to go.

Matt Seinberg

No wait

Kendall Soliwoda

Weekend

Not So Plain Jane 413 D.L.R Jane

Visited on

Nick Sorvillo

Lady at the front desk/ticket booth denied one adult accompanied by a kid free admission admission regardless of reservation and insisted on adults' tickets. Zoo's disobedience of CT state free admission for kids is unacceptable

Duane LaPierre

Its a small yet friendly zoo. The prices are decent for admission. Please be aware that due to covid you have to go online to buy your tickets ahead of time. I did it in the parking lot before entering and it was fine. However please pack a lunch because meal prices are pretty high. Full tour of zoo with kids, eating lunch and stopping at gift shop takes about 2 hours

Olivier Attia

Weekend

Britney Magee

Visited on

Nicoleta L

Public holiday

Erin Philbrick

Visited on

vamsi krishna

Price for adult entry

Brajendra Patra

No wait

Sara

Awesome assortment of animals here. A bit small in terms of size in comparison to some others, but well maintained and fun to visit here

Jenisse Martinez

So few animals to see Areas were devoid of animals or were hidden. Disappointing. Plus side, no crowds so we could linger. Grandson loved leopard, tiger, alligator and (barely glimpsed) wolf. Best part--it is the perfect size zoo for young children

Jimmy El-Yamani

Not fully open yet but still a great day! My daughter loves going. We will be back in a few weeks!

Jennifer Tellier

I was actually pleasantly surprise with this zoo...I guess I joust wasn’t expecting much. However I had gotten free tickets and had a wonderful time! Our kids (age 3) had such a great experience, the animals were easily seen from where you stand, there was lots of fun stuff for kids to explore and I loved the botanical garden in there! We spent the whole morning and it was just the right size to walk through! When I went to Bronx zoo I never even saw everything, but here we went through the whole zoo and the kids were staring to get tired right at the end! Great day!!!

Justin Cowan

Weekday

Brian B

Really enjoyed this zoo. Layout was very nice. They have made the areas so viewing the animals is pretty easy to do. Only negative is the area with the bobcat and monkeys smelled very strongly of urine.

Alicia Jaudon-Williams

Reservation recommended

La Raza Promotora Artistica

Great place to go in quick and see some animals with kids. But it's quick. Lots of areas under renovation, so not as many animals available. Everyone person that worked there that we encountered were very friendly. Parking is not very good and very limited handicapped spaces. I guess the rate of visitors going in and out of the zoo quickly might give people a spot to park, but the lot is so small, it makes it awkward to wait for someone to get out and in of the parking spot. Would have loved to go the gift shop, but it was crowded and looked awkward to wait in line for with not many people following social distancing protocols. It was a great experience for my kid though. She loved a lot of what she saw and the exercise going up and around the place was good for me. Kids will love it.

Raymond Pierson

No wait

Barbara Wallick

Price for adult entry

Shayera Khatun

Reservation recommended

Neil Brysiewicz

Had a great experience with younger grandkids, they enjoyed seeing animals pretty close up.

STS T

If you have small children and will likely visit twice or more during the year consider purchasing the zoo membership beforehand.

Stacy DeBenedictis

We had our wedding at The Beardsley Zoo this past weekend and it was better than I could have ever imagined!!! Lindsay was absolutely outstanding to work with, attentive to every detail. Her and her team were able to create my vision except even better!!! We can't thank you enough for making our day so special!

Barbara Michalowska

Reservation recommended

Evan Robinson

Very nice my son had a great time it was our first time at this zoo.it was hot so the animals where laying down not active but we got to see them .I like it that it wasn't alot of ppl and everyone was wearing mask.. beautiful animal's

Antonia Colón

went on a rainy day, still plenty of people exploring. alot of exhibuts were closed due to covid-19. the prices seem fair, there are plenty of walk space. nice and smooth. sad the carsousel was closed. the cafe only accepts card due to covid. mandatory that you wear a mask on the premisies. the bathrooms were sub par

Flor Melgar

All the staff members I interacted with today were awesome!!!!!! The young man doing the presentation on wolves/coyotes/vixen was absolutely fantastic, a perfect combination of knowledge + great personality + patience + attitude (tall blond man working in the morning/noon shift, he was at this little kiosk in the grass, that had a few relics and samples on the table- sorry, I should have asked his name for this review) Then there was Angel, the young man at the gift shop, who was just outstanding! Tons of patience with our kids, helpful with describing the items for sale, kind and easy going, respectful and sweet. Finally, this really nice young lady, whom we encountered twice (unless she has a twin hahahha) both by the maned wolf area and by the spider monkeys section. She answered all our questions, she was courteous and really kind (another name I should have asked for) It was truly a great experience, the animals look like they are indeed cared for, the place is clean and the staff really seems to do their best with whatever means they have available.

Joey Cal

My 15 month old son loved it! Not a ton of people, just enough to keep him entertained but not be overwhelming. Clean, engaging, AND they had a performer on the stage for the kiddos!

David McKeen

Price for adult entry

T Breez

Small, but amazingly maintained park, stuffed with a great assortment of animals. It's only about 2 hours to see it all and an excellent light diversion.

Tom McDonald

Good for small children

Kristina Ovalle

Small but fun to explore. Couple of places to cool off. inside carousel $2 per ride. Cafe that Seats outside and inside.

Maria Arias

We had a great time visiting! While some exhibits are closed for renovations and covid, we still got our money's worth and had a fantastic trip.

Jackie Sicilian

Wait time

Abby Straub

Wait time

Melanie Conelli

Wait time

Morgan Moore

Was experiencing bigger. How about a healthy menu with veggies one day ?

Roxie

Visited in July 2020. With all the precautions the staff has in placed, we felt very safe. It was a really nice way to spend the morning, visiting the animals and strolling through the zoo. Definitely recommend!

Karen Levine

Fun place to take the family. My 2.5 year old granddaughter loved it. Every exhibit was "Whoooooaaa"!

Khraig Schupp

Great experience today at Beardsley Zoo. Tickets were bought online and priced well. The grounds were very clean and well kept. Staff is ultra kind, professional, and seemed to enjoy their line of work. The food was great too!

Jamie O'Brien

No wait

Bre Martin

Very nice place a lot of fun. You can bring your own food if you would like. Definitely a nice drive and fun to go to.

McIntyre Viands

What a lovely get away my girlfriend and I had..the grounds are beautiful and show they are well cared for. As well as the animals.. the tigers looked especially content. There were knowledgeable attendants who were full of facts. There were plenty of benches to just sit and take it all in.we had burgers and fries, bought shirts and went around the zoo for a second lap before exiting and heading across the street to the huge park with a lake..I will definitely return before the summer ends. This zoo brightened my eye for conservation, something we all have , but need to awakened to..

Nicole Ford

Yes

Evangelist AndreYAH Maria

Semi easy walk in a short loop with multi animal exhibits and inexpensive food cafe. Cute gift shop. Animals look well cared for and WOW this is unique so much packed in a small package. Tigers and prairie dogs, cheetah is real plus some of our fine feathered friends, super family friendly.

Juss Tae

Visited on

Josie Phillips

It was a good visit, the zoo is small, but nice for something to do in this Crazy Covid-19 pandemic. Since it is small, and outdoors people kept their distance. My kids loved the tiger by the cafe, she was playing in the water and seemed to be happy and active, the goats were quiet so I told my toddler the goats say baaa.... and the goats all started baaing at me! It was hilarious! They also have very playful prairie dogs that seemed to be doing tricks and wrestling.

Cheri Cakes

Yes

Duncan MacIntyre, Sr.

Phenomenal experience today....dad's and the kids.

Jennifer Flores

Not much animal but still good place to go with kids, we finish all part of zoo watching in 3hrs, only one Icecream shop and cafeteria in whole zoo

Am I Amish If I Don't Like Social Media

No wait

Lamont Walton

Visited on

brandon williams

Visited on

Irene Carrasquillo

Small but nice. Good views of the animals. Black leopard was cool as well as the red panda. Very kid friendly. Only take takes about an hour to get through since many exhibits are closed due to covid-19.

Charlie Jump

Excellent zoo. Not as big as other zoo's but enough for the kids to have fun. We took the kids there over the 4th of July week. It was a little busy and was expected but the kids loved it and had a great time.

Ken Jacobi

Price for adult entry

Jane Turner

Great way to spend this summer morning! Tickets just had to be purchased online in advance and masks were required and social distancing was required. There were staff and posters to guide us in a circle around the Zoo. This was a nice and safe outdoor activity in the midst of the ongoing pandemic.

Christine Plum

Took my family, we had a wonderful time together! Definitely going back soon!!!

Lena Escalera

We (myself and my two girls 6 and 1) really enjoyed our visit! Although some exhibits and areas are shut down at the time there were still plenty of exhibits open and the animals were out! It was not overcrowded at all. We loved the big cats, the wolves, and the owls. The animals also looked clean and fed and comfortable. Thats something I really like to see when taking my children to the zoo! It is a smaller zoo but it was perfect for my little ones. Will be returning!!

Matthew Cruz

No wait

Alvin P

Very family friendly zoo! We went to this zoo on the last day of our vacation and it was a very nice zoo. We went on a Friday and heard there were 800 people from various groups there (mostly summer camps). We still had a great time. Animals were out and we loved the peacocks that walked about the zoo freely. Also the tigers were fun and so were the bearded fox. Don't miss the prairie dogs either. They were so cute. Definitely recommend this zoo.

Paul DeStefano

Don't expect all the animals you'd normally think of seeing at a zoo. Very limited variety, lots of birds. So many animals weren't out for viewing; even ones listed on their map--empty cages. ???? Was ok for the 3 year old I took there. Glad I didn't pay (got free admission thru CTs free summer admissions). Don't think I'll be back.

Diane Carroll

Yes

Adam Perez

OMG fantastic park area absolutely the place to go in Bridgeport. I'm going to the zoo hopefully this week. Bring a lunch it's very clean and peaceful. Check it out for yourself it's Great ????

Chirag Damania

$16–20

Michele Carias

The entire family had fun

Deliberate Intentions

Wait time

Vidya Ram

$16–20

Janice Plass

Weekday

Kellyanne Koemp

I have been there many times with my kids. Always had so much fun! They have play area and nice options of food. I have to be honest that the enclosed garden is my favorite area, thousands of plans and flowers.

Julio Chávez-Reyes

Great place to visit. It's just the right size place to cover in about 2 hours. Most of the animals were out to enjoy a 53 degree day. The canteen had good food that is way better than McDonald's. Service was a bit slow but that to be expected for the off season.

georgegerasi

It amazing! Had a lot of fun with my family. I will definitely recommend coming to this zoo. It’s a very relaxing environment and the staff is very friendly and organized. Most importantly, the zoo it’s so clean. Well kept, I loved it. They also have a play ground area for young children. My 1 year old had fun. I loved it.

johnna disanto

Great place been around for awhile. Kids enjoy going and always has animals out ready to be seen!

Ryan Grant

Weekday

Harjz Ono

Small local zoo. I have a soft spot in my heart for the Beardsley Zoo because I remember going as a kid. It was a really nice time with the kids. We spent an afternoon there checking everything out.

jim m

No wait

Sue L

Great little zoo, it’s very organized. I had fun however it’s very sad to see some of these wild animals cages up. I could feel their sadness, they have a desire to be free, to run in the open space of nature, instead they are restricted to a 4/4 walls.

kaitlin ruskay

Great place to visit but with little kids. Older kids get bored quickly and the zoo is on a small side. Even though its a small zoo the animals are beautiful and well maintained. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable. Keep up the good work. Overall great experience.

Paul Calabrese

Beautiful park with a pond, people should be sure to clean up their trash. A bit loud due to the highway nearby. Ospreys flying overhead.

Jen Lo

Wait time

Susan Jablonecki

Great experience at the zoo today. My class really enjoyed it. The staff was kind and cooperative. We would bring our students back again.

Saima Khatib

What a great time we had with our grandson. Went on Sunday morning early no lines at all. Only down side the carousel wasn't working.

Liz Hanlon

Cool zoo, worth a visit. Lots of stuff was closed or under construction. Birds (like the owls for example) don't have nearly enough space. Same for the cats who seemed particularly stressed. I mean.. great living conditions aren't found at many zoos but it seemed some animals had adequate ish space and then others were just crammed in some tiny cage. They had notably unique critters that aren't at most zoos like maned wolves, a fox, red pandas. It was a cool experience overall. Not many staff members to be found, but they did seem to make an effort to get some of the animals moving around by coming over with treats. The "cafe" is very reasonably priced. We expected to pay much more than a $10 bill could buy at a touristy spot (2 large drinks and 1 food item)

Michael Taylor

Great for local. However less exotic animals are presented, and each animal’s living space is very limited.

Jennifer Kennedy-Holmes

Went here for the weekend and had a wonderful fun time. The staff was great and following Covid procedures. The animals were all out as you can see from my photos. I ordered food and it was great and all done thru my phone. Love the chicken tenders!!!!! I would recommend this place to everyone, we had a nice day out here walking around on a beautiful day in the zoo.

Jonathon Miller

Impressive collection for such a small place. Very enjoyable!

Hemadri TV

Price for adult entry

Cassandra Meyer-Ogren

If you love animals, Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo is a great place to visit. It is fun for adults, but also a great trip to take kids. While not a huge zoo, it is well done and highlight important species from around the world. All creatures great and small, from tiny poison dart frogs to the otters, to Amur leopards, get great care from the staff and inspire people to care about them. This zoo has now been a special trip for my niece and nephew to enjoy for their birthday, but just as much fun for my husband and I. We each had a favorite animal on our trip, and everyone had a great time. And we were happy the cafe was open, because packed snacks aren't as enticing as grilled cheese, hot dogs, hamburger and french fries!

HIPHOPTERROR

Great place to take the kids at an affordable price

Thomas Reichart

Highly disappointed. Most animals were not in their exhibits. Walked through the entire zoo in about 40 minutes. Not sure if temperature played a role in animals not being out but this was a wasted visit for my little ones.

Don Tsai

Always love taking my family here but was really hoping to see the baby ant eater but it was out today ohwell hopefully next time

Robert Bartha

Nice small zoo. Great for small kids. Not overwhelming for them like something such as the Bronz zoo might be. We went on a weekday so was not crowded at all, good time to go if you want to be careful due to covid.

Kevin Eaton

It was fun! My kids and I love the animals we saw. The food was expensive. So if you do go make sure you bring your own lunches. All in all it was a nice place!

Natalie Tegtmeier

$11–15

Redwan Ahmed

Visited on

Jessica Bunnell

It was a nice day to spend a few hours. The walking paths were very clean. The animals looked well kept. Some I wish were a bit closer so I could see them closer in their habitat. But beautiful animals they had there. It was a fun day.

Katherine Servilla

No wait

Timothy Saunders

Had a really nice time with family as we went through the Zoo together. Some of the farm area is still under construction and the wish they would open the gift shop all the way. It was just a walk past open gift experience in the front. I guess it was better than nothing. The food building is open, The carousel is open and that was a pleasant surprise but in surprise but most of all it was a beautiful day. I would return for another visit looking forward to a full experience with all exhibits open next time.

Alec Cieniewicz

Wait time

Beth Caouette

No

Jennifer Harris

This is a small but nice zoo. It is a peaceful place to visit. I would like to see it expand a bit. The food here is ok, which is the 4 instead of 5 rating. They were out of pretzels when we were there, also the small food concession stand closest to the carousel did not have any hot dogs ready at noon. Had to go to the bigger building to get. Not a big deal but nonetheless they should have been ready. Parking can be a bit of a challenge also, but it is free. Al in all a very nice place though.

Richard DeMerchant Jr

Small zoo but great fun for the little ones.

Mysterious Traveler

It's a great zoo. But it is not friendly for people who have disabilities. Wheelchairs. They don't have automatic doors that open and close. Wheelchairs and even strollers have to go over doorjams. They have a nice sandwich cafe. Beautiful zoo.

Ami B

Yes

Rob Holub

Nice family zoo that's been around many years. Nothing modern or high tech. A good outdoor activity without electronics.

Marcin Mojek

Reservation recommended

J D

$11–15

Joanna M

The zoo is very clean and easy to walk since it is so small. The only "big" animals are the tigers and bison. It's a quick 2 hours to spend part of the day. They do require online reservations and payment only, no walk ins.

Sarah Elliott

Price for adult entry

Dc T

Our family had a great time exploring the zoo. Plenty of animals here to see and exhibits which was great being that everyone is still worried about covid. Socially distancing and using a mask is suggested. The zoo is a decent size, they do have food and drink facilities there and lots of places to stop, sit and take in the local looks. The park it is located in was nice as well. Animals looked healthy and are taken care of.

Kathy Weekes

$16–20

GiGi RF

Wait time

Rakiya Andersen

Cute but small local zoo. An interesting variety of animals (I enjoy the anteaters) as well as a play area (not exactly a playground) and a carousel. It's worth a few hours with the kids. Minus a point or 2 because you can hear the highway and, the day I was there, the super loud sound of mowers and blowers going for at least 3 hours.

Corey Morrison

Nice place. Very clean. Very beautiful.. greenhouse was OUTSTANDING

Sherry Litke

Reservation recommended

Pan Kuk

Visited on

Graviel Martinez

Great small zoo. It was our first time visiting and we wanted to go to somewhere that would kill a couple of hours and this zoo did exactly that. We were there for about 2.5 hours and there wasn't a lot of people there so we got to see the animals pretty up close and didn't have to wait long. Unfortunately anything indoors was closed due to Covid but still a great experience.