ABQ BioPark Zoo

Great zoo, especially given the size of Abq. We’ve had a pass since my daughter was months old. A great place to get out of the house, even before they are old enough to appreciate the animals. Well kept grounds.

Will give this no more then a 3, only thing that was an attraction was the polar bears though it sucks they have to dive into the water every time for a piece of fish, the train wasnt worth it for that lonnng line. Though I remember seeing a guerilla throwing up and eating it and throwing up again it repeated this process for a long time where I eventually left, the other ones seem quite pissed, will upload the pics later of that. Won’t go there again but it was worth going once.

This place is awesome! Super cute and affordable, entrance and snacks are cheap, you don’t get these prices in California. If I ever go back to Albuquerque I’ll be heading back for sure :)

Small, but nice and clean zoo. To me, the best attraction was the polar bears. Whether swimming in the water or sun-​bathing on the rocks, there was always a place to view them. There were a few holes between the glass and rocks just large enough to stick my lens through to snap some pictures, too.
The giraffe exhibit was nice, too, with several viewing locations along its length.
The duck pond was oddly large and turned out to be a long walk to pass by. The large cat exhibits provided good view points. There’s really not much to ding this zoo on. The train ride, however, was a disappointment — most of it was held back in the Employees Only area, and instead of taking that opportunity to provide unseen-​by-​others viewpoints of the animals, it turned out to be more of an educational lecture with very little chance of picture taking.
Otherwise, it was a nice break from the busy week we had in New Mexico.
We had out-​of-​state zoo memberships that provided us half-​off entry frees. Ended up being ~$ 20 for me, my wife and young daughter to do the whole combo ticket. Great deal.

Great li’l zoo. Can do the whole thing in one day. Fantastic picnic areas, also the animals seemed very active.

This was the best zoo I’ve ever been too. We went on a Sunday, the day was lovely, it was not too packed and all the animals were out, about and playing. The place was clean, the animals seemed happy and there were baby animals everywhere. Took about 4 hrs to go all around. Perfect for a half day activity.

Great place to wander and relax. Well kept facility with some thought put into the design. Easy terrain and a train as well. Well worth the $ 12.50

Animals were out and having fun together zoo keepers were friendly and gave us all sorts of info that we didn’t know about.

Had not been to the zoo in a while and it was a fun day. Seems like there are a number of baby animals to watch. There is some work going on in the center of the zoo that should make things better. I want to go again before it gets cold.

Parking for the zoo was free! For entry, for someone who lives out of state for a child was $ 6, adult $ 12.50. You honestly can’t beat that! Plus you’re allowed to bring in whatever you’d like in a backpack. Snacks, lunch, water, etc! Which makes an easy, affordable trip to the zoo.
They have a great selection of animals, and all of them have really cool exhibits! I personally really enjoyed watching the elephants, gorillas, cheetah, seals, hippos, polar bear, jaguar, giraffes. And many more. All of the animals were pretty visible as well, even with it being hot out.
Also this zoo is pretty flat. Not much up hill or down hill, so it’s easy to walk. It’s clean, and well taken care of, and you can tell the guests that come, also take care of it.
Would definitely recommend!

Awful, run down, bored and sick animals in small enclosures, kids can openly harass peacocks, many animals die, and somehow there’s never enough money. It should be shut down.
Btw: it was announced by local media that this zoo is poised to loose it’s AZA accreditation due to many issues. That says plenty.

The main reason I’m giving this zoo 3 stars instead of 5 is because we went right when they opened and at least 75% of the animals were not on exhibit yet. How disappointing! All we got to see were zoo keepers cleaning cages for the first 1.5 hours.
We asked some of the staff we ran into why so many cages were still being set up and they explained that the city mayor won’t allow employees there before 8am to save on costs.
Another thing that surprised us was that they allow straws and lids (which creates a lot of trash and is bad for the animals).
They do have great exhibits and lots of animals, including white rhinos and polar bears. The baby twin chimps are also really great.
Please invest in your staff!

Da Bears! I saw Da Bears! Polar bears. They looked hot. I think the big one wanted to eat me. I can’t speak to their nutrition but I certainly hope I’m wrong about that.
Having lived here for a few years I always said I wanted to do stuff but never went to the zoo. Then last week my folks suggested we do the zoo music thing on Friday night, and I went along. It was fun. Lots of families and kids and date night people.
The zoo is pretty well done up, I imagine the $$ they make every friday night really helps them make good choices for the exhibits and animals ($ 10 a person, easily 1,000+ per week, probably double that). Lots of parking in the dedicated lot and surrounding area, plenty of street lighting in the neighborhood and a clean area make this an inviting place for families (duh).
I don’t know what else to say. Its a zoo? For the music nights, many of the displays are open until 8 or 8:30, so if you go early you can walk around and pretend you have a deep connection to that big seal lion (We’re soul mates!) or heckle the bored-​looking orangutangs. Once it starts to get darker you can see the many other zoo denizens — like the mice, bats and raccoons that come out to scrounge. If you pay attention you can even watch the peacocks climb high into the massive trees to roost at night. All while some mellow tunes belt out of the main stage area. Pretty neat. Probably cooler for/​with kids.
Plenty of exhibits. Standard overpriced food and drink. Lots of activities during the daytime from the looks of it. TONS of security and support staff during the music nights. You honestly couldn’t find a better family-​time event for the price.

We were looking for things to do in Albuquerque, and I found out they had a Zoo. It looked like a semi small zoo and something we could see in a few hours. We decided to go this morning. (Side note… GPS got me lost. It told me to take 12^th street and then wrap around. It took us to a dead end. Pretty much, whatever street you are on, just get on 10^th St and you will run into it.) We got there and parked for free out front. Admission was $ 12.50 for adults, $ 5.50 for older people (mother in law) and kids under 3 are free. We got ourselves a map and went to town!
The zoo itself is pretty small. It was freaking awesome though! A few of the highlights.
1. Animals were out and about and pretty darn close to observe. My son really liked the elephants and the Gibbons apes.
2. The zoo train ride was only $ 2.00 per person (going up to $ 3.00 per person on Tuesday June 16^th) and it was about 20 minutes long. The conductor was pretty friendly and informative. He had a raspyish voice and sure loved to talk!
3. Baby changing stations! They had dedicated open room baby changing areas with built in/​sunken in changing tables which were nice.
4. The zoo was very easy to walk. There were hardly any uphill climbs. It was pretty flat for the most part.
5. Peacocks roaming the grounds. My son got near one and the peacock threw up and spread out his feathers. My son really enjoyed it!
Overall, this zoo was nice! It sort of reminded me of the Santa Barbara Zoo. Small, yet awesome! I would definitely come back and probably buy a membership if I lived in Albuquerque.

What a great zoo in our little city! I love the layout of this zoo. There is a big grassy lawn in the center with walkways looping out from there. My favorite exhibits are the great apes (gorillas, orangutans, and chimpanzees). The Africa exhibit with rhinos, zebras, giraffes and elephants is also great, as is the big cat exhibit. The zoo is big enough that it would take several hours to leisurely walk the whole thing. You can eat the cafeteria food or bring a picnic to eat outside on the grass.
Don’t forget about the Zoo Nights concerts in the summer! You can sit on the lawn to listen to music, or stroll through the exhibits at dusk. I find that the animals are more relaxed in the evening since it’s less crowded, and this makes them act more naturally. I once saw two male gorillas get into a physical fight over a female, complete with chest pounding and throwing cardboard boxes. It was awesome.
This isn’t the San Diego Zoo, obviously, but it’s pretty impressive for a city of Albuquerque’s size, and it’s great for kids of all ages.

Being a resident of NM, I have visited this zoo many times and really have seen nothing new in a long time. I have visited a lot of other zoos around the country and this one is just kind of lacking in what it offers. The biggest issue here is that the animals are always asleep or otherwise not visible during regular hours. If you want a good shot at seeing the animals active, the best time to visit is immediately when they open in the morning. The parking here is also ridiculous and spaces are scarce. This zoo could use a makeover or at least some new animal exhibits in order to keep it attractive. I give it a 3 because it is not the best zoo I have ever seen but it is also not the worst. I recommend visiting in the morning and bringing in your own snacks and drinks because food here is expensive and not that great.

I went to the animal fair! The birds and the beasts were there… There are babies galore at the zoo right now! Baby orangoutang Pixel with big sister Reece love to swing all over their exhibit. There is a baby siamang gibbon but I’m unsure what the gender or name is. Then there is baby elephant Jazmyne who no longer needs mommy by her side and like to explore the watering hole alone. Additionally baby giraffe Abiquiu is sure getting tall, the brand new baby flamingo is adorbs and the little rhino is getting so big. His name slips my mind.
What would a day at the zoo be without getting poop thrown at you by the lowland gorillas? Whatever! Also you can occasionally spot scuba divers in the sea lion tank cleaning. They are kind and stop at the window and wave at the kids.
This zoo is not the biggest or best but I love it. I take my 1-​year-​old niece here on a monthly basis and we both have a blast. The zoo can be done in about 5 hours so plan on spending the majority of the day here. You can rent wagons and they have wheelchairs if needed. As a fundraiser you can ride the zipline. It is available until september but I believe it is only available Thursday-​Sunday.
Zoo music is an excellent summer event. The crowd always has a blast and there are children galore. The exhibits stay open until 8pm and it is nice to see the animals when it has cooled down.
Become a member and enjoy the Zoo year round!

Loved loved loved this zoo. The polar bears amazing. They were doing this little dance. Ahh best exhibit. Sad thing is I hear that when they pass away they are not replacing them. Boo.
It doesn’t look like a big zoo but it is. The animals were much more interactive then most zoos I’ve seen. I can’t wait to be back for a visit id be there again!!!

Pretty nice zoo with a great diversity of animals in mostly spacious cages and lots of open space.
I came here to kill a couple of hours checking out the animals and the plants. One thing I really liked here was the lush plantings and the spacing of the exhibits. This is part of the Albuquerque BioPark, which includes the nearby aquarium and botanic garden. The zoo has an OK gift shop and decent snack stands, with the main dining area, the Cottonwood Café, looking a lot more inviting. But there’s plenty of space to bring a picnic lunch and sit on the broad lawns throughout the park.
This looks like a great place for family gatherings, and today I saw a lot of families! Also school groups, a contingency from the old folks home, and a decent crowd considering it’s a pretty hot day.
One suggestion: They need more signs telling you where you are! Especially at the front of the park, so you can get your bearings and locate the exhibits you want to see.
I think if I lived here, I definitely have an annual pass. Way to go, City of Albuquerque, for putting together a pretty nice BioPark!

LOVE the zoo. I go at least once a month to enjoy my membership. I always love going on more cloudy days, where the animals are a bit more active. And early, because I don’t do crowds. I want the critters all to myself for a minute. The big cats are the BEST, except their enclosures suck because they don’t let you take good pics (because of the fences). But otherwise, its a GREAT way to spend the day. I love taking guests from out of town especially.