Lake Superior Zoo

Address:	7210 Fremont St, Duluth, MN 55807, USA
Phone:	+1 218-730-4500
Site:	lszooduluth.org
Rating:	3.8
Working:	10AM–5PM 10AM–5PM 10AM–5PM 10AM–5PM 10AM–5PM 10AM–5PM 10AM–5PM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 11

Beth Anne

It takes my 2-year-old and I about an hour and a half to hit our favorite parts, and that doesnt include some of the further-out options. If youre used to big fancy zoos, this one is small and charming. The big attractions are the tiger, the lions, the always-active primates, the barnyard animals, and the gigantic brown bear. Kids love the little critters in the learning center, and theres an adorable park and a colorful train you can ride (you can see both from the primates section). Theres also a beautiful creek flowing through the zoo with charming bridges across it and even benches alongside. The polar bear exhibit was damaged in a flood in 2012 and is closed down. Its centrally located, so thats inconvenient, and I also miss the polar bears. The zoo is currently working on what to do with the space (it would cost a huge amount to repair it and get a polar bear back), but for now the space is just something to walk around to get elsewhere. The yearly membership is well worth the price.

Shania garberich

Constant disappointment. The enclosures are dirty, small, and contained little enrichment objects for the animals. Multiple enclosures contained the wrong kind of sub-strate or none at all. The barnyard animals are kept on concrete. Goats like to jump and therefore should be kept on something with give. The snake and monitor house was very smelly. Yes, I understand snake poop stinks but with proper maintenance it wouldnt be nearly as bad as it was. With it being the Boo at the Zoo weekend, I definitely expected the entire place to be clean and tidy. One of the monkeys in the primate area was chewing on cocking from around the window. The bald eagle, our nations symbol for freedom was kept in en enclosure way to small for him to fly even close to properly with his wingspan. Not a place I would recommend, unless you support cruelty.

Lauren Anderson

The price is decent, but most of the exhibits are closed. We ended up pushing a rickety stroller uphill for an hour to see almost no animals. The nocturnal thing was pretty cool, but if we would have known most of the enclosures had nothing in them- we would have chosen to go to the aquarium instead. Its not worth going until they fix the enclosures and get more animals. At the end of our time there, we talked to a manager and asked why there were no signs stating that the zoo was half closed and she said "the state wouldnt let us until just the other day" so... not only does that not make sense, but theres still not signs even though theyre "allowed". Then she offered for us to go look at what will be a bear enclosure.... no thanks, I didnt pay $10 to look at a construction zone.

Sarah Gilmer

Really fun to visit. We went during the week day in the middle of october so not busy at all! Staff was very friendly and greeted us everytime they passed by. The animals were very cute as they were sunbathing (especially the lions, Snow Leopard, and Lynx!). The only complaint would be that they were under construction so we could not see the kangaroos very well. And a couple paths were closed. Obviously once thats done with itll be back to normal. Would definitely go back again. Really hope they stay open and get a couple animals back that were lost during the flood in 2012. (Middle section was emptied because of the flood).

Maggie Vitse

Im giving this zoo a one star rating. Ive been to a handful of zoos and I will not spend another $10 to come back. The buildings were nice, but when we got into the main building to buy tickets we had no idea where to go. A lot of the exhibits didnt have anything in them and yes the Polar Shores center was closed. Overall it was a very disorganized zoo. There was buckets and random miscellaneous objects outside. Some of the exhibits didnt have a pathway to them so we were constantly walking through mud to see animals. Lastly, my least favorite part was where the parrots were. Birds have wings for a reason. Ok end of rant.

Jason DeFoe

Quiet Sunday at the zoo. We showed up on a rainy Sunday morning 5 minutes after they opened. After showing our free entrance pass we received from staying at the Munger Inn across the street, we asked if they offered umbrellas on rainy days. We picked up the loaner umbrellas in the gift shop and began our zoo experience. The place was nearly empty due to the ongoing rain so we had a wonderful time exploring and felt like we had been given a private viewing experience all to ourselves. Not the best zoo Ive ever been to, but certainly not the worst by a long shot.

Tara B

We didnt have to pay to enter as we have yearly memberships to another zoo that gets us into others at discounts. That being said, it was okay because we got in for free. I dont know what it costs, but its probably not worth it right now. I know they are building some new exhibits that look like they should be nice when completed. We had hoped to spend a few hours there, and had to really try to spend more than an hour going through the few exhibits. The positive thing is they had animals that we dont get to see at our "regular" zoo.

Daniel Klug

The zoo is very large but has very few exhibits for the amount of space. It seems as if the zoo doesnt quite know what it wants to do. The indoors is well kept up and nicely updated, but most of the outdoor exhibits havent changed in years. This is by no means a bad attraction, I just believe that there are some better options in the Duluth/Superior area. If you are looking into something similar in the area, I would highly recommend the Great Lakes Aquarium. It does cost a tad bit more, but I believe it is worth it.

John Guertin

This is a nice zoo, smaller but cheaper than others. How many zoos do you know have a creek running through them? I thought that was very cool and was going to give it more stars. But then I found that all of the aquatic exhibits were closed because of a flood over three years ago (due to the creek and very heavy rains that year). And they still dont have a plan to reopen, permanently close, remodel or repurpose them. These exhibits are run down because they have been sitting empty for three years.

Tori Litteral

Very disappointed!!! Will not be coming back. Ive been here maybe 6 times over the past 10 years and this is so depressing!!! All the animals are gone... Empty enclosures left and right... The sheep in the zoo are nasty and need sheared bad! For the money I paid to get our family in, we got to see a tiger, a llama, sheep, ducks, the nasty ammonia smelling nocturnal animal barn (which had many animals off exhibit as well) and a monkey or two.. so so so sad this zoo is dying fast!!

Katie Krikorian

I went to the zoo the last day that Trouble the Bear was there. Attendance was low. I could tell the employees care about the animals, but I was saddened by how sad most of the animals looked. The tropical birds, crows and owls looked especially sad and listless. I wish they could all be either let free or given to loving homes. They do not appear happy at all. The only creatures at the zoo that appeared to be thriving were the Canadian geese that overrun the place.