Utah's Hogle Zoo

Reviews

• TW

  Tashadee Watts

  4 days ago
  1.0
  Shame on Utah!!! I have never had a more disturbing upsetting heartbreaking experience in my entire life than I did today at the Utah hooglezoo.... I mean is this the standard we're setting Utah? is this is the best that we could do? I can't be the only one who finds a problem here. Bless anyone who takes time to give these animals any quality life because the way that these animals, the beautiful, WILD, (dare I say) life.... Is no way of living at all. My heart is heavy. I have never felt such sorrow. The animals I did see were in a stand still I did not see the ostrach running I did not see any monkeys playing there were no lions prowling. Or even being catty. I can say honestly not one of the animals I had visited today were even in motion. Every single WILDlife was without LIFE. LET ME CLARIFY THERE ARE NO DEAD ANIMALS. THE EMPLOYEES ARE DOING THE BEST THEY CAN WITH WHAT THEY HAVE. AND BLESS THERE SOULS. THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU WHO VOLUNTEER/WORK/SERVICE THERE. ALL OF YOU. BECAUSE THESES BABIES NEED ALL THE LOVE THEY CAN GET. I know we can do better for all that reside there. We humans owe the residences of the Zoo more than a .25 acre of monkey enclosures. Indoors ? Monkeys? What are we doing guys? Can they even swing from the 2×4s they have in there? The bald eagle enclosure. Shame shame shame. My mother's back yard is bigger. How is a bird of that stature have any LIFE, with that kind of life? We can do better. I'm sorry Utah, this is wrong on every level. These wonders of OUR world, the ones who are driven from there natural environments and placed in these ridiculous enclosures so small my mom's cottonwood heights backyard is bigger. By margins. It's our responsibility to be better. To do better. The small amounts of movement they have is not any quality of LIFE. and they are definitely not WILD. my heart hurts for all you hoogle Zoo residences
• SA

  SR Adams

  May 9, 2026
  5.0
  It’s really heartbreaking to no longer have elephants here, as the whole reason Hogle Zoo was started was because children of Salt Lake City were enamored with a circus elephant and raised their own money to buy her and establish the zoo. I really hope they can bring them back someday so more kids can be inspired by seeing an elephant in person. That being said, it is still a great zoo and the animals are clearly well cared for. Our family loves spending time here, Rocky Shores and Asian Highlands (we are so lucky to have Amur leopards!!!) are our favorite spaces, and the food at the bistro is surprisingly good. It’s also a great place for kid’s birthday parties with lots of different options for any budget. I suggest going on a weekday morning or evening to avoid crowds and see more active animals. Buy a membership and take advantage of the “Sunset Safaris” they are the best!
• DH

  D.C. Hart

  May 7, 2026
  5.0
  It rained the whole day we were there, but we didn't care! We loved all of the sleepy animals- and the worker's (although slightly bored) were super friendly and informative, paying special attention to us (being some of the only folks around) and making sure we knew all the cool stuff happening! We even found ourselves alone in the Orangutan enclosure with a keeper and a specialist! That Orangutan baby was a highlight for sure! The people at the Beastro, even though they were closing early (due to lack of people) we're still really friendly and gave us something to eat after walking back and forth in the rain for 6 hours 😂 Overall- great experience, worth the tickets and extra donation!
• OR

  Olivia Robinson

  May 2, 2026
  4.0
  I really enjoyed this trip although sometimes I struggle with the idea of what a zoo actually is. I was actually pleased to see that they still had a little train and they still have the original lion with the drinking fountain inside of him where you could have your picture taken of your head inside of a lion, although the drinking fountain is not functioning it was nice that they kept this for those of us that have been going there for many many years. It would’ve been nice to see elephants, but I don’t think they have enough space anyway and I hope they find a better arrangement for them. The rhinoceros made us laugh because it was named princess. The gift shop was amazing and actually things were reasonably priced, and the employees were amazing working with our disabled students.
• HH

  Henry Hansen-Toth

  May 2, 2026
  5.0
  As currently the largest zoo in Utah, Hogle Zoo is still worth going to, thanks to an annual upgrade or two, such as replacing iron aviaries with wooden aviaries, merged habitats in the small animal building, and even a permanent shade structure atop the current sea lion pool. Also, congratulations on your plans to rebuild the Giraffe Building Hogle Zoo! When it completes by the summer of 28, I will be there to see it open, and after that, considering that gazelles and other true African antelope are timid anyway, thank you for improvising heavily on continuing care for any antelope and deer at all in the form of the bighorns, adorable red pandas, and the markhors. If anything, after the Giraffe Building is rebuilt, besides the return of guineafowl and other small habitat birds, please consider watusi cattle and a pair of Nigerian dwarf goats for the Savanna every once in a while, not to mention just relocating any rhino there too. Also since both water dragons and raccoons may require a good-sized tub and ring-tailed lemurs favor dry forests in the wild, please consider coatis for the new South American Area and/or at least start a breeding lounge of tegus there? Also, please make the new indoor reptile and primate areas all two stories tall each if you can, since we could always use more viewing opportunities? Anyway, I could see more waterfowl and parrots in the new South American Area, gibbons and macaques in the Indonesian area, and even radiated tortoises with lemurs in Primate forest in a few years, please keep up the good work Hogle Zoo, especially now we still have an adorable newborn gorilla and orangutan! 👏 Edit: Here is also a map of what I came up with in terms of the master plan based on hearabouts and guesses, just a reminder that since it is subject to change, it will be removed from my review after 1-2 years. Also good luck acquiring a pangolin someday!

Frequently Asked Questions About Utah's Hogle Zoo