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Stone Zoo
Rating Details »
- Hours:
Mon-Sun. 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
17 reviews for Stone Zoo
This zoo has changed a lot since I was a kid.
In a recent trip a noticeable number of the animals were sick, and thus parts of the exhibit were not there.
Parking is free, but the price of admission went up again since the last time we went in April. At least this time we were able to see a couple of the bigger attractions which were out but at the same time a lot of the animals were being kept from view either because of the weather, even though it was a comfortable 75 degrees and sunny, or because like I said they were sick and being seen by the veterinary staff.
Speaking of staff there's really no one around to educate besides a few stragglers who just seem to hang out where no one seems to venture. The gift shop was expensive but that's a given, although I don't know about paying 1.25 for a can of soda anywhere, nevermind almost 3 bucks for a gatorade. Come on now.
There is a way to get free admission on your next visit, but it involves taking an online survey and then going again in a certain amount of time.
I wanted to be happy with the trip but overall it's a bit of a disappointment. Sad to say.
My zoo! What happened to you! When I was kid, back before electricity, this place was the BOMB. Kids still use that term, right? "The bomb"? Well, it was.
I remember like it was yesterday - the big ol' polar bear, the aviary..... all gone.....
It's like a neat little walk in a park now. Not worth the $8 they charge to get in. Some of the animals seem.... depressed.
I like the yak. He's my friend.
This place won't be around for much longer. Maybe that's a good thing?
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I love this zoo. It may not have all the frills of other zoos around the country but that animals are really well treated. Many of them are rescues so they might not look in top shape but Zoo New England is on the forefront of conservation and education.
I volunteered here for a little over a year and I now I donate my fund raising money to them.
I am a huge fan of the staff.
My favorite animals are the otters!
It's a tiny zoo but it's really good for small children. Translation for those of you not yet afflicted with spawn: This place is walkable for the under 6 crowd. It's cheap, the restrooms are "fun" (think outhouse with pizazz), and the food area is a nice central location with a decent selection.
The smaller number of animals may be a turnoff for sophisticated zoo visitors, but the proximity to the animals makes up for the fewer exhibits. Most of the larger animals are separated by (what seems like) a thin piece of glass, so you can press yourself up next to the glass when the black bear or mountain lion walks by. Don't believe me? I pushed my four month old up next to the glass every time the monsters went by, then emailed the pics to my mom with captions like "Mmmm - Dinner!"
FUN
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It was supposed to be a sponsored free admission day. But they decided to control the numbers by blockading all vehicles right before the road from the highway without any notifications or signs at all. Not only did we get stuck in traffic, there was no other way to get to the zoo (even the regular bus line was not allowed to go there) unless you parked somewhere far far far away and had to hike quite a bit. Many people ended up dropping off their kids and family in the middle of the road instead.....
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Eenie meenie teenie weenie zoo of a zoo. We went on Christmas Eve for the Zoolights show, and it was just barely aiiiiight. Perhaps I am spoiled by the splendor of the National Zoo in DC, which is free in all its wondrous marvelousness, but this zoo was particularly sad and decrepit and small.
The place took less than an hour to walk through. Most of the exhibits were closed for the walkthhrough light show, but they did have "reindeer" and meerkats and owls and sloths scurrying about. Although they had signs for wolves and snow leopards, there was nothing of that sort. I think those signs were actually referring to the images of wolves made out of lights that were hung on the fences.
The Santa's Castle portion had a path lined with many creepy looking Christmas themed displays. Most of them were like plexiglass enclosed dollhouses with dirty, aged stuffed animals or dolls that moved around in circles to running tapes of Christmas carols. They had a place to take pictures with Santa but when we were there, he was nowhere to be seen.
The prices weren't bad -- $4 admission, I believe -- so for that, I guess it was OK. But even my 4 year old wasn't particularly impressed, so this zoo is not worth going out of the way for it.
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If you're looking for a giant zoo with lions, tigers, giraffes, and zebras, this is not your zoo. However, if, like me, you want a small quiet zoo with local wildlife (many in quite natural settings) and interesting animals you don't often see at the lion-tiger-giraffe-zebra zoos, then this is the zoo for you. Also, admission is just $9 and parking is free.
My boyfriend and I went to the Stone Zoo after a disappointing visit to the Franklin Park Zoo, and we were pleasantly surprised. While several of the exhibits at the Stone Zoo are on the small side, many of the exhibits are newer or encompass a large natural area in which the animals seem at home. The wolf exhibit was fantastic - the wolves looked happy and were trotting around the entire enclosure. There was also a large outcrop of rocks that housed markhors, these odd mountain goat-antelopes with giant twisting horns. The rocks continued into a snow leopard exhibit that would be a great place to watch the cat when he's not sleeping (unfortunately, we caught him in his afternoon cat nap in the sun atop his rocks). Other highlights include a jaguar, a couple cougars, and a neat leaf-nosed bat colony (a little gimmicky inside a mine shaft, but a nice exhibit overall).
The zoo did have one detraction: The indoor exhibits were in bad need of renovation, especially the poor sloth who was hanging from the air vent on the top of his cage. But the zoo was in the process of renovating several exhibits and the newer exhibits were quite nice. Overall, a nice little zoo that is actively improving itself and could become a great little zoo with continued support. We had a great time and got to see some interesting animals.
I guess you need to experience the Stone Zoo through the eyes of a child. Yeah, its not the San Diego Zoo, but its still a lot of fun if you let yourself enjoy it.
They are promoting the black bear exhibit which is adorable, but my favorite part was probably the baby flamingo trying to learn to walk. Holy cuteness, Batman! Make sure you check out the Birds of Prey show because it offers you a lot more information about the different species than the placards at each exhibit. I'm excited to check out Zoo Lights in the winter, because that was one of my favorite things in Portland to do during the holidays.
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If you're trying to compare this tiny zoo to major metropolitan preserves, just forget it. Stone Zoo takes all of about an hour and a half to walk through the whole thing, and they don't have many animals. But it's not a bad place to take your young kids, and it's just $9 admission. They have a decent-sized, free parking lot. Pretty clean, with enough bathrooms and simple to navigate. They have a pretty nice, well-shaded picnic area for families. Didn't try the snack bar, but it didn't look that impressive.
They have an awfully-named "Lord of the Wings" free birds of prey show going on where they have a few of their birds do parlor tricks in a small arena. It was borderline boring, and their "audience participation" was pretty lame. They do have a large bald eagle on display there, as well as a cougar and a couple of porcupines, which was pretty cool. You get to see the animals up pretty close.
I would have given one more star if the animals had actually been awake and visible when we passed through. The animals were asleep in about half of the cages we passed, which is really disappointing to a kid eager to see something.
One more strike against them - they've shut down the barnyard animals petting area, so it's just a playground and a couple animals inside fences. The explanation given to me today was that the animals have gotten older and they don't like getting stroked by kids all the time. Disappointing.
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This is a depressing little zoo. I will give them credit, I didn't exactly feel ripped off. I might consider taking a small child here for an affordable day out.
Highlights included: flamingos, and the mountain lions. The mountain lion is arguably the least depressing habitat in there, though they do have a view of the street (this resulted in a special treat -- when a neighborhood man walked by with his dog, we got to hear the menacing roar of the mountain lion).
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What a pathetic little zoo. I think I counted about 4 animals. Mostly empty cages here. The poor bald eagle in a very small chicken wire cage at the entrance is disturbing.
Displays and signs are worn and faded. This place is crying to be either closed or drastically updated.
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I took a date to the Stone Zoo's Zoo Lights exhibit last Friday. On the one hand, it's the one zoo in New England that I could find doing Zoo Lights. The price was reasonable (4$ for adults) and they had a fair number of lights.
I was a little disappointed with the size of the zoo. Much of the regular zoo itself was closed off, with only the areas participating in the Zoo Light event open to the general public. I did get to see some nifty animals sleeping for the night, plus a couple of reindeer - what else do you want to see at the holidays? That was definitely cool. I could tell they put a lot of effort into the Zoo Lights event.
While it was neat, it was dominated by small children and not as cool as some other Zoo Lights events I've been to in other parts of the country. If you're an adult looking for something to do, I wouldn't recommend it aside from sheer nostalgic value. If you're looking for a place to take little kids, though, they'll love it.
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I feel really bad for the animals at this zoo. I commend the zoo for trying to put forth an educational opportunity for children and adult visitors, but it's clear that it's just not very well kept and the habitats are much much too small. The poor cougars are constantly pacing, which is what they do instinctively anyhow, but they have nowhere to expel their built up energy.
There is a nice variety of wildlife to learn about and see, but at the end of each visit when I go there, I end up just feeling kind of guilty for paying money to see these poor animals. There are some nice photography opportunities if you can find an exhibit without chicken wire or fencing in the way, but the groundskeeping is messy, many exhibits aren't open, it's just not a very nice zoo I'm afraid. I still go because I love to see the animals, but don't go here as your first zoo and assume that's what zoos are really supposed to be like.
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A nice place to take your kids for the afternoon..
I loved it here. There weren't many people at all. For 9 bucks I got to watch black bears, a fox, meerkcats, a lot of different birds, amphibians, sea otters, monkeys, touch goats, and got to see a whole bunch of animals. I'm glad I guess this place is underrated because it was pretty empty and I happened to have a lot of fun!!!
Ok let me preface by saying I went not expecting much, and found my foreshadowing was correct. It ain't much. But it's cute...and they do have some cool exhibits. Namely the wolves...which rocked...I think they have a pack of about 14! And they recently had some jaguars born (3) on my birthday (which I now recall was my primary motivation in venturing out there)...but anyway, they were super-cute and it was endearing. I'll say it again, it ain't much - it's no Miami Zoo - it's more like a neighborhood zoo...but if you're in the area check it out and give them some much needed support.
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I liked some of the trails. That's about it. The place is obviously not cared for. The petting zoo was closed. The gimpy train was closed. The animals did not seem very happy.
