Riverbanks Zoo & Garden

Such a fun experience! It was very interactive. You are able to walk around in the kangaroo enclosure and can feed the giraffes. We went on a very cool day in December, so it was not crowded at all. I would definitely recommend including a visit to the zoo if you are in the area and would totally go again!

From a young age, I have been going to this Zoo. It is one of the best zoos I have seen. I plan to go sometime this year with my wife & son. It will be his first zoo trip ever. I always enjoyed swimming in the river there has well.

Great zoo! Lots of animals and lots to see! Animals look healthy but the exhibits are small in my opinion.
It looks like they are expanding the zoo a lot and have a lot of space reserved for new exhibits and attractions in the future.
I bought a membership and it I well worth it if you live close to Columbia (I’m from about 45mins away)
Overall, it’s a fantastic zoo for the size! I was there for about 4 hours and saw all the animals including the garden! Employees are super friendly and animals are so fun to watch!

As far as zoos go this is one of the best we have ever been to. While traveling from Florida to Charlotte we decided to stop in for a visit. Were we surprised! Columbia and the zoo are now one of our regular road trips.

I’m writing this as a zoo member, so obviously I support the zoo in many capacities. It is one of the few family entertainment places in Columbia and always has events going on.
That’s where the problem lies, though. As a human, the zoo is fun to go to and the events are always a good time.
The animals, on the other hand, do not have it so good. The enclosures are very small and very out of date. There is little (if any) in the way of stimulation for the animals and little to no supervision of them (I have seen kids throwing items at the Koala’s, for instance, in order to get their attention, with no zoo staff in site). It’s a pretty sad sight.
Until this zoo actually puts its animal’s welfare on par with (very necessary) human entertainment, I’ll have to give it a two for animal care.

My family enjoyed this zoo, in which you can feed giraffes, admired animals, etc.
It was easy to park.

Descent zoo! Not too crowded even for a Saturday. Staff we kinda rude in some seas but everybody has they days and I’m sure working with animals can get tiring eventually. The animal selection was big a lot of animals that will remind you of being a kid again. Their environment looked to be playing to them, I didn’t get that mistreated abused feeling when looking at them like I have when I visited a zoo in Florida… Parking is rough… Gravel unpaved lot and it’s a nice walk to the entry. If you have kids check it out. Tickets are cheap

This is a great zoo and it’s only getting better! Recently several improvements were made to the facility, including a great new entrance and gift shop. They’re currently building a sea lion exhibit and show, which should be completed by next season. My favorite exhibits are the elephants, giraffes (for a few extra $, you can feed them), and the kangaroos/​wallabies. The gorilla exhibit is neat, but the inside viewing area is not well air conditioned, so don’t go in there expect a reprieve from the heat. Feeding the birds nectar ($ 2) is fun and a great photo opportunity! You can also pay extra and do the Zip the Zoo, which is a Zipline over the zoo and garden or you can pay around $ 6 and enjoy an adult «jungle gym»! I have tried either yet, but I plan to on my next visit. I recommend visiting the park in the morning, because summer time in Columbia, SC is sweltering, plus the animals are more active then. Parking is FREE. I would budget around 3+ hours for your visit if you want to experience it all. Prices are typical for a tourist attraction.

This is a great zoo, it is number 17 on trip advisor’s list of top zoos in the country
I have been taking the family here for 15 years the kids have fun they love the gorillas you won’t regret spending the day here!

I’ve been going here since I was a child and still enjoy every trip! They are constantly updating and making improvements to keep it fresh and new. It’s definitely one of the best attractions in Columbia… and I’d go so far as to say in all of South Carolina. (One of the top ten zoos in the country too!) There are a wide range of animals and habitats. There are fun activities as well including the zip line! Take the trolley or walk over to the Botanical Gardens. It’s a lovely trip. Don’t miss the Zen garden at the far end of the gardens. We saw some super cute little frogs in the fountain/​pond.
They host several fun events every year including Brew at the Zoo, Zoofari, Lights Before Christmas, Boo at the Zoo, Mother’s Day brunches and many more. Be sure to check out their website! They have summer programs too.
They’ve added the new grizzly bear exhibit and my new favorite exhibit — the otters! They are right up there with those sassy little meerkats! They also have a new entrance in the works and I cannot wait for the sea lion/​seals exhibit set to open in 2016. It’s going to be amazing.
If you go more than once a year then I’d recommend getting a membership. They start off pretty low for an individual membership and are great deals for families. You also get guest passes so you can bring along some friends. You also get access to Members Only nights and some other special perks.

I’ve been in SC four years. The zoo gets better every year. With the recent renovations this zoo is amazing. Soo much to see and do from feeding birds, giraffes and llamas to train and pony rides. The indoor air conditioned exhibits are really nice. I would absolutely recommend this zoo

This is a very nice zoo. It is not large, and is easy to walk. They are building some new exhibits, so I think in the future my 3 star rating could improve. The exhibits are not large making viewing the animals rather easy. We were guests of some family friends, so they knew where to go and what to expect. We were there on a hot and humid day, there are a couple of air-​conditioned exhibits and fans blowing mists to cool off. You can feed the giraffes and they come face level to the kids. They have other kid favorites such as a carousel, rock climbing, and zip line. We were not a part of this, but they offer a kids zoo camp as well as other kids educational programs.

The zoo is definitely something fun to do in Columbia. It’s really cool and the garden there is also very pretty and it leads to a pathway into the trees. Something that sets this zoo apart from others is that you can feed the giraffes. Compared to all of the other zoos I’ve been to, this one is the smallest. You can easily walk through it in a couple of hours, it’s definitely not an all day experience. The zoo does have events every once in a while, such as, family friendly events and 21 and up events. If you haven’t been here yet I would definitely recommend coming!

Good zoo, very small compared to lots of zoos we have visited. A little outdated but undergoing lots of remodels. Lots of interaction with animals here. I was very impressed with that. A very nice rope course and the staff seemed really friendly and let everyone enjoy themselves.
Animals seem happy. Lots of exhibits crammed into a small space. I highly recommend this zoo!!!

Came here on a vacation visiting my sister. At first the zoo was very exciting. We fed the birds which is a very interactive activity right when you walk into the zoo. There’s a carousel right when you walk in, too. We also caught a funny show from the Siamang Monkeys. They are silly! Then we fed the giraffes, they were cool. After that, the excitement died down a little. A lot of the exhibits were pretty small and most of the animals didn’t seem like they wanted to be there. Especially, the gorilla exhibit. They looked misplaced, I couldn’t stand there for more than a minute because of how depressing it was. The lions and tigers seemed depressed as well. Their exhibits were tiny for the animals that they are. They need wide open space. I knocked off a star because of that and because of all of the construction going on. There was way too much noise.
The food there is actually a great price. If you’ve been to the Bronx zoo you can relate. Their food was actually pretty good, too. Their souvenirs weren’t terribly expensive and there were a lot of activities to do within the zoo.
Overall, this is a good zoo to visit, especially if you have kids. It’s just big enough to keep their attention without the day being torture for the adults. Not too much walking between exhibits.

Wow my daughter celebrated her 13^th birthday here with friends. We did everything along with the zip lining course. I ended up forcing my husband and a friend to do it because the zip lining staff was amazing. They were so much fun! This place is great. Well worth the trip and price we purchased an annual pass.

We took the little Miss on her first official zoo trip this weekend. She is 8 months old, very observant (some would say nosey) and loves riding in the stroller. Saturday, it was in the 80s, so it was a good day. I had every intention of being there between 9 and 10 am, because I know what it’s like being there in the afternoon. But on my side of town it was overcast and dreary. I checked the radar over the zoo twice 30 minutes apart and nothing changed so I felt confident if wouldn’t rain. I wish I had trusted my instincts earlier, it was a beautiful day and we got there around 10:30. There was a traffic line, and it was getting pretty warm.
We had a great time, we got my baby girl to look at some animals. We got great pics and videos. All in all it was a great day. My only gripe is that when I checked the website earlier last week, I failed to realize they were doing construction. Part of the parking lot was closed, and part of the zoo was closed. Even with the lot being changed to farther away, it was still very close. And there was no waiting in line to buy tickets to get in. I wish I had known about the construction, but it was still great family fun!

I’ve been to zoos all over the US and I’d have to say this is one of my favorites.
The entry fee is reasonable but you can spend a pretty penny on food, activities and souvenirs.
The zoo has beautiful state-​of-​the-​art exhibits and good interpretive displays, lots of animal feeding opportunities, a petting zoo, a nature trail, a historical landmark, a botanical garden, two Ziplines, a ropes course, a rock wall, a carousel and much more!
Do the Ziplines! Lots of fun and expensive but worth it. Go early! There is a lot to see/​do!

Easily one of the best zoo’s I have ever been to by far! When relatives come to visit or friends from out of town come to town especially if they have kids we bring them here. The reptile exhibit features King cobras, Pit vipers, Mambas, and many other deadly reptiles they are cool to look at through a very thick glass. There is far too many lizards and cold blooded creatures for me to name. The whole zoo has many nice walk ways and beautiful animals you would probably never even see in the wild. The botanical gardens are a must see as well! Every person working here that I’ve encountered was super fun and nice. If you are visiting downtown Columbia it is only a couple of minutes away, so check it out!

First time to visit here almost a year ago. (I know its been way to long before I made a review — but. but I got pics!)
Ahhh summer time in SC… despite the humidity that’s totally killing my already non glamorous hair and mostly kept me sweating the whole time, I totally enjoyed going here. Thank you cousins/​host!
AWESTRUCK … this is what I felt the first time I stepped into its entrance. I was immediately transformed into a googly eyed child who cant stop exclaiming «WOW!» everywhere we go… I think I skipped and hopped a couple of times too… with my daughter and 4 year old niece.
T’was my first time to feed a giraffe with their long tongues… priceless! (since i dont know any who had)…Place was packed with people but that adds to the excitement of being in a zoo. We saw different exhibits, and a multitude of animals you can touch in the petting zoo. Feed a couple of birds too and took a ride on the pony.
With all this happening we saw a ton of flora and fauna but what I was astounded to see were two endangered animals… the sloth and the golden tamarin. Why? longer story.
And when we grew tired of walking, we enjoyed resting on small huts while enjoying ice cream and taking lots and lots of pictures. If we didn’t have another appointment that day we would have stayed longer. So we bid goodbye to the place with the hopes of coming back in the future. Au revoir — till we meet again.
5 twinkling stars!