Metro Richmond Zoo

My family and I spent Monday exploring the Richmond Metro Zoo, and I have to say—we were genuinely impressed! The atmosphere was welcoming, well-kept, and perfect for a relaxing day out. Most importantly, the animals looked healthy, active, and well cared for, which made the experience even more enjoyable. If you’re ever in the area, I highly recommend stopping by for a visit. It’s a great outing for families or anyone who enjoys being around wildlife. Enjoy a few photos I captured along the way!

Such a nice zoo! Very clean with polite staff. If you’re in the Richmond area, it’s definitely a nice way to spend a day. The parking lot was pretty full when we arrived & there were a few school groups, so we expected it to be crowded, but the zoo was plenty spacious for everyone to spread out. Other than reptile & bat houses, we were never too close to strangers. All the animals looked healthy and had natural enclosures with enrichment. We purchased food cups and many of the animals recognized them & came close for feeding. We also had train tickets, which was a nice little mid-day break from walking. In circling the zoo one complete time and then going back to the lions, I had just over 6,000 steps inside the zoo. All paths are asphalt & there are tons of benches & these gorgeous swings throughout the park. There is also plenty of shade. You can bring in snacks, which is nice, because the only non-meat item is ice cream, so we had Bobo’s muffins from my purse for a snack. But we also knew this going in (menu online) & planned with a big breakfast beforehand & an early dinner when we left (we visited from 2 hours away). The website was actually really helpful for planning & I purchased all of our tickets (& food cups) in advance, so we just walked right up to the gate to have our QR code scanned. The gift shop was 98% mass produced animal toys. We were there about 4.5 hours but did not attend any talks or feedings and could have lingered with some animals a little longer.

Yes it was hot as heck! But we had a wonderful time. There were more animals out than expected. We fed the giraffes, rode the sky ride and the enclosure train. Ww had a great time seeing the animals from the sky view point and then on the train up close. My husband and I had a ball with feeding the budgie birds. We liked that it was not crowded so we had no problems moving strong. I enjoyed seeing different animals sharing an enclosure. We will be back but on cooler date😆

Wanna get close to the animals, this is your zoo. Highly recommend a visit. Great for all ages! Recommend to bring a snack and drink with you - plenty of places to have a lunch. Our visit was about 2 1/2 hours… we saw it all!

It was our first time visiting here! I highly recommend coming here. My family and I had alot of fun. We stayed all day until closing hours. The park is clean and very spacious. I have nothing bad to say about my experience. The staff were friendly and knowledgeable. The parks amenities were clean. There were no long waiting times for vendors, or activities. We enjoyed all the activities from the safari train ride to the carousel and to hand feeding the giraffes 🦒 😀 our favorite experience was the budgie cage! We got to feed beautiful colorful birds. At one point there were about 6 birds that had flown to me and landed on my head, shoulders, and arms at once. And the birds are friendly! Each of my children were able to experience a bird flying to them and landing on them. We loved it. 😍 also, they offer zip lining, but we did not participate eventhough it looked really fun. I wish I had more pictures to post but sadly my phone "crashed" and I wasnt able to take any more pictures 😩 the onlyyyy "bad" thing i will say is that i purchased food for the giraffes when i purchased my tickets, but the giraffes were not interested in the food at all! Lol so i pick some grass and luckily the giraffes came right up and ate it every time! 😀 i definitely plan on returning with my family. It took 1 hour and 45 minutes to drive there and the same to get back home, but it was well worth the drive. If you've never visited this zoo, I would definitely check it out. Im sure you'll have just as much fun as my family and I did. 💖

Gorgeous facility, so many happy animals! We love watching the siamang feeding and penguin feeding. The view from the sky ride is spectacular! We learned a lot from the safari train ride too! Feeding the giraffes was by far our favorite!!!

It was a peaceful day. The staff are so friendly and helpful. I was in no hurry, I took a path and followed it around. I saw familiar sites and new sights. I used to bring my kids and my day care kids to this zoo, now I’m coming with my granddaughter. Having a membership, I didn’t need to see everything in one day. I look forward to come back, again and again.

Absolutely love coming here! We always have such a great time, and the kids never want to leave. There’s so much to see and do, and it’s very family-friendly. The layout makes it easy to walk through with little ones, and there are plenty of opportunities to get up close with the animals. It’s one of our go-to spots for a fun day, and we always leave with happy, exhausted kids. Highly recommend!