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Reston Zoo
Rating Details »
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
13 reviews for Reston Zoo
Spent a nice Sunday afternoon here recently with our 11 month old. The price for admission was $10/person and free for kids under 2.
Had a great time at the petting barn (sheep and goats mostly but a few pigs as well) feeding the animals. The playful spider monkeys by the gift shop were neat to watch and the wagon ride (included in admission) was filled with some nice sights.....two camels, zebra, bison, water buffalo, ostrich, and a variety of deer. There are pony rides as well and it appears that it's a popular place for young children to have birthday parties.
Overall, loved the zoo as a great opportunity for children especially to get comfortable around animals with the petting and feeding.
PROS: you get to pet a lot of the animals. they have some monkeys there as well. you can feed the animals too, and they have a hayride.
CONS: prices are a bit steep (around $20 a person). and then you have to pay extra for the hay ride and extra for the animal feed.
They do have candy dispensing-type machines that you put $0.50 inside and some animal food falls out. Definitely fun to take kids to. They get to feed the animals. They have more farm animals than anything (goats, pigs, sheep, lambs, cows, chickens).. there are separate small buildings for the reptiles and other smaller monkeys if I remember correctly. They are included in the price.
Reston's best kept secret!!! Right now I'm staring at my computer screen at work and my roommate is out enjoy another trip to the Reston petting zoo. This place is a great find! Yes, very suitable for children and families but if you have a chance to go without the kids, do it. I went with my roommate this summer and had a blast. It's petting zoo meets exotic animal zoo meets pony rides. Though we did not partake in the pony ride the wagon was great, you have zebras on one side and a little kid in a wading pool on the other side. No joke, there's just a wire fence between the neighbors backyards and the faux amazon.
You have kangaroos, monkeys, zebras, peacocks, not to mention there's a reptile house. Ok so the reptile house consists of like a couple of frogs and maybe a snake or two but there's a pit of massive turtles outside the hut. It's definitely no Smithsonian but it was a great afternoon full of sillies. Would go every weekend if I could....don't judge me.
Sure, it is not the National Zoo..but this place is great for kids. This zoo is on a smaller scale and is hands-on zoo. Reston Zoo has a large petting barn. Be sure to check out the baby animals (awww) in the Main Barn and get a chance to bottle feed baby lambs. Baa!
You can also see zebras, camels, giraffes, camels, bison, antelope, ostrich, monkeys, deer, monkeys, lion cubs, and much more up close. Other kid's activities here are pony and safari wagon rides.
Helpful tip: This zoo is closed during the winter months. They will be open now thru November 26th. The hours Monday thru Sunday are 9am to 4pm and they stop letting people in at 3pm.
okay. here's the thing. i hate zoos. every time i've been to one i walk out feeling depressed and sorry for the animals 'on display'. they usually look bored, lonely, angry, and/or sad. for me, it's agony and i just can't deal with it anymore when i know full well other animals have feelings, too.
this all being said, i went here with my brother several months ago to kill some time and because in all of our years living in the area, we never went to the reston zoo. plus, this isn't a typical type zoo... it's random with more farm type animals. my heart feels a little lighter due to this small fact.
we get in and i immediately hear music playing. but not just any music... it's the most annoying top 40 teeny bopper shit possible. and it's loud. i think to myself, this isn't for the animals, this is for the people. but unfortunately, it's the animals that have to suffer with this infernal racket. my mood swiftly starts to sour.
i look to my left and see these very kewl gangly looking monkeys. they are skinny, and long with arms the length of their bodies. climbers. their 'home'? several artificial trees in a small circular type cage. how cozy. cut knife with sarcasm here (X).
we continue on... there are turtles, massive ones probably 50 plus years old or so.. kind of neato. we get to watch one of the turtles mate with another. didn't know they were so noisy.
then we see plenty of goats, and ponies, and zebras, and ostriches and it was pretty kewl for the most part because they all didn't look to unhappy to be there. granted, they probably aren't the most intelligent of life on this globe.
in a nutshell, as far as zoos go... it wasn't as gut wrenching for me as normal and i was able to eat afterwards. something i never could do before.
so, i give it 3 stars... for the most part, they do seem to take care of the animals and they all look well fed.
i did place a note in the suggestion box for them to turn down the music or change it to a station the animals may find soothing (but still turn that shit down since their ears are way more sensitive than ours).
I was half curious and half nervous to find out just what Reston Zoo would be like. Yes, Reston is a nice area (mostly) but not the type of place I'd expect to find a zoo. Well, for the most part I was pleasantly surprised.
You are greeted with a few small, black monkeys, not that impressive but cute. There are also some ponies to ride and a few loud and obnoxious tropical birds. The zoo has a "reptile house", which is more like a shack, and there are some impressive snakes, especially two enormous pythons. There is a pretty big "barn" with lots of goats and sheep to pet and feed... honestly, not my favorite part, it stinks, it's loud and the animals are a little nutty... pushing each other over to get to the smallest amount of food (which you can purchase).
You can then walk down a small hill which leads you to a big open area with ducks and geese walking freely. The kids really loved this part because not only did it mean that can get super close to the birds, but they can also chase them... of course.
Then you have the option to ride a wagon that will take you around a huge pasture that has everything from deer, antelope, ostriches, camels, cows and one lonely zebra. The ride itself isn't very comfortable, but what would you expect? Pretty much all of the animals will come right up to you, especially the camels. We were lucky enough to witness an ostrich lay an egg right in front of us, which was neat, the driver of the wagon/tour guide ran over and grabbed the egg and let everyone see it and pass it around.
I was impressed with how wide open the zoo is, there was lots of room to walk and everything seemed to be spread out nicely. It did feel like they could put more on display, but then again I guess that would risk over crowding.
The concessions, gift shop and bathrooms definitely could use updating... all three are pretty small and limited. I would recommend bringing your own lunch, they have picnic tables and don't seem to have any issue with outside food and drinks.
I also like the fact that they have sinks (with step stools) outside so everyone can wash your hands, since it IS such a hands on zoo.
So, overall, not bad, not fantastic, but a fun day for the kids none the less!
This is such a cute zoo, with a lot of different types of animals! You can take a safari ride, feed the goats (costs extra) or just walk around. Watch where you step though............you'll most likely have to clean your shoes afterwards.
Lions and Tigers and Rabbits, oh my!
It is a great time, stop by and say hi!
The animals you can feed
With all kinds of seed
You can pet them
and smell them (yuck)
but best of all,
the kids will love them!
Definitely worth a visit, especially before some dumb developer gets his or her hands on it.
The top 10 reasons why I love my backyard...
10. It is ridiculously massive... perfect for soccer, barbeques, and parties.
9. It serves as a great tanning bed... clothing optional, of course.
8. There is a large Indian water buffalo in it that chases away geese all the time and goes mooooooooooo!
7. It allows me to make fun of all who pay admission to the Reston Zoo because I get to see the zoo for free 24/7 from the comfort of my own home.
6. I get to hear the tour guide loud and clear... it's like my own up close and personal Discovery Channel.
5. When grandma visits, she goes out on the deck to frantically wave and yell hello at the passingby wagon riders.
4. There are two camels in it... they are my long lost relatives.
3. I have seen the ostriches have sex.
2. I have seen the zebras have sex.
1. My little cousins named one of the llamas Bob... and everytime they go up to the fence, Bob lets them pet him and feed him grass, which makes them giggle and smile like there is no tomorrow.
... and those giggles, oh wow. They are truly priceless.
:)
:)
:)
An awesome find. They don't have many exotic endangered animals, but instead you can get really close to and even touch many of the animals. It felt almost like visiting a neighborhood farm. We bought a cup of animal feed ($4) and fed a bunch of sheep, lambs, goats, pigs, ponies, ostriches and a camel. A very nice place to spend a fun and relaxing afternoon. You could even bring a picnic and sit out on the grass. Baby goats may come around and beg for food though.
I came here with my friends who have 2 kids. Abby was shy with the animals, but Ethan was in love with the animals. They have parrots, a prarire dog, and many other animals out in the field. It's a great place to take kids so they can get up and close personal with animals.
It is worth a visit since there isn't much to do in the area. It actually has quite a number of animals. It is pricey to get in, but hey they got to feed all them animals and still make a profit. Go in the Spring and see all the baby animals.
I think this zoo is awesome! It's definitely more fun because you're up close and personal with the animals in the barn (and with the ostrich on the safari ride). I enjoyed watching my son bottle feed the baby animals and he had such a twinkle in his eye the WHOLE time. This is my favorite place to go with my son. I didn't give it 5 stars because it's not big enough. But hey- it's the best petting zoo I've ever been to. Recommend it to anyone with kids.