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Riverbanks Zoo & Garden
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
4 reviews for Riverbanks Zoo & Garden
The zoo was one of the central plans to our trip to South Carolina. We go to a lot of zoos and aquariums and one of the things that fascinates us most is places that offer any sort of behind the scenes tour. Riverbanks offers some, and at an amazing price. They limit when they're available (no doubt for the safety of the animals), but we were fortunate to be in town on a day when they had a $25 penguin encounter.
For $25 (less if you're a zoo member), you get a guided tour of the veterinary facility, food prep area, and go behind the scenes of the penguin exhibit. Then they open a door at the top of a short flight of stairs and out waddles an adorable rockhopper penguin. He hops down the stairs and the handler puts him on a cart while talking about him and penguins in general. They allow you to pet the penguin (gently, using two fingers), and when everyone has had a turn and the educational talk is over, they send him on his way and he hops back up the stairs. We had a special treat when we were there -- they also brought out a new baby penguin who still had his penguin down feathers. We didn't get to pet this little guy (the handler held him the whole time), but we got to stare at the adorable baby up close and take lots of pictures. It was really, really cool.
I should note here that I think there are age minimums on this (the youngest kid in our group was probably 10, but that doesn't mean that I know what the restrictions are!). The event was super kid-friendly, but also really engrossing for my husband and me, and we do not have kids.
They also offer tours with elephants, bears, and some other animals. You need to book in advance, but this is cheap as far as encounters go, and it was pretty cool to see these animals up close! Here's a link about it: http://www.riverbanks....
As for the zoo itself, it is a really nice mid-sized zoo. The animals' environments were really great (especially the koala enclosure which was among the best I'd ever seen), the zoo was easily navigated, and with the gardens it is HUGE! We had very limited time outside of the encounter and didn't even get into the garden part.
The zoo is definitely a great experience, but it will be even more memorable if you're able to swing an encounter, too. Highly recommended!
The zoo isn't bad. They have a decent selection of animals, and you can make your way through pretty quickly. The price really isn't bad either. The only complaint that I have about the zoo portion is that some of the animals seem to be out of sight for much of the day.
However, the garden is rather cheesy. You have to make your way across a lot of land - a shuttle is available, but not readily apparent how to get to it - and then walk some more to get to the back entrance, at which point you see a small water fountain. The kind that you might have in your yard. Not impressive at all, and it could have been completely skipped, allowing for more animal time.
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This is consistently one of the top zoo's in the nation. You can spend a whole day here roaming around the different exhibits and botanical gardens. It's a great place to get some exercise on a sunny day.There is also and educational area with movies at certain times. You can check for a penguin show and sea lion or giraffe feeding times. There is a playground for the kids. Also lots of photo op's with some of the animal statues placed through out the zoo. you can also bring a pick nick and eat in the zoo or at the near by river. If you go in a large enough group and plan ahead you can book group tours and even behind the scenes tours.
I was really impressed with this zoo. It's not extremely large, but it is very well maintained and well worth the admission price.
Visitors enter through Wildlife Parkway off of 378, then walk along a boardwalk through a botanical garden to a tram stop. The tram comes along every 20 minutes or so and takes you down a steep 3/4 mile path, across the river and into the actual zoo area.
What a great place. Lots of animals, very nice set up. I especially enjoyed the aquarium with tons of little penguins running around.
Skip the 3-D theater, it is not worth your time or the extra $3.50/person.
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