List and Rank The North American Zoos You Have Visited!

I am going to do 2 separate lists here; one for facilities that I have visited since 2010, and ones that I only visited prior and haven't been to since (as I visited these facilities as a kid and have little recollection or memorabilia from my visits). I am including zoos, aquariums, and museums that are either accredited or have a substantial live animal collection. I will also include a brief note next to each entry. Apologies if this is too long. This is my own personal ranking.

List of facilities I have visited since 2010.
  • 1). Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium (Omaha, NE)
    • Only visit was an improvised visit during a business trip that ended up giving me a free day, so no camera. Simply unforgettable, favorite visited zoo beyond any doubt. The zoo I want to revisit the most.
  • 2). Tennessee Aquarium (Chattanooga, TN)
    • Favorite aquarium of all time, thanks to its freshwater focus, unique collection, and turtles. Lots and lots of turtles. Marine exhibits are also top-notch
  • 3). Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens (Jacksonville, FL)
    • My favorite facility from my Florida trip, great landscaping, collection, and exhibitry. The trio of reptile houses was the highlight for me.
  • 4). Georgia Aquarium (Atlanta, GA)
    • Overall, a great facility mostly good exhibits and plenty to see. Great collection and design. Ocean Voyager is one of the best ocean exhibits.
  • 5). Zoo Atlanta (Atlanta, GA)
    • Excellent reptile house and primate exhibits, mostly good elsewhere. Bird exhibits were a bit of a letdown, but still a very strong facility.
  • 6). Greensboro Science Center (Greensboro, NC)
    • Has grown and improved significantly since my first visit in 2015. Boosts a surprisingly unique and diverse collection, including rarities like Javan Gibbons.
  • 7). North Carolina Zoo (Asheboro, NC)
    • Debated on whether to put this above or below GSC (would be really close regardless). Great setting, exhibitry, size, and atmosphere, though its collection has been lacking. This can change for the better in the next few years...
  • 8). Florida Aquarium (Tampa, FL)
    • Excellent native wildlife exhibit with Wetlands of Florida. Rest of aquarium has a mostly standard collection, but great presentation. Madagascar exhibit was a let down.
  • 9). Disney's Animal Kingdom (Bay Lake, FL)
    • Theming, landscaping, and exhibitry are unmatched. Collection is very solid. But very crowded and the theme park side seems to get more attention than the zoo side.
  • 10). SeaWorld Orlando (Orlando, FL)
    • Debated whether to put this above or below DAK. Has a bigger emphasis on animals. Very good habitats and overall atmosphere. Also not too crowded when I visited, unlike DAK.
  • 11). North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences (Raleigh, NC)
    • Boosts a sizable collection that mostly focuses on native wildlife with some Central/South American species also present. Good collection and decent exhibitry, but has a few sore spots like the Snake exhibits.
  • 12). Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center (West Yellowstone, WY)
    • Small facility and collection with only a handful of native species, but has great presentation and educational value. An excellent addition to any Yellowstone trip.
  • 13). ZooTampa at Lowry Park (Tampa, FL)
    • Excellent collection that's let down by outdated, aesthetically unpleasing, and at times bizarrely-designed exhibitry, and a complete refusal to upgrade and modernize. It's not all bad, though.
  • 14). SeaLife Charlotte-Concord (Concord, NC)
    • Good facility with a decent, but unspectacular, collection, although it can only rank so high with being so small and maybe slightly overpriced?
  • 15.) Ripley's Aquarium at Myrtle Beach (Myrtle Beach, SC)
    • About as average and bog standard as aquariums get.
  • 16). SeaLife Orlando (Orlando, FL)
    • About the same as Charlotte-Concord, but with a more messy and chaotic layout. Definitely inferior IMO.
  • 17). Greenville Zoo (Greenville, SC)
    • Small collection with a few genuine surprises, but exhibitry left a lot to be desired.
  • 18). Museum of Life and Sciences (Durham, NC)
    • Not a bad facility per say, but is mostly family-focused and its collection is rather small and standard, with the insect house being the highlight.
  • 19). Gatorland USA (Orlando, FL)
    • A good time can be had here, but the facility is a bit messy and random in its presentation. Goofy humor permeates the grounds.
  • 20). Lazy 5 Ranch (Mooresville, NC)
    • The single worst still-operating facility I have visited, bar none. The drive-thru safari is alright, but the rest is a maze of appalling exhibits and unpleasing scenery. The only truly bad facility on this list.
Now here is the list of facilities that I have last visited as a child, but haven't gotten back to. It has been too long for me to comfortably include them in the above list. Also, many of these facilities have changed drastically since my last visit.
  • 1). Bronx Zoo (New York, NY)
    • Still looks like an amazing facility up there with Omaha and I really want to revisit it someday.
  • 2). National Aquarium in Baltimore (Baltimore, MY)
    • Last visit was before the Australia exhibit. The freshwater and turtle collection has me intrigued.
  • 3). Aquarium of the Americas (New Orleans, LA)
    • Looks interesting, but I haven't really been updating myself on this facility.
  • 4). New York Aquarium (Brooklyn, NY)
    • The new Sharks exhibit looks interesting, as does the sea cliffs exhibit.
  • 5). Long Island Aquarium & Exhibition Center (Riverhead, NY)
    • Last visit was before name change. Looks alright, if a bit "touristy"?
  • 6). Triangle Metro Zoo (Closed) (Wake Forest, NC)
    • Awful. Also closed, thankfully.
  • 7). Long Island Reptile Museum (Closed) (Hicksville, NY)
    • Possibly even more awful, if an article I came across last year was any indication. Also even more closed.
 
Astrotom3000 said:
I am going to do 2 separate lists here; one for facilities that I have visited since 2010, and ones that I only visited prior and haven't been to since (as I visited these facilities as a kid and have little recollection or memorabilia from my visits). I am including zoos, aquariums, and museums that are either accredited or have a substantial live animal collection. I will also include a brief note next to each entry. Apologies if this is too long. This is my own personal ranking.

List of facilities I have visited since 2010.
  • 1). Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium (Omaha, NE)
    • Only visit was an improvised visit during a business trip that ended up giving me a free day, so no camera. Simply unforgettable, favorite visited zoo beyond any doubt. The zoo I want to revisit the most.
  • 2). Tennessee Aquarium (Chattanooga, TN)
    • Favorite aquarium of all time, thanks to its freshwater focus, unique collection, and turtles. Lots and lots of turtles. Marine exhibits are also top-notch
  • 3). Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens (Jacksonville, FL)
    • My favorite facility from my Florida trip, great landscaping, collection, and exhibitry. The trio of reptile houses was the highlight for me.
  • 4). Georgia Aquarium (Atlanta, GA)
    • Overall, a great facility mostly good exhibits and plenty to see. Great collection and design. Ocean Voyager is one of the best ocean exhibits.
  • 5). Zoo Atlanta (Atlanta, GA)
    • Excellent reptile house and primate exhibits, mostly good elsewhere. Bird exhibits were a bit of a letdown, but still a very strong facility.
  • 6). Greensboro Science Center (Greensboro, NC)
    • Has grown and improved significantly since my first visit in 2015. Boosts a surprisingly unique and diverse collection, including rarities like Javan Gibbons.
  • 7). North Carolina Zoo (Asheboro, NC)
    • Debated on whether to put this above or below GSC (would be really close regardless). Great setting, exhibitry, size, and atmosphere, though its collection has been lacking. This can change for the better in the next few years...
  • 8). Florida Aquarium (Tampa, FL)
    • Excellent native wildlife exhibit with Wetlands of Florida. Rest of aquarium has a mostly standard collection, but great presentation. Madagascar exhibit was a let down.
  • 9). Disney's Animal Kingdom (Bay Lake, FL)
    • Theming, landscaping, and exhibitry are unmatched. Collection is very solid. But very crowded and the theme park side seems to get more attention than the zoo side.
  • 10). SeaWorld Orlando (Orlando, FL)
    • Debated whether to put this above or below DAK. Has a bigger emphasis on animals. Very good habitats and overall atmosphere. Also not too crowded when I visited, unlike DAK.
  • 11). North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences (Raleigh, NC)
    • Boosts a sizable collection that mostly focuses on native wildlife with some Central/South American species also present. Good collection and decent exhibitry, but has a few sore spots like the Snake exhibits.
  • 12). Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center (West Yellowstone, WY)
    • Small facility and collection with only a handful of native species, but has great presentation and educational value. An excellent addition to any Yellowstone trip.
  • 13). ZooTampa at Lowry Park (Tampa, FL)
    • Excellent collection that's let down by outdated, aesthetically unpleasing, and at times bizarrely-designed exhibitry, and a complete refusal to upgrade and modernize. It's not all bad, though.
  • 14). SeaLife Charlotte-Concord (Concord, NC)
    • Good facility with a decent, but unspectacular, collection, although it can only rank so high with being so small and maybe slightly overpriced?
  • 15.) Ripley's Aquarium at Myrtle Beach (Myrtle Beach, SC)
    • About as average and bog standard as aquariums get.
  • 16). SeaLife Orlando (Orlando, FL)
    • About the same as Charlotte-Concord, but with a more messy and chaotic layout. Definitely inferior IMO.
  • 17). Greenville Zoo (Greenville, SC)
    • Small collection with a few genuine surprises, but exhibitry left a lot to be desired.
  • 18). Museum of Life and Sciences (Durham, NC)
    • Not a bad facility per say, but is mostly family-focused and its collection is rather small and standard, with the insect house being the highlight.
  • 19). Gatorland USA (Orlando, FL)
    • A good time can be had here, but the facility is a bit messy and random in its presentation. Goofy humor permeates the grounds.
  • 20). Lazy 5 Ranch (Mooresville, NC)
    • The single worst still-operating facility I have visited, bar none. The drive-thru safari is alright, but the rest is a maze of appalling exhibits and unpleasing scenery. The only truly bad facility on this list.
Now here is the list of facilities that I have last visited as a child, but haven't gotten back to. It has been too long for me to comfortably include them in the above list. Also, many of these facilities have changed drastically since my last visit.
  • 1). Bronx Zoo (New York, NY)
    • Still looks like an amazing facility up there with Omaha and I really want to revisit it someday.
  • 2). National Aquarium in Baltimore (Baltimore, MY)
    • Last visit was before the Australia exhibit. The freshwater and turtle collection has me intrigued.
  • 3). Aquarium of the Americas (New Orleans, LA)
    • Looks interesting, but I haven't really been updating myself on this facility.
  • 4). New York Aquarium (Brooklyn, NY)
    • The new Sharks exhibit looks interesting, as does the sea cliffs exhibit.
  • 5). Long Island Aquarium & Exhibition Center (Riverhead, NY)
    • Last visit was before name change. Looks alright, if a bit "touristy"?
  • 6). Triangle Metro Zoo (Closed) (Wake Forest, NC)
    • Awful. Also closed, thankfully.
  • 7). Long Island Reptile Museum (Closed) (Hicksville, NY)
    • Possibly even more awful, if an article I came across last year was any indication. Also even more closed.
Click to expand...

Do you have any photos of Lazy 5 Ranch? I know they had a bunch of violations a couple of years ago, though I haven't heard too much recently making me think they might be improving. I was thinking of adding North Carolina to my recent zoo trip and this was a potential place to visit, but the weather was too cold so I did only SC.
 
My friends and I have been going to zoos for the past 5 or so years since college so I'm only going to be ranking the ones I've been to in that time period, so some of the weird small places I saw as a kid won't be listed.

For my criteria, I care a whole lot less about the amount of species or rarity of species than I do naturalism of the exhibits, so there may be some hot takes here where Zoochatters love them but their exhibitory didn't hold up for me.

1. Disney's Animal Kingdom/Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge (Bay Lake, FL)- Two separate locations but I'm gonna lump them together. All the enclosures are spacious and the theming is top notch. My all time favorite zoo.
2. SeaWorld Orlando (Orlando, FL)- Similarly, I adore the exhibitory here and while it gets a lot of hate, I genuinely think this park has some of the best pinniped, penguin, and dolphin exhibits I've seen.
3. Bronx Zoo (Bronx, NY)- Definitely the best "true zoo" I've been to not counting the theme park entries. I love the historicity as well as naturalism. There are definitely exhibits here that need an update, but I think the combination of great exhibits and amount of species does push it to the top.
4. Brookfield Zoo (Chicago, IL)- To be fair, I visited this in 2021 so I didn't get to see most of the indoor exhibits which could push this way down, but as a first-time visitor, I appreciated the outdoor spaces I did see and the only thing I really didn't like was the dolphin exhibit. I didn't see Tropic World though I'm sure if I did it would bump this down a few spots as I can't stand primates indoor only (outside of stuff like JungleWorld or other really good tropical houses with lots of space)
5. Southwicks Zoo (Mendon, MA)- I have a lot of nostalgia for this one so that's why it's here, but I really still think this zoo is the best non-AZA I've ever been to. They easily could be AZA but just don't want to be, which I kind of respect but also kind of wish they would try for it. Great homemade feel to this zoo that prioritizes proper animal social groups which I also really appreciate.
6. Maine Wildlife Park (Gray, ME)- Probably the single zoo that makes me the happiest when I visit. I love the grounds, the exhibits are just fenced off natural habitat, it's rarely busy so the viewing is great, and they do a lot of important local conservation and education. My biggest gripe is some of the raptor mews need work.
7. Buttonwood Park Zoo (New Bedford, MA)- Might be a hot take putting this one up this high, but I think almost all the exhibits are super solid, including their indoor stuff which I'm usually not a fan of at zoos. It's small and takes only a little time, but it's one I really love and am excited for the master plan.
8. VINS (Quechee, VT)- A wholly avian park, I adore the mews here, all except for the bald and golden eagles, and the grounds are also absolutely gorgeous. It's one that has very little knowledge about it and think more people should make a point to visit.
9. Mystic Aquarium (Mystic, CT)- I normally don't love aquariums, but something about Mystic is really up there for me. The belgua exhibit alone boosts this super high as, while I support cetaceans in captivity, I find they aren't done right a lot of the time and Mystic definitely does. The aquarium element is solid too, my biggest gripes are the California sea lion stadium which sucks and the penguin exhibit.
10. The Seas with Nemo and Friends (Bay Lake, FL)- I love that this is a part of EPCOT that you can just go into in the park and I do think the main tank is awesome. The dolphins are done well as are the manatees which I appreciate, though it's an aquarium which makes it fall lower than some of the better zoos just based on my preference.
11. Lincoln Park Zoo (Chicago, IL)- I really loved a good chunk of this zoo, especially the end with the macaques. I thought the great ape habitats were solid and while I didn't get to see the lion building as it wasn't done yet, it too looked solid. It's a city zoo so I give it a bit more leeway with its hoofstock, but I do think the giraffe exhibit needs work and I want more of the monkeys to be able to be outside.
12. National Aquarium (Baltimore, MD)- This one has the longest gap since I've been to it, but it was a really solid aquarium and the Australia section had me gripped. Also solid enough dolphin exhibit though it's at the bottom of what I find acceptable personally.
13. Central Park Zoo (Manhattan, NY)- I love the rainforest habitat here as well as the red panda and brown bear exhibits. I do think the snow leopard could be better, but it suffices. Overall it's a nice little zoo, but like all the WCS zoos, the sea lion habitat sucks.
14. Seacoast Science Center (Rye, NH)- It's a super small aquarium on the New Hampshire seacoast with some of the best interpretation I've seen at any wildlife facility. I also found the tanks to be really solid with a heavy focus on native species. It's maybe not worth the $10 to get in if you don't stop to read everything, but I really appreciated it.
15. Fox Tales Rescue (Spring Hill, FL)- A fox sanctuary literally in someone's backyard, but the exhibits were immaculate and I got to spend time with the owners who have some of the best standards of care I've personally seen. Not open to the public, we got in transporting a fox into their care, but it was worth every second, if you're in the area, they sometimes do private tours.
16. New England Aquarium (Boston, MA)- New England Aquarium is a really solid aquarium with a terrible design. I think the exhibits are all adequate if not excellent (though their pinniped habitats need work) but the design of the place gets it so congested and it's impossible to actually spend much time at any one exhibit.
17. Prospect Park Zoo (Brooklyn, NY)- The weakest of the 3 WCS facilities I've been to (haven't seen Queens or NYA yet) and I really didn't like most of the indoor exhibits here and the aesthetics were super weird, but I did really love the outdoor trail portion which boosts this zoo up quite a bit. We only got like 30 minutes in the zoo so I'd definitely like to return at some point. Maybe a future trip to hit the other 2 I've missed.
18. Atlantis (Nassau, Bahamas)- It's a hotel, but the aquarium elements were super strong and the dolphin pools were also really nice. It's one of only two facilities I've seen outside the USA at this point (both being aquariums weirdly enough), but it's definitely a fun place to visit, and it's all free to get into which is nice too.
19. Southern Vermont Natural History Museum (Marlboro, VT)- It's mostly a museum, but they have a handful of raptor mews towards the back that are actually pretty excellent. Not as good as VINS or Maine Wildlife Park, but good in their own right. The reason this one is lower is their reptile exhibits need work as does their opossum exhibit.
20. Gatorland (Orlando, FL)- This zoo is kitschy and wacky with some really weird elements to it, but I have to say, the breeding marsh is probably my number one best exhibit I've ever seen, so that has to bring up this weird place a bit.
21. Roger Williams Park Zoo (Providence, RI)- It's another one I've been going to since I was a little kid and honestly in the past few years it would've been lower, but I am appreciative of some of the changes they have been making and am excited to see it continue.
22. Maritime Aquarium (Norwalk, CT)- Another solid aquarium with some really really weird choices. Their habitat room with blue jays and skunks and whatnot are weird and honestly I don't love having those animals indoors. I also don't love the indoor harbor seal idea, but the exhibit is probably the best harbor seal exhibit in New England (maaaybe Mystic edges it out, I'm not 100% sure).
23. Smithsonian National Zoo (Washington D.C.)- The Asia trail and North America trail and Amazonia exhibits are all excellent, the rest of it leaves a lot to be desired. I'm excited for when the birds finally open up sometime in the next 300 years and it's nice that it's free, so that boosts it a bit, but the great ape house and small mammal house especially need massive upgrades. I'm not counting it because I only saw like 3 animals, but SCBI is excellent and I wish was visitable beyond their 1 day a year open house.
24. Stone Zoo (Stoneham, MA)- Stone and I have a rocky relationship as what is excellent is EXCELLENT, but what is bad is ABYSMAL. The Himalayan section with the wolf yard are top notch as is the Caribbean Coast area, but Windows to the World is probably the single worst exhibit complex I've ever seen.
25. Buffalo Zoo (Buffalo, NY)- Admittedly this is the one it's been the longest for me, more than the 5 years, but I did want to rank it anyway because I really really really hate their gorilla exhibit. I know the Tropic World is also indoor only from what I've heard but 1. I haven't seen it personally and 2. At least the zoo is changing that. Buffalo's is small and stagnant and I cannot stand it. The rest of the zoo is actually really solid, but this is unforgivable in my opinion. When and if they fix this, I'll reassess.
26. Franklin Park Zoo (Boston, MA)- In a similar boat to Buffalo, the gorillas here just finally got outdoor access in 2022 which is inexcusable. The big difference here is Buffalo Zoo otherwise I think is really solid where FPZ is just kind of middling. The raptor ridge habitat is great but the tropical house and bird house are not my favorites at all and the fact they cut down the savannah so much to make room for penguins bothers me a lot, especially where there are penguins right down the road at the aquarium.
27. Huntsman Marine Science Center (New Brunswick, Canada)- A small two-story aquarium that mostly focuses on native species. The tanks are solid enough but the seal exhibit is, as seems to be usual, not very good. It's one of two outside the USA facilities I've seen, but I do have plans to tackle the Quebec region in the next year or so.
28. Maine State Aquarium (Boothbay, ME)- It's a super small aquarium with a handful of really nice exhibits and a shark pool in the middle that sucked. However, for the past couple years since Covid this place has been under renovation and should open this summer so I'm excited to revisit and see if it's gotten better.
29. Shedd Aquarium (Chicago, IL)- The take that will get me the most hate for sure. I loved the aquarium side of it, in fact, the aquarium itself was probably the best I've ever seen. Entering the oceanarium I was also so excited, Shedd was the whole reason for my Chicago trip, and I was gut punched. The dolphin exhibit was fine, but the two exhibits the belugas had were so insanely tiny as was the sea lion habitat. These three exhibits alone took what was hyped up to me to be the greatest aquarium in the USA to being on the bottom half of my list. If they just had the dolphins I probably would've been okay with it, but as someone who fights for cetaceans in captivity, this exhibit singlehandedly made me question if I was actually in the right.
30. DEW Haven (Mount Vernon, ME)- DEW is a cute zoo in some peoples' backyard and while this is normally not a great thing, I actually think that for what it is, it's pretty solid. The lion and tiger exhibits are actually really stellar in my humble opinion, and these guys have been working hard on improving other stuff. It probably won't ever hit the levels of the AZA zoos or even private zoos like Southwicks just due to their location, budget, and personnel being very small, but I think in a vacuum, this place is good and their animal care is actually really solid. Just got dealt a bad hand I think.
31. Ecotarium (Worcester, MA)- I don't like calling things "gentrified" but that is the best term to use for this facility. The museum aspect is actually really solid here, but the animal stuff just feels urban and out of place. Honestly, nothing here is inherently bad (except for their ambassador quarters which I saw on a tour, but ambassadors always get screwed over) but even though the cougar and otter enclosures are generally pretty solid, the aesthetics of the place bother me a lot and the indoor stuff is just meh.
32. Capron Park Zoo (Attleboro, MA)- This zoo is trying its best and I do think has some charming elements, like the new tropical house and even the amur leopard and red panda exhibits are solid. Unfortunately, this place doesn't have the money to get new infrastructure which I feel it desperately needs. The old concrete walls and moats detract from what could otherwise be a cute little zoo. These old exhibits though just don't work for megafauna like lions or sloth bears. Their indoor section with servals, de brazzas, and meerkats also bothers me as these animals should be given outdoor access.
33. Squam Lake Natural Sciences Center (Holderness, NH)- This is the only AZA in New Hampshire (and only "true zoo" in NH at all) and it's honestly not very good. Their bear exhibit is a good 80% hotwire and their foxes and fishers rotate, meaning one animal spends a whole day indoors, which for either of these animals must be stressful. Their mink exhibit is also indoors and mustelids in general are pacers but indoor mustelids are a nightmare. The plus I will give it is the interpretation here is the best I've seen at a zoo.
34. Lupa Zoo (Ludlow, MA)- Same as DEW, ranking this one against the big heavy hitters isn't really fair due to what it is, and I really do like Lupa for its charm and honestly I don't think their exhibits are bad (for the most part) but the chaoticness and small budget does hurt it. They do their own hay growing though which is super neat! And other than their moon bear and otters, I do think their exhibits are rather solid, especially their ring-tailed lemurs.
35. Drumlin Farm (Lincoln, MA)- Drumlin Farm is mostly a working farm and those elements are great as is their red fox exhibit, it's actually probably the best fox exhibit I've seen besides maybe MWP, but as an Audubon Center, this place has raptor mews and they're among the worst I've seen. It's so disappointing to see Audubon have consistently bad bird exhibits when birds are their whole thing. I can't say it's worth the visit, but the fox exhibit is very nice.
36. ZooAmerica (Hershey, PA)- I don't think it's a hot take to say this place needs work. In fact, this is the first of the zoos I'd consider actively bad. It's not the worst of the worst and they do some good conservation work and it is free to enter (assuming you're at Hershey Park already) so those two things bump it up a little, but it's a zoo I want to see improve really bad because native species collections are always some of my favorites and could be done really well.
37. Living Shores Aquarium (Glen, NH)- This is the most corporate schlock facility I've ever been to. The whole place feels like a showroom with touch tanks sprinkled about. It's too clean and was clearly made by someone who wasn't an expert on fish (something the creator has said) and just wanted an aquarium to go with the amusement park next door. The lorikeet aviary is alright and I can't say most of the exhibits are bad, but also nothing is good, it's just middle of the road with the most disgusting aesthetics and an insanely high $25 ticket price for a place that takes maybe 20 minutes to get through if you're going slow.
38. York's Wild Kindom (York, ME)- This was the zoo I went to the most as a kid and I have a lot of nostalgia for it. It was also my first zoo job so I won't go into it too much, but there were only 2 exhibits I actively liked, being the Eurasian lynx and the squirrel monkey exhibits. Everything else is small and not very naturalistic. Not worth the visit (but it is for sale. Anyone wanna go halfsies?)
39. McLane Audubon Center (Concord, NH)- Another Audubon Center with just terrible garbage raptor mews. In fact, these raptor exhibits are the worst I've ever seen (which is saying a lot because raptors get screwed over a lot) but it is free to enter and the grounds are gorgeous, so a slight boost for those reasons. Great birding as well!
40. The Zoo at Forest Park (Springfield, MA)- A small ZAA zoo that doesn't have a single good exhibit in my opinion. Everything is too small and a lot of the animals are quite literally kept in gazebos, like their mink, snowy owl, and opossum. This zoo is not worth it and honestly is not just bad, it's also super boring.
41. Charmingfare Farm (Candia, NH)- The working farm elements here are actually really good, and honestly if it were just the farm, I'd visit all the time. But their exhibits for exotics are absolutely trash. Their bear exhibit is the best one, but their wolves, coyotes, and foxes are all the smallest of the kind I've seen. Their camel and fallow deer are also insultingly bad, especially considering the amount of pasture they have for cows and goats.
42. Beardsley Zoo (Bridgeport, CT)- The worst AZA I've ever seen. I genuinely can't think of a good thing to say about Beardsely besides yeah, their collection is neat. Their condor exhibit kicks off the stay with a resounding "meh" and nothing improves from there. The maned wolves are probably the best exhibit, but their leopard and tiger exhibits are actively bad and I can't recommend this zoo. The only thing I haven't seen here is their rainforest house, so I reserve judgement for that if I ever return (I probably will when the Andean bears arrive)
43. Animal Adventures (Bolton, MA)- And by an absolute mile, the worst animal facility I've ever seen has to be Animal Adventures. Every teeny tiny cramped exhibit is worse than the last with overstocked reptile tanks and a kangaroo exhibit that it quite literally cannot turn around in without its tail touching one of the walls around it. Animal Adventures isn't just bad, there's no saving it and it should be shut down. All of that on top of it pushing a creationist message on their programs which I personally feel is dangerous. Hands down the worst facility in the Northeast, the worst I've ever been to, and possibly among the absolute worst in the USA.
 
SusScrofa said:
Do you have any photos of Lazy 5 Ranch? I know they had a bunch of violations a couple of years ago, though I haven't heard too much recently making me think they might be improving. I was thinking of adding North Carolina to my recent zoo trip and this was a potential place to visit, but the weather was too cold so I did only SC.
Click to expand...

I do have photos, I just haven't gotten around to uploading them. Maybe I try to get some uploaded in the next few days.

I had no idea beforehand they had violations. I didn't see anything wrong per say during my visit; I just thought it's a very low quality facility. The drive-through safari is nice, although I was not fond of them mixing domestic and wild species. The on-foot zoo portion is just horrible. Oh, and it's a cash-only facility. They do not except cards of any kind.
 
PaintedDog said:
5. Southwicks Zoo (Mendon, MA)- I have a lot of nostalgia for this one so that's why it's here, but I really still think this zoo is the best non-AZA I've ever been to. They easily could be AZA but just don't want to be, which I kind of respect but also kind of wish they would try for it. Great homemade feel to this zoo that prioritizes proper animal social groups which I also really appreciate.
Click to expand...
I don't hate Southwicks Zoo, and there are a lot they do really well, but saying that "they easily could be AZA" could not be further from the truth. Much of the exhibitry and zoo policies are in no way in compliance with AZA standards.

First and foremost, the Deer Forest is an exhibit that would not fly in an AZA institution, due to policies about what limits and oversight is necessary in an AZA zoo. Many of the winter holdings also wouldn't fly with the AZA, and are significantly too small for their respective species. Personally, this is my biggest problem with Southwicks, as it is a zoo that puts on a good show, but some of what goes on behind the scenes is really not good. The AZA also really wouldn't appreciate a zoo that encourages baby monkeys to leave their exhibits. While these are a few of the bigger, glaring issues with Southwicks, there are a number of other factors that Southwicks would also be non-compliant with AZA policies (e.g. policies about pathway pavement, etc.). Southwicks is also the best non-AZA/CAZA accredited facility I've visited, but I also have only visited four unaccredited institutions, three of which left bad tastes in my mouth.

I'd take disagreement over some of your other rankings, but rankings are inherently subjective, but I wanted to respond to this point about Southwicks that I strongly disagree with. I will say that some of your comments are inconsistent though, criticizing some exhibits as "too small" and then praising exhibits that are in fact smaller for instance.
 
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PaintedDog said:
My friends and I have been going to zoos for the past 5 or so years since college so I'm only going to be ranking the ones I've been to in that time period, so some of the weird small places I saw as a kid won't be listed.

For my criteria, I care a whole lot less about the amount of species or rarity of species than I do naturalism of the exhibits, so there may be some hot takes here where Zoochatters love them but their exhibitory didn't hold up for me.

1. Disney's Animal Kingdom/Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge (Bay Lake, FL)- Two separate locations but I'm gonna lump them together. All the enclosures are spacious and the theming is top notch. My all time favorite zoo.
2. SeaWorld Orlando (Orlando, FL)- Similarly, I adore the exhibitory here and while it gets a lot of hate, I genuinely think this park has some of the best pinniped, penguin, and dolphin exhibits I've seen.
3. Bronx Zoo (Bronx, NY)- Definitely the best "true zoo" I've been to not counting the theme park entries. I love the historicity as well as naturalism. There are definitely exhibits here that need an update, but I think the combination of great exhibits and amount of species does push it to the top.
4. Brookfield Zoo (Chicago, IL)- To be fair, I visited this in 2021 so I didn't get to see most of the indoor exhibits which could push this way down, but as a first-time visitor, I appreciated the outdoor spaces I did see and the only thing I really didn't like was the dolphin exhibit. I didn't see Tropic World though I'm sure if I did it would bump this down a few spots as I can't stand primates indoor only (outside of stuff like JungleWorld or other really good tropical houses with lots of space)
5. Southwicks Zoo (Mendon, MA)- I have a lot of nostalgia for this one so that's why it's here, but I really still think this zoo is the best non-AZA I've ever been to. They easily could be AZA but just don't want to be, which I kind of respect but also kind of wish they would try for it. Great homemade feel to this zoo that prioritizes proper animal social groups which I also really appreciate.
6. Maine Wildlife Park (Gray, ME)- Probably the single zoo that makes me the happiest when I visit. I love the grounds, the exhibits are just fenced off natural habitat, it's rarely busy so the viewing is great, and they do a lot of important local conservation and education. My biggest gripe is some of the raptor mews need work.
7. Buttonwood Park Zoo (New Bedford, MA)- Might be a hot take putting this one up this high, but I think almost all the exhibits are super solid, including their indoor stuff which I'm usually not a fan of at zoos. It's small and takes only a little time, but it's one I really love and am excited for the master plan.
8. VINS (Quechee, VT)- A wholly avian park, I adore the mews here, all except for the bald and golden eagles, and the grounds are also absolutely gorgeous. It's one that has very little knowledge about it and think more people should make a point to visit.
9. Mystic Aquarium (Mystic, CT)- I normally don't love aquariums, but something about Mystic is really up there for me. The belgua exhibit alone boosts this super high as, while I support cetaceans in captivity, I find they aren't done right a lot of the time and Mystic definitely does. The aquarium element is solid too, my biggest gripes are the California sea lion stadium which sucks and the penguin exhibit.
10. The Seas with Nemo and Friends (Bay Lake, FL)- I love that this is a part of EPCOT that you can just go into in the park and I do think the main tank is awesome. The dolphins are done well as are the manatees which I appreciate, though it's an aquarium which makes it fall lower than some of the better zoos just based on my preference.
11. Lincoln Park Zoo (Chicago, IL)- I really loved a good chunk of this zoo, especially the end with the macaques. I thought the great ape habitats were solid and while I didn't get to see the lion building as it wasn't done yet, it too looked solid. It's a city zoo so I give it a bit more leeway with its hoofstock, but I do think the giraffe exhibit needs work and I want more of the monkeys to be able to be outside.
12. National Aquarium (Baltimore, MD)- This one has the longest gap since I've been to it, but it was a really solid aquarium and the Australia section had me gripped. Also solid enough dolphin exhibit though it's at the bottom of what I find acceptable personally.
13. Central Park Zoo (Manhattan, NY)- I love the rainforest habitat here as well as the red panda and brown bear exhibits. I do think the snow leopard could be better, but it suffices. Overall it's a nice little zoo, but like all the WCS zoos, the sea lion habitat sucks.
14. Seacoast Science Center (Rye, NH)- It's a super small aquarium on the New Hampshire seacoast with some of the best interpretation I've seen at any wildlife facility. I also found the tanks to be really solid with a heavy focus on native species. It's maybe not worth the $10 to get in if you don't stop to read everything, but I really appreciated it.
15. Fox Tales Rescue (Spring Hill, FL)- A fox sanctuary literally in someone's backyard, but the exhibits were immaculate and I got to spend time with the owners who have some of the best standards of care I've personally seen. Not open to the public, we got in transporting a fox into their care, but it was worth every second, if you're in the area, they sometimes do private tours.
16. New England Aquarium (Boston, MA)- New England Aquarium is a really solid aquarium with a terrible design. I think the exhibits are all adequate if not excellent (though their pinniped habitats need work) but the design of the place gets it so congested and it's impossible to actually spend much time at any one exhibit.
17. Prospect Park Zoo (Brooklyn, NY)- The weakest of the 3 WCS facilities I've been to (haven't seen Queens or NYA yet) and I really didn't like most of the indoor exhibits here and the aesthetics were super weird, but I did really love the outdoor trail portion which boosts this zoo up quite a bit. We only got like 30 minutes in the zoo so I'd definitely like to return at some point. Maybe a future trip to hit the other 2 I've missed.
18. Atlantis (Nassau, Bahamas)- It's a hotel, but the aquarium elements were super strong and the dolphin pools were also really nice. It's one of only two facilities I've seen outside the USA at this point (both being aquariums weirdly enough), but it's definitely a fun place to visit, and it's all free to get into which is nice too.
19. Southern Vermont Natural History Museum (Marlboro, VT)- It's mostly a museum, but they have a handful of raptor mews towards the back that are actually pretty excellent. Not as good as VINS or Maine Wildlife Park, but good in their own right. The reason this one is lower is their reptile exhibits need work as does their opossum exhibit.
20. Gatorland (Orlando, FL)- This zoo is kitschy and wacky with some really weird elements to it, but I have to say, the breeding marsh is probably my number one best exhibit I've ever seen, so that has to bring up this weird place a bit.
21. Roger Williams Park Zoo (Providence, RI)- It's another one I've been going to since I was a little kid and honestly in the past few years it would've been lower, but I am appreciative of some of the changes they have been making and am excited to see it continue.
22. Maritime Aquarium (Norwalk, CT)- Another solid aquarium with some really really weird choices. Their habitat room with blue jays and skunks and whatnot are weird and honestly I don't love having those animals indoors. I also don't love the indoor harbor seal idea, but the exhibit is probably the best harbor seal exhibit in New England (maaaybe Mystic edges it out, I'm not 100% sure).
23. Smithsonian National Zoo (Washington D.C.)- The Asia trail and North America trail and Amazonia exhibits are all excellent, the rest of it leaves a lot to be desired. I'm excited for when the birds finally open up sometime in the next 300 years and it's nice that it's free, so that boosts it a bit, but the great ape house and small mammal house especially need massive upgrades. I'm not counting it because I only saw like 3 animals, but SCBI is excellent and I wish was visitable beyond their 1 day a year open house.
24. Stone Zoo (Stoneham, MA)- Stone and I have a rocky relationship as what is excellent is EXCELLENT, but what is bad is ABYSMAL. The Himalayan section with the wolf yard are top notch as is the Caribbean Coast area, but Windows to the World is probably the single worst exhibit complex I've ever seen.
25. Buffalo Zoo (Buffalo, NY)- Admittedly this is the one it's been the longest for me, more than the 5 years, but I did want to rank it anyway because I really really really hate their gorilla exhibit. I know the Tropic World is also indoor only from what I've heard but 1. I haven't seen it personally and 2. At least the zoo is changing that. Buffalo's is small and stagnant and I cannot stand it. The rest of the zoo is actually really solid, but this is unforgivable in my opinion. When and if they fix this, I'll reassess.
26. Franklin Park Zoo (Boston, MA)- In a similar boat to Buffalo, the gorillas here just finally got outdoor access in 2022 which is inexcusable. The big difference here is Buffalo Zoo otherwise I think is really solid where FPZ is just kind of middling. The raptor ridge habitat is great but the tropical house and bird house are not my favorites at all and the fact they cut down the savannah so much to make room for penguins bothers me a lot, especially where there are penguins right down the road at the aquarium.
27. Huntsman Marine Science Center (New Brunswick, Canada)- A small two-story aquarium that mostly focuses on native species. The tanks are solid enough but the seal exhibit is, as seems to be usual, not very good. It's one of two outside the USA facilities I've seen, but I do have plans to tackle the Quebec region in the next year or so.
28. Maine State Aquarium (Boothbay, ME)- It's a super small aquarium with a handful of really nice exhibits and a shark pool in the middle that sucked. However, for the past couple years since Covid this place has been under renovation and should open this summer so I'm excited to revisit and see if it's gotten better.
29. Shedd Aquarium (Chicago, IL)- The take that will get me the most hate for sure. I loved the aquarium side of it, in fact, the aquarium itself was probably the best I've ever seen. Entering the oceanarium I was also so excited, Shedd was the whole reason for my Chicago trip, and I was gut punched. The dolphin exhibit was fine, but the two exhibits the belugas had were so insanely tiny as was the sea lion habitat. These three exhibits alone took what was hyped up to me to be the greatest aquarium in the USA to being on the bottom half of my list. If they just had the dolphins I probably would've been okay with it, but as someone who fights for cetaceans in captivity, this exhibit singlehandedly made me question if I was actually in the right.
30. DEW Haven (Mount Vernon, ME)- DEW is a cute zoo in some peoples' backyard and while this is normally not a great thing, I actually think that for what it is, it's pretty solid. The lion and tiger exhibits are actually really stellar in my humble opinion, and these guys have been working hard on improving other stuff. It probably won't ever hit the levels of the AZA zoos or even private zoos like Southwicks just due to their location, budget, and personnel being very small, but I think in a vacuum, this place is good and their animal care is actually really solid. Just got dealt a bad hand I think.
31. Ecotarium (Worcester, MA)- I don't like calling things "gentrified" but that is the best term to use for this facility. The museum aspect is actually really solid here, but the animal stuff just feels urban and out of place. Honestly, nothing here is inherently bad (except for their ambassador quarters which I saw on a tour, but ambassadors always get screwed over) but even though the cougar and otter enclosures are generally pretty solid, the aesthetics of the place bother me a lot and the indoor stuff is just meh.
32. Capron Park Zoo (Attleboro, MA)- This zoo is trying its best and I do think has some charming elements, like the new tropical house and even the amur leopard and red panda exhibits are solid. Unfortunately, this place doesn't have the money to get new infrastructure which I feel it desperately needs. The old concrete walls and moats detract from what could otherwise be a cute little zoo. These old exhibits though just don't work for megafauna like lions or sloth bears. Their indoor section with servals, de brazzas, and meerkats also bothers me as these animals should be given outdoor access.
33. Squam Lake Natural Sciences Center (Holderness, NH)- This is the only AZA in New Hampshire (and only "true zoo" in NH at all) and it's honestly not very good. Their bear exhibit is a good 80% hotwire and their foxes and fishers rotate, meaning one animal spends a whole day indoors, which for either of these animals must be stressful. Their mink exhibit is also indoors and mustelids in general are pacers but indoor mustelids are a nightmare. The plus I will give it is the interpretation here is the best I've seen at a zoo.
34. Lupa Zoo (Ludlow, MA)- Same as DEW, ranking this one against the big heavy hitters isn't really fair due to what it is, and I really do like Lupa for its charm and honestly I don't think their exhibits are bad (for the most part) but the chaoticness and small budget does hurt it. They do their own hay growing though which is super neat! And other than their moon bear and otters, I do think their exhibits are rather solid, especially their ring-tailed lemurs.
35. Drumlin Farm (Lincoln, MA)- Drumlin Farm is mostly a working farm and those elements are great as is their red fox exhibit, it's actually probably the best fox exhibit I've seen besides maybe MWP, but as an Audubon Center, this place has raptor mews and they're among the worst I've seen. It's so disappointing to see Audubon have consistently bad bird exhibits when birds are their whole thing. I can't say it's worth the visit, but the fox exhibit is very nice.
36. ZooAmerica (Hershey, PA)- I don't think it's a hot take to say this place needs work. In fact, this is the first of the zoos I'd consider actively bad. It's not the worst of the worst and they do some good conservation work and it is free to enter (assuming you're at Hershey Park already) so those two things bump it up a little, but it's a zoo I want to see improve really bad because native species collections are always some of my favorites and could be done really well.
37. Living Shores Aquarium (Glen, NH)- This is the most corporate schlock facility I've ever been to. The whole place feels like a showroom with touch tanks sprinkled about. It's too clean and was clearly made by someone who wasn't an expert on fish (something the creator has said) and just wanted an aquarium to go with the amusement park next door. The lorikeet aviary is alright and I can't say most of the exhibits are bad, but also nothing is good, it's just middle of the road with the most disgusting aesthetics and an insanely high $25 ticket price for a place that takes maybe 20 minutes to get through if you're going slow.
38. York's Wild Kindom (York, ME)- This was the zoo I went to the most as a kid and I have a lot of nostalgia for it. It was also my first zoo job so I won't go into it too much, but there were only 2 exhibits I actively liked, being the Eurasian lynx and the squirrel monkey exhibits. Everything else is small and not very naturalistic. Not worth the visit (but it is for sale. Anyone wanna go halfsies?)
39. McLane Audubon Center (Concord, NH)- Another Audubon Center with just terrible garbage raptor mews. In fact, these raptor exhibits are the worst I've ever seen (which is saying a lot because raptors get screwed over a lot) but it is free to enter and the grounds are gorgeous, so a slight boost for those reasons. Great birding as well!
40. The Zoo at Forest Park (Springfield, MA)- A small ZAA zoo that doesn't have a single good exhibit in my opinion. Everything is too small and a lot of the animals are quite literally kept in gazebos, like their mink, snowy owl, and opossum. This zoo is not worth it and honestly is not just bad, it's also super boring.
41. Charmingfare Farm (Candia, NH)- The working farm elements here are actually really good, and honestly if it were just the farm, I'd visit all the time. But their exhibits for exotics are absolutely trash. Their bear exhibit is the best one, but their wolves, coyotes, and foxes are all the smallest of the kind I've seen. Their camel and fallow deer are also insultingly bad, especially considering the amount of pasture they have for cows and goats.
42. Beardsley Zoo (Bridgeport, CT)- The worst AZA I've ever seen. I genuinely can't think of a good thing to say about Beardsely besides yeah, their collection is neat. Their condor exhibit kicks off the stay with a resounding "meh" and nothing improves from there. The maned wolves are probably the best exhibit, but their leopard and tiger exhibits are actively bad and I can't recommend this zoo. The only thing I haven't seen here is their rainforest house, so I reserve judgement for that if I ever return (I probably will when the Andean bears arrive)
43. Animal Adventures (Bolton, MA)- And by an absolute mile, the worst animal facility I've ever seen has to be Animal Adventures. Every teeny tiny cramped exhibit is worse than the last with overstocked reptile tanks and a kangaroo exhibit that it quite literally cannot turn around in without its tail touching one of the walls around it. Animal Adventures isn't just bad, there's no saving it and it should be shut down. All of that on top of it pushing a creationist message on their programs which I personally feel is dangerous. Hands down the worst facility in the Northeast, the worst I've ever been to, and possibly among the absolute worst in the USA.
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This is a craaazy list, but it can be refreshing to see such unusual opinions.

One of your hot takes that I appreciated was seeing you rank Buttonwood so high. I wouldn't put it quite as high as you did, but I visited for the first time last month and it is a zoo I keep thinking about. If their masterplan progresses, I think they could become the best zoo in the northeast.

On the other hand, there were some areas where I disagreed with your rankings (with the low position of the National Zoo being one of the biggest points of disagreement). I am also surprised you ranked the Ecotarium so low, even though you said the place had high-quality exhibits and museum displays. Another opinion I didn't expect was your dislike for Central Park's snow leopard exhibit. I think the snow leopard area is very strong in terms of naturalism and immersion, and I have instead always found the mock-rock bear exhibit next-door to be the one in a weaker position. I also think it is unfair to criticize FPZ's lack of an outdoor gorilla exhibit, considering that this is one of the zoo's weaknesses that they just remedied-- an achievement that was 15 years in the making.
 
PaintedDog said:
My friends and I have been going to zoos for the past 5 or so years since college so I'm only going to be ranking the ones I've been to in that time period, so some of the weird small places I saw as a kid won't be listed.

For my criteria, I care a whole lot less about the amount of species or rarity of species than I do naturalism of the exhibits, so there may be some hot takes here where Zoochatters love them but their exhibitory didn't hold up for me.

1. Disney's Animal Kingdom/Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge (Bay Lake, FL)- Two separate locations but I'm gonna lump them together. All the enclosures are spacious and the theming is top notch. My all time favorite zoo.
2. SeaWorld Orlando (Orlando, FL)- Similarly, I adore the exhibitory here and while it gets a lot of hate, I genuinely think this park has some of the best pinniped, penguin, and dolphin exhibits I've seen.
3. Bronx Zoo (Bronx, NY)- Definitely the best "true zoo" I've been to not counting the theme park entries. I love the historicity as well as naturalism. There are definitely exhibits here that need an update, but I think the combination of great exhibits and amount of species does push it to the top.
4. Brookfield Zoo (Chicago, IL)- To be fair, I visited this in 2021 so I didn't get to see most of the indoor exhibits which could push this way down, but as a first-time visitor, I appreciated the outdoor spaces I did see and the only thing I really didn't like was the dolphin exhibit. I didn't see Tropic World though I'm sure if I did it would bump this down a few spots as I can't stand primates indoor only (outside of stuff like JungleWorld or other really good tropical houses with lots of space)
5. Southwicks Zoo (Mendon, MA)- I have a lot of nostalgia for this one so that's why it's here, but I really still think this zoo is the best non-AZA I've ever been to. They easily could be AZA but just don't want to be, which I kind of respect but also kind of wish they would try for it. Great homemade feel to this zoo that prioritizes proper animal social groups which I also really appreciate.
6. Maine Wildlife Park (Gray, ME)- Probably the single zoo that makes me the happiest when I visit. I love the grounds, the exhibits are just fenced off natural habitat, it's rarely busy so the viewing is great, and they do a lot of important local conservation and education. My biggest gripe is some of the raptor mews need work.
7. Buttonwood Park Zoo (New Bedford, MA)- Might be a hot take putting this one up this high, but I think almost all the exhibits are super solid, including their indoor stuff which I'm usually not a fan of at zoos. It's small and takes only a little time, but it's one I really love and am excited for the master plan.
8. VINS (Quechee, VT)- A wholly avian park, I adore the mews here, all except for the bald and golden eagles, and the grounds are also absolutely gorgeous. It's one that has very little knowledge about it and think more people should make a point to visit.
9. Mystic Aquarium (Mystic, CT)- I normally don't love aquariums, but something about Mystic is really up there for me. The belgua exhibit alone boosts this super high as, while I support cetaceans in captivity, I find they aren't done right a lot of the time and Mystic definitely does. The aquarium element is solid too, my biggest gripes are the California sea lion stadium which sucks and the penguin exhibit.
10. The Seas with Nemo and Friends (Bay Lake, FL)- I love that this is a part of EPCOT that you can just go into in the park and I do think the main tank is awesome. The dolphins are done well as are the manatees which I appreciate, though it's an aquarium which makes it fall lower than some of the better zoos just based on my preference.
11. Lincoln Park Zoo (Chicago, IL)- I really loved a good chunk of this zoo, especially the end with the macaques. I thought the great ape habitats were solid and while I didn't get to see the lion building as it wasn't done yet, it too looked solid. It's a city zoo so I give it a bit more leeway with its hoofstock, but I do think the giraffe exhibit needs work and I want more of the monkeys to be able to be outside.
12. National Aquarium (Baltimore, MD)- This one has the longest gap since I've been to it, but it was a really solid aquarium and the Australia section had me gripped. Also solid enough dolphin exhibit though it's at the bottom of what I find acceptable personally.
13. Central Park Zoo (Manhattan, NY)- I love the rainforest habitat here as well as the red panda and brown bear exhibits. I do think the snow leopard could be better, but it suffices. Overall it's a nice little zoo, but like all the WCS zoos, the sea lion habitat sucks.
14. Seacoast Science Center (Rye, NH)- It's a super small aquarium on the New Hampshire seacoast with some of the best interpretation I've seen at any wildlife facility. I also found the tanks to be really solid with a heavy focus on native species. It's maybe not worth the $10 to get in if you don't stop to read everything, but I really appreciated it.
15. Fox Tales Rescue (Spring Hill, FL)- A fox sanctuary literally in someone's backyard, but the exhibits were immaculate and I got to spend time with the owners who have some of the best standards of care I've personally seen. Not open to the public, we got in transporting a fox into their care, but it was worth every second, if you're in the area, they sometimes do private tours.
16. New England Aquarium (Boston, MA)- New England Aquarium is a really solid aquarium with a terrible design. I think the exhibits are all adequate if not excellent (though their pinniped habitats need work) but the design of the place gets it so congested and it's impossible to actually spend much time at any one exhibit.
17. Prospect Park Zoo (Brooklyn, NY)- The weakest of the 3 WCS facilities I've been to (haven't seen Queens or NYA yet) and I really didn't like most of the indoor exhibits here and the aesthetics were super weird, but I did really love the outdoor trail portion which boosts this zoo up quite a bit. We only got like 30 minutes in the zoo so I'd definitely like to return at some point. Maybe a future trip to hit the other 2 I've missed.
18. Atlantis (Nassau, Bahamas)- It's a hotel, but the aquarium elements were super strong and the dolphin pools were also really nice. It's one of only two facilities I've seen outside the USA at this point (both being aquariums weirdly enough), but it's definitely a fun place to visit, and it's all free to get into which is nice too.
19. Southern Vermont Natural History Museum (Marlboro, VT)- It's mostly a museum, but they have a handful of raptor mews towards the back that are actually pretty excellent. Not as good as VINS or Maine Wildlife Park, but good in their own right. The reason this one is lower is their reptile exhibits need work as does their opossum exhibit.
20. Gatorland (Orlando, FL)- This zoo is kitschy and wacky with some really weird elements to it, but I have to say, the breeding marsh is probably my number one best exhibit I've ever seen, so that has to bring up this weird place a bit.
21. Roger Williams Park Zoo (Providence, RI)- It's another one I've been going to since I was a little kid and honestly in the past few years it would've been lower, but I am appreciative of some of the changes they have been making and am excited to see it continue.
22. Maritime Aquarium (Norwalk, CT)- Another solid aquarium with some really really weird choices. Their habitat room with blue jays and skunks and whatnot are weird and honestly I don't love having those animals indoors. I also don't love the indoor harbor seal idea, but the exhibit is probably the best harbor seal exhibit in New England (maaaybe Mystic edges it out, I'm not 100% sure).
23. Smithsonian National Zoo (Washington D.C.)- The Asia trail and North America trail and Amazonia exhibits are all excellent, the rest of it leaves a lot to be desired. I'm excited for when the birds finally open up sometime in the next 300 years and it's nice that it's free, so that boosts it a bit, but the great ape house and small mammal house especially need massive upgrades. I'm not counting it because I only saw like 3 animals, but SCBI is excellent and I wish was visitable beyond their 1 day a year open house.
24. Stone Zoo (Stoneham, MA)- Stone and I have a rocky relationship as what is excellent is EXCELLENT, but what is bad is ABYSMAL. The Himalayan section with the wolf yard are top notch as is the Caribbean Coast area, but Windows to the World is probably the single worst exhibit complex I've ever seen.
25. Buffalo Zoo (Buffalo, NY)- Admittedly this is the one it's been the longest for me, more than the 5 years, but I did want to rank it anyway because I really really really hate their gorilla exhibit. I know the Tropic World is also indoor only from what I've heard but 1. I haven't seen it personally and 2. At least the zoo is changing that. Buffalo's is small and stagnant and I cannot stand it. The rest of the zoo is actually really solid, but this is unforgivable in my opinion. When and if they fix this, I'll reassess.
26. Franklin Park Zoo (Boston, MA)- In a similar boat to Buffalo, the gorillas here just finally got outdoor access in 2022 which is inexcusable. The big difference here is Buffalo Zoo otherwise I think is really solid where FPZ is just kind of middling. The raptor ridge habitat is great but the tropical house and bird house are not my favorites at all and the fact they cut down the savannah so much to make room for penguins bothers me a lot, especially where there are penguins right down the road at the aquarium.
27. Huntsman Marine Science Center (New Brunswick, Canada)- A small two-story aquarium that mostly focuses on native species. The tanks are solid enough but the seal exhibit is, as seems to be usual, not very good. It's one of two outside the USA facilities I've seen, but I do have plans to tackle the Quebec region in the next year or so.
28. Maine State Aquarium (Boothbay, ME)- It's a super small aquarium with a handful of really nice exhibits and a shark pool in the middle that sucked. However, for the past couple years since Covid this place has been under renovation and should open this summer so I'm excited to revisit and see if it's gotten better.
29. Shedd Aquarium (Chicago, IL)- The take that will get me the most hate for sure. I loved the aquarium side of it, in fact, the aquarium itself was probably the best I've ever seen. Entering the oceanarium I was also so excited, Shedd was the whole reason for my Chicago trip, and I was gut punched. The dolphin exhibit was fine, but the two exhibits the belugas had were so insanely tiny as was the sea lion habitat. These three exhibits alone took what was hyped up to me to be the greatest aquarium in the USA to being on the bottom half of my list. If they just had the dolphins I probably would've been okay with it, but as someone who fights for cetaceans in captivity, this exhibit singlehandedly made me question if I was actually in the right.
30. DEW Haven (Mount Vernon, ME)- DEW is a cute zoo in some peoples' backyard and while this is normally not a great thing, I actually think that for what it is, it's pretty solid. The lion and tiger exhibits are actually really stellar in my humble opinion, and these guys have been working hard on improving other stuff. It probably won't ever hit the levels of the AZA zoos or even private zoos like Southwicks just due to their location, budget, and personnel being very small, but I think in a vacuum, this place is good and their animal care is actually really solid. Just got dealt a bad hand I think.
31. Ecotarium (Worcester, MA)- I don't like calling things "gentrified" but that is the best term to use for this facility. The museum aspect is actually really solid here, but the animal stuff just feels urban and out of place. Honestly, nothing here is inherently bad (except for their ambassador quarters which I saw on a tour, but ambassadors always get screwed over) but even though the cougar and otter enclosures are generally pretty solid, the aesthetics of the place bother me a lot and the indoor stuff is just meh.
32. Capron Park Zoo (Attleboro, MA)- This zoo is trying its best and I do think has some charming elements, like the new tropical house and even the amur leopard and red panda exhibits are solid. Unfortunately, this place doesn't have the money to get new infrastructure which I feel it desperately needs. The old concrete walls and moats detract from what could otherwise be a cute little zoo. These old exhibits though just don't work for megafauna like lions or sloth bears. Their indoor section with servals, de brazzas, and meerkats also bothers me as these animals should be given outdoor access.
33. Squam Lake Natural Sciences Center (Holderness, NH)- This is the only AZA in New Hampshire (and only "true zoo" in NH at all) and it's honestly not very good. Their bear exhibit is a good 80% hotwire and their foxes and fishers rotate, meaning one animal spends a whole day indoors, which for either of these animals must be stressful. Their mink exhibit is also indoors and mustelids in general are pacers but indoor mustelids are a nightmare. The plus I will give it is the interpretation here is the best I've seen at a zoo.
34. Lupa Zoo (Ludlow, MA)- Same as DEW, ranking this one against the big heavy hitters isn't really fair due to what it is, and I really do like Lupa for its charm and honestly I don't think their exhibits are bad (for the most part) but the chaoticness and small budget does hurt it. They do their own hay growing though which is super neat! And other than their moon bear and otters, I do think their exhibits are rather solid, especially their ring-tailed lemurs.
35. Drumlin Farm (Lincoln, MA)- Drumlin Farm is mostly a working farm and those elements are great as is their red fox exhibit, it's actually probably the best fox exhibit I've seen besides maybe MWP, but as an Audubon Center, this place has raptor mews and they're among the worst I've seen. It's so disappointing to see Audubon have consistently bad bird exhibits when birds are their whole thing. I can't say it's worth the visit, but the fox exhibit is very nice.
36. ZooAmerica (Hershey, PA)- I don't think it's a hot take to say this place needs work. In fact, this is the first of the zoos I'd consider actively bad. It's not the worst of the worst and they do some good conservation work and it is free to enter (assuming you're at Hershey Park already) so those two things bump it up a little, but it's a zoo I want to see improve really bad because native species collections are always some of my favorites and could be done really well.
37. Living Shores Aquarium (Glen, NH)- This is the most corporate schlock facility I've ever been to. The whole place feels like a showroom with touch tanks sprinkled about. It's too clean and was clearly made by someone who wasn't an expert on fish (something the creator has said) and just wanted an aquarium to go with the amusement park next door. The lorikeet aviary is alright and I can't say most of the exhibits are bad, but also nothing is good, it's just middle of the road with the most disgusting aesthetics and an insanely high $25 ticket price for a place that takes maybe 20 minutes to get through if you're going slow.
38. York's Wild Kindom (York, ME)- This was the zoo I went to the most as a kid and I have a lot of nostalgia for it. It was also my first zoo job so I won't go into it too much, but there were only 2 exhibits I actively liked, being the Eurasian lynx and the squirrel monkey exhibits. Everything else is small and not very naturalistic. Not worth the visit (but it is for sale. Anyone wanna go halfsies?)
39. McLane Audubon Center (Concord, NH)- Another Audubon Center with just terrible garbage raptor mews. In fact, these raptor exhibits are the worst I've ever seen (which is saying a lot because raptors get screwed over a lot) but it is free to enter and the grounds are gorgeous, so a slight boost for those reasons. Great birding as well!
40. The Zoo at Forest Park (Springfield, MA)- A small ZAA zoo that doesn't have a single good exhibit in my opinion. Everything is too small and a lot of the animals are quite literally kept in gazebos, like their mink, snowy owl, and opossum. This zoo is not worth it and honestly is not just bad, it's also super boring.
41. Charmingfare Farm (Candia, NH)- The working farm elements here are actually really good, and honestly if it were just the farm, I'd visit all the time. But their exhibits for exotics are absolutely trash. Their bear exhibit is the best one, but their wolves, coyotes, and foxes are all the smallest of the kind I've seen. Their camel and fallow deer are also insultingly bad, especially considering the amount of pasture they have for cows and goats.
42. Beardsley Zoo (Bridgeport, CT)- The worst AZA I've ever seen. I genuinely can't think of a good thing to say about Beardsely besides yeah, their collection is neat. Their condor exhibit kicks off the stay with a resounding "meh" and nothing improves from there. The maned wolves are probably the best exhibit, but their leopard and tiger exhibits are actively bad and I can't recommend this zoo. The only thing I haven't seen here is their rainforest house, so I reserve judgement for that if I ever return (I probably will when the Andean bears arrive)
43. Animal Adventures (Bolton, MA)- And by an absolute mile, the worst animal facility I've ever seen has to be Animal Adventures. Every teeny tiny cramped exhibit is worse than the last with overstocked reptile tanks and a kangaroo exhibit that it quite literally cannot turn around in without its tail touching one of the walls around it. Animal Adventures isn't just bad, there's no saving it and it should be shut down. All of that on top of it pushing a creationist message on their programs which I personally feel is dangerous. Hands down the worst facility in the Northeast, the worst I've ever been to, and possibly among the absolute worst in the USA.
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Fun list! We all have our preferences for one reason or another. I would not list Gatorland over National Zoo....but hey, if you love gators then that would make sense. Thanks for taking the time to write all that out, it is a lot of fun to read your opinions.
 
ZooElephantsMan said:
This is a craaazy list, but it can be refreshing to see such unusual opinions.

One of your hot takes that I appreciated was seeing you rank Buttonwood so high. I wouldn't put it quite as high as you did, but I visited for the first time last month and it is a zoo I keep thinking about. If their masterplan progresses, I think they could become the best zoo in the northeast.

On the other hand, there were some areas where I disagreed with your rankings (with the low position of the National Zoo being one of the biggest points of disagreement). I am also surprised you ranked the Ecotarium so low, even though you said the place had high-quality exhibits and museum displays. Another opinion I didn't expect was your dislike for Central Park's snow leopard exhibit. I think the snow leopard area is very strong in terms of naturalism and immersion, and I have instead always found the mock-rock bear exhibit next-door to be the one in a weaker position. I also think it is unfair to criticize FPZ's lack of an outdoor gorilla exhibit, considering that this is one of the zoo's weaknesses that they just remedied-- an achievement that was 15 years in the making.
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On the lines of FPZ, I'm a little confused by this line in the review:
PaintedDog said:
the fact they cut down the savannah so much to make room for penguins bothers me a lot,
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Has the zoo actually broken ground on a penguin exhibit? If so, that'd be news to me. I'm aware that it's a part of the zoo's long-term plan, but not that they've already "cut down the savanna" for it. I will say, however, that the FPZ Serengeti is one of the most understocked and oversized exhibits I've ever seen, so there's a real need to either:
a. add more species to the savanna
b. decrease the space of the exhibit

I also agree with the take on Buttonwood Park Zoo, and think that it is truly an incredible institution that punches well above it's size, especially in terms of its waterfowl and new world primates. To add on to what @ZooElephantsMan said, I disagree with the criticism of FPZ's gorilla exhibit, and actually felt as though it was a good exhibit even before Gorilla Grove was built, and is now truly an incredible exhibit (even if it has led to more time the gorillas are out of view).
 
Neil chace said:
I don't hate Southwicks Zoo, and there are a lot they do really well, but saying that "they easily could be AZA" could not be further from the truth. Much of the exhibitry and zoo policies are in no way in compliance with AZA standards.

First and foremost, the Deer Forest is an exhibit that would not fly in an AZA institution, due to policies about what limits and oversight is necessary in an AZA zoo. Many of the winter holdings also wouldn't fly with the AZA, and are significantly too small for their respective species. Personally, this is my biggest problem with Southwicks, as it is a zoo that puts on a good show, but some of what goes on behind the scenes is really not good. The AZA also really wouldn't appreciate a zoo that encourages baby monkeys to leave their exhibits. While these are a few of the bigger, glaring issues with Southwicks, there are a number of other factors that Southwicks would also be non-compliant with AZA policies (e.g. policies about pathway pavement, etc.). Southwicks is also the best non-AZA/CAZA accredited facility I've visited, but I also have only visited four unaccredited institutions, three of which left bad tastes in my mouth.

I'd take disagreement over some of your other rankings, but rankings are inherently subjective, but I wanted to respond to this point about Southwicks that I strongly disagree with. I will say that some of your comments are inconsistent though, criticizing some exhibits as "too small" and then praising exhibits that are in fact smaller for instance.
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You're probably right that it would have to change things to get the accreditation officially, my point was more that it can fit easily within the echelon of smaller AZAs in terms of size, collection, etc. rather than minute stuff. Sure it'd need a fix, but I'd argue if I were on the AZA board I'd give accreditation to Southwicks way before I did to ZooAmerica or Beardsley based on what they have for the guests to see and comparing those zoos all together, if they can be AZA, so can Southwicks with a bit of work.

As for my "inconsistencies" I was just highlighting the best and worst of the facilities I was mentioning, not necessarily pitting individual things against each other. A lot goes into ranking facilities and I just had a few sentences. Some have also been a few years so I'm going off of memory and need to go back and maybe my opinions will change. Also, sometimes you just don't like something and that's okay. These aren't the end all be all and I change my list constantly through the year as I visit more and more, so my list in August could be almost entirely different minus a few things that usually stay put (#1 and the last)

ZooElephantsMan said:
This is a craaazy list, but it can be refreshing to see such unusual opinions.

One of your hot takes that I appreciated was seeing you rank Buttonwood so high. I wouldn't put it quite as high as you did, but I visited for the first time last month and it is a zoo I keep thinking about. If their masterplan progresses, I think they could become the best zoo in the northeast.

On the other hand, there were some areas where I disagreed with your rankings (with the low position of the National Zoo being one of the biggest points of disagreement). I am also surprised you ranked the Ecotarium so low, even though you said the place had high-quality exhibits and museum displays. Another opinion I didn't expect was your dislike for Central Park's snow leopard exhibit. I think the snow leopard area is very strong in terms of naturalism and immersion, and I have instead always found the mock-rock bear exhibit next-door to be the one in a weaker position. I also think it is unfair to criticize FPZ's lack of an outdoor gorilla exhibit, considering that this is one of the zoo's weaknesses that they just remedied-- an achievement that was 15 years in the making.
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There definitely are some hot takes in here haha. I adore Buttonwood and every time I've visited it's been a great experience. It's also one of the few facilities I've gotten to see behind the scenes of as well and that's something that boosts it in my favorites ranking having seen more of it and having met their (now former) director, Keith, who had a lot of the same positions on animal care that I had.

As for Ecotarium, I rank it lower because I just really don't enjoy visiting it, as nice as some of the stuff is. The otters and cougars, as I mentioned, were really nice but the rest of the stuff isn't great in my opinion, especially their wetlands hallway, and their building with kestrel, woodchuck, screech owl, and flying squirrels also bothers me a lot. I think it's a great museum but the animal stuff leaves some to be desired.

Central Park was a complete fluke on me, I switched from mobile to laptop for the review around then and must've gotten them swapped. I totally meant I like snow leopard and brown bear leaves some to be desired. I would edit it if I could! And yeah, FPZ's gorilla comment wasn't a critique of FPZ, it was actually boosting it, I was just completing the throughline from Buffalo where I was talking about indoor gorillas. I actually love the outdoor gorilla space at FPZ and should've made that more clear. I was writing on my lunch break because I thought it would be a fun exercise but I'm realizing it actually was not.
 
Neil chace said:
On the lines of FPZ, I'm a little confused by this line in the review:

Has the zoo actually broken ground on a penguin exhibit? If so, that'd be news to me. I'm aware that it's a part of the zoo's long-term plan, but not that they've already "cut down the savanna" for it. I will say, however, that the FPZ Serengeti is one of the most understocked and oversized exhibits I've ever seen, so there's a real need to either:
a. add more species to the savanna
b. decrease the space of the exhibit

I also agree with the take on Buttonwood Park Zoo, and think that it is truly an incredible institution that punches well above it's size, especially in terms of its waterfowl and new world primates. To add on to what @ZooElephantsMan said, I disagree with the criticism of FPZ's gorilla exhibit, and actually felt as though it was a good exhibit even before Gorilla Grove was built, and is now truly an incredible exhibit (even if it has led to more time the gorillas are out of view).
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There hasn't been recent construction on the Penguin Zone yet, as far as I know. I believe PaintedDog is referring to how Serengetti Crossing was decreased in size by around ~30,000 feet in 2017 to expand the grass plaza area that stretches from the zoo entrance to the wattled crane exhibit. This space is also supposed to be the site of the future penguin/entrance project, but the project was delayed after the land was cleared, with the zoo deciding to work on the new outdoor gorilla area first.

EDIT: Here is an image of the old zoo map. The ostrich icon is on the part of Serengeti Crossing that was removed.
b81f015519f4920efc04b50944ad841a-1.jpg
 
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Astrotom3000 said:
  • 8). Florida Aquarium (Tampa, FL)
    • Excellent native wildlife exhibit with Wetlands of Florida. Rest of aquarium has a mostly standard collection, but great presentation. Madagascar exhibit was a let down.
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Yeah, and Madagascar is better than it used to be. It has always felt kind of shoe horned in - and it is. It is strange how they built it over the wetlands area and the path takes you back to the start of wetlands, causing a lot of back tracking. I actually think it would be a stronger exhibit without the lemurs. They just don't fit. Madagascar was also the first non-Florida exhibit area, so it really didn't fit at all when they opened it. Now that the aquarium is becoming more generic it fits better, which is not really a good thing overall but is good for the Madagascar part.
 
PaintedDog said:
My friends and I have been going to zoos for the past 5 or so years since college so I'm only going to be ranking the ones I've been to in that time period, so some of the weird small places I saw as a kid won't be listed.

For my criteria, I care a whole lot less about the amount of species or rarity of species than I do naturalism of the exhibits, so there may be some hot takes here where Zoochatters love them but their exhibitory didn't hold up for me.

1. Disney's Animal Kingdom/Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge (Bay Lake, FL)- Two separate locations but I'm gonna lump them together. All the enclosures are spacious and the theming is top notch. My all time favorite zoo.
2. SeaWorld Orlando (Orlando, FL)- Similarly, I adore the exhibitory here and while it gets a lot of hate, I genuinely think this park has some of the best pinniped, penguin, and dolphin exhibits I've seen.
3. Bronx Zoo (Bronx, NY)- Definitely the best "true zoo" I've been to not counting the theme park entries. I love the historicity as well as naturalism. There are definitely exhibits here that need an update, but I think the combination of great exhibits and amount of species does push it to the top.
4. Brookfield Zoo (Chicago, IL)- To be fair, I visited this in 2021 so I didn't get to see most of the indoor exhibits which could push this way down, but as a first-time visitor, I appreciated the outdoor spaces I did see and the only thing I really didn't like was the dolphin exhibit. I didn't see Tropic World though I'm sure if I did it would bump this down a few spots as I can't stand primates indoor only (outside of stuff like JungleWorld or other really good tropical houses with lots of space)
5. Southwicks Zoo (Mendon, MA)- I have a lot of nostalgia for this one so that's why it's here, but I really still think this zoo is the best non-AZA I've ever been to. They easily could be AZA but just don't want to be, which I kind of respect but also kind of wish they would try for it. Great homemade feel to this zoo that prioritizes proper animal social groups which I also really appreciate.
6. Maine Wildlife Park (Gray, ME)- Probably the single zoo that makes me the happiest when I visit. I love the grounds, the exhibits are just fenced off natural habitat, it's rarely busy so the viewing is great, and they do a lot of important local conservation and education. My biggest gripe is some of the raptor mews need work.
7. Buttonwood Park Zoo (New Bedford, MA)- Might be a hot take putting this one up this high, but I think almost all the exhibits are super solid, including their indoor stuff which I'm usually not a fan of at zoos. It's small and takes only a little time, but it's one I really love and am excited for the master plan.
8. VINS (Quechee, VT)- A wholly avian park, I adore the mews here, all except for the bald and golden eagles, and the grounds are also absolutely gorgeous. It's one that has very little knowledge about it and think more people should make a point to visit.
9. Mystic Aquarium (Mystic, CT)- I normally don't love aquariums, but something about Mystic is really up there for me. The belgua exhibit alone boosts this super high as, while I support cetaceans in captivity, I find they aren't done right a lot of the time and Mystic definitely does. The aquarium element is solid too, my biggest gripes are the California sea lion stadium which sucks and the penguin exhibit.
10. The Seas with Nemo and Friends (Bay Lake, FL)- I love that this is a part of EPCOT that you can just go into in the park and I do think the main tank is awesome. The dolphins are done well as are the manatees which I appreciate, though it's an aquarium which makes it fall lower than some of the better zoos just based on my preference.
11. Lincoln Park Zoo (Chicago, IL)- I really loved a good chunk of this zoo, especially the end with the macaques. I thought the great ape habitats were solid and while I didn't get to see the lion building as it wasn't done yet, it too looked solid. It's a city zoo so I give it a bit more leeway with its hoofstock, but I do think the giraffe exhibit needs work and I want more of the monkeys to be able to be outside.
12. National Aquarium (Baltimore, MD)- This one has the longest gap since I've been to it, but it was a really solid aquarium and the Australia section had me gripped. Also solid enough dolphin exhibit though it's at the bottom of what I find acceptable personally.
13. Central Park Zoo (Manhattan, NY)- I love the rainforest habitat here as well as the red panda and brown bear exhibits. I do think the snow leopard could be better, but it suffices. Overall it's a nice little zoo, but like all the WCS zoos, the sea lion habitat sucks.
14. Seacoast Science Center (Rye, NH)- It's a super small aquarium on the New Hampshire seacoast with some of the best interpretation I've seen at any wildlife facility. I also found the tanks to be really solid with a heavy focus on native species. It's maybe not worth the $10 to get in if you don't stop to read everything, but I really appreciated it.
15. Fox Tales Rescue (Spring Hill, FL)- A fox sanctuary literally in someone's backyard, but the exhibits were immaculate and I got to spend time with the owners who have some of the best standards of care I've personally seen. Not open to the public, we got in transporting a fox into their care, but it was worth every second, if you're in the area, they sometimes do private tours.
16. New England Aquarium (Boston, MA)- New England Aquarium is a really solid aquarium with a terrible design. I think the exhibits are all adequate if not excellent (though their pinniped habitats need work) but the design of the place gets it so congested and it's impossible to actually spend much time at any one exhibit.
17. Prospect Park Zoo (Brooklyn, NY)- The weakest of the 3 WCS facilities I've been to (haven't seen Queens or NYA yet) and I really didn't like most of the indoor exhibits here and the aesthetics were super weird, but I did really love the outdoor trail portion which boosts this zoo up quite a bit. We only got like 30 minutes in the zoo so I'd definitely like to return at some point. Maybe a future trip to hit the other 2 I've missed.
18. Atlantis (Nassau, Bahamas)- It's a hotel, but the aquarium elements were super strong and the dolphin pools were also really nice. It's one of only two facilities I've seen outside the USA at this point (both being aquariums weirdly enough), but it's definitely a fun place to visit, and it's all free to get into which is nice too.
19. Southern Vermont Natural History Museum (Marlboro, VT)- It's mostly a museum, but they have a handful of raptor mews towards the back that are actually pretty excellent. Not as good as VINS or Maine Wildlife Park, but good in their own right. The reason this one is lower is their reptile exhibits need work as does their opossum exhibit.
20. Gatorland (Orlando, FL)- This zoo is kitschy and wacky with some really weird elements to it, but I have to say, the breeding marsh is probably my number one best exhibit I've ever seen, so that has to bring up this weird place a bit.
21. Roger Williams Park Zoo (Providence, RI)- It's another one I've been going to since I was a little kid and honestly in the past few years it would've been lower, but I am appreciative of some of the changes they have been making and am excited to see it continue.
22. Maritime Aquarium (Norwalk, CT)- Another solid aquarium with some really really weird choices. Their habitat room with blue jays and skunks and whatnot are weird and honestly I don't love having those animals indoors. I also don't love the indoor harbor seal idea, but the exhibit is probably the best harbor seal exhibit in New England (maaaybe Mystic edges it out, I'm not 100% sure).
23. Smithsonian National Zoo (Washington D.C.)- The Asia trail and North America trail and Amazonia exhibits are all excellent, the rest of it leaves a lot to be desired. I'm excited for when the birds finally open up sometime in the next 300 years and it's nice that it's free, so that boosts it a bit, but the great ape house and small mammal house especially need massive upgrades. I'm not counting it because I only saw like 3 animals, but SCBI is excellent and I wish was visitable beyond their 1 day a year open house.
24. Stone Zoo (Stoneham, MA)- Stone and I have a rocky relationship as what is excellent is EXCELLENT, but what is bad is ABYSMAL. The Himalayan section with the wolf yard are top notch as is the Caribbean Coast area, but Windows to the World is probably the single worst exhibit complex I've ever seen.
25. Buffalo Zoo (Buffalo, NY)- Admittedly this is the one it's been the longest for me, more than the 5 years, but I did want to rank it anyway because I really really really hate their gorilla exhibit. I know the Tropic World is also indoor only from what I've heard but 1. I haven't seen it personally and 2. At least the zoo is changing that. Buffalo's is small and stagnant and I cannot stand it. The rest of the zoo is actually really solid, but this is unforgivable in my opinion. When and if they fix this, I'll reassess.
26. Franklin Park Zoo (Boston, MA)- In a similar boat to Buffalo, the gorillas here just finally got outdoor access in 2022 which is inexcusable. The big difference here is Buffalo Zoo otherwise I think is really solid where FPZ is just kind of middling. The raptor ridge habitat is great but the tropical house and bird house are not my favorites at all and the fact they cut down the savannah so much to make room for penguins bothers me a lot, especially where there are penguins right down the road at the aquarium.
27. Huntsman Marine Science Center (New Brunswick, Canada)- A small two-story aquarium that mostly focuses on native species. The tanks are solid enough but the seal exhibit is, as seems to be usual, not very good. It's one of two outside the USA facilities I've seen, but I do have plans to tackle the Quebec region in the next year or so.
28. Maine State Aquarium (Boothbay, ME)- It's a super small aquarium with a handful of really nice exhibits and a shark pool in the middle that sucked. However, for the past couple years since Covid this place has been under renovation and should open this summer so I'm excited to revisit and see if it's gotten better.
29. Shedd Aquarium (Chicago, IL)- The take that will get me the most hate for sure. I loved the aquarium side of it, in fact, the aquarium itself was probably the best I've ever seen. Entering the oceanarium I was also so excited, Shedd was the whole reason for my Chicago trip, and I was gut punched. The dolphin exhibit was fine, but the two exhibits the belugas had were so insanely tiny as was the sea lion habitat. These three exhibits alone took what was hyped up to me to be the greatest aquarium in the USA to being on the bottom half of my list. If they just had the dolphins I probably would've been okay with it, but as someone who fights for cetaceans in captivity, this exhibit singlehandedly made me question if I was actually in the right.
30. DEW Haven (Mount Vernon, ME)- DEW is a cute zoo in some peoples' backyard and while this is normally not a great thing, I actually think that for what it is, it's pretty solid. The lion and tiger exhibits are actually really stellar in my humble opinion, and these guys have been working hard on improving other stuff. It probably won't ever hit the levels of the AZA zoos or even private zoos like Southwicks just due to their location, budget, and personnel being very small, but I think in a vacuum, this place is good and their animal care is actually really solid. Just got dealt a bad hand I think.
31. Ecotarium (Worcester, MA)- I don't like calling things "gentrified" but that is the best term to use for this facility. The museum aspect is actually really solid here, but the animal stuff just feels urban and out of place. Honestly, nothing here is inherently bad (except for their ambassador quarters which I saw on a tour, but ambassadors always get screwed over) but even though the cougar and otter enclosures are generally pretty solid, the aesthetics of the place bother me a lot and the indoor stuff is just meh.
32. Capron Park Zoo (Attleboro, MA)- This zoo is trying its best and I do think has some charming elements, like the new tropical house and even the amur leopard and red panda exhibits are solid. Unfortunately, this place doesn't have the money to get new infrastructure which I feel it desperately needs. The old concrete walls and moats detract from what could otherwise be a cute little zoo. These old exhibits though just don't work for megafauna like lions or sloth bears. Their indoor section with servals, de brazzas, and meerkats also bothers me as these animals should be given outdoor access.
33. Squam Lake Natural Sciences Center (Holderness, NH)- This is the only AZA in New Hampshire (and only "true zoo" in NH at all) and it's honestly not very good. Their bear exhibit is a good 80% hotwire and their foxes and fishers rotate, meaning one animal spends a whole day indoors, which for either of these animals must be stressful. Their mink exhibit is also indoors and mustelids in general are pacers but indoor mustelids are a nightmare. The plus I will give it is the interpretation here is the best I've seen at a zoo.
34. Lupa Zoo (Ludlow, MA)- Same as DEW, ranking this one against the big heavy hitters isn't really fair due to what it is, and I really do like Lupa for its charm and honestly I don't think their exhibits are bad (for the most part) but the chaoticness and small budget does hurt it. They do their own hay growing though which is super neat! And other than their moon bear and otters, I do think their exhibits are rather solid, especially their ring-tailed lemurs.
35. Drumlin Farm (Lincoln, MA)- Drumlin Farm is mostly a working farm and those elements are great as is their red fox exhibit, it's actually probably the best fox exhibit I've seen besides maybe MWP, but as an Audubon Center, this place has raptor mews and they're among the worst I've seen. It's so disappointing to see Audubon have consistently bad bird exhibits when birds are their whole thing. I can't say it's worth the visit, but the fox exhibit is very nice.
36. ZooAmerica (Hershey, PA)- I don't think it's a hot take to say this place needs work. In fact, this is the first of the zoos I'd consider actively bad. It's not the worst of the worst and they do some good conservation work and it is free to enter (assuming you're at Hershey Park already) so those two things bump it up a little, but it's a zoo I want to see improve really bad because native species collections are always some of my favorites and could be done really well.
37. Living Shores Aquarium (Glen, NH)- This is the most corporate schlock facility I've ever been to. The whole place feels like a showroom with touch tanks sprinkled about. It's too clean and was clearly made by someone who wasn't an expert on fish (something the creator has said) and just wanted an aquarium to go with the amusement park next door. The lorikeet aviary is alright and I can't say most of the exhibits are bad, but also nothing is good, it's just middle of the road with the most disgusting aesthetics and an insanely high $25 ticket price for a place that takes maybe 20 minutes to get through if you're going slow.
38. York's Wild Kindom (York, ME)- This was the zoo I went to the most as a kid and I have a lot of nostalgia for it. It was also my first zoo job so I won't go into it too much, but there were only 2 exhibits I actively liked, being the Eurasian lynx and the squirrel monkey exhibits. Everything else is small and not very naturalistic. Not worth the visit (but it is for sale. Anyone wanna go halfsies?)
39. McLane Audubon Center (Concord, NH)- Another Audubon Center with just terrible garbage raptor mews. In fact, these raptor exhibits are the worst I've ever seen (which is saying a lot because raptors get screwed over a lot) but it is free to enter and the grounds are gorgeous, so a slight boost for those reasons. Great birding as well!
40. The Zoo at Forest Park (Springfield, MA)- A small ZAA zoo that doesn't have a single good exhibit in my opinion. Everything is too small and a lot of the animals are quite literally kept in gazebos, like their mink, snowy owl, and opossum. This zoo is not worth it and honestly is not just bad, it's also super boring.
41. Charmingfare Farm (Candia, NH)- The working farm elements here are actually really good, and honestly if it were just the farm, I'd visit all the time. But their exhibits for exotics are absolutely trash. Their bear exhibit is the best one, but their wolves, coyotes, and foxes are all the smallest of the kind I've seen. Their camel and fallow deer are also insultingly bad, especially considering the amount of pasture they have for cows and goats.
42. Beardsley Zoo (Bridgeport, CT)- The worst AZA I've ever seen. I genuinely can't think of a good thing to say about Beardsely besides yeah, their collection is neat. Their condor exhibit kicks off the stay with a resounding "meh" and nothing improves from there. The maned wolves are probably the best exhibit, but their leopard and tiger exhibits are actively bad and I can't recommend this zoo. The only thing I haven't seen here is their rainforest house, so I reserve judgement for that if I ever return (I probably will when the Andean bears arrive)
43. Animal Adventures (Bolton, MA)- And by an absolute mile, the worst animal facility I've ever seen has to be Animal Adventures. Every teeny tiny cramped exhibit is worse than the last with overstocked reptile tanks and a kangaroo exhibit that it quite literally cannot turn around in without its tail touching one of the walls around it. Animal Adventures isn't just bad, there's no saving it and it should be shut down. All of that on top of it pushing a creationist message on their programs which I personally feel is dangerous. Hands down the worst facility in the Northeast, the worst I've ever been to, and possibly among the absolute worst in the USA.
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I've never been, but other members who have view Squam Lakes as a very good facility. Beardsley is on my to-visit list when I visit family in the northeast, I guess I'll judge the big cat exhibits first hand once I go. I like the number of Maine, Vermont and NH facilities you have visited, very few get discussed here much and a few I never heard of. Do you know remember all the species kept at DEW Haven or is it just the lions and tigers?
 
SusScrofa said:
I've never been, but other members who have view Squam Lakes as a very good facility. Beardsley is on my to-visit list when I visit family in the northeast, I guess I'll judge the big cat exhibits first hand once I go. I like the number of Maine, Vermont and NH facilities you have visited, very few get discussed here much and a few I never heard of. Do you know remember all the species kept at DEW Haven or is it just the lions and tigers?
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My issues with Squam very much echo Neil's issues with Southwick's and it's that I've seen it behind the scenes and I've toured the exhibits and that knocks it down for me. Again, some of the best interpretation though for sure! I'm from Northern New England so I do spend a lot of time at these facilities.

As for DEW, I don't have a species list, but I'm planning to go this summer so I can try to make a species list when I go. Some of the ones I remember for sure are tigers, lions, leopards, canada and eurasian lynx, serval, bobcat, lar gibbon, japanese macaque, squirrel monkey, patas monkey, a dromedary camel, wolves (I believe high content wolf-dogs), and some other smaller stuff and plenty of domestics. Mostly easily accessible stuff in the private sector.
 
PaintedDog said:
My issues with Squam very much echo Neil's issues with Southwick's and it's that I've seen it behind the scenes and I've toured the exhibits and that knocks it down for me.
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I think that any of us that have "seen how the sausage is made" have different opinions on the facility we were/are involved with than people looking straight from the outside.
 
SwampDonkey said:
I think that any of us that have "seen how the sausage is made" have different opinions on the facility we were/are involved with than people looking straight from the outside.
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Just to add on to this, "different opinions" of a facility isn't always for the worst. There are zoos that, as I've gotten to know them better and more intimately, my view of them has improved and I've gained respect for them. There are also facilities that, as I've gotten to know them better and more intimately, I've lost respect for. I'm not saying any names or placing zoos into either category, but just want to make sure it's known that getting an inside look of a facility doesn't always lead to a worse view of it.

However, @PaintedDog, for the record, I have no insider info/have not seen the behind-the-scenes facilities at Southwicks (although I have at multiple other facilities you've visited). Many of the issues I have brought up about Southwicks are issues that have been well-known on this forum and discussed before, or observations from being a regular visitor. While I am personally not a big fan of Southwicks, I do however acknowledge that there are some things it does really well, and that it is far better than many of the other unaccredited zoos in the country.
 
SwampDonkey said:
Yeah, and Madagascar is better than it used to be. It has always felt kind of shoe horned in - and it is. It is strange how they built it over the wetlands area and the path takes you back to the start of wetlands, causing a lot of back tracking. I actually think it would be a stronger exhibit without the lemurs. They just don't fit. Madagascar was also the first non-Florida exhibit area, so it really didn't fit at all when they opened it. Now that the aquarium is becoming more generic it fits better, which is not really a good thing overall but is good for the Madagascar part.
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Yeah, the lemur exhibit is definitely my biggest beef with that part of the aquarium; probably the worst I've ever seen in an accredited facility. The rest of the exhibits are just alright. Honestly, I think it would serve the aquarium better if the shack it's in was converted into an exhibit for additional Florida reptiles, like Diamondbacks, Anoles, or something like that. That way, it would mesh better with both the Wetlands exhibit and the coral tanks they have up there.
 
PaintedDog said:
My friends and I have been going to zoos for the past 5 or so years since college so I'm only going to be ranking the ones I've been to in that time period, so some of the weird small places I saw as a kid won't be listed.

For my criteria, I care a whole lot less about the amount of species or rarity of species than I do naturalism of the exhibits, so there may be some hot takes here where Zoochatters love them but their exhibitory didn't hold up for me.

1. Disney's Animal Kingdom/Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge (Bay Lake, FL)- Two separate locations but I'm gonna lump them together. All the enclosures are spacious and the theming is top notch. My all time favorite zoo.
2. SeaWorld Orlando (Orlando, FL)- Similarly, I adore the exhibitory here and while it gets a lot of hate, I genuinely think this park has some of the best pinniped, penguin, and dolphin exhibits I've seen.
3. Bronx Zoo (Bronx, NY)- Definitely the best "true zoo" I've been to not counting the theme park entries. I love the historicity as well as naturalism. There are definitely exhibits here that need an update, but I think the combination of great exhibits and amount of species does push it to the top.
4. Brookfield Zoo (Chicago, IL)- To be fair, I visited this in 2021 so I didn't get to see most of the indoor exhibits which could push this way down, but as a first-time visitor, I appreciated the outdoor spaces I did see and the only thing I really didn't like was the dolphin exhibit. I didn't see Tropic World though I'm sure if I did it would bump this down a few spots as I can't stand primates indoor only (outside of stuff like JungleWorld or other really good tropical houses with lots of space)
5. Southwicks Zoo (Mendon, MA)- I have a lot of nostalgia for this one so that's why it's here, but I really still think this zoo is the best non-AZA I've ever been to. They easily could be AZA but just don't want to be, which I kind of respect but also kind of wish they would try for it. Great homemade feel to this zoo that prioritizes proper animal social groups which I also really appreciate.
6. Maine Wildlife Park (Gray, ME)- Probably the single zoo that makes me the happiest when I visit. I love the grounds, the exhibits are just fenced off natural habitat, it's rarely busy so the viewing is great, and they do a lot of important local conservation and education. My biggest gripe is some of the raptor mews need work.
7. Buttonwood Park Zoo (New Bedford, MA)- Might be a hot take putting this one up this high, but I think almost all the exhibits are super solid, including their indoor stuff which I'm usually not a fan of at zoos. It's small and takes only a little time, but it's one I really love and am excited for the master plan.
8. VINS (Quechee, VT)- A wholly avian park, I adore the mews here, all except for the bald and golden eagles, and the grounds are also absolutely gorgeous. It's one that has very little knowledge about it and think more people should make a point to visit.
9. Mystic Aquarium (Mystic, CT)- I normally don't love aquariums, but something about Mystic is really up there for me. The belgua exhibit alone boosts this super high as, while I support cetaceans in captivity, I find they aren't done right a lot of the time and Mystic definitely does. The aquarium element is solid too, my biggest gripes are the California sea lion stadium which sucks and the penguin exhibit.
10. The Seas with Nemo and Friends (Bay Lake, FL)- I love that this is a part of EPCOT that you can just go into in the park and I do think the main tank is awesome. The dolphins are done well as are the manatees which I appreciate, though it's an aquarium which makes it fall lower than some of the better zoos just based on my preference.
11. Lincoln Park Zoo (Chicago, IL)- I really loved a good chunk of this zoo, especially the end with the macaques. I thought the great ape habitats were solid and while I didn't get to see the lion building as it wasn't done yet, it too looked solid. It's a city zoo so I give it a bit more leeway with its hoofstock, but I do think the giraffe exhibit needs work and I want more of the monkeys to be able to be outside.
12. National Aquarium (Baltimore, MD)- This one has the longest gap since I've been to it, but it was a really solid aquarium and the Australia section had me gripped. Also solid enough dolphin exhibit though it's at the bottom of what I find acceptable personally.
13. Central Park Zoo (Manhattan, NY)- I love the rainforest habitat here as well as the red panda and brown bear exhibits. I do think the snow leopard could be better, but it suffices. Overall it's a nice little zoo, but like all the WCS zoos, the sea lion habitat sucks.
14. Seacoast Science Center (Rye, NH)- It's a super small aquarium on the New Hampshire seacoast with some of the best interpretation I've seen at any wildlife facility. I also found the tanks to be really solid with a heavy focus on native species. It's maybe not worth the $10 to get in if you don't stop to read everything, but I really appreciated it.
15. Fox Tales Rescue (Spring Hill, FL)- A fox sanctuary literally in someone's backyard, but the exhibits were immaculate and I got to spend time with the owners who have some of the best standards of care I've personally seen. Not open to the public, we got in transporting a fox into their care, but it was worth every second, if you're in the area, they sometimes do private tours.
16. New England Aquarium (Boston, MA)- New England Aquarium is a really solid aquarium with a terrible design. I think the exhibits are all adequate if not excellent (though their pinniped habitats need work) but the design of the place gets it so congested and it's impossible to actually spend much time at any one exhibit.
17. Prospect Park Zoo (Brooklyn, NY)- The weakest of the 3 WCS facilities I've been to (haven't seen Queens or NYA yet) and I really didn't like most of the indoor exhibits here and the aesthetics were super weird, but I did really love the outdoor trail portion which boosts this zoo up quite a bit. We only got like 30 minutes in the zoo so I'd definitely like to return at some point. Maybe a future trip to hit the other 2 I've missed.
18. Atlantis (Nassau, Bahamas)- It's a hotel, but the aquarium elements were super strong and the dolphin pools were also really nice. It's one of only two facilities I've seen outside the USA at this point (both being aquariums weirdly enough), but it's definitely a fun place to visit, and it's all free to get into which is nice too.
19. Southern Vermont Natural History Museum (Marlboro, VT)- It's mostly a museum, but they have a handful of raptor mews towards the back that are actually pretty excellent. Not as good as VINS or Maine Wildlife Park, but good in their own right. The reason this one is lower is their reptile exhibits need work as does their opossum exhibit.
20. Gatorland (Orlando, FL)- This zoo is kitschy and wacky with some really weird elements to it, but I have to say, the breeding marsh is probably my number one best exhibit I've ever seen, so that has to bring up this weird place a bit.
21. Roger Williams Park Zoo (Providence, RI)- It's another one I've been going to since I was a little kid and honestly in the past few years it would've been lower, but I am appreciative of some of the changes they have been making and am excited to see it continue.
22. Maritime Aquarium (Norwalk, CT)- Another solid aquarium with some really really weird choices. Their habitat room with blue jays and skunks and whatnot are weird and honestly I don't love having those animals indoors. I also don't love the indoor harbor seal idea, but the exhibit is probably the best harbor seal exhibit in New England (maaaybe Mystic edges it out, I'm not 100% sure).
23. Smithsonian National Zoo (Washington D.C.)- The Asia trail and North America trail and Amazonia exhibits are all excellent, the rest of it leaves a lot to be desired. I'm excited for when the birds finally open up sometime in the next 300 years and it's nice that it's free, so that boosts it a bit, but the great ape house and small mammal house especially need massive upgrades. I'm not counting it because I only saw like 3 animals, but SCBI is excellent and I wish was visitable beyond their 1 day a year open house.
24. Stone Zoo (Stoneham, MA)- Stone and I have a rocky relationship as what is excellent is EXCELLENT, but what is bad is ABYSMAL. The Himalayan section with the wolf yard are top notch as is the Caribbean Coast area, but Windows to the World is probably the single worst exhibit complex I've ever seen.
25. Buffalo Zoo (Buffalo, NY)- Admittedly this is the one it's been the longest for me, more than the 5 years, but I did want to rank it anyway because I really really really hate their gorilla exhibit. I know the Tropic World is also indoor only from what I've heard but 1. I haven't seen it personally and 2. At least the zoo is changing that. Buffalo's is small and stagnant and I cannot stand it. The rest of the zoo is actually really solid, but this is unforgivable in my opinion. When and if they fix this, I'll reassess.
26. Franklin Park Zoo (Boston, MA)- In a similar boat to Buffalo, the gorillas here just finally got outdoor access in 2022 which is inexcusable. The big difference here is Buffalo Zoo otherwise I think is really solid where FPZ is just kind of middling. The raptor ridge habitat is great but the tropical house and bird house are not my favorites at all and the fact they cut down the savannah so much to make room for penguins bothers me a lot, especially where there are penguins right down the road at the aquarium.
27. Huntsman Marine Science Center (New Brunswick, Canada)- A small two-story aquarium that mostly focuses on native species. The tanks are solid enough but the seal exhibit is, as seems to be usual, not very good. It's one of two outside the USA facilities I've seen, but I do have plans to tackle the Quebec region in the next year or so.
28. Maine State Aquarium (Boothbay, ME)- It's a super small aquarium with a handful of really nice exhibits and a shark pool in the middle that sucked. However, for the past couple years since Covid this place has been under renovation and should open this summer so I'm excited to revisit and see if it's gotten better.
29. Shedd Aquarium (Chicago, IL)- The take that will get me the most hate for sure. I loved the aquarium side of it, in fact, the aquarium itself was probably the best I've ever seen. Entering the oceanarium I was also so excited, Shedd was the whole reason for my Chicago trip, and I was gut punched. The dolphin exhibit was fine, but the two exhibits the belugas had were so insanely tiny as was the sea lion habitat. These three exhibits alone took what was hyped up to me to be the greatest aquarium in the USA to being on the bottom half of my list. If they just had the dolphins I probably would've been okay with it, but as someone who fights for cetaceans in captivity, this exhibit singlehandedly made me question if I was actually in the right.
30. DEW Haven (Mount Vernon, ME)- DEW is a cute zoo in some peoples' backyard and while this is normally not a great thing, I actually think that for what it is, it's pretty solid. The lion and tiger exhibits are actually really stellar in my humble opinion, and these guys have been working hard on improving other stuff. It probably won't ever hit the levels of the AZA zoos or even private zoos like Southwicks just due to their location, budget, and personnel being very small, but I think in a vacuum, this place is good and their animal care is actually really solid. Just got dealt a bad hand I think.
31. Ecotarium (Worcester, MA)- I don't like calling things "gentrified" but that is the best term to use for this facility. The museum aspect is actually really solid here, but the animal stuff just feels urban and out of place. Honestly, nothing here is inherently bad (except for their ambassador quarters which I saw on a tour, but ambassadors always get screwed over) but even though the cougar and otter enclosures are generally pretty solid, the aesthetics of the place bother me a lot and the indoor stuff is just meh.
32. Capron Park Zoo (Attleboro, MA)- This zoo is trying its best and I do think has some charming elements, like the new tropical house and even the amur leopard and red panda exhibits are solid. Unfortunately, this place doesn't have the money to get new infrastructure which I feel it desperately needs. The old concrete walls and moats detract from what could otherwise be a cute little zoo. These old exhibits though just don't work for megafauna like lions or sloth bears. Their indoor section with servals, de brazzas, and meerkats also bothers me as these animals should be given outdoor access.
33. Squam Lake Natural Sciences Center (Holderness, NH)- This is the only AZA in New Hampshire (and only "true zoo" in NH at all) and it's honestly not very good. Their bear exhibit is a good 80% hotwire and their foxes and fishers rotate, meaning one animal spends a whole day indoors, which for either of these animals must be stressful. Their mink exhibit is also indoors and mustelids in general are pacers but indoor mustelids are a nightmare. The plus I will give it is the interpretation here is the best I've seen at a zoo.
34. Lupa Zoo (Ludlow, MA)- Same as DEW, ranking this one against the big heavy hitters isn't really fair due to what it is, and I really do like Lupa for its charm and honestly I don't think their exhibits are bad (for the most part) but the chaoticness and small budget does hurt it. They do their own hay growing though which is super neat! And other than their moon bear and otters, I do think their exhibits are rather solid, especially their ring-tailed lemurs.
35. Drumlin Farm (Lincoln, MA)- Drumlin Farm is mostly a working farm and those elements are great as is their red fox exhibit, it's actually probably the best fox exhibit I've seen besides maybe MWP, but as an Audubon Center, this place has raptor mews and they're among the worst I've seen. It's so disappointing to see Audubon have consistently bad bird exhibits when birds are their whole thing. I can't say it's worth the visit, but the fox exhibit is very nice.
36. ZooAmerica (Hershey, PA)- I don't think it's a hot take to say this place needs work. In fact, this is the first of the zoos I'd consider actively bad. It's not the worst of the worst and they do some good conservation work and it is free to enter (assuming you're at Hershey Park already) so those two things bump it up a little, but it's a zoo I want to see improve really bad because native species collections are always some of my favorites and could be done really well.
37. Living Shores Aquarium (Glen, NH)- This is the most corporate schlock facility I've ever been to. The whole place feels like a showroom with touch tanks sprinkled about. It's too clean and was clearly made by someone who wasn't an expert on fish (something the creator has said) and just wanted an aquarium to go with the amusement park next door. The lorikeet aviary is alright and I can't say most of the exhibits are bad, but also nothing is good, it's just middle of the road with the most disgusting aesthetics and an insanely high $25 ticket price for a place that takes maybe 20 minutes to get through if you're going slow.
38. York's Wild Kindom (York, ME)- This was the zoo I went to the most as a kid and I have a lot of nostalgia for it. It was also my first zoo job so I won't go into it too much, but there were only 2 exhibits I actively liked, being the Eurasian lynx and the squirrel monkey exhibits. Everything else is small and not very naturalistic. Not worth the visit (but it is for sale. Anyone wanna go halfsies?)
39. McLane Audubon Center (Concord, NH)- Another Audubon Center with just terrible garbage raptor mews. In fact, these raptor exhibits are the worst I've ever seen (which is saying a lot because raptors get screwed over a lot) but it is free to enter and the grounds are gorgeous, so a slight boost for those reasons. Great birding as well!
40. The Zoo at Forest Park (Springfield, MA)- A small ZAA zoo that doesn't have a single good exhibit in my opinion. Everything is too small and a lot of the animals are quite literally kept in gazebos, like their mink, snowy owl, and opossum. This zoo is not worth it and honestly is not just bad, it's also super boring.
41. Charmingfare Farm (Candia, NH)- The working farm elements here are actually really good, and honestly if it were just the farm, I'd visit all the time. But their exhibits for exotics are absolutely trash. Their bear exhibit is the best one, but their wolves, coyotes, and foxes are all the smallest of the kind I've seen. Their camel and fallow deer are also insultingly bad, especially considering the amount of pasture they have for cows and goats.
42. Beardsley Zoo (Bridgeport, CT)- The worst AZA I've ever seen. I genuinely can't think of a good thing to say about Beardsely besides yeah, their collection is neat. Their condor exhibit kicks off the stay with a resounding "meh" and nothing improves from there. The maned wolves are probably the best exhibit, but their leopard and tiger exhibits are actively bad and I can't recommend this zoo. The only thing I haven't seen here is their rainforest house, so I reserve judgement for that if I ever return (I probably will when the Andean bears arrive)
43. Animal Adventures (Bolton, MA)- And by an absolute mile, the worst animal facility I've ever seen has to be Animal Adventures. Every teeny tiny cramped exhibit is worse than the last with overstocked reptile tanks and a kangaroo exhibit that it quite literally cannot turn around in without its tail touching one of the walls around it. Animal Adventures isn't just bad, there's no saving it and it should be shut down. All of that on top of it pushing a creationist message on their programs which I personally feel is dangerous. Hands down the worst facility in the Northeast, the worst I've ever been to, and possibly among the absolute worst in the USA.
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Regarding Shedd's sea lion exhibit, while I agree it is the worst part of the aquarium, their sea lion is blind and has trouble swimming, so the basic accommodations it has are really what's best for it.
 
Neil chace said:
Since I posted this ranking, I have visited another eight zoos. I've also re-visited some of the zoos on here, which can change my rankings of them (in at least one case I had a drastically different impression on my most recent visit). Without further ado, here's the newly updated list:
22. Animal Adventures Family Zoo
21. Aquarium of Niagara
20. The Seas Pavilion at Epcot
19. Boston Museum of Science (only judging the animal components- as a whole this museum is an incredible institution)
18. Hawk Creek Wildlife Center
17. The Wild Animal Park
16. Capron Park Zoo
15. Elmwood Park Zoo
14. Southwicks Zoo
13. Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge
12. Utica Zoo
11. Philadelphia Zoo
10. Mystic Aquarium
9. Stone Zoo
8. Bird Kingdom
7. Buttonwood Park Zoo
6. Franklin Park Zoo
5. Rosamond Gifford Zoo
4. Disney's Animal Kingdom
3. Buffalo Zoo
2. Roger Williams Park Zoo
1. Cleveland Metroparks Zoo
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I just came back from a trip where I added eight more zoos to my total. Since I last updated this, I've also visited New England Aquarium and re-visited a few other zoos:
31. Animal Adventures Family Zoo
30. The Wild Animal Park
29. Aquarium of Niagara
28. Hawk Creek Wildlife Center
27. The Seas Pavilion at Epcot
26. Capron Park Zoo
25. Boston Museum of Science (animal components only)
24. Queens Zoo
23. Bergen County Zoo
22. Southwicks Zoo
21. Elmwood Park Zoo
20. Prospect Park Zoo
19. Utica Zoo
18. Philadelphia Zoo
17. Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge
16. Stone Zoo
15. Bird Kingdom
14. New England Aquarium
13. Staten Island Zoo
12. Buttonwood Park Zoo
11. Buffalo Zoo
10. Central Park Zoo
9. Mystic Aquarium
8. Franklin Park Zoo
7. Rosamond Gifford Zoo
6. Turtle Back Zoo
5. Roger Williams Park Zoo
4. Disney's Animal Kingdom
3. Cleveland Metroparks Zoo
2. New York Aquarium
1. Bronx Zoo
 
Since I am newer to this community, I figure I should start to introduce myself by ranking all the zoos I've been to as of 5/21/2023.

Ranking:
#1: San Diego Zoo
While this is a somewhat basic answer, I have yet to visit an institution with such a wide collection of species, or jaw dropping exhibits. While some areas of the zoo are in need of some repair, there is something incredible about nearly every area of the park.

#2: Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium
This would almost beat out San Diego for a variety of reasons, the enormous habitat complexes, innovative exhibits and an outstanding collection. I prefer San Diego slightly more due to the focus on both guests and animals; while Omaha can be a hike between habitats, with very little food options available. That being said these two swap between my two favorites all the time.

#3: Saint Louis Zoo
A zoo I have visited at least 5 times. This place is such a fantastic collection of both modern and historic habitats, has many attractions for both the zoo and non-zoo fanatic, and some real rarities in terms of ungulates, birds and ectotherms. The fact that is zoo is free is a huge plus, but even if not it'd find it's way onto this list.

#4: San Diego Zoo Safari Park
The safari park is the closest you can get to Jurassic Park without prehistoric life. Its stunning vistas create an environment which can be easily confused for the plains of Africa or Asia. Past the massive field habitats, the front portion of the park contains some incredible habitats such as the Australian area, California trail and elephant habitat. The only downside is the price of this park makes it hard to enjoy the full experience.

#5: Columbus Zoo and Aquarium
This is an amazing zoo which really feels like if Disney money went into a non-Disney owned park. The zoo is hyper thematic in certain areas and the layout of the park reminds me a lot more of a large scare theme park than a more traditional zoo. That being said where done well, the theming creates a fun visit and it does have every zoo animal you'd expect to see as a major zoo as well as some more rare species.

#6: Brookfield Zoo
Hometown zoo and boasts a large collection of animals. Its a more historical zoo with a lot of change on the horizon, and each building or habitat complex feels distinct from the others withing the zoo.

#7: Fort Worth Zoo
This is another zoo which has more of a theme park flair in certain areas, such as Elephant Springs and the Texas Wild section. But its other areas boasts arguably the best reptile house and it is looking to be even better with its upcoming African/Asian predator complex.

#8: Sedgwick County Zoo
Truly, one of the most "complete" zoos in the entire country. Every exhibit is well done with some really solid areas for their gorillas, elephants and tigers. The entire zoo is very nice to walk around and includes a unique boat ride where you share space with the elephants!

#9: Shedd Aquarium
One of the primer aquariums in the entire country. Their Wild Reef, Oceanarium and Amazon Rising exhibits are all outstanding and need to be seen by fans of ocean life. The rest of the aquarium boasts possibly the largest collection of individual species in the country, which are presented in amazing exhibits. Excited to see what they do moving forward.

#10: Cincinnati Zoo
There is so much going on at this seemingly small zoo. From its history as one of the most important zoos in the US for over 100 years, a series of new and historic exhibits, and a collection of rare species which rivals zoos with double or triple the footprint of this urban jungle. Some areas are severely lacking in size, but many of those issues are going to be fixed in the next few years, hopefully it continue to earn its reputation as a fantastic zoo.

These top 10 I see to be as the best of the zoological institutions I've visited thus far. The others are all quality institutions, with only the last few being places that need some major overhauling renovations.

#11: Smithsonian National Zoo
#12: The Wilds
#13: Toledo Zoo & Aquarium
#14: Oklahoma City Zoo
#15: Indianapolis Zoo
#16: Lincoln Park Zoo
#17: Dallas World Aquarium
#18: Detroit Zoo
#19: Milwaukee County Zoo
#20: Fort Wayne Children's Zoo
#21: Kansas City Zoo
#22: Newport Aquarium
#23: Tulsa Zoo
#24: Sea World San Diego
#25: Saint Louis Aquarium
#26: Topeka Zoo
#27: Rolling Hills Zoo
#28: Henry Vilas Zoo
#29: Lee Richardson Zoo
#30: World Bird Sanctuary
#31: Sunset Zoo
#32: Tanginika Wildlife Park
#33: Miller Park Zoo
 
TriHornedRhino said:
Since I am newer to this community, I figure I should start to introduce myself by ranking all the zoos I've been to as of 5/21/2023.
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It's nice to get a fresh perspective and to see another Chicagoan, and I appreciate your reasoning and explanation, especially for the facilities I have not visited... and while I admit I'm surprised to see Brookfield so high, the reasons you've cited for including it are all very agreeable! :)

PaintedDog said:
The dolphin exhibit was fine, but the two exhibits the belugas had were so insanely tiny as was the sea lion habitat. These three exhibits alone took what was hyped up to me to be the greatest aquarium in the USA to being on the bottom half of my list. If they just had the dolphins I probably would've been okay with it, but as someone who fights for cetaceans in captivity, this exhibit singlehandedly made me question if I was actually in the right.
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I think it might be worth mentioning the dolphins and belugas have rotated exhibits, or at least used to back in the nineties when I was a child.

I'm curious how your ranking of Brookfield may change on a subsequent visit based on your statements about the indoor exhibits.
 
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