Excellent free park on then town of Kingston, New York. We were looking for a halfway point on our trip back to Long Island from Lake George. Once we decided to come here, we began to search for things to do for a few hours and settled on this great zoo next to a great park by the same Forsyth name. Although it is not an all-day excursion, it's a nice way to spend an hour or two looking at the various animals and flowers. Food kibble is available to purchase for a quarter and the kids will love feeding goats and peacocks and pheasant and all other manner of animals. Fish and turtles and birds and an iguana share space with an alpaca and a pair of pigs and rabbits. Most everything appears to be funded by private charity and well-kept by a crew that cuts the grass and maintains to flowers and the animal quarters. Some shade trees do an excellent job at beating the hot sun and various benches or tables allow you to take a load off your feet and relax. There is a lending library in a weather-proof box that is sure to be a hit with the local kids. When in the area, please make sure to stop in and enjoy this zoo and adjacent park. read more

Forsyth Park Zoo - Zoos Near Me - Kingston, New York

Small but great, free to enter park / mini zoo to bring kids to! They had ducks, birds, alpacas, turtles, pigs, etc and it was a nice activity to walk around and do with our 15 month old daughter for about 30 min. Plenty of parking. read more

See all

Owners, employees, volunteers? Please trim the birds' nails. They are falling off. That's so darn depressing. Barely any room for the amount of peacocks, and for the two bunnies they have, one is constantly being taunted to mate. read more

Great place for you to come in enjoy your day & Have a picnic & visit the animals here " Please come visit us read more

Very cold and can't go inside You go they're fighting and one of them rammed one of my hands

Beyond upsetting that the city is able to run this zoo in 2025. The animals are not adequately taken care of and do not have enough space. Wish people would stop thinking this is a great place to bring children. read more

Really great, free to enter small nature center zoo with animals such as peacocks, cows, goats, pheasants and other farmyard animals as well as enclosures for reptiles. Stopped by here while exploring Kingston and had a fun time. read more

Forsyth Park Zoo - Zoos Near Me - Kingston, New York

See all

This was a great little park and zoo! Perfect for a quick trip that won't tire out anyone! My grandson had a blast! The area is also small enough that the kids can wander ahead and you can still visualize them at all times- leading to some independence for the children. There is classroom areas available by arrangement to learn about nature. read more

Forsyth Park Zoo - A visit with a horned goat - Zoos Near Me - Kingston, New York

This Nature Center is right in the middle of a big city park with all the fixin's. There is a big track and football field, baseball field, open space to run around and play catch, plenty of covered picnic tables, and a super fun wooden playground area with plenty of things to climb, explore, and swing on. We parked our car and passed all of these things with our eyes on the prize...animals! Just for some extra fun, somewhere there was a loudspeaker blasting party music throughout the park so we strutted our way to the Nature Center, half moving to the beat, and half embarrassed that we were dancing through a parking lot. Full disclosure, my husband later said he would have preferred a quiet animal experience, so I invite you to weigh all the pros and cons before choosing your own adventure. However, we were not in a remote spot in the woods; we were deep in the city of Kingston and the place was packed. I thought the music was quite fitting. The Nature Center is free to enter and very sweet. Right away you see peacocks to your right and farm animals to your left. Per COVID guidelines, we turned left and began our circle. We showed our toddler goats, llamas, chickens, and even a bull. He may have seen them. Or he may have been so very distracted by all the children around him. What. Are. Children? You know you're a pandemic baby if... After our tour of the animals, we made our way to one of the big fields in the park where some of us practiced walking while others dance-walked to the rhythm of that music. I'll let you guess who did what. So, if you're in the Kingston area with kids, stop by Forsyth Park and Dietz Stadium. Bring a ball for the fields, a hurdle for the track, or just enjoy the playground and Nature Center. So many ways to design your own field trip! See full blog post here: https://lifeisafieldtrip.net/?page_id=2488 read more

See all

Forsyth Park Nature Center and Animal Sanctuary is another local gem in Ulster County, upstate NY! Although, I am from the area I return here often several times a year during the appropriate seasons (weather permitting)! I stopped by earlier in the day with my significant other, we were blessed to see the peacocks fanning in full dance display! Informative educational postings are listed near each resident of Forsyth Park, letting visitors know a background synopsis of each creature including what foods they eat just in case you'd like to feed them in a safe manner (depending on species)! I personally recommend this park to any and all interested as well as encourage others who have previously been here to return or revisit! Overall, Forsyth Park Nature Center and Animal Sanctuary is an enjoyable and interactive place to spend an hour or two in the afternoon. read more

My daughter loves going to see the animals and asks to go every time we come to the area. For the person that gave this 2 stars - if you want a Zoo go to a zoo. I do not think this tries to be a full service zoo, but a center for kids to be able to feed and pet a few animals. You didn't even lost the animals they have on site correctly. If you are going to give a negative review at least be accurate - otherwise it is irresponsible! read more

Perfect, quaint little neighborhood zoo! Little kids and families will enjoy their time here! It's a quick easy walk about and you can be in and out in less than 30 minutes! read more

Part of the reason we returned to Woodstock again for a little vacation was this place... It is such a treat. The kids LOVE THIS PLACE. You can feed the animals real food like lettuce, carrots, apples (make sure to bring plenty :)). It's also in a really nice park, with a great playground. read more

Amazing and lovely! I wish I had this as a kid. Make sure to bring carrots, apples, or lettuce to feed the animals with your children. read more

The cutest little zoo! Not only is the Forsythe Nature Center a lovely, well-kept little zoo, but it is mindful of the environment. They practice green techniques wherever possible. Most of the electric and mechanical components are powered by solar. There is a QR code audio tour you can access on your phone. They have a "Little Free Library" book recycling location right there in the park, as well as beautifully lanscaped sitting areas to read or just to relax. There's even a geocache located here. The entire place lacks that typical "zoo smell", as the animals and their enclosures are each kept immaculately clean. Although the zoo isn't very big, they do have a nice assortment of lovely, well-cared-for animals, both domestic and exotic, all with accompanying data posted. There are llamas, goats, rams, cows, exotic birds, beautiful peacocks, ducks, a naturalized fish pond, plus a very shy potbellied pig! All the animals can be hand-fed by patrons. (I was feeding a beautiful tan cow that looked like he had just won a blue ribbon) Each animal 'tells' you what he likes to eat via a sign on his/her enclosure, and there are vending machines available for feed in case you've arrived empty-handed. Peaceful, clean, fun, educational, and environmentally sound. All that, and free admission, too! This wonderful little zoo is a must-see. read more

See all

I took my niece and nephew here and they loved it! The small zoo has a few different animals so make sure to bring fruits and veggies to feed them. Bring quarters too if you can! There are some nice spots to sit and eat lunch and the playground is also a fun time for the kids. Will definitely be back! read more

I still can't think I actually "like" this small zoo. It's still a bland park that I've known about for the last several years that every once-and-awhile I feel I need to check out. I walked around, and despite the few peacocks I saw, I saw some chickens, along with some goats, sheep, horses and various other fruits and vegetable plants along with various types of birds including roosters, chickens and many other birds. There was a school group focused around back focusing their attention around a python snake with an environmentalist "snake-holder". If it wouldn't have been that I wasn't with this school-group, I would've stopped in and watched more of this informative act. Now, I'm only wondering why they told viewers not to feed the rabbits who are in the cage at the very back of the walking path around the zoo - I disagree with this, but I know they probably have things under control - these rabbits looked like they were pregnant. There were a few people around who were sitting around and enjoying the little this park does offer, but that too wasn't a big part of what this place has to offer. No need to bring money. Things are free, except the feed for feeding the animals which was minimal at best. That's something else you don't see around here. The place doesn't have a gift shop where they try to sport their name out on the world with gift boutique items with the zoo's name embossed. It's free to get in (unless you want an individual tour of more than a few minutes that it takes to walk around the perimeter. read more

This is one of the most depressing places for animals....and probably for people visiting. The enclosures are extremely small and claustrophobic. Two ducks shared a small space with a very small water hole. I'm not sure they both could have fit into the water "thing" at the same time. Peacocks, who usually are seen roaming estates are contained in a space that seemed to limit the spread of their feathers. According to a source about llamas: "You can generally count on needing at least one acre of land for two to four llamas. They'll eat grasses, flowering plants, shrubs and even trees." The two llamas here were in a small enclosure with no grass. Bringing kids here would be a good way to expose them to everything negative about a zoo. The best thing that could happen would be animal rescue. read more

It's a very nice little zoo to bring little children to and teach them about animals, it's a nice experience as long as it's not too hot out. It's small so you can take your time walking they and still get done in about 20 minutes. I love the animals there, and I took great pictures. read more

See all

My son loves this place. It is right next door to an awesome playground that was newly renovated. We bring fruits and veggies from home and feed them to the animals, like carrots, apples, and celery. My 2 year old son loves feeding the cow. It's a great weekday activity. read more

I think it is a great little place that is close to home for the kids to visit and learn about the animals they have there.

Pretty great find in the heart of Kingston! Located right next to some sports fields and an amazing park, this FREE petting zoo/nature center is a great place to take your kids or just relax with some domesticated animals. We visited in January and were warmly greeted by the caretakers who were just feeding the animals. We saw peacocks, goats, chickens, alpaca, turtles, ducks, rabbits, and a cow. There is a gumball-machine with animal feed at the entrance (one hand full for a quarter) and we fed many of the animals, including an adorable little goat who followed us around. I highly suggest visiting this Nature Center and if you visit in the winter, midtown is just a few blocks away where you can warm up with a great cup of coffee at any of the little bistros. read more

See all

So very depressing to see the animals. It was so hot when I was there, they barely had any shade... the ducks were panting , like a dog. No where to get out of the heat for them. The few inches of water that they had was probably too hot to swim in. No other water source anywhere . It was sad . I heard that it had gotten better over the years, but no. Don't go there if you are any kind of animal lover. read more

Best free zoo in the Hudson Valley. It's located in a park (Forsyth Park) with playground, tennis, stadium, etc. hours of fun for my young children. Very friendly and welcoming. Check hours b/f you go! They also organize seasonal events: touch-a-truck, Fall fesitval, Easter egg hunt, etc. Their website offers pictures that can accurately show you the facility. read more