mesker park zoo & botanic garden

We were visiting the Evansville area for 4-days and decided to go there on an early March day. The weather was garbage (cold and raining), but we love the Amazonian Exhibit, which is indoors, so we stayed indoors. The rest of the Zoo is kind of hard to get around when it's raining and cold, so we're gonna make a point of coming back to see the rest of the Zoo when it's a lot warmer!!!

It was cold on our visit so planned on seeing the orchid exhibit. We expected a simple straight forward display. Instead we walked through the Amazon exhibit and saw the orchids displayed around the path. We were able to see tapir, ibis and other animals as well. Costs of zoo admission included the orchid display. Admission was low because winter rates. The lake was ice covered. The zoo is hilly. It is the first zoo established in IndianaBecause of weather, we did not view rest of zoo. Gift shop reasonable priced. Bathrooms warm and clean.

This zoo is not big enough for the animals it houses. Many animals have small cages/exhibits that are clearly not big enough for any animals. This is the first zoo I've been to where I've felt this way and it is very sad to see. No real unique animals to or interesting exhibits. I will not return

This past weekend we went to visit our local zoo. It had been years since we had visited and it was a nice sunny February afternoon. The admission was cheaper than normal since it is out of season. The Amazon part is beautiful and in February they have a display of Orchids. So many different types to look at and smell. Outside is nice, but there were not that many animals out. There is a lot of walking involved, with hills and more hills, but it is a very nice area.

I liked the zoo....the grounds are beautiful and the exhibits were interesting. The next time we're in Evansville we'd like to stop again.

The day after Christmas was unseasonable warm so we took the four grandchildren (ages 7-14) to the zoo. We had not been in several years and we all enjoyed it. Of course there were no gardens, but the animals were more active than when we saw them in the summer months. Most of the animals were out, but a few might have been inside their dens. The entry fee is discounted a little for the winter months. The younger children especially liked the prairie dogs. There have been some nice improvements since our last visit. Most of the animals have nice enclosures. There are a lot of hills, but if you have walking issues there is a tram. Although I don't know if it runs all winter, I did see it making one pass through during our visit. It is not a huge zoo, but it is nice. There are a lot of benches throughout so you can sit and enjoy the view. There is a large lake that is nice. The peacocks roam freely through the park which the children also enjoyed. The staff members that we interacted with were helpful and friendly. The season pass is also a good deal. We bought one. There was a grill, but we did not eat there. It is worth stopping for a few hours if you are in the area. We drove about an hour each way for the visit and felt it was worth the trip.

As an avid zoo-goer I can definitely say this tops my charts, especially with it being so small. I was kinda nervous since I didn't picture Evansville to have such a noted zoo. We went to the zoo on a weekday before halloween (like a week or so before) and it was empty which made it awesome to be able to look at all the animals for as long as we wanted, we even got to feed the giraffes free of charge it was an amazing experience, so we went back…again..and again..and AGAIN.. and then decided to get a zoo membership and now we go all the time. Definitely a plus when you go during the week when all the kiddos are in school, makes for a less crowded, quieter and more intimate experience! LOVE THIS PLACE

This zoo had it's charms. There were large lakes with various birds that were fun to look at. My daughter got to feed a giraffe for a fee. There was a lot of walking to do here, much of it on hills. We had an enjoyable day together.

We've been to many zoos both large and small, this would rank in the bottom if not at the bottom. It was a gorgeous day, so the weather does not play into my review, however, this zoo is sub-par. There is lots of walking up and down hills to see very little. Many exhibits were not just missing a sign to let us know what animal was supposed to be in the exhibit, but the animal itself was non existent most of the time. There were lots of workers, most of whom looked annoyed at having to be at work. It was just a bad time overall, I always try to list highlights and in this case it would be Amazonia, the rain forest building, but that is about all. Kids would probably enjoy as attention spans are sparse, however pushing a stroller up those holds will be interesting. Good luck to all that go and I hope you have a better experience.

Boo at the zoo is hosted during after hours with sponsors lined on a path handing out candy. I did not think this was worth the money. They a few animals you could see and some bugs and insect but overall it was basically like paying to trick or treat. For the amount of animals that we actually saw the price of admission was a little high about 10 a person after tax including little ones above year 1. They did have a haunted house that was pretty good and was actually a scary one. Overall it was OK but we probably wouldn't go again.

Very well kept Zoo, lovely day to enjoy animals just wish the Giraffe feedings were open later than 2:00pm.

I loved all the little attention to details we found at this zoo. It was all decorated for Halloween when we visited, lots of decorations throughout the zoo. The Amazonian exhibit was beautiful, with many animals and plants I haven't seen at other zoos. The animals here are so curious. At several exhibits where we paused a few minutes to look (spider monkeys and toucan) the animals came over to get a closer look at us. The bat exhibit was especially fun, they were much more active than many bat displays we've seen. The staff was very knowledgeable and accommodating. A great way to spend a few hours!

We were looking for things to do on a cloudy October day and decided to head to the zoo. What a nice surprise to find the park not only beautiful but clean and staff were friendly. I thoroughly enjoyed the rainforest botanical garden. Gorgeous! I will definitely be back.

had an hour to kill, and after seeing zoos in Memphis or San Diego, and HoChiMinh City VN this is probably a very good zoo for town the size of Evansville. relaxing mid week visit with very few people visiting. so was a pretty quick walk through. kind of like a good walk with some interesting sights. Better than the Saigon zoo which i visited a couple of years ago, but that isn't saying much. Takes quite a bit to keep up a zoo, and the amazon rain forest building was interesting. just wish they had more money to do more things.

Nice family zoo.Good collection of animals. Be prepared to do a lot of walking up and down hills.They do have a tram to get around the zoo. Admission price and food prices are very reasonable. I would recommend this zoo to anyone.