John Ball Zoo

1300 West Fulton Street, Grand Rapids, MI 49504, USA

Address:	1300 West Fulton Street, Grand Rapids, MI 49504, USA
Phone:	+1 616-336-4300
Site:	jbzoo.org
Rating:	4.6
Working:	9AM–4PM 9AM–4PM 9AM–4PM 9AM–4PM 9AM–4PM 9AM–6PM 9AM–6PM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 7

A Private User

This tiny zoo is a wonderful short escape. Only $6 for an adult and you get about 1-3 hours of being outdoors strolling through interesting sights. That is plenty of zoo for me in one visit. The zoo is very well kept, and the gardens had plants and flowers that I was not familiar with. The grounds go up a small creek so there is water flowing many places and exhibits are on different levels. This also makes for shady spots, as well as sunny aspects. The exhibits seem to emphasize quality over quantity. There are only a few monkeys, but both the squirrel monkeys and the chimps have large grounds with lots of play items. There are a small choice selection of birds, including a very large enclosure with 2 fascinating Ground Hornbills. In the morning the male hornbird was making a low-pitched call that reminded me of grouse. In the afternoon these two large birds were playing with sticks and a huge feather much like two puppies would. I got the impression that they may have visiting special exhibitions often, there were at least 3 today when I was there. They also seem to rotate some animals through the same areas. The tapir may only be out in the morning, then the Guanaca lamas are brought out and the tapir is gone. By way of comparison, the best zoo that I have ever visited is the Taronga zoo in Sydney, Australia which costs over $30 US to go in.

Mary

For the 10 dollar adult ticket price, this was a great way to spend the day. My boyfriend and I spent our afternoon here on a Sunday and we were very impressed. It was amazing to get close to the animals, the Lemurs have the ability to walk over the visitor path and the new walkway through the kangaroo enclosure is awesome. As another poster said the map and signs are in need of work, but I dont think that really effect the experience too much. If there is any need for new signage it is for visitor to stop banging on the glass of exhibits. I saw adults tap on the glass of the reptile exhibits, despite the fact that when you walk into the building there is a large sign that says "Quiet Please". These adults obviously learned nothing from Harry Potter. As it got later in the day and families with little children started to go home, and it was like having the zoo to ourselves. The rude families did not ruin the Zoo for us, we also went on a Holiday weekend so I am sure that was a factor in it. I would suggest the John Ball Zoo to anyone coming to Grand Rapids for the day.

Dorothy Privacyiskey

Not the best Zoo I have ever been to but not the worse, Pros and cons are as Pros: Price friendly at $10 Mid sized so you can see everything in your trip Shaded areas to rest Family friendly Parking area is close to entrance A few hands on exibits for kids Cons: Get there early or late afternoon, on hot days animals were hiding in the shade so you dont see many Some inside exibits have a foul smell Food prices are just unreasonable , lower them and youll sell more! Common sense! Bird show was kinda lame, trainer seemed un informed but at $2 you get what you pay for They do have a lot to learn from other Zoos, and need more informed trainers. We saw a trainer talking to a bird and "teasing" him with treats. Not cool! We also seen a little boy crying because he lost his family, they need more security check points Better mapping would benefit this Zoo also, like animal foot prints leading to the correct animals, the map was hard to understand. Not sure if I would return to this Zoo unless I lived in the area.

Meghan Pope

While the ticket price is low ($10/adult), the zoo reflects it. My main problem with the zoo was the animal care - exhibits were small and not always built with the species natural habitat in mind. This sometimes allowed you to get very close too the animals and see them better, but this shouldnt be the main goal for a zoo. There was an african black-footed cat in an inside-enclosure that basically looked like a box. The rainbow trout we saw at the aquarium looked sick in their murky, dirty water. My husband and I spent our time here wondering if this zoo would pass any animal-care and exhibit-design tests. This zoo has a very small variety of species - Id say at least half of the animals we saw were birds of some kind. The only big animals included grizzly bears, mountain lions, camels, and chimps. I guess if you live on the west side of the state, it can be worth the visit to get some zoo-time in, but youd be better off taking the day to drive to the Detroit Zoo or Toledo Zoo.

Joel Fedell

I have been coming to John Ball Zoo since I was a kid. Over the years it hasnt changed a ton, but has had some improvements done. We decided today to head out to the zoo as they have a new tiger exhibit. Though the exhibit isnt complete the tigers are out on display...except today as they were painting. The zoo has a good mix of animals that you typically would find at any zoo. The layout is even set up to where you basically walk in a giant circle. I would have to say that the chimps and what I saw of the tiger exhibit would be the better exhibits here at John Ball. The food is overpriced for the portion, but that should be expected. They do offer two zip lines which I have yet to do. Outside the zoo is a park which features fountains and picnic tables under the shade of mature trees. All in all its a nice zoo and a good place to visit.

BoxPressRadio

One of the best zoo experiences Ive had. We didnt expect to see the massive enclosures for the animals, and were very impressed with the use of the natural terrain for the exhibits. They really went out of their way to make this zoo friendly to the animals and the visitors. Well be driving the 3 hours to visit this Zoo multiple times each season! Be sure to take your walking shoes though, this zoo is sprawling and really requires a lot of walking. Plan on spending at leas 3-4 hours here to see the whole zoo, and more if you like to relax at any of the exhibits or stop for a lunch. It may be taxing for anyone with a cane or assisted walking device like a walker or crutches. There are a lot of stairs and are really not avoidable if you want to see most of the zoo.

carcar770

I went with a couple months ago and I have to honestly say I was extremely disappointed by how these animals were being treated! None of the birds had room to fly around! The penguins were kept inside a warm, smelly, small, concrete building that had obviously not been cleaned for years. They had two sand cats in this small cage with a couple of branches and rocks, the animals were pacing and looked very destressed! The tiger was probably the only animal with a somwhat large cage, with room to walk. The other big cats had very small cages with barely any room to really run around. They had two pythons in a concrete cage that was two small for the both of them. I have more complaints but Ill stop here. The animals deserve better!!