Cougar Mountain Zoo

19525 SE 54th St, Issaquah, WA 98027, USA

Address:	19525 SE 54th St, Issaquah, WA 98027, USA
Phone:	+1 425-391-5508
Site:	cougarmountainzoo.org
Rating:	4.2
Working:	Closed Closed 9:30AM–5PM 9:30AM–5PM 9:30AM–5PM 9:30AM–5PM 9:30AM–5PM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 12

Denise W

Small zoo with a small selection of animals. Reindeer are main focus attraction and smell worse than cows. Would highly recommend the Woodland Park Zoo over this one. Animals are confined to small areas and look unhappy. Facility is well maintained. Designed for families not the casual single that just wants a quick tour or lazy afternoon. Kept getting the cold shoulder like I didnt belong. Got belittling customer service. I scouted it out for my family and I did not feel welcome at all. Will not be coming back here nor bring my family due to the arrogance of "families oriented/preferred". Parking is tight with limited spots. Full after a few hours upon opening. Neighborhoods reinforce parking so you cant park there. Compact spots with about 25 in their main lot. Vehicles tend to take two due to this. Schools regularly bring students with full buses through out the month.

Justin Scott

I went here with my girlfriend and her 2 year old son on a Sunday afternoon. Its not to big, and can be viewed in its entirety in an hour and a half if taking your time and enjoying the exhibits. There werent to many people around so it was nice, you could have time with the exhibits on your own. It has an impressive collection of rare birds and large cats (Cougars, lions, tigers, macaws, parrots, etc.) and animals your kids can hand feed or toss food to such as deer, alpacas, reindeer, and emu. Among some of the other animals to view were lemurs and cranes. Admission is $12.50 for an adult, $8 for children over 2, and free for under 2. I would recommend this to anybody with young children that would like to avoid the sometimes daunting task of a "day" at the zoo, as they can be large and difficult to manage with younger children.

Northwest Wonderland

This Zoo Exhibit is beautiful. Its a small zoo setting with cougars, tigers, parrots, other various birds that are fun to see, reindeer, kangaroos and more. The Zoo is located in Cougar Mountain where my family lives, which is very convenient, Ive visited several times. The focus on conservation of endangered species, its a very small zoo but lovely (has a family-type small business setting). Its a beautiful location over Lake Sammamish and view of the Cascades. They do adorable activities around the Holidays but its nice to visit all year! Its not a big commercial zoo so dont expect food stands or anything like that. One of the reasons I like it so much and support is because they seem like they take very good care of all the animals.

Ranee Apple

Not the best place to go for a single individual. I tried scouting this place out for my family but felt like the odd person out. Did not feel terribly welcome nor acknowledged. The animals really need a larger "cage" to wander in. Most looked uncomfortable about being in a small space. Most looked at me with the look of "help me." Families with children were quickly acknowledged. I think Ill bring my family to the Woodland Park Zoo. Its a 20 minute stroll around the grounds. Not worth it. Parking lots are horrendously small and can barely fit a standard sized car. School buses will generally take up most of the parking. If it wasnt for school field trips I honestly dont think this place would survive.

Dusty _ Sea

Ive been to some small zoos before, but this is the smallest zoo yet. The entire property is only 8 acres! I went as a single adult and was treated very well by the staff. They were all cheerful, happy to stop to chat for as long as needed, and had entertaining stories to share. I witnessed the same treatment for other solo adults during my day. The short educational talks had interesting tidbits about each animal, and the bird show was fun. All the animals looked healthy, alert, and content with as much space as most other zoos have for each. Every zoo animal had plenty of shade, but I wish there had been more shade for visitors. If the sun is out, bring a wide brimmed hat!

Sarah Chadd

Clean facility, but quite depressing, as the animals look unhealthy and anxious. I only heard staff members correcting behavior, not offering information. The behavior being corrected was kids climbing on the numerous bronze animals sculptures around the zoo... The exact type that people are encouraged to climb on and take photographs with at Woodland Park Zoo or San Diego Zoo. Here youre not even supposed to touch them. Especially odd since theres a little park-like grassy area filled with the statues; basically an attractive nuisance if the CMZ expects no one to touch them. Admission is expensive for how limited and sad this place is.

Kubie

This is one of those places where its so great....size doesnt matter. I would come here just to sit and be calm. The animals are soothing. The water fall pond is soothing and The mountain views across the lake is marvelous. The animals are beautiful and well cared for. You can tell they are in a great place. Everywhere Clean..well manicured facilities. Staff knowledgeable, professional and friendly!!! Perfect spaces for kids...while the park is enjoyable by all. One of the best animal conservatory Ive seen. There is another one near Melbourne FL I also highly recommend.

Kimberly Horch

We we less than impressed. My 2.5year old who loves animals and has loved other zoos asked me where the "other" animals are. I knew it would be small, but I only actually only counted 10 different kinds of animals. We saw the entire zoo in 30 minutes. So we went through the whole zoo again so that we would be there at least an hour for our $20. That said, the location is beautiful. The zookeeper talks were fun and age appropriate. They have a really nice sculpture garden but they were too hot to play on today.

Mike Williams

As some people have stated, the facility is a tad small but the animals seem well cared for and the staff are friendly and great. The tigers are majestic, the wallabies are cute, and being able to feed some of the animals is loads of fun. Would recommend. We went on a rainy day and that cut the crowds quite a bit, felt like we were the only ones there, but this probably made the visit even more enjoyable.

Kim Wilkerson

Great experience!! Wonderful to be able to be closer to the animals than in a larger zoo. Also nice that there are keepers walking around everywhere to answer questions and make sure the zoo rules are followed. This is a great place to learn about and experience the animals. We took our time and it took us 2 hours to do the whole place, could be done in 30 mins though too and still see everything.

Jeanne Williams

Great preschool tour, most of the zoo has covered areas which was nice on a rainy spring day. Tour guide shared lots of information about the animals and patiently answered the question only 3,4, & 5 year olds could dream up. Excellent museum full of taxidermy. Nice day it;s small size makes it appropriate for even small children and the bronze statues are almost worth the trip just to see them.

Casey Smith

My wife and I did the close encounter tiger tour and really enjoyed ourselves, plus the price/ donation goes towards a beautiful zoo with beautiful healthy animals. The tiger trainer/keeper was so honest and the Tigers loved her, but wasnt so sure of my wife and I :). The zoo very clean and easy to go through. It takes 45-hour, which is perfect for the kids with short attention spans.