The zoo! As Zoos go, this one wasn't bad at all. We headed over with the little man to see what we could do to kill a few hours and were pleasantly surprised by the overall size and variety of animals available. Granted, this is not the San Diego zoo, but it is damn fine for this area. Plenty of animals available and even on a hot day, they were out and about unlike a lot of zoos where the creatures head for the shade and do not move around. Great way to kill an hour or two and there are plenty of interesting beasties to keep the kiddies squealing. There is even an elephant ride but that is not included in the entry cost. The entry cost was reasonable and even the bags of feed were reasonably priced in my opinion. They could use a refreshment stand in the middle of the park as it can be hot and all that walking makes one thirsty - and I didn't feel like walking all the way back to the entrance to buy a bottle of soda. Give it a shot- kind of cool even if you don't have little ones to entertain. Parking in front. read more

This is the second time my husband and I have visited this zoo, and we'd highly recommend this place. I gave this a 4 star rating as there is no "food" for lunch, etc. Perhaps that's due to being Novenber when we came. It's a small place, but it's a well kept. Animals are clearly happy. If you don't know much about the contentment of an animal, please DONT WRITE A REVIEW. Visit this place for yourself and make your own opinion. People say "shop locall" and this is one of those small places to "SHOP LOCAL." Not sure they sell food in the busy season, but you can always call them and bring a picnic lunch if they don't. Highly recommend. Talk to the elephant man if he isn't busy. He's a wealth of knowledge. A SINCERE THANK YOU and KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK. read more

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A beautiful place to visit. The lady at the welcome center there was so pleasant. The person that had a fur exhibit at the tunnel was very nice. The kids loved learning about the different furs. read more

This place doesn't deserve 1 star. we went there and saw mostly empty cages. there were only a few birds and some goats that were visible. Took us a total of leas than 10 minutes to walk through. what a rip off. save your money and don't go! read more

We came, we saw we were HOT! Very small zoo with few exhibits. Given to location they could have gotten creative with the space and the exhibits. The most fun part is riding the camels. After frequenting the Virginia zoo this place fell short of what we are accustomed to. But 3 stars for effort and the hands on experience. There was ample parking on a dirt lot. Happy adventuring Yeeps!!! read more

We went to the zoo today with 10 little ones and had an amazing time!!! The zoo is very well maintained and clean. We had a picnic lunch at one of the tables. The reason for one star is it is hard to maneuver the strollers in the tiny gravel, wish it was compacted gravel. But we will be returning soon!!! read more

Natural Bridge Zoo - Zoo animals - Zoos Near Me - Natural Bridge, Virginia

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It was a pretty good little zoo. They had lots of animals. We got to feed birds. One came and landed right on my husbands neck which was awesome. Only bad part the betting zoo part is only goats so that was not as exiting as we thought. The donkey was so cute and all the deer were so cute! It's worth it with the three attraction pack. read more

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Rediculous. There is only like 10 animals to see including chickens, goats baby calf. Took 15 minutes to see. Complete rip off.

Horrific conditions. Elephants having 2 people at times riding the backs, cages small and not adequate enough and also not cleaned. I will never go here again and heard there will be an investigation into the treatment of these majestic creatures. read more

I had some time to spare and thought this might be nice to hang out with some animals I should have read the Yelp reviews first After walking around for a while I felt badly for the animals. The zoo is not modern and human or animal friendly You feel bad for them in the enclosures You have the feeling that they are doing this for the money and not the lives of the animals I left feeling sad read more

The only good thing about going is when they have free kid weekends ... other than that it's not worth $18 per paying adult. Animals didn't look like they are well taken care of, some of them had open wounds on them and it was a mixture of animals every where, example : there were monkeys, roosters, and deer in the same pen and the roosters got out so easily from behind the pen they were in. The elephant looked like it was on its last leg it look tired and stressed. $15 to go around in a circle that wasn't big as nothing. Definitely was outrageous. We drove 2 hours to come to this zoo. I was highly disappointed. It was nothing like this when I visited as a kid. read more

The kids and I really enjoyed this zoo! Not spread too far apart and plenty of animals to feed. Loved the guy who brought a dinosaur (animated) in the park from Dinosaur world. Really entertained the kiddos. It was an extremely hot day but the availability of the gift shop and vending machines and snow cones made it "doable". Much cheaper than other zoos around. Spent about 3 hours there. My son said five star. The atmosphere was relaxed. read more

The Natural Bridge Zoo has been around for almost 40 years now. I have had the joy of living a mile or so away growing up. There aren't too many things like coming home and having giraffes staring as you drive by everyday. I have heard several different opinions on the zoo. It is not the largest zoo facility, but it is a great place to get up close to animals you wouldn't typically get to interact with at large metropolitan area zoos. The habitats are basic, but functional for the animals. You aren't going to see staged environments to draw a crowd, the animals are the focal point at each area. You aren't going to see rare species or one time only exhibitions. So if you are looking for that, you need to go to Cincinnati, San Diego, etc. If you want to feed a giraffe out of your hand, ride an elephant with your kids, or just sit and let them chase chickens, turkeys, and the like, you come here. No frills, but a great experience that will satisfy most people's taste for seeing animals they wouldn't get to in most cases. Be sure to stop by to see the pygmy goats. Plan for around 3-4 hours to see most everything to your satisfaction. Plenty of places for a picnic, but pack your lunch. There are very few options (if any some days) for buying food once you're there. The price of admission gets you in for the whole day even if you need to leave and come back later. You will have several memories once you leave. Definitely worth the admission and the time especially if you have kids. You will want to come back. read more

Natural Bridge Zoo - White Bengal tiger - Zoos Near Me - Natural Bridge, Virginia

This zoo is a waste of time and money. It is completely run down and needs major care. The animals look sick to begin with and absolutely miserable. I did not enjoy my time here and left feeling sorry and sad for the animals. They need to be rescued and this place shut down. read more

The Natural Bridge Zoo is a small zoo near Natural Bridge Park. It has a collection of different animals, from large cats to llamas, and many things in-between. The monkeys do their monkey thing, the cats relax and lounge in the sun. The llamas, camels, donkeys, and giraffes eat food straight out of your hand. It was nice seeing the animals and they all seem well cared for. I was a bit disappointed that this isn't a sanctioned zoo in any way but I still enjoyed it here, as did our daughter and our friend's daughters. The lack of volunteers or workers to answer questions or watch the treatment of the animals was a little disappointing but mostly we just came here to look at animals we couldn't have seen elsewhere (outside of other zoos) and that was a success. read more

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Really nice local zoo. You can get real close and personal with the animals. It's self guided so you are not rushed through the park. Coming here not only help threatened animals, but you are also supporting local businesses and bring in more businesses to Natural Bridge. read more

This Zoo is nice, but very small. You can buy food for the animals so my grandchildren loved feeding them. The parakeet area was great. We enjoyed having the birds land on our hands and heads. My grandchildren liked the kangaroo and hippo statues that they could climb on. It was hard to see the big cats. read more

1. All of the other reviews are correct. I didn't want to come here, but a friend insisted we go. Only two of the animals had water, nut extremely dirty. 2. Cages were TINY. (Zoos also suck because of cages) B U T their enclosures should be big enough for them to run and play. The bears, big cats, and others and such small areas they could only walk around in. 3. A lot of gates were left open, and we literally watched an elephant push open the gate to get to another part of their area. The only thing between the guests and the elephants was a simple fence then wire. He probably wants to escape anyways. 4. I understand covid issues and being understanding of businesses functioning differently. The only thing they weren't offering is elephant rides. They had signs up saying "NO MASK REQUIRED WALKING THROUGH ZOO" when SO many people were there. We felt like the weird family all in masks, but no one was taking any precaution. Just because you're outside, but there's SO many people around you, does not make you exempt from COVID. We rushed around people and waited our turn while others would push in front of us. 5. With how parents let their children run around unattended, it's so easy for one of them to get inside the enclosures, I wonder if that's happened. Also fingers being stuck in cages (some had signs, some didn't) but parents did not care. Can't believe people support this place, and continue to do so. Don't go here. read more

If I could give 0 stars, I would. As much as this zoo charges for entry, I would expect the animals to be much better taken care of. It drove me absolutely crazy to walk through. The alligator and bears had such small enclosures I can't imagine they were happy, much less comfortable. The Bengal tigers were only separated from the public by 2 fences: a chain link and their enclosure's. An unsupervised child or reckless person could EASILY cross over and try to pet the animal. I guess the plus side is that most adults body parts wouldn't fit through when the animal attacks. I never saw any zookeepers or employees walking around the park. The woman that took payments at the front desk was the only interaction with staff I had. They are not walking around caring for the animals, or making sure the safety of the animals is being upheld. Please, don't give your money to this place. Do your research. I wish I had. read more

Wonderful staff, top notch in helpfulness and very pleasant to talk to. Zoo is great and your able to hand feed a lot of animals. Best experience I've had at a zoo in a long time. Definitely recommend!!! read more

I'm not sure if I'm reviewing the same Zoo that other Yelpers are, but the Natural Bridge Zoo that we visited (on our way home from NC to Philadelphia) resembled more a motley collection of animals behind wire cages than an actual zoo. Maybe the zoos that I'm used to are bonafide, legitimate zoos that are members of national organizations that sanction zoos. When I asked the salesclerk if the zoo had any reciprocity with other zoos, he said no, they don't belong to anything like that, which was a red flag. After paying our entrance fee, we made our way into the zoo and I felt like I was in someone's backyard, someone who collects farm and zoo animals and puts up a sign and calls it a "zoo." The enclosures looked too small for the bears and tigers, and the enclosures for the giraffes were nothing more than wire fences. My dog's fence looked stronger than theirs. Except for the 2 people who worked in the gift shop where you bought zoo tickets (and apparently tickets to take a picture with a tiger cub??), there was not one zoo employee who was walking around making sure people didn't mistreat the animals or who could answer questions or talk about the animals. I saw one person far off in the distance cleaning a cage, but that was it. I don't even want to write more about this zoo because it's pointless. To the zoo's credit, the animals looked healthy, but that's about it. I would never take my children (or any children) to a zoo like this one because it's only one step up from an animal collector. Maybe there's some conservation and education going on, maybe they really are a sanctioned zoo and participate in zoo organizations that the salesclerk doesn't know about, but you'd never know. Don't waste your time or money and instead support real zoos that belong to organizations like the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. read more

I went to the zoo to ride the elephant and after I did so I regretted spending my money there. All of the animals looked stressed and unhappy, many just sat or slept and looked miserable. The conditions are awful for these animals. The Bears are in a concrete cage with no grass or anything. I saw two different types of animals sleeping in cardboard boxes. The fox was sleeping in a postage box and had a litter box. There were two different species of animals that looked in such terrible conditions that I legitimately thought that they were dead. Don't spend your money here and help keep this terrible place open. I went because I heard they opened back up after being shut down and I hoped they had changed their conditions and this was not at all the case. read more

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For the size and location this zoo is great. We had a lot of fun and really enjoyed ourselves. Feeding the parakeets was the funnest part. The birds landed and walked all over us to get to the feeding sticks. It was hot when we went but most animals were still out and active. They all looked to be well taken care of. The staff was friendly and helpful. read more

I have been bringing my children here for the last 14 years! While the prices have gone up ,as expected, we still enjoy visiting and feeding the animals. We definitely enjoyed the bird enclosure and the deer were really friendly this time. We always have to get a ride on Sasha because we'll she is awesome and was my 16 year olds first animal encounter over a decade ago so it's pretty much a tradition now!! read more

I can't believe all of the negative comments. I got to the zoo around 9:30 and stayed until 3. There are plenty of animals to see. You can get very close to the cages and pet many of the animals. Animal feed can be purchased for $1-$5. You can feed the goats, a cow, camels, giraffes, deer, lamas, and donkeys. I really enjoyed feeding the giraffes because they were so neat, and the camels because they didn't turn down any food. There were a lot of chickens running around the zoo. It was really neat. I was told the zoo donates the chickens to 4H All of the animals were very friendly. For $5 a person you could go for an elephant ride. The staff were so knowledgeable. I was told every night the elephant goes across the street to sleep/play in the zoo's 150K acres of forest. The elephants also spends time with the employees dogs during the day. I spent $45 for a photo holding a tiger. I fed the tigers a bottle during the photo and pet them. The staff said it was like working with a small child so the photo session went quickly. It was worth it. I would recommend going early in the morning because all of the animals are active and hungry. In the afternoon it was hot and they all seemed to rest in the shade. All animals had shade, food and water. I saw at least 6 staff members at the park tending to the animals. There was a staff member who spent a lot of time with one of the cougars. She explained how she had a good bond with the cat and she shared her lunch with it (chicken & rice). She said she spent hundreds of dollars on toys for the cats but they all seemed to prefer trash like water bottles or laundry detergent containers. The zoo does a lot of breeding but the one small tiger cat had been neutered and will live with its mother when it gets older. The staff member explained how the tigers have a social hierarchy, their eating habits, their behaviors and much more. She was so knowledgeable and friendly. She said the tigers have a large house they can go in for protection or relaxation. They have their own washer dryer, radiant floor eating, and bamboo painted walls. She also said sometimes hunters bring in meat for the big cats too. The zoo may look old but they seem to invest in the important stuff. There were a lot of picnic shelters and tables. This would be a great place to pack a cooler and have your lunch. You can also leave the park for lunch and return later that day. read more

Just got here and already disappointed. Need to get more realistic on the process for taking photos with baby tiger cubs. A mother of 3 little girls either has to leave one out of photo or not get photo at all....major disappointment for all. REALLY? What is the difference between 3 well behaved little girls with their mother in a photo and 2? read more

Natural Bridge Zoo - Really need to take better care of the animals feet! - Zoos Near Me - Natural Bridge, Virginia

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Great interactive zoo to bring the family. You can buy small bags of food for only $1.00 to feed the animals. Just make sure you are only feeding the animals in the designated feed areas. We were disappointed that the bear did not come out but we got to see the tiger. If you are interested in riding the elephant, don't go on Monday. Elephant rides are everyday except Monday. read more

Natural Bridge Zoo - Great place to take kids and see the animals. This place is nice. You can purchase animal feed and feed some of the animals. - Zoos Near Me - Natural Bridge, Virginia

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Great little zoo tucked away in the mountains. There is enough walking and animals for young kids to have fun without getting super wore out and bored from looking at the same animals. You can also purchase feed to be able to feed some of the animals. My son has a peanut allergy so we opted not to buy it and I pulled grass up for him to feed the deer. That worked great. We packed a picnic and had lunch under a pavilion. There is a snack truck located on the property. We spent several hours there and were able to see all of the animals. A good way for our youngster to see some animals. read more

Natural Bridge Zoo - They liked it - Zoos Near Me - Natural Bridge, Virginia

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Yes, this is not a big zoo but it is a great little zoo. It is very clean and the animals appear to be very well taken care of. I don't think I have ever been in a zoo where the enclosures were this clean. None of the animals acted stressed. In fact their elderly tigers were alert but very relaxed. One tiger was acting like a cat wanting a belly rub. A stressed cat doesn't roll on its back when people are close by! Showed me it was quite content. Animal enclosures are very clean with plenty of shelters shaded areas, appropriate climbing and swinging apparatus, and toys for play. They have a large number of elderly animals and one can tell by looking at their eyes and coats, feathers, and/or scales that all are in good health. We were there at opening so everyone was being fed. The food was extremely fresh and there was a wide variety of food for the animals. The staff was very friendly and patiently answered the many questions that the kids were asking. So I highly recommend this zoo. read more

Beware they set their own hours on a whim despite what their website says, so whether they're open or not might be a crapshoot We're nightshift workers and are rarely up past 9am but we adjusted a little to stay up and do some things for half a day today for a day off. Drove a long way and planned to include Natural Bridge zoo in our plans for a pretty fall morning. EVERYTHING, the website, the signs out front, the answering machine message.. said it opens at 9am. They even had one of those "will return" clocks on the "closed" sign, set to, you guessed it, 9. We got there a few minutes after, no one around. Waited until 9:50 when people finally showed up. The girl who opened said she was told to open at 10. She asked if we'd checked the website, claiming their website said they're opening at 10 at this time of year. I showed her she was wrong, website clearly says 9. How can someone who works there not know when it opens? Doesn't she see the signs every day? She called the manager for us. Manager tried to claim their answering machine message said 10. Nope.. excuses and 1/2 off admission offer is all we got. I'll admit 1/2 off admission isn't a bad offer to make it right, but what irks us is they refused to OWN the fact that they were setting their own hours on a whim, which is unprofessional. If you're not getting enough business this time of year (an excuse they gave us) I'd totally understand cutting business hours or closing altogether for the season. But as a business you need to keep that info updated on your website and on your building. And if you say you're going to be open you need to be open for the entire time that you say you are. They were not changing their business hours based on the season officially they were trying to do it unofficially which is very unprofessional. Hours later their website is still not updated showing them supposed to open at 10 AM. In the end we decided not to give them any of our money and Winsted to the Virginia safari park 2 miles down the road which was amazing. read more

I don't understand the reviews. I visited the zoo and was pleasantly surprised - the animal are well kept, have plenty of space and the owner takes pride in caring for each animal. As a veterinarian I am concerned about animal welfare and did not see any neglect of animals anywhere - it fact many of the enclosures were far better than some of the big national zoos. The breeding program at the zoo is incredible breeding some very rare birds and mammals that are not easy to propagate. The elephant had a large enclosure and given lots of attention - far better than many so called "animal sanctuaries". The place is inspected every year by the authorities and no adverse actions that I know of have occurred. Definitely a place to visit and I feel that the animals are very well kept and cared for. Elias N. DVM read more

This is a nice zoo to visit and see the animals up close and personal. Tickets are about $12 per person and a little less for children. If you look around town for brochures you may find a coupon like we did. I would have given this 5 stars except for the fact this place (to me) has a false advertisement. Their brochures and sign say "Pet baby tigers and have your picture taken", but they neglect to tell you that this will cost you an additional $40! We were expecting to pay for a picture, but not to pay for petting the tigers. read more

This place is GREAT! Me & my Wife visited this Zoo while on vacation in Natural Bridge. Every animal is up close & you can feed most of them. They also had a baby Bengal Tiger that you can hold & take a picture with. $60 for the picture though. Very fun place to visit. read more

We had a really great time even though the zoo is small and some of the exhibits aren't that great. If it's a hot day, make sure you have water. It was a great experience to ride an elephant & to hold and feed a baby tiger for a few seconds [although if you want the real deal--go to Zootastic Park in Troutman, NC]. I'd recommend this park! read more

Much better than I anticipated. Loved that you could get so close to the animals. Well maintained and all of the animals looked healthy. read more

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We spent several hours at this zoo. The animals were happily eating fresh veggies and their places were clean and well kept. I have to wonder about the poor reviews? We had a wonderful time. Such a family friendly place and small enough to see the entire zoo and not be overwhelmed. read more

Our family took a day trip to this zoo and although my 3 small children enjoyed it, I left feeling disappointed. The entire property is run-down & in need of some serious updating and cleaning. There was mold on the signs and photo props. I didn't see a single employee taking care of the animals during the few hours we were there. The cages were filthy & I did not see fresh water in them. There was one area you could walk inside to feed small birds & we noticed a dead bird on the floor. The enclosures for the larger animals - asiatic bears & tigers - seemed much too small. The area the alligator is kept in was appalling; the small "pond" was barely big enough for the gator to get inside. There was a nice variety of animals and my children enjoyed feeding the fallow deer, llamas & camels. One camel bit my husband's arm, so do use caution if you feed the camels. We informed the cashier in the gift shop as we left but was met with indifference. read more

Natural Bridge Zoo - Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs. The baby was so adorable! - Zoos Near Me - Natural Bridge, Virginia

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Was passing through VA and thought I would stop by this "zoo" to check out some of the animals. Upon entering, I was in a state of shock. This zoo should be shut down. The animals are in tiny changes and they have this poor, sad elephant that people can ride. Riding elephants is wrong! I can't believe this place is even legal. read more

When the Zoo was closed for coronavirus earlier this year, we decided that we would support it during its closure by purchasing tickets. I watched the website for re-opening dates, and waited a reasonable time even after they were opened to plan a visit. We took time away from work to take our family (a drive of over an hour) only to discover that not only were elephant rides not available on that day, but had not ever been re-opened/available despite advertising on their website that stated otherwise. read more

From my visit 2014: It was ok. My ex husband and I went there on my sons field trip. I wouldn't rate the staff very high. None of them were really friendly. The elephant ride was very short. I have been to a smaller petting zoo with longer rides than that for the same price. The animals were really confined in there. A few of the monkeys looked like they were fighting to get out of their really small cage (fitting for a few parrots). The zoo is too small and they have quite a bit of land around to expand. Everything was overpriced for the experience. If you want a good zoo where the staff actually cares about the animals you are better off visiting the Smithsonian National Zoological Park. Update 2015: I cannot say I am shocked about it being shut down. From my last visit I could tell the animals looked unhappy. I am glad what was really happening has been exposed. Hopefully this place shuts down for good. read more