North Carolina Zoo

Address:	4401 Zoo Pkwy, Asheboro, NC 27205, USA
Phone:	+1 336-879-7000
Site:	nczoo.org
Rating:	4.5
Working:	9AM–5PM 9AM–5PM 9AM–5PM 9AM–5PM 9AM–5PM 9AM–5PM 9AM–5PM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 4

A Private User

Huge lines and hardly any animals. We went to the Zoo on a regular weekend (no holidays, no special events) and waited in line for the tickets for over one hour (!) in the Africa area. The line started on the parking lot, they shouldve had those signs "wait from this point is N minutes", like in Disneyland. Instead of helping to move the line faster (IMHO they shouldve started letting people in for free at some point) several people were pushing the "membership". Some parents caved in and bought the membership just to bypass the line. Zoos web site claims they have over 2000 animals. I think they must have counted every insect. Because of all the time lost we only got a chance to visit the Africa side. There were 3 elephants, some zebras, chimpanzees and one sleeping female lion. Our kid wanted to see the lions (plural) and was majorly disappointed. One ostrich was walking across the field like half a mile away. As far as large animals, this was it! All others were not in sight mid-day in a very mild weather. Usually I dont mind walking, but the layout and trails there just do not make any sense. You have to keep going back and forth along the same paths to see all the animals (which, mind you, you might end up not seeing). Few times I felt like we were in a maze. Its also on the hill, so if you have a stroller, its a lot of pushing uphill. There is nothing interesting along the trails, so all this walking is just very boring. Make sure to bring your own food and water. Nothing in the zoo costs less than 3$. Bottled water, a cup o Youplait yogurt - 3$, small cup of frozen lemonade - 5$. Fortunately, there are drinking fountains almost everywhere and those are still free. Mostly this felt not like a zoo but rather like just a big park where few animals just happened to be for some reason. I am not sure what other zoos were visited by the 5-star reviewers but we had more fun in Duluth, MN zoo in winter than in this one. Overall this is certainly not worth 1.5 hr (one way) drive. Im happy we didnt buy the "membership" because we certainly wont be going there for long, long time.

CAROLINE PITTS

11-3-13 I liked the zoo very much, the exhibits were wonderful. I was there on 10 16 & 17- 2013 The flora was amazing as well as the living quarters for the animals and the selection of animals was fantastic. I got lots of great pictures and found the animals as a group to be wonderful to watch. I took 2 days to visit as the compound is very large and it is worth reviewing the map and really planning how you want to walk to the exhibits ( hired an electric cart as Im handicapped). Each area, Africa and North America must be a mile each easily and their Aviary and Sonoran exhibits are very special but quite a walk to see. I GAVE THEM 2 STARS BECAUSE: They had wonderful trails and proper handicapped access on trails & bathrooms, provided rental wheelchairs, rental electric carts and their tram could transport the carts. HOWEVER, they have not made the doors to the exhibit buildings accessible!!!!!!!! On day one I hurt my foot trying to hold open the door to the Aviary so my cart could go through while watching to make sure that my Service Dog also came through behind me without being hurt. Although I spoke to several staff about my injury both days none of them took any information down about it. They all agreed that there should be automated doors but said they just havent done it. I dont understand how the zoo has passed inspection with this glaring issue. This issue has been a requirement since 1990 through the Americans with Disabilities Act. Further, its hard to get a wheelchair through because of door width, a 1" lip at each door and the doors are heavy so even with another person pushing the chair its an access challenge. Eventually, I had to wait for someone to come along and let me in or out of the buildings because of the safety issues. That was a problem. If your not handicapped definitely go. If you are, make sure you take a companion, this is not for people like me who are independent and travel alone!! PS dont get hurt they dont care!

Tina Savgny

Waited around 40 minutes just to get in. Waited forever just to get food. Chicken at the food truck was chewy and smelled rotten. Kids hated the pizza because it was all crust. We had to eat lunch on the pavement because this was the only main lunch area and all the tables were taken! Stroller rental squeeked so bad and the front wheels were all messed up that we had people commenting on it the entire time through the park. I tried my hardest to lift the front wheels to keep it somewhat quiet. No place to trade it back in besides the front gates and I wasnt about to walk all the way back. Bathrooms were narrow to get into and most without AC. Nice, sticky and tight so you are rubbing against everyone on the way in and out. Many ramp pathways were narrow and the stroller kept getting stuck. No staff to turn to if you are having any issues. Viewing areas for the animals were narrow. We had a hard time fighting the crowd to see anything. Habitats are very largely spaced and well maintained but very hard to see anything. We saw very few animals. Park is spaced out that there is so much walking and much uphill. Bought tickets for the Dino bus only to find out that at the end that there was only one bus running and the wait in between was 30 minutes so we skipped that and lost out money. Couldnt see any giraffes or go on the giraffe deck because we didnt have any cash on us. Kids were exhausted by the end of day which I must say was the only plus. We went into the gift shop at the end and someone decided to throw garbage on the top of our stroller on the way out which we had to clean up. The day was rough. It was the bubble machine at the end just made me bust in tears.

Robert Whaley

I visited on June 18th. I traveled a couple hours to see a disappointment. It is a very nice and pretty place but when it comes down to animals its not worth the time. I spent 6 hours in the zoo to really see no animals. A few here and there but mostly walking and seeing empty enclosures. I was not able to see, or these animals were not being exhibited: The Grizzy bear, Elk, Lemurs, Artic fox, Rhino, Elephant, Gorillas, Cougar, and Bobcat. I spent an hour in its self to walk down elephant and rhino trail to see no animals on exhibit. I really wish there was a sign so I didnt have to waste my time and energy walking that far to see nothing. Also because of construction many things were unappealing to the eye to look at and had shut down a tram station. I settled down for lunch at the Junction plaza, having a cheeseburger and fries for $8. Wow... No animals and really pricey. While walking through it was a hot day and there was no cool off stations except one near where the Elephants are suppose to be. Many restaurants were shut down and there was no carts open to get a bottle of water so I had to look for a fountain to drink from. There were even multiple buildings shut down such as the Aviary, and the African Pavilion which really was a let down. I also work at a zoo and I understand the importance of public awareness when it comes to these things and I feel as the zoo was not prepared to be exhibiting animals on such day. No one pays to search for animals in that way.