I've been coming to Bergen Zoo since I was a little girl, so it's a place I've always loved. But on my most recent visit, I felt a little disappointed. I barely saw any animals, and many of the enclosures looked empty. I think there's a lot of potential for improvement, especially before the big crowds arrive. I hope they can bring back the charm and experience I remember from growing up, because this place truly has the ability to be so much better. read more

Came by on Mother's Day at around 10:30 (it opens at 10) and it was already getting crowded. Admission is $6/adult if you live in Bergen County. If not, it's $10. The carousel is $3. It's a pretty small zoo, which has its pros and cons. Pros are that you can finish seeing everything pretty quickly. We probably spent less than an hour there, including the carousel. Cons are that there was not much to see. There were exhibits that listed certain animals, but they were nowhere to be found. I would say that if you're just looking for an activity to do with the kids, this would be a good option. But if you're looking to actually see any animals, you'll need to go to a bigger zoo. read more

Bergen County Zoo - Zoos Near Me - Paramus, New Jersey

We usually have a blast every time we come here. But when 1/2 the animals are off exhibit, that becomes frustrating for children & parents. We purchased tickets online, and there was no announcement as to which animals were not available for viewing. But if you buy tickets on site, there is a list of animals that you won't be able to see depending on the weather. We went around 60°+ weather, and we saw the mountain lions, condor / vultur (he was hiding), llamas (only from the train), rhea / ostrich, pigs, goats, horse, sheep, donkey, goose, buffalo & elk. The main attractions for my kids, alligators, the indoor birds with turtles exhibit, owls, macaw, and so many more were unavailable. Thankfully our kids are easily distracted & were just happy to be spending time with their cousins. But when that many animals are off exhibit, I definitely think the prices should be adjusted or the zoo should be free. Parking was easy to find at 10:45am on a Sunday morning, and the zoo was pretty empty. read more

Bergen County Zoo - The Horse - Zoos Near Me - Paramus, New Jersey

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Came here for the Halloween event. Majority of the animals were not in there exhibit. We were disappointed. We saw three monkeys, one goat, and two lambs. The Halloween event was ok. There were only two activities tables and it was overcrowded. read more

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I used to visit this zoo when I was a child, came here to visit again to see the "Let it Glow" festival, the last time I visited didn't leave a review but I'll leave one now, the prices are reasonable and it's a nice interactive place to just take a stroll, and I love the fact that the train is still running, though I think the area itself needs some changes, the old ticketing booth was moved to the other side now, and I also think that they should have more holiday type festivals every season, maybe for the Spring time too, with water sprinklers or a water fountain for the animals... read more

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Great little zoo right in Paramus. Plenty of parking in the parking lot lots of affordable stuff to do can get pretty crowded. Don't expect the Bronx zoo read more

Bergen County Zoo - Train - Zoos Near Me - Paramus, New Jersey

Really cute place with reasonably priced admission. Perfect for littles or an easy stroll. It's a small place with interesting, concise descriptions of the animals. They have a train ride and carousel that costs extra. It took me about an hour to see everything. They have food trucks and ice cream, a gift shop too. I enjoyed myself. It's a small-town zoo so I wouldn't compare it to say The Bronx Zoo. What I thought was cool is that you see the animals up close bc the exhibits are small. Highlights were mountain lions and the indoor parakeet enclosure. The birds fly around you. read more

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This weekend is special tickets for zoo for Halloween. Nice exhibits with 15 stations for free candy and snacks included. Very organized. All enjoyed special day. read more

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Came here with my friends who have a 2 year old and a 6 year to see the holiday lantern spectacular. This was perfect for them and even for adults. There were a few real animals and animated assorted light up animals, birds, reptiles of all kinds. Free parking, they have a general store, clean bathrooms and friendly employees. Overall it was a nice experience. Best part was the train ride which takes you all around the zoo and it was dark so we were able to get a great view of everything lit up. Highly recommend the light show, it will give you an opportunity to keep the kids at bay for an hour or two. read more

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Really cute small zoo in a massive park! The park this zoo is in reminds me of Central Park in NYC but without the weird NYC Central Park stalkers. Although this zoo is really small it's just another small adventure to do while visiting this massive park. After walking the zoo you can hop onto the small train that goes around the zoo then venture off to the carousel nearby as well as simply walk around the huge park. If you have kids in tow then you'll likely stop at the really neat fun looking playgrounds also available near the zoo. While this place isn't as massive as the Bronx zoo you also pay a fraction of what the Bronx zoo likely costs. For the few bucks this place charges to get in, I say it's worth the price of admission. I certainly don't mind paying to help feed & care for the animals. read more

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They should have a ice skating rink inside where the zoo is and they should have a Santa Claus restaurant and they should have hot chocolate with Mama Marshmello and they should have Santa Claus mini burgers and fries and a Santa cola and for the ice skating rink it should be on the other side of the restaurant and they should have the barn for the animals to stay warm at night and they should put a lot of Christmas lights and Santa Claus will come for Christmas time to visit the kids for the holidays. read more

Bergen County Zoo - For the Bergen County zoo we need stronger fence and we should make this zoo more bigger. - Zoos Near Me - Paramus, New Jersey

Personally, it was a wonderful full circle for me coming here to the Bergen County Zoo, since I had been coming here since I was a child, but now, I was able to finally bring along my own little cub. This zoo is a hidden gem of Northern Jersey, they offer train rides around the park which the little ones will certainly enjoy. They have surprisingly great collection of animals ranging from bald eagles to alligators to monkeys. However, I am painstakingly giving this spot 4-stars, mainly, because some of the animals were not to be seen like the American alligators, but I believe this may have something to do with preparation for an upcoming "holiday lantern spectacular event" which seems delightful (BTW it begins on November 9th and ends January 14th). In addition to the zoo, they have a classic carousel posted outside where my cub found her first love. For adults, the larger Van Saun County Park have many fun activities like tennis courts, picnic sites, and nice walkways to take in the green scenery. I highly recommend charting out a weekend plan here. read more

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It's a great place to spend a few hours with young children. Although this place is small, we had fun. The mountain lions and monkeys were the most exciting part of the trip. I like to go back once the weather is warmer. read more

Without getting into how I feel about taking animals out of their natural habitat for our amusement..... Bergen County Zoo wasn't charging for admissions today. A few of the exhibits were closed so I guess you get what you pay for. This zoo isn't very big and there isn't that many different animals but it's still a nice area for you to walk around and see some animals. It seemed pretty fucked up to see an eagle on a leash but maybe there's a backstory? There were goats, cows, horses, elks, ostriches, mountain lions, sloths, monkeys and more. There's a small train that goes around the zoo but unfortunately it was closed as well. The gift shop and information center were open. There was no food just a vending machine with drinks and a guy with a cart selling ice cream. read more

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This review is solely on the 'Let it Glow' event. I have never been to this zoo so I have no idea how good or bad it is normally. What I can say is I paid about $15 per person for the 'Let it Glow' event. I went to a very similar event at the Philadelphia Zoo last year, spent much more money and I was severely disappointed in the event. This is absolutely worth the money. They have a lot of beautiful displays, you can still see some animals, and a train ride is included in the cost. The only downside for me is that they had no food. They had mini donuts and hot chocolate but I mean actual dinner food. I am not talking about anything fancy... just a hot dog or a sandwich, something simple. Overall, it was a success. I would definitely check it out again and recommend. I will be going back in the summer months since I do want to see what this place is like without the event. read more

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Half of the exhibits are empty and the half that have animals I noticed they looked exhausted and sad. The only good one I saw was the mountain lion, horse, and porcupine. Really wanted to see capybaras,alligators,and anteaters as they mentioned they have on the website but none were here. The prairie dog was advertised everywhere but it was not there and after circling back and forth three times it finally popped out.... Just one tiny one If you are traveling far don't recommend it. But if it is close by it is a cute small zoo read more

Bergen County Zoo - Mountain lion - Zoos Near Me - Paramus, New Jersey

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Small but well-maintained zoo with fairly standard animals. Good for younger kids. A little pricey for what you get, and the train is extra (I think). Had to wait in line for about an hour in the cold during the Winter Wonderland event with prepaid tickets. read more

How have I not been here sooner! The zoo itself is small. It took us about 45 minutes to complete. I came here during off-season. Due to winter months many of their animals are not out; so the zoo is free during that time. For free admission and still seeing a handful of animals I personally think it's worth it. Each station has its information stand that you can take your time reading and learning more details of animals. The day we went spring was in the air as many people had the same idea visiting. Employees were great gearing the traffic in and out. There was a huge line for the train so we didn't get to experience that. Instead, we went for a walk back towards the first lot then back. On our way back we enjoyed an hour or so in the park located right across the zoo. There's a carousel and a food truck on premise to check out as well. From the truck we had freshly baked cookies. Delicious! read more

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5/23/2022 I visit this zoo today it isn't a large zoo but has some nice exhibits i didn't go with any kids so I kind of breezed through it I may have been there about an hour. The zoo is inside of a large park so you can also walk around and maybe have a picnic after your visit at the zoo. It is very affordable there is resident and non-resident admission fee but both are less than $10.. read more

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We had an amazing time at this zoo. We went early in the season so it was free! We only had to pay for the carousel ride. I could say more but I'll let my daughter tell you what she thinks! Check out her YouTube review: https://youtu.be/_SlNaa7UytI read more

Bergen County Zoo is hosting a delight this holiday season, a festival of lights called "Let It Glow". This stupendous light show is perfect the entire family, no matter their age. One gets to walk the park while enjoying the light displays of the animal kingdom. Inside you will find food vendors, zoo store where one can purchase souvenirs & other amenities. It took us about 45 minutes to cover the grounds. There's also a train ride that one gets to ride, right after the walk through. read more

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FREE ADMISSION at this time. You don not need a ticket or make a reservation. The turnstiles are open and walk right-in. It pleasant just to hike around with few other people in the zoo. I had a chance to chat with several zoo attendants discussing the animals and conservation efforts. Masks are required and social distancing needs to be respected. The zoo does have a limited capacity. The hours of admission are Monday-Sunday 10am-4pm. This is a small neighborhood zoo that is well maintained with paver walkways and various types of enclosures. Part of the reason it is free is that many of the animals have been removed to indoor enclosures but surprisingly there are many animals to observe. The train which takes you around the park and the carousel have been shut-down for the season. I personally like to watch animals that display complex behaviors. The cotton top Tamarins were a joy to watch. They love to jump from branch to branch and rarely come down to the ground floor, a behavior that they display in the wild. A social animal, they groom each other and hug their fellow Tamarins. There are two young mountain lions caged together in the back end of the zoo. They were orphaned when their mother was shot and killed. One lion continued to jog around the perimeter of the cage while I watched the two for twenty minutes. To me it was a signal of the animals distress. It was sad. Other animals that were out included: San Clemente Goats, Belted Galloway Bull, Greater Rhea. Capybara, Andean Condor, Mountain Lions, Cotton Top Tamarin and Goeldi's Monkey. read more

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I'm concerned that the spider monkeys are in a triangular prism-shaped enclosure. I've seen the zoo employees interacting with the animals and training them, and I'm very pleased that they are providing enrichment for their animals. read more

Just came here today for the first time. Admission was cheap, eight dollars for a non-Bergen County resident adult, and two dollars for a train ride. They had some really cool animals, even though some of the enclosures were too small, as others mentioned. The mountain lion was indeed pacing around. The walkways were nice, landscaping was pretty, the workers were friendly, and there were a lot of families there. The only beef I had was the fact that there was no beef (i.e. nowhere to eat). I feel like if you had a food truck and set up there you could make a lot of money. Overall we had a great time and were so happy to discover it. read more

A not so hidden gem, the best part of Bergen County for the preschool crowd and families. Unfortunately designed so that literally every slide and bench sits directly in the sun. It's as if they don't want you to get too comfortable or the kids to actually use the slides since they are burning hot when there's even a hint of sun. Even when the trees grow in, they'll be in the wrong spots. Gotta love the government. Signage and website are often wrong, eg pony rides don't start till Memorial Day but the site said they were available as of May 1. Very few places to eat, just a couple of ice cream carts and sometimes a hot dog truck. On the plus side, it's well kept, the playground is great, bathrooms are open and clean. The zoo is a little treasure and its gift shop is one of the best around. Park behind the carousel and stop looking for shady parking spots in the lots near the train and zoo, where you'll wait half the day for a spot. read more

Free admission today! Small but Cute and clean! Not overwhelming for small children, just enough animals. They have many animals including capybaras, condor and tamarinds, and mountain lions. I loved how the chickens and rooster were running around. They also have a cute train that you pay admission to go on. Great day trip if you have little kids. read more