John Ball Zoo exceeded expectations…read more The tigers were wearing grooves in the ground with their pacing, the Patagonian penguins were putting on synchronized swimming clinics, the porcupines appeared to be tunneling to another zip code, and the meerkats... well... they were practicing the ancient art of invisibility. Despite it being 90° by 10:00 a.m., the mature trees provided so much shade that it stayed remarkably comfortable. The grounds are spotless and beautifully landscaped with a botanical garden vibe. What impressed me most was the thoughtful design of the exhibits. They feel spacious and natural for the animals, while also giving visitors and photographers clear views without constantly shooting through cages or fencing. It creates a much more immersive experience for everyone. The new ? funicular is a great touch because hills are much more enjoyable when someone else does the lifting. A fantastic zoo that's clearly been designed with both animal welfare and the visitor experience in mind. Well worth the visit. Checkout the pics for exhibit details!

We stopped at the zoo for the Lantern Fest. Their customer was disappointing. There was a mixup and…read morethey told us the exhibit was over capacity. We were there to hike and this was part of our journey. There was too much confusion for such a simple experience.

What a really nice nature center. Four miles of beautiful hiking trails and it doubles as a kind…read moreof sanctuary for wounded animals. I saw more owls then I have in my entire life. They also have a school for kids that seems to be rich in programming. Three bucks to get in and the staff was very helpful. Only thing that would help would maybe more signage around trees. But that's pretty minor. A total gem!

We came on Saturday at 11:00 in the morning. This is a Michigan must do! Going in, we purchased our…read moretickets ($3 per person) and got to visit with some of the animals they are rehabilitating/giving a better life. Our hearts go out to the animals in their center and the struggle they went through, and we are glad to see them living their best lives now in peace and safety. We walked and hiked around-there was so much to see! You will need some good shoes to walk in, but the hike/walk was not a challenging one. We enjoyed our time in nature and exploring the area. We wished we could have stayed longer than 2 hours. Don't forget to visit their gift shop and make them a generous donation. Their merchandise is wonderful and there is something for everybody. We would have happily paid more for admission-the money goes to such a great cause. We WILL be coming back to this.

What an absolute hidden gem of an animal park! From the moment we walked in, we were impressed by…read morehow unbelievably clean and well kept everything was. It also wasn't crowded at all, which made the entire experience feel relaxed and enjoyable instead of rushed. One of the best parts was the animal feeding experiences throughout the park. Getting to feed a giraffe was something we'll never forget and Leroy the giraffe completely stole the show He was easily one of the coolest experiences we've ever had and definitely where some core family memories were made. The exhibits were thoughtfully done too. The animals seemed to have plenty of space while still allowing guests to get close enough to really enjoy and appreciate them. Every staff member we encountered was kind, helpful, and added to the positive experience. This place deserves way more attention. Such a fun, memorable day for our family!

What a great place to see so many wildlife animals. Giraffes, hippos, bobcats, lemurs, anteaters…read moreand so much more. Upon entering the staff was very friendly. The park is very clean and easy to get around if you have a stroller, wagon, or wheelchair. They offer hands on experience and focus on conservation. There are over 1300 animals from 180 species including rare and endangered ones. Visitors can hand feed certain animals. It's a great place to learn about so many animals. There's a gift shop as well as a concession area. You do a lot of walking but there are benches along the paths. You gotta go! The price is reasonable.

Great hometown feel. Like walking back in time . The zoo you saw as a child . Hot dogs and ice…read morecream just completed the journey

Fun place to take the kids to see a large variety of animals. This zoo is well kept and clean and…read moreyou can tell the animals are very well taken care of. We spent 1.5 hours looking at them all and taking it all in. Would highly recommend for a free option if you are in the area.

This is THE BEST PETTING ZOO/learning farm I have ever seen. Critter Barn animals, staff,…read morevolunteers, and property all exceeded expectations. Very reasonably priced, tons of handwashing stations and a wonderful experience all around. My kids both want to volunteer here now. Worth the drive and the price of admission--without question one of the best attractions in the area.

This is a must see. We have come back year after year. This is great. Please go and enjoy. Feed…read moresome animals and enjoy the farm feeling. The new space is fun and way more room and more animals.

Loved this spot! It's a classic Michigan blueberry farm but what sets it above some U-Pick spots to…read moreme is how easy and close everything is. Right when you park, you'll see a large area to buy goodies (pies, cookies, produce), you'll see animals to pet, and then blueberries to pick. We went in late July and the berries were abundant (and delicious). We definitely tried our way through some favorites and then picked entirely too many. We ended up eating most and adding tons to blueberry pancakes over our vacation weekend in South Haven. Can't remember the exact prices but cheaper than I've paid for berries all summer, I know that much. And we ALWAYS have blueberries in the house. Also loved the super sweet blueberry lemon sugar cookie that they had in their shop, and felt welcome by the friendly staff. Lastly, speaking to how close everything is both on the farm and off; this is quite close to downtown South Haven when driving, but still feels way out in the country. It's a perfect combo, IMO, and we'd come back again and again if we lived near here.

We have been coming to bumbleberry acres for 3 years now. We love picking blueberries, playing at…read morethe park and finishing the day with a ride on the tractor barrel ride. When we arrived today we were pretty bummed that bumbleberry changed how they run the farm. We used to be able to give everyone a bucket and then the blueberries would be weighed and we would take them home. Now, be prepared to pay 12 dollars a bucket(you get to keep it). It's not the same experience when you are walking to the fields and the entire family needs to share a single bucket. We also adored the low key barrel ride. I believe it was about 5 dollars a ticket in the past. Now, you must pay 12 dollars per child plus 5 dollars per adult to watch your child play and go on a barrel ride. The petting zoo, bumbleberry chair, tire castle, everything is gated off. We passed and noticed most families did the same. This would have cost our crew 45 dollars for one ride (two toddlers, 4 adults). What was once a quaint family farm now feels off. We will be picking somewhere else next year.

I literally can't rave enough about this incredible farm! We spent 6 hours here today with our 8 &…read more6 year old and they still weren't ready to leave. The farm is absolutely meticulously maintained. I notice those little details and clearly, they take them serious. It's clean, beautiful, and so thoughtfully laid out with conveniently placed bathrooms and food options. It's clear serious thought has been put into activities and infrastructure at this farm. There is SO MUCH for all ages to do! Again, our kids would've stayed to play for several more hours if we had let them. The food options were delicious! Don't miss their lemonade and carne asada tacos! We also loved their home-cooked kettle chips! The coffee was so good my husband went back for a second one before we le What an absolute gem for this area to have! Highly recommend spending a day at this incredible farm while you're in the area!

Traveling between Ludington and Muskegon we decided to stop and check out the baked goods. We…read morebought 4 different donuts. All 4 were meh. I had a maple bacon frosted donut. Couldn't taste the maple or the bacon. Hubs had a filled croissant that he said was better than the frosted donut he had. Very sweet and I'm not much of a sweet eater so.... We also bought 2 loaves of bread. The Everything bread we toasted this morning and it was excellent. Great flavor to the bread, a dense bread with good crumb, with a heavy "everything" exterior seasoning that was wonderful! The second loaf is a Jalapeno cheddar. It has a white flour bread base so a lighter density and negligible crumb. The jalapeño and cheddar were barely there. Just on the exterior of the loaf. Still made decent toast.

In December our daughter was bit in the face by a pony at a Chamberlin Pony Rides petting zoo…read more I do not normally write negative reviews but the amount of neglect that led to this incident as well as the lack of compassion and accountability afterward is astonishing. We have never had any intent to take legal action, but we need to share our incident so that another child does not have to go through the same terrible experience. Let me start by saying, we certainly understand that any animal can bite, that is a risk you take interacting with them. However, this incident could have been prevented. An irresponsible animal owner and the lack of proper procedures at Chamberlin is to blame. At the petting zoo, there were three pens of animals with employees in two, no employees at the pony pen. My daughter, who has ridden horses for 3 years, very gently pet one of the ponies. In an instant the pony turned her head and bit my daughter on the cheek. There were teeth marks visible on both the top and bottom and it was bleeding. EMS was called and we were sent to the emergency room where they cleaned the wound and put her on Augmentin. As awful as this was, we were aware the bite could have been much worse - a finger, an ear, an even deeper bite...so we were at least thankful for that. After the incident, I followed up with Chamberlin as we needed to ensure the pony was up to date on its vaccinations. We were told we needed to talk to our Event Manager as they book various farms for their events. According to their FB page, "we do not farm out our parties to our friends or other companies". Later the company told us that the farms are contractors 'doing business as' Chamberlin so they stand behind their statement. I believe the intent of the statement is to instill confidence that Chamberlin knows the animals and that they are healthy. That is inaccurate. Chamberlin assured us their animals have to be up to date on vaccinations. However, I wanted to confirm that with the actual pony owner. The first thing the owner, Melissa, did was reference the Michigan law stating they are not responsible for injuries from the animals. There was no compassion, no inquiry as to how she was doing. Come to find out Melissa doesn't know if the vaccinations are current. Melissa agrees to reach out to the vet and have the horse evaluated. In fact, the pony was overdue on all of her shots, including rabies. So then we have to work with our Pediatrician to determine if our daughter has to have the series of rabies vaccinations, which are awful. We even had to consult with a Pediatric Infectious Disease Doctor who thankfully said rabies was rare, although not impossible, in horses and we should be ok. Furthermore, the vet tells Melissa, which she then texts to me, "Her (the pony's) moody attitude is probably directly connected to her baby being weaned right now". This makes it clear Melissa is an unknowledgeable owner and the pony was not in any condition to be at the petting zoo. There is obviously no procedure in place for Chamberlin to verify the health status of the animals they send to these events. We have a dog and every single time we board her we have to supply updated records. How this is not being done with much larger animals is beyond me. I reached back out to Chamberlin as I have no way of knowing how much information Melissa shared with them. I called three times and never got a call back from anyone, so, I sent a FB message and again the first message was a link to the Michigan law releasing them from blame. I proceeded to explain our experience and the person messaging said "I will pass this information along to the Chamberlin management team". I never received a follow up. I cannot believe this is how they run their business. I just wanted assurance they would evaluate their processes and rectify their failings. We are reasonable people who understand things happen but the numerous neglectful actions by Melissa and Chamberlin are disturbing. We can't in good conscience keep this to yourselves and let another child be harmed.

Rider, Austin and Chase did an amazing job getting everything set up for our party . They also…read morehelped educate our guest about the animals. I would have to say they made up for any lost mins on our time for sure. I understand it does take a little bit of time loading and unloading at each party but these 3 guys made sure they made it up with extra animals.