Utah's Hogle Zoo

Location :

2600 Sunnyside Ave S, Salt Lake City, UT 84108, USA
Added by Jopie, at 27 July 2016

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• Brandy Grim

  16 September 2016

  I recently had surgery when my family and I went. We called to make sure they have wheelchairs. You could rent either a push or motorized wheelchair. We were told they had discount coupons on dr. Pepper we went to the grocery store and it was not displayed on the box and the person I spoke to at the zoo said that there would be on the cans. They were not on the kids and we bought six boxes but they did end up letting us use it 4 the discount. To get access to the wheelchairs you have to go in through the gate and a little ways down. It was not very accessible. Also the wheelchair legs do not extend and since I had surgery on my knee I was unable to use the wheelchair that you push. They would not allow me to try the wheelchair before I paid so after paying I had to wait for a refund to get the motorized wheelchair. Once we got the wheelchairs situated we started to check out the animals and being in a wheelchair I'd have to say it was not a great experience. It's very hard getting in and out of the exhibit. The railings are right at the eye level so it was hard to take pictures and see anything. I sent an email to customer service and it has been since June and I have not heard anything back yet so instead of 3 stars I am going to have to say due to the customer service they only get a one-star. A lot of the animals were not out or they were closed. A lady had fell inside of the exhibits and it took 30 minutes for someone to come and help her after I called from my cell phone to get someone to help.

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• Connor Bassani

  22 August 2016

  Well, first I'll start with the good. The staff is so enthusiastic about their job and they're always happy to help! They're better than ever before! The train that goes around the zoo (you know, the one we would beg our parents to take us on when we were kids?) has been extended and gets closer to the exhibits and is more exciting! Now for the (long) list of bad.. They got rid of so many animals and exhibits! Desert animals? Gone. Bats and cave animals? Gone. Penguins? Gone. Butterfly/green house? Gone. Remember how you used to be able to feed some of the animals? For free might I add. Now you can only feed the giraffes, at certain times, and you have to pay $5.00 for 3 pieces of lettuce, yes $5.00 for 3 pieces of lettuce, and you have to wait in a 30-45 minute long line on top of that. You used to be able to feed them a hand full of hay or straw (or something like that) for free, whenever you wanted. The new setup/layout makes you have to walk so far! I didn't even go to all the exhibits and I walked 5.73 miles! They are not keeping an eye on guests whatsoever, when I was there I saw a family, the mom was wearing no shoes and was showing a little too much underbutt, the children were sitting in, practically bathing in the original lion drinking fountain, and their infant was sitting in the stroller, wearing nothing! A "security guard" even walked right passed them and said, nothing! I used to love going to the zoo, I always looked forward to it, and was especially excited if I was going with a friend! Now, you'd have to drag me to the zoo if you wanted me to go. I still go at least once every year just because it's something I've always done and it'd feel wrong to not do it. I'm so sad to see that this happen to the zoo.

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• Mike Price

  16 August 2016

  The Hogle Zoo is overall a pretty well done zoo. They've made a lot of changes over the last few years; some for the better, others not so much. I wouldn't say it even rivals any of the top 5 zoos in the nation, but it's really not bad. Some of the zoo is getting a bit dated, but they seem to be steadily updating things.
  
  Sadly, what I would have called as a few of their highlights, are actually exhibits that have been removed recently in favor of larger spaces for their African wildlife display. You also can't get anywhere near as close to the giraffes as you used to be able to (used to be able to practically feed them).
  
  It can get extremely hot here in the summer. There's a lot of asphalt and concrete that traps in the sun, and not a lot of shade. A normally hot day will feel much hotter at the zoo.
  
  They do allow outside food and drink, so it can be nice to plan ahead and bring a stroller or wagon with a cooler and some ice water; you can thank me later.
  
  Some of the more notable exhibits are the elephants and rhinos, their big cat area, penguins and polar bears, and be sure to catch a bird show if you can.
  
  Overall, not a bad zoo. There's certainly room for improvement, but it's not a bad place to burn an afternoon (and on even a warm day, "burning" is literally what you'll be doing).

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• Kevin Clem

  15 August 2016

  This is my favorite zoo. They have a great selection of living creatures, a very outgoing staff and offer a lot of hands on activities. The enclosures are large, very natural looking and positioned in a way to get you very near the animals. Expect to spend at least 3 hours here, although we average around 5 with my curious little monsters.

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• Charles Simon

  03 August 2016

  Other than the heat we had a great time. We had two adults and 3 kids, had a passes so only ended up paying for 1 adult and 1 child so that was excellent. Admittance is $17.95 for adults and $13.95 for kids (3-12). As expected the gift shop and the Beastro cafe are expensive, there is another food court area with a small cafe and a little Italian ice spot. There is amphitheatre for shows, and a smaller theater area (that's the one our kids went to). The staff were friendly and helpful, the animal exhibits were clean and well kept. I personally didn't like how the area was laid out, you walked down through the park to see everything, then had to walk back up the hill to exit the zoo. On a 95 degree day that was exhausting even for the kids. It was a fun adventure though. Might want to maybe bring snacks and drinks with you, or sign up for a zoo membership if you think you'll visit several times a year.

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