Potawatomi Zoo

This zoo is just horrendous, the exbits are always under renovation, or the animals are absent. I live here my whloe life and never enjoyed visiting. My kids and i went this summer and they are 4,5, 2 and they seemed to like the Koi fish more than anyhting. The train rides are not worth it, they only go half way around the zoo, the food is frozen hamburgers with an expensive price added. The petting zoo part is ashamful 1 horse, 1 goat, couple chickens. This zoo potrays an run down farm that needs alot of work. Brookfield zoo in (Chicago) is unbelieveable. I can honestly say that it is worth the drive, and pay. The Indianapolis zoo is also awesome, earlier this year my kids were so impressed with elephants, polar bears, giraffes, komodo dragons, penguins, gorrillas, dolphins, rhinos,and many more.None of these animals are at potawatomi zoo. Its a waste of time to visit potawatomi, save your money for something more worth your while. Another thing people say its the perfect size for little kids, well thats strecthed the chicago zoo is three time bigger than this zoo and my kids couldn;t wait to get to the next animal, neveve complaining about the size of the zoo. I think thats an excuse for the lazy parents that are out of shape and don't care about stimulating their childs mind about otheer animals. If your kids are behave and curious they'll enjoy the bigger zoo's also, don't let the size of a zoo to deter you away from the more beautiful, animal filled zoo's.

After reading the poor reviews, we almost didn't go to the zoo. We went last week and enjoyed our visit. Although we've certainly been to larger zoos with more animals, this was fine for younger children and they loved the adjoining playground. The zoo staff was friendly and the zoo had many beautiful flowers. There was enough variety of animals to entertain the kids, although we did miss a couple of our favorites. All in all, it was a good visit.

The Potawatomi Zoo was recently awarded a grant from the city of over a million dollars, and the only renovations they can make are a small bridge crossing over the Australian exhibit, and building a brick wall around the area where the chimps USED to be? Oh, come on, where did all the money REALLY go? I wonder, hmm....... If there is any left, after spending it all on a little bridge and a few bricks, will anyone ever spend it on any GOOD renovations? This place looks just like a cheap little park. You'd do just about the same to go to any park anywhere and watch the wildlife and nature without having to bleed the desperately, and rapidly decaying city of South Bend out of more money for more special interest projects and places that don't really benefit the majority of the population. The zoo is ok, I'm not trying to be mean or anything, but the other reviewers are right, there just isn't much to this zoo. I don't get what the city is doing here... maybe they left the million + dollars in the wrong decision making hands... maybe they need someone else to be in charge of renovations, someone who knows what they're doing. I hope someone fixes the place up properly with their financial grant soon, and I hope some good management and reasoning comes to help the rest of this city out soon, before it turns into another Elkhart, or even worse.

it's a small piss poor zoo. nothing but pieces put together a previous zoo directors' dreams of advancing their career. the city of south bend should save their money and turn it into a petting zoo considering it is all torn up AGAIN! a big waste of taxpayer's money.

My daughter and I went to the Potawatomi Zoo yesterday. What a big let down. We have going to this zoo for many years, and I have noticed a big change in the last year. Today many of the animals were missing and many areas being worked on. I was very upset that the zoo didn't post the exhibits that are not open. I hope something changes soon! This zoo is really seeing hard times.

I wish this zoo was near my home in Washington State so I could take the rest of my grandchildren! I went with my daughter and 3 of my grandkids (ages 3, 4, and 7). We all loved it! It's just the right size for kids that age and the animals are within easy viewing distance. There are two large zoos near my home and they have lots of animals, but the areas are so big that the animals are either nowhere in sight or the kids can't figure out what they're supposed to be looking at. This zoo may be smaller but at least you can see the animals! Plus the price is very reasonable ($3 - $4 less per person than at our zoos). We ended up buying lunch there, too. It was no more expensive than any fast food place and we got more fries and chicken than we would have at the restaurant. When we go one of the zoos near my house, we always pack a lunch because it would cost more to eat than to get into the zoo! The kids loved the train conductor (this costs extra but so do all the extras at our zoo) and they had a blast feeding the fish (you need a quarter for each handful of food but our zoo also charges extra for feeding animals...$1.00 apiece). One of the perks here was getting to hear the lions roar. Every time they growled or roared the kids wanted to head back that way again. It was definitely a great family time! While this zoo may not be at the top of the list in educational experiences, it definitely provides a fun, enjoyable outing and if I've told my kids and "kid-in-laws" back here that I wish we could duplicate it. FYI - There's also a wonderful new playground in the park outside the zoo gates and the grandkids spent another hour playing there after we were done at the zoo. By the way, zoo parking is free. This was another plus since one of our zoos charges $5.00 for parking!

This zoo used to be a nice place to visit and my children loved the chimps and the wallaby walkabout. We were there yesterday and much to our dismay the chimps are gone and the wallaby were no where to be seen. I know South Bend is facing finacial problems, but why would anyone want to visit a zoo with very little as far as animals. The white alligator was interesting to see and there is a new anteater that my kids enjoyed. But the chimps were sadly missed.

The Zoo is overpriced with very little in the area of attractions. Not sure who wrote the positive reviews, perhaps locals who do get out often, this zoo is a waste of time and money. I would rather spend the time and money traveling to the Cleveland Metro-parks Zoo, or going to Chicago.

I'm sorry, but the Potawatomi Zoo felt and looked like a glorified farm. Little to no animals. You would be better off saving the money you pay to get in and using it for gas money to go to the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago (2 hours away), which has free admission.

Being the only zoo within 45 min. I wish they would build it up a little more. More attractions and more activities. I will take the 2 hour drive to Fort Wayne's zoo and spend the day without getting bored walking in a circle.