My personal view on zoos set aside, ZooAmerica is generally a good zoo with a variety of animals. They teach you about the different kinds of species and their habitats and the animals seem to be well taken care of. It's a pretty place and fun for kids as well as educational read more

It's a small zoo, for $65+, my husband & I and our 3 teenagers, I was expecting more. Perhaps I'm spoiled by my local zoo, Cape May County Zoo in NJ which asks for donations. We walked through this zoo at a very slow pace and were done in an hour. read more

Great visit with my friend and our kids. It's a small zoo that displays only North American animals, but our kids are little and they loved it. Just enough animals to walk the park in an hour or so. The kids enjoyed it and for the parents, it wasn't so big that I was sick of being there. The people are friendly and will answer any questions you have about the animals. Most of the animals were out, but the bears were not. We caught the animal meet and greet prior to walking in the park, an up close and personal encounter with a baby snake. Also got to see a hawk up close and personal at the tail end of a show. Would definitely return. read more

See all

This is a fun, small to medium sized zoo to take your kids. The only major downfall: food. SO unbelievably disorganized. I spent 30 mins waiting on a hot dog. I organization. read more

Good zoo. From an animal perspective, cages arent THAT large, but have lots of things for the animals to do in them. We saw bears playing, which was cool. Also saw a trainer feed and train mountain lions, as she explained that it is to keep their minds sharp, but also help with animal maintenance (like shots, dental care, etc). They have a wide assortment of animals, solely from North America. Clean park. Lots of kids though (although, we went at noon on a Monday), but park is kinda geared towards little-r kids.... read more

Favorite zoo I have been to and it's cheap to go through. Have tons of geese roaming around but went right when they opened up and got to see a lot of the animals getting fed and they were up and very vocal. Staff was very friendly and helpful. read more

This is a small zoo featuring animals from North America. None the less it accommodates the near by park perfectly and gives an alternative attraction for those who need a break from rides. Despite being included in the admission to the park, the zoo is actually a separate attraction with its own entrance and hours. It's also open year around. read more

See all

The price for tickets was not too expensive. The animals are native to North America. The zoo has different sections: Southern Swamps (alligator, rattlesnake), Northlands (gray wolf, bald eagle), Eastern Woodlands (black bear, bobcat, deer), Big Sky Country (elk, prairie dog, mountain lion), and Great Southwest (lizard, kingsnake, roadrunner, tarantula, etc.). I am a zoo lover, so I am hard to impress. I did enjoy my time at the zoo. read more

Cute little zoo within Hersheypark. It's a nice break from the park and they have some interesting exhibits. Enjoyed seeing the roadrunner here! read more

The zoo is a fun excursion from Hershey Park. It is not a great zoo, but it provides a nice break from the rides and crowds at Hershey Park. The kids may like some of the animals there and it is FREE with your Hershey pass. So why not go? I heard some bison died during the flood last year, but there are still about a dozen large animals to keep the kids entertained. Don't plan on spending more than an hour here though. read more

This was a great zoo! It was small and took maybe an hour or two to get through, but it was great seeing all the animals. We went in October in the off season so a lot of the shows and exhibits weren't running. But still we had fun. I loved the bobcats and the the gray wolf. It was stroller friendly and laid out nicely. read more

ZooAmerica - Zoos Near Me - Hershey, Pennsylvania

I hadn't been to Zoo America in more than 15 years. Looks like I wasn't missing out on much. My family and I attended the free community day event held every winter over a weekend in January. It was quite busy, but they were prepared for the crowds and it was very well organized. This zoo specializes in animals only from North America, so don't expect to see anything particularly exotic here. Overall the animals on display are a very small assortment. We spent an hour. They used to have a lot more animals, but had a flood, and many of them drowned. I think due to this they don't have the space that they once had for more exhibits. My sister explained how this zoo really shines is with educational presentations which do not run, or on a very limited schedule in the winter. There were no presentations the day we were there, hence the short visit. As an included admission with your Hersheypark ticket I think it would be a suitable experience for small children if you need a break from the hub bub of the amusement park, but I would not make it a priority. As a separate admission, I would not recommend it unless you go during this free event, or on Fridays when it is $5.50 during the winter and early spring. Disappointed considering how much I like the other Hershey affiliated attractions. read more

First let me say this is a very small zoo. The reason I am giving this zoo 4 stars is all the employees were very friendly. And when we went yesterday on a cold winter day in the off-season the few people that were there were locals and each person would want to come up to us and tell us the history about the animals we were looking at. They really love their little zoo. They have on display a black bear, Wolfs that had pups, American bald eagles, various owls and snakes, bobcats, mountain lion, lynx, elk, and prairie dogs. Animals from North America is what the zoo it's all about. read more

See all

Please don't waste your precious time and money , there are lot more better things to do around

Our family loves this zoo! Although it isn't as big as some zoos, the animal exhibits are well laid out, making it easy for our young children to see the animals. It is a great way to spend an hour or two while in Hershey. The animals are always active and interesting to watch. The staff is very friendly and patient with children, adding to the excellent experience. We can't say enough about their special activities. We recently went to the zoo after dark for Halloween. It was a unique way to see the zoo. Our kids had a blast looking for the animals with their flashlight and seeing the nocturnal animals active. They loved it so much we had to go a second night! As a matter of fact , we were in Hershey for three days and they asked to go to the zoo every day! Previously we did the behind the scenes tour with our kids (twin four-year-olds and a one-year-old). It was the best thing we've done with them! They saw the animals up close, got to feed some of the animals, and held /touched several different species. They are still talking about it months later. The tour guide was incredible!! read more

Awesome zoo that is part of Hershey Park and you can't beat the price. It isn't a huge zoo, and only has animals from North America. Entry is free from the park. The bears are cool, and the wolves are awesome. There are also lots of birds and reptiles. Definitely don't miss it when visiting the park as this attraction definitely has the shortest lines. read more

ZooAmerica - Zoos Near Me - Hershey, Pennsylvania

I was pretty impressed by this zoo, I was not expecting it to have so many animals and be so well laid out. For the price of around $15, it is an awesome deal. It took about 1-1.5 hours to walk through the entire zoo, and it very easy to navigate and see all the animals. Our 2 year old loved it! If you are in the area, it is definitely worth a visit! read more

Zoo america is a cute little zoo, though the past few times I've been there I haven't seen that many animals roaming around. Maybe I've just hit the nap times or something. But besides that the ground are clean and well kept. There are decent food options too. Admission to the park is included with your Hersheypark ticket and also free for the zoo alone if you have a season pass to Hersheypark. When we have a day in the park we like to "break" over at zoo america. Its so fun to walk around and see what you can see. The dark fish rooms and the bears are my favorite. They also have a party room and you can rent it and do a Zoo America party! This can happen year round. I hear its pretty pricey but it may be worth it for a unique party idea. read more

It was nice being able to see so many wild animals up close. However I regret giving my money to this place as it seems the enclosures are all way too small and the animals seem very stressed. Does not seem humane. read more

Cannot express how much we Loved this little zoo. All animal habitats we're appropriate and few animals were showing signs of stress. Speaking of stress, this was the most stress free trip to any zoo we have ever had. Take the time to see the southwest exibit, the wolves and the prairie dog town. Staff and grounds amazing. Will return. read more

This zoo needs to be shut down. It's not properly maintained. There are smells of excrement in one of the exhibits with nocturnal animals. There isn't enough space for animals to roam around and the animals appear to be depressed and nervous. I saw some birds drinking out of a water dish with feces in it. Some animals were pacing back and forth and the otter exhibit particulary made me sad. There are usually two otters in the exhibit and this time there was only one and it would not stop pacing back and forth and seemed to be under distress. It was also swimming in a very small pool area and every other zoo I have ever visited had a nice swimming area for their otters to play and there were always more than one. I sincerely hope this zoo gets shut down for the health and safety of the animals. It's not a place I would ever go again. read more

Let me tell you about my day at Zoo Merica.  I went to the monkey exhibit because it's all the rage.  And by rage I mean a certain type of unfortunate rage that knows no limits.  What I'm getting it is the feces throwing. It wasn't always this way. I remember the monkeys of my youth, who were much more practical and docile, who only threw feces at outdoor sporting events, sometimes a birds and deer, rarely at big game unless they had the money to do so.  They were less suspicious of their neighbors, less suspicious of monkeys that looked different, less convinced that a monkey might follow them back to their home and throw feces all over the place. Just all around less scared. So, I went to the exhibit with my kids, and we were hit with feces almost immediately.  One of the monkeys appeared to be stockpiling feces. He had a heck of an arm, the Nolan Ryan of monkeys.  My daughter was no match, and this monkey was a real jerk chicken, so maybe he was more like the Roger Clemens of monkeys. I started to wonder My God where is the good monkey?  Because, I've been told the only thing that can stop a bad monkey with feces is a good monkey with feces. Apparently, the guy who has been running the exhibit--Nathan Robert Asshat, got this amazing idea a few years ago, that if you gave all the monkeys feces you would never have to worry about a feces deficit.  And so, he starts giving feces to just any monkey, even the one that ate his children, who was to be on some type of list preventing access to feces. But, who can argue with traffic like this? Sure, not many adults around anymore, but ticket sales to junior high males have been massive.  I told him that I had come here to see the monkey exhibit. He laughed and passed me a bucket of feces. I told him I was not mentally stable. He said "you have rights, with rights come responsibilities." No argument there. I wish it to be known, that I spoke with his boss.  I said do you think maybe we could erect a barrier, so the monkeys can still throw feces, but maybe not hit the children.  Maybe, just an extension of the perimeter? I was informed that the monkeys might become sad and that we could hurt their feelings if they could not have all the feces they wanted, any time they wanted, and under any conditions.This would lead invariably to a decline in feces production, and therefore less economic value, and then we won't have much of an exhibit will we? Heck we could lose the whole darn park? Do you want that? Are you unaware that everything that this zoo stands for rests on the founder's divine insight that monkeys have a right to hurl feces? Yes, even if they build a catapult 200 years from now.  Don't you know what happened to the zoos in Germany when the monkeys were told they could no longer hurl feces? Or Stalinist Russia? Off the record, I'm a bit suspicious that Nathan Robert Asshat has been getting money from Russia, but hey money is money these days. I asked if I could at least be reimbursed for the shirt then, for my children's clothing, which was covered in feces.  Doesn't look like it's in the budget. Rainchecks are offered literally only if it rains. I am sure their emotional scars are healing already. When I left the park, I was told that feces did not ruin your shirt, monkeys ruined your shirt. Those damn dirty apes! Speaking of...where is that Charlton Heston these days?  What if we have to live in an actual dystopia? read more

Not a large zoo but free with Hershey Park. Nice break from the park. Clean and well maintained.

I just visited Zoo america a couple of weeks ago before it flooded. They didn't evacuate the zoo in time prior to flooding and have submitted press releases saying that they were forced to "euthanize" 2 bison. This is NOT what I'm hearing from people who live in Hershey and near the zoo. People are telling me that the female bison drowned and they "euthanized" the male eventually. Also, I'm hearing that many more animals perished than what they are fessing up to. I WON'T be back. They have no business keeping their animals in such small cages and enclosures. The zoo was built in the 50's (?) and definitely needs to be updated or better yet removed all together! Shame on them! read more

I visited this "zoo" with my husband on 8/3/11, and was saddened and disgusted with what we saw. Most of the enclosures were far too small for their occupants, and it was quite obvious that many of the animals were suffering because of it. The stress of the bear, mountain lion and desert fox were particularly palpable, with their endless pacing and frantically running around. I expected far more from the Hershey company, and I am terribly disappointed. There is clearly no lack of money being spent on the theme park, and they can and SHOULD reallocate substantially more to Zooamerica...or turn the animals over to an organization that can and will provide proper care! read more

I've been coming here since I was a kid and now I'm bringing mine. I come here at least 1-2x a year. I find it to be fairly inexpensive and if you have a zoo membership for other zoos (Philly/Baltimore) it applies here as well. There's a small parking lot, which isn't a big deal as it's never packed. The gift shop is rather small but holds the bathrooms. It also connects to Hersheypark. There's a suggested route, which is the best route as it takes you around seeing everything. Now, there's not a ton of animals but it keeps a child's attention. There are a couple of places for food and drink. There's another set of bathrooms as you're walking. There is shade to sit and eat throughout. There are some hills but could be worse. Overall, love it here. read more

I just visited yesterday, September 17 as part of a trip to Hersheypark and was deeply saddened by the abysmal state of the habitats and the obvious stress the animals had. I have never been to a zoo with such small, inadequete habitats for their creatures, and never have I seen such a large percentage of animals exhibiting "pacing" behavior, a stereotypy brought on by stress in captivity. Mostly you see this pacing back and forth, often on a path the animal has worn, when the habitat is too small or other needs are not being met. So many of the animals were only one of a kind, while others who normally live in groups had only one or two companions. It was very upsetting to see the animals in such clear distress. Hershey should either completely re-do its zoo to make better, larger habitats or donate its animals to facilities that can properly care for them. read more

The spaces for the animals were so small, and the animals (especially the big cats) kept pacing like they were stressed. It was so hard to see. I went a year ago and am still sad thinking about it. read more

This place needs to be shut down. The enclosures are too small. The animals looked miserable. Animal welfare has come a long way - we can do better than this. I'd rather see huge enclosures, even if it meant I couldn't see all of the animals. I will write to Hershey Park and express my concern. read more

If I could give zero stars, I would. This place needs to be shut down. Animals are stressed, displaying manic behavior. But who wouldn't with a major amusement park next door and all the sounds and screams that it entails! I visited once a year ago and can't get the images out of my head of animals showing just how unhappy and stressed they are in small enclosures and next to all the noise of Hershey park. Not to mention the flood a few years ago when animals drowned or were shot because they were going to drown anyway. Hard to believe in 2015, this place even exists. SHUT IT DOWN. Donate the animals to appropriate sanctuaries where they can be somewhat happy and content. Don't take your kids here. read more

Located in Amish country, this is a very small zoo. Could probably use some updating. Quite close to the amusement park, but a separate business. Cannot be compared to much larger zoos, as it does not have the possible expansion land space. read more

We've gone more than once. The place is clean and animals look healthy. Can go through in about an hour. No interaction or feeding. Nice variety. I always try to support zoos. read more

The Zoo by itself isn't worth the $11 admission price but when you go for free with a Hershey Park pass its well worth the visit. As an adult without kids the park didn't take me all day so I had plenty of time to do both. I went on a warmish fall day and was luck in that all of the animals where out and about. Although the zoo is small it does have several interesting exhibits. One of my favorites was the desert and nocturnal animals building. I love when Zoos create a nighttime setting so you can see normally nocturnal animals up and active. The same cannot be said for the porcupine who just napped our entire visit in its' tree. It was there out in the open and it was nice to see up close a normally shy animal, even if he/she was napping. The prairie dogs on the other hand were busy playing and running around. I'm not sure I would specifically visit this zoo again but I really did enjoy my visit while I was there. read more

Daughter attended Zoo Crew ( zoo day camp) here, and we decided to visit the animals while she was there. Nice, small zoo tucked away from the rest of Hershey Park. The monorail does go over it, and the Amusement Park is across the street, so there is some noise. A good variety of animals from the North American region and Mexico. Most all the animals were out and pretty active while we were there. Because it is small, it was manageable in terms of time. Staff was very friendly and the zoo was clean. We saw alligators, owls, ocelot, bears, pronghorns, parrots, tortoises, mountain lion, lots of snakes, bobcat, roadrunners, otters, deer, elk, prairie dogs, wolves, American eagles, porcupine, and America's martens. I highly recommend Zoo America. read more

Well laid out and full of nice surprises. Great demonstrations by knowledgable staff.

I visited this zoo today with my 2 year old son and I cannot express how disappointed and sad our visit was. We started out in the reptile house and it just smelled like excrement which was extremely nauseating. I have been to other reptile house to compare and haven't had a problem with a smelly situation. Most of the animals in the habitats were not visible. I would rate the habitats as less than satisfactory with little opportunity for the animals to do anything. Three was one prarie dog that was bleeding/ wounded and had patches of missing fur. It was very sad to see. I was looking forward to a nice outing with my son but as you can tell I'm still upset by the conditions. read more

Decided to stop by and visit the zoo for a quick day trip on the holiday weekend and we were really impressed. I have visited other zoo's over the years and this one was really cool especially the reptile and night time desert display. The zoo brings you around slowly from one exibit to the next and the zoo was really up kept well a long with a very friendly staff. I think it's a great little zoo to visit for a family and at the same time it's cheap by todays standards in price. read more

Not your typical zoo. It was nice to come here and take a break from Hershey park. It was nice to not wait in lines.

Great little zoo. Go when it's not hot, animals are more active and comfortable. Free admission when you get a ticket to Hershey park. We went to see Rainier the mountain lion cub, he was adorable. Every time I've been the staff are very knowledgable, friendly, and caring about the animals well being. Love the scheduled talks and you have to see when they feed the wolves. We've been many times and love to try to find the adult female mountain lion. Also when the Bears go swimming it's awesome. read more

Great location but the animal enclosures were too small, and most needed cleaning. Would have also liked to see something posted about how they acquired each animal so that we could understand why each was in a zoo and not in the wild. read more