Nice small zoo with a more natural, low-key feel. It is fairly easy to navigate, and I appreciated that many of the animals are endemic to Alaska and housed in enclosures that blend into the surrounding landscape rather than feeling overly artificial. That said, this is a very modest zoo. There is only one small gift shop, which some may appreciate since the focus stays on the animals, but it also means there are limited amenities overall. If you are expecting a large zoo with multiple exhibits, food options, or lots of interactive elements, this may feel a bit underwhelming. One important thing to note is the terrain. There are several steep hills and loose gravel paths, so visitors should be cautious, especially with children, strollers, or anyone with mobility concerns. Good footwear is definitely recommended, and I would avoid running or rushing through the grounds. In the winter, the zoo offers lights so you can visit after dark, which is a unique feature and adds a different atmosphere. I also recommend downloading the virtual map ahead of time, as signage is somewhat limited and it helps with navigation. Overall, it is a pleasant, simple zoo experience that highlights local wildlife read more

This is a no-frills zoo. We went here in December, so yes it was cold. Animals in cages is always a bit sad to some extent, but you really get the change to marvel at their magnificence in close proximity. Which, speaking of - the animals here are incredibly beautiful. I was surprised at how interactive and active the animals were. The coyotes howl back, the reindeers are clacking antlers, and the wolves will stalk you along the fence. Entry for Alaska residents is $16. There is a small gift shop and coffee shop with good hot chocolate. read more

The Alaska Zoo - Map - Zoos Near Me - Anchorage, Alaska

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I love Zoos and will always have a bias towards the positive. I enjoyed this zoo but perhaps not as much as others. We paid for the polar bear experience which was a bit cooler than the average experience but just not as awesome as I hoped. Some cool other animals to see but overall just not that impressive. Also spending $40+ on a shirt at the gift shop was a bit much. But I'm still glad that I could say I visited here. read more

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We loved visiting this zoo. The polar bear was our favorite animal. The bear was having a blast playing with the ball. We also loved the Tiger exhibit. The walkways are gravel so not the easiest to navigate if you have mobility issues. My mom was walking with a cane but luckily there were railings and the steep paths were clearly marked. read more

The Alaska Zoo - Zoos Near Me - Anchorage, Alaska

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What an odd place! Now, I'm used to my local zoo, Zoo Miami. This is an obviously much smaller zoo. But this place was kind of wild. When you first come in, the river otters and seals had me questioning my choices. Their enclosures honestly looked unkempt. My party I was with were looking at each other like "what did we just walk into?" But once you actually walked past these two areas, the zoo gets slightly weirder but in a good way? I've never been to a zoo where the animals are so close to you. So close that I could've had my shoe sitting inside some of the fences (which I obviously didn't but there was truly nothing stopping me). I mean, the areas that these animals were in were mere inches from my face. I'll probably never get as close to most of these animals ever in my life again. The entire zoo is made up of loose gravel paths and there were definitely some steep hills. One thing I couldn't understand were the child play pieces in so many of the enclosures. I've never seen this in any zoo before and it made it look really questionable. This place definitely looks nothing like I'm used to from Zoo Miami, but if anything, I truly was able to get up close and personal with the animals which was a very interesting experience. read more

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Nice little zoo with a lot of wild life. Beautiful animals roaming somewhat throughout their habitats. read more

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This was my first time seeing this zoo since the 2000's era. They have closed the "main" entrance to the zoo but had a different entry. The path is all gravel and is a lot harder to push a stroller through. It is also not very wheelchair accessible or stroller. The first thing we looked at was the Polar bear. He was locked in a cage in the back. No giant moose figure anymore wheee you could climb on top and take a picture. Got rid of all the bees and the beehives which i thought was sad. However, I was glad they got rid of the wolf pack. Most of the "animals" in the cages, you couldn't see or wasn't actually in cage. Petting zoo was closed and they do private events now at the cafe. No elephants or tigers. Very little animals and such small enclosures. Poor bald eagle had less room to fly than the grizzly bears had. The gift shop was probably the only place you can see all the animals. (stuffed animals) I went there with my son and mom during the afternoon which wasn't too busy. For what's its worth and the experience, I would say it sucked. I would not recommend this zoo to tourists or anyone. This wasn't even a Zoo. Just a gravel path with empty enclosures. My mom and I were extremely disappointed with the Alaska Zoo as we would go when I was young. I wouldn't waste spending money at this zoo unless you're invited to a private event. read more

The Alaska Zoo - grizzly bear laying down - Zoos Near Me - Anchorage, Alaska

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We really enjoyed the zoo. We've been to many zoos in the lower 48. Some better than others. What we enjoyed about The Alaska Zoo was the variety of wildlife that we don't often see in the lower 48. We came on a Friday morning in August. It wasn't busy at all, which was great. We got to see nearly all the animals today. They have a coffee shop here as well as a gift shop. I can recommend The Alaska Zoo. read more

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How can you not enjoy our zoo ! It doesn't matter what time of year you go our zoo is a nice place to visit . I almost like visiting in the winter best . It's easier to see a lot of the animals against a snowy background and their coats and feathers are at their fullest . Zoo lights are especially nice . I felt like I was in a winter wonderland walking under their lighted arches . It's also a fun way to get outside suring our long winters . read more

Nice way to spend a couple hours on a Saturday. It's not a massive Zoo so 2 hours was plenty of time. Didn't get to see the Moose or Polar Bears, but the Brown Bears were out and they are beautiful and so massive! Consider making a donation in addition to your ticket price. read more

They had some beautiful animals. But, no signage telling you where to go. You have to use your phone to pull up a map. Also, barely any employees to assist you. Many of the animals were "under vet care" and not visible. read more

I took some visiting family to this place not too long ago on a brisk Saturday afternoon. The Alaska Zoo is located on O'Malley Rd down the road from the Anchorage Golf Course between Birch and Elmore Rd. It sits on 25 acres of land in the Anchorage Hillside area. Admission prices have risen slightly but still reasonable. The price is $17 for AK residents, $20 for non-residents, $15 for seniors over the age of 65 and military members, $10 for those age 3-17, and free for 2 and under. The zoo itself is spaciously laid out and there have definitely been some changes since the last time I was here. The main entrance is located at the side parking lot now rather than at the front by O'Malley. The retail store has also gone through some changes from a log cabin years ago to a taller structure by the admission gate. We found a sale that was going on with their clothing. Jackets with the AK Zoo logo were on sale for $36 down from $60. I also found some nostalgic novelty items on display like plastic capsules that melt in water and turn into foam animals of the zoo. Seeing those brought back memories of childhood an eternity ago. The zoo itself was an enjoyable walk with a variety of animals that can easily be seen as you're walking by but there were also a number of exhibits that were closed or animals that were hidden in the foliage or caves that refused to come out for visitors. Restaurant options are non-existent. Gone was the snack bar that used to sell burgers, hot dogs, and fries only to be replaced today with a cafe serving espresso drinks and pastries. Make sure you eat elsewhere before visiting the zoo. This was the only place to grab a bite to eat not counting the gift shop that sells chocolate at the front counter. Maps are provided at the gate so that you don't travel the same trail twice. The trails branch out in different directions and frequently intersect in the middle area of the park. It was an enjoyable visit for everyone although there is always room for improvement when it comes to the exhibits. All areas should be open rather than closed and blocked off especially during the summer and early fall months. Bringing back an eating establishment would make for a more satisfying experience. read more

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So...this was probably the most disappointing thing we did while in Ankorage. Sadly, it was my brilliant idea to go see all the nordic animals in one place...under 30 bucks! Well! For starters, this zoo didn't even offer you a map...but rather offered an online version, which was incredibly hard to read. The whole place was VERY run down...as if no maintenance has taken place in years! Guess it was a very rustic zoo...but not in an appealing way. Just not attractive at all. Secondly, some of the animals were barely visible...as they were placed way too far from the visitor's stance. I remarked to Joel that we should have just watched National Geographics at home. Most frustrating of all was that some/most animals that I wanted to see were either hiding out, sleeping...or just missing. I know we should have gone earlier in the day...but still, it was a very beautiful, cool weathered afternoon. I went with high hopes of seeing the Polar Bear, a Moose, Snow Leopard and Wolves (2 kinds?). Well, I only got to see the Snow Leopard...but with stunted visibility, as it was crouching beneath the viewing area (I still managed to get pictures...very blurry one). Guess the highlight of this disappointing zoo experience was that we got to see Coyotes fighting...talk about drama! Also, we saw this big Brown Bear that was trying to sleep...but this black crow (?) was pestering him relentlessly! Overall, I wish we saved our time and money ubering over here for this lackluster animal-viewing experience. If there's one thing good I can say about this zoo is that it seemed more animal-friendly than most...giving animals more space (thus, less viewing pleasure for visitors). So there's that! Plus, I DID get to see the very rare, very reclusive Snow Leopard...though he/she was hiding under the rock for the longest time! For those 2 reasons, I'll leave this review with 2 stars. read more

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How fun! As someone who is from California, my family and I enjoyed seeing new animals we weren't familiar with. The wolverines were super cute splashing around in the water, and the bald eagle was super cool read more

The Alaska Zoo - Zoos Near Me - Anchorage, Alaska

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While in Alaska, I visited the Alaska Zoo since my family and I are always visiting zoos in every city we visit. Compared to the other zoos we've seen, it was very run down. The enclosures were small and run down with weeds and trees that you can't see the animals. They had a lot of enclosures that were empty because the animal has passed away. There are no paper maps so you just walk and walk. The signage needs improvement. I did like how for the bears and tiger, there's a bridge to view them from. The tiger did look very thin. The animals seemed sad. I hope they are able to fix the enclosures because this zoo has so much potential! Huge plus, the 4 black bear cubs, which I have never seen! read more

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This is more like a rehabilitation center ...not like the DC Zoo. It is perfect for toddlers and has petting zoo & story time. This zoo is important to the Alaskan community, because it rehabilitates orphaned Alaskan animals. It also holds events for Alaskans throughout the year. The animals seem more active on the cloudy days here. My son loves it, and we can't wait to go back soon. read more

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So this wasn't our first plan for the day - originally we were planning on hiking up Flattop Mountain the last day of our vacation over the summer, but it was the last day of our vacation, and we were tired. Backup plan, take advantage of the free shuttle from downtown, spend the morning at a zoo. I wasn't expecting that much, so I was pleasantly surprised - it is certainly not a *huge* zoo, and yes, they absolutely do set up many of the bigger exhibits so the animals can rest in peace (never did see a polar bear, and only saw one tiny shadow of a tiger once), and several exhibit spaces were just empty/with "coming soon" signs, but we still spent about 3 hours here with the animals they did have, so that plus having free transportation (once an hour) to/from downtown, $17 a person seemed totally reasonable. Admittedly, a non-trivial amount of that time was just spent watching their two huge brown bears, in 100% full viewing view, trying and absolutely failing to avoid their food getting snatched by a flock of a couple dozen taunting crows and/or ravens (not sure which - they weren't from the zoo, obviously), who seemed to enjoy actively taunting the bears before stealing their lunch. Actually, watching the outside birds taunting the deer was pretty fun too, also watching them taunting the birds that *had* been locked up as a zoo exhibit. Basically, this is a fun zoo if you enjoy watching corvids being total jerks to other animals, haha. The river otters were pretty fun to watch, too - they have several, their full play area is viewable, and at least when we were there, they were *hyper*! P.s. They also sell really cheap popcorn at the gift shop out in front, but it was *way* too salty the day were there. We tossed some of it out, we just couldn't finish it for how salty it was. Not that you go to the zoo to eat popcorn, but it was seriously salty. read more

I went for Star Wars Day and it was such a fun time! The environment was very calm and overall enjoyable. My favorite post was the inclusion of each animal's story of hour they got to the zoo! read more

The Alaska Zoo - Cotton candy at Star Wars Day - Zoos Near Me - Anchorage, Alaska

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We looked at the website and were interested in seeing animals unique to this region. Not sure why but wasn't expecting a large zoo but was pleasantly surprised while walking around the zoo to realize it was quite large with several animals. Great place to see animals unique to this region with informative signs able each species such as where the live in the wild, lifespan and weight in wild and in captivity. They also tell the individual stories of each animal and where they were rescued from. Great trip to spend a few hours. read more

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The Alaska zoo! Well at this zoo you can find brown bears, black bears, polar bears, seals, River, alpaca, camels, you name it. Well almost, would be cool to have a giraffe. Those are one of my favorite animals. Alaska grown here and well, I would say it's pretty decent for a zoo in Alaska. The only zoo besides the drive thru "zoo". I'm giving this place three stars for a number of reasons. Some of the exhibits are pretty nice like the polar bear and the River otters. There are tons of programs the zoo does for education and animal fundraising. Plus they are constantly trying to make things better. This zoo is nothing compared to the ones I've been to out of state. San Francisco, Portland, San Diego, woodland park, Cheyenne mountain, etc. they are as I would call "fancy." Full on restaurants, 100s of animals, huge exhibits, gift shops that are like mini malls. So much to do and see! I have to remember I live in Alaska, we will always be on a smaller scale and can have only so many animals due to the climate. I'll give our zoo credit for always changing and improving to make it better for visitors and the animals. read more

The Alaska Zoo - Sense of humor someone has... - Zoos Near Me - Anchorage, Alaska

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Nice spot near the airport. Good place to fill in 1-2 hour time. Zoo is on the small side, which means each animal gets plenty space so it's a very humane place!! If you stop for each one, it'll take you 60min. Sometimes you do need to come back and check. Tigers and bears are not always in place. These stars need to take breaks, too. We had a 45-min quick tour here knowing all we want to see are: polar bear, black bear, brown bear and tiger. But I can see how it can easily take you 2 hours if you want to stay 5-10min to spend some quality time with each one of them! read more

The zoo needs some trimming of trees and grass. Hard to even see the animals in their exhibits. And very hard to push strollers or wheelchairs in the loose gravel. read more

Most recently we visited the Alaska Zoo to attend their ZooBoo Halloween event. Admission included a Halloween themed walk-through, at your own pace. In the end, kids were given Halloween goodie bags equipped with comics, gift certs and candy. It was a beautiful "walk through the forest," on a brisk fall day. A year with no snow on Halloween...that was a treat. The trails were clear and we were able to easily push our stroller. Great costumes were worn by attendees. The spooky Halloween decor was perfectly spread throughout the zoo. The animals looked healthy. I appreciated the staggered arrival times, as the zoo was never too crowded. We got lots of space and privacy for photo opps. There was a large bonfire manned by staff. Per usual, we were in and out in 45min or less. read more

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This was a really great zoo. It does focus on indigenous animals, but that is only to be expected. It does a great job demonstrating animals in their habitats. The zoo itself is a nice walk through the woods with really well thought out displays and habitats. While several reviews have commented on their lack of animals from other continents, We found this to be a very enjoyable afternoon. I would say to plan for a couple of hours to spend there. Not a huge zoo, but one well worth the visit. read more

The Alaska Zoo - Cute bathroom mural - Zoos Near Me - Anchorage, Alaska

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I used to tour America and had alot of pass "the" time on my hands. I started visiting zoos. After my 7th zoo Or so I started collecting magnets with the Zoo's name on it. I now make it a point to visit all the Zoo's I can while on vacation. Collecting my magnets along the way. I give it a 5 star rating based on my experience that day. Picture this: Sunny 70 degree day. All the animals were healthy and actively moving around their exhibits. Not crowded. Peaceful..... It's not a massive zoo. You could power it bout in an hour if wanted. We made it last 3 hours or more. This Zoo doesn't have a million animals that don't belong in the atmosphere. What they do have is several animals very comfortable in their climate and due to that, they are very active. My favorite 3 animals today we're.... #3 Brown Bears. 3 massive grizzlies strutting their stuff, Impressive in size. scary. #2 Snow Leopards. 2 Huge fluffy snuggly gorgeous cats... #1 Wolverine. Dude was no stop action for the 20 minutes I watched him rip around his cage looking for something to kill! This little dude is know to take on brown bears and win. All in all it was fun. Again active as animals always makes the experience better! read more

The Alaska Zoo - Final day, time to play! - Zoos Near Me - Anchorage, Alaska

I loved my experience at the zoo. It was in the middle of winter and some of the animals were hibernating but overall a great experience. read more

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I've been to a lot of zoo, but this place is one of the worst I've ever been... so dull and needs a lot to improve. read more

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While we visited in the winter we were surprised that many of the the animals were still active. All appeared to be in great health and were well taken care of. The facility was clean. They had some gorgeous snow leopards which we really enjoyed. read more

The Alaska Zoo is a very humble one, surrounded by staff that are so happy to be apart of the animals journey. Everyone is so kind and the zoo supports great causes. While I was there with my mom, they covered us, as she is a medical worker. There are some awesome animals here, that are very active! I always love visiting the seals and wolverine! Boy was I shocked to see camels here! Visiting this zoo is a great way to exercise and enjoy fresh air. I recommend coming if you want to spend a couple hours out! read more

I've lived in Anchorage for 3 years and I've never been to the zoo. What is my excuse? Well, my excuse that is that I've always gone to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center when I wanted to see animals. But, the zoo has its place too. The enclosures aren't as big (there is still some sad stuff here, the Polar Bears definitely need more space to stretch), but there is more animal diversity, and it's also located right inside the city limits of Anchorage. The focus here is on two things: 1) Animals found in Alaska: bears (black, brown, polar), moose, wolverines (!), muskox, fox, and even much more common residents of the 49th state such as a (talking!) magpie and some ravens. 2) Animals found in high-altitude/cold environments: snow leopards, yak, Bactrian camels, and Amur (Siberian) Tigers. The zoo is not huge but there is still plenty to occupy your time for a few hours. I'm told the animals are here because they can't make it on the wild, but you'll have to validate that for yourself. Some of my favorite things I witnessed: - Snow Leopards fighting - Wolves howling - A Wolverine hoarding a stick - Bald Eagles making "Bald Eagle noises". (Didja know that, in film, Bald Eagle screeches are often dubbed over with Red-tailed Hawk screams? Why? Because Bald Eagles sound weird, that's why.) - Baby Black Bear trying to impress us with his sick Kung-Fu moves and interval training regimine I love the winding trail setup, it feels more like a hike than a walk on boring concrete littered with strollers and ice cream cones like you'd find in the lower 48. I also love that, during the summer, they are open till 9pm! WHY don't more Anchorage businesses do this? We are the land of the midnight sun and so many businesses act like this is a retirement community in Florida! And this review wouldn't be complete without mentioning: the vibe. It's really chill and laid back here. It's calming, it's nice. PROTIP: if you're a tourist, there's a FREE shuttle that takes you to the zoo from downtown in the summer! read more

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We came during the winter so it was very cold. They don't have many exotic animals but my kids were excited to see what they had. Not so much signage so you have to search for the animal signs to know what animal you're looking at. But it was a cool experience probably better in the summer tho. read more

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We had such amazing luck at this zoo!! Normally when you go to a zoo you don't get the chance to see all of the animals but all of the animals were out and about. My favorite exhibit was the Amur tiger the vantage point allowed you a great view of the enclosure. Everything was very well laid out and easy to navigate with informational postings on all of the animals throughout the park. Would definitely recommend this zoo to any animal lover or family looking for a good time in Anchorage. read more

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The zoo is nice and all. But it's lack of handicap accessibility is disgusting. It's 2023. The entire place is deep pea gravel so you can't get a wheelchair through. If you have an electric wheelchair you're out of luck, but don't worry you can rent a wheelchair for $25. Get it together, Alaska Zoo. You need to either pave your walk ways or get rid of the ankle deep pea gravel. I imagine people with wagons and strollers have the same issue. read more

Being born and raised Alaskan, the Anchorage Zoo has been a highlight of my life. Yes, it is not as sophisticated as many other zoos across the nation, but, it is super educational, and a great place to see many Alaskan animals. There are discounts for residents, youth, and military and you are given a map (that you can recycle at the end of your journey). I recommend doing research for animal feeding times so you can watch, during this trip i brought my 4 year old nephew and we watched the pokey porcupine get fed! Super fun! It's a nice place to host an event - birthday parties, weddings, and others. While we were there the picnic area near a small playground area had a birthday. Very fun! It is wheel chair accessible, and I have found the zoo to really be fun for all ages. There are some non-Alaskan animals, like the tigers and some other cats, but it is mostly Alaskan animals. However, it is one way to take a walk with kids or out of towners and see them. It's a good date. Or sometimes, it is just a fun, and different thing to do. I would again, look on the website and as an adult, make an arrangement to participate in a talk or feeding to up your experience. read more

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I'm giving this zoo 5 stars for having mighty heart and being staffed with the friendliest people. I lived in San Diego for 20 years so I've seen the Harvard of zoos, but really liked this one was focused on local animals that you don't normally see anywhere else. I mean - I saw 2 baby Wolverine pups!! Honestly, they were enough reason to come. Don't see that in NYC or San Diego! The zoo is small. The zoo needs some love. Covid impacted them and not everything was open. But it was charming and had all kinds of fun animals to just sit back and watch. There was a grumpy moose, some yaks, the largest eagles I've ever seen, GIGANTIC bears who were 10 feet below me. The paths are gravel and a little uneven. You forget all that when you see the red foxes and bengal tiger. But seriously - don't pass this place up. It's easily finished in a short time and you can help support their mission :) read more

**Summer visit perspective** This zoo is a pleasant surprise! It doesn't look very big from the front, but it's actually pretty large! Rather than gimmicky, commercially produced junk around the zoo you can tell they use their funds to really create nice habitats for the animals. The walking paths are lovely to stroll around and I love all the plants and trees growing, they're well maintained and feel more natural as opposed to the manicured feel of some zoos. Our pre-teen enjoyed it! We bought popcorn at the entrance and had a great day! read more

This is the most disappointing zoo I've ever been to. It's definitely cheaper than other state zoos I've been to (about $10-15 cheaper), but we barely saw anything. The polar bear(s) was missing from their exhibit and there was nothing but a bucket in the water. Many of the other animals were missing as well or probably hiding or sleeping (which is fine). We did see a few animals out and about such as the mink, alpaca, tiger, some birds, and a few others. Overall, the ambience was just very sad. read more

Good place to go for a couple hours. Has a wide variety of animals. Some of the animals look as if they are on the light side and need more food. Smaller than other zoos. read more

The Alaska Zoo - "Off" exhibit - Zoos Near Me - Anchorage, Alaska

Worst Zoo I have ever been to. We were troubled to find any of the animals. The overgrowth of vegetation makes it nearly impossible for guests to find the animals. Many are also given access to hidden backstage areas that the guests can't see. I totally understand that the animals do what they want to do. Given the opportunity they stayed out of site. The set up is what my complaint is about. My wife and I go to Zoos often when we travel. We know a good Zoo when we see one. Unfortunately this is not one. Other issues include- poor concessions popcorn only, poor signage- we had to search around to find a sign to tell us what we were looking for, no learning opportunities, almost no employees or volunteers to help navigate the park and explain things, windows on the infirmary that are nearly impossible to see through, no polar bear to find in unclean habitat with algae all over, a general dirtiness to everything. The one and only positive was an employee named Logan. We happen to cross paths with Logan as we were about to leave the park. Logan was fantastic. He was eager to help us have a better time. He walked us to a few habitats to help us locate the hiding animals. He had a decent knowledge and many interesting facts. There needs to be many more Logan's in the park. We encountered several guests that had shared our opinion of the Zoo. Unfortunately these other guests never met Logan. Don't waste your time or money here. There are better things to do in Anchorage. read more

I enjoy the zoo. You can tell the employees take pride in what they do. We own a zoo membership and come about once a week. If you are a mom looking for a great place to take the kids and walk around this is your spot. The sea lions and brown bears are a must see. read more

The Alaska Zoo - Brown bears - Zoos Near Me - Anchorage, Alaska