Fresno Chaffee Zoo

This is one of the best Zoo been to. It is very clean all the animals are very active. The staff is great provided with great educational info, and were very friendly. They have a really nice and clean food court and their garlic fries are amazing.

It’s no San Diego Zoo :) but it’s big enough & so much fun for the kids & adults! Our boys loved it & we will be back! Happy animal lovers.

Love the Fresno Chaffee Zoo! Great place for everyone to visit. Love the new African Adventure section.

Had some free time when I was here for work and spent a fun afternoon. I caught the «Cheetah Talk» and the keeper was very knowledgable and I liked that she stressed advocacy and support of the zoo. This place is a bargain at $ 7 and if I lived here, would support this zoo.

The zoo has a phenomenal new African Safari exhibit. It seems like they have just about doubled the size of the zoo! We spent about 2 hours just in this exhibit alone. This new exhibit along with the Sea Lion Cove rivals the San Diego zoo for about ¼ of the price.

Crazy, apparently I’ve never actually reviewed the zoo? Ok, well, baby girl and I are members and go very often. Obviously, going on week days in the morning will get you the best experience. The animals are really active then, and there aren’t a lot of people to spoil it for you while their 15 kids run around screaming. Aaaaanyway. Their new African wing is just incredible. A huge grassy plain where several different animals roam around together. I’ve never seen a zoo with that, each animal has always been in their own little habitat but this is a huge area where they get to roam around as they please. The new eatery in the zoo is nice as well, some really great options. And you can’t beat the view! As far as zoo’s go, it’s really cheap to get in too. If you haven’t been, I highly recommend it!

Really enjoyable zoo! The new African Adventure exhibit is fantastic. I would go for that alone. The layout is very open so you can see the animals from so many vantage points. Of course it’s nice to see the animals having much more space to move around too.
If you get hungry there is a good selection of food in the dining hall. Definitely a relaxing experience to sit there and look out at the animals. You could always get a stamp for reentry and eat outside the zoo if you were in the mood for something else, but I don’t know why you would!
I thought 7 dollars entry was pretty cheap given I would pay over 10 to go see a movie. I’ve also paid more to go to Oakland and SF zoos and I don’t recall them offering a whole lot more. I will definitely be encouraging people to check out the zoo if they’re visiting Fresno and I will be visiting it again too!

Not your old Chaffee Zoo. You have to go and see the new Zoo. The African Adventure is truly impressive– finally measure Z comes through. Entrance fees are cheap $ 7 for adults, $ 3.50 for children 2 – 12 and seniors 62+. $ 5 entrance into the park itself. Good was good too– new me yes and food is reasonably priced and pretty good. Take the family and enjoy a nice day at YOUR Fresno Chaffee Zoo!

I’m a member of the zoo and go pretty frequently. Prior to the new African Adventure expansion the zoo was ok; with the expansion funded by Prop Z the zoo becomes and EXCELLENT zoo and the best day value in Fresno.
By the way, while there check out the new restaurant located in African Adventure. Great food and healthy options.

The new African Adventure is an incredible experience that everyone must check out for themselves!
It truly is an absolutely amazing display of wildlife.
The attention to detail from the beautiful architectural design at the new Kopje Lodge, along with the soft and fitting music, provides the perfect ambiance for the perfect dining experience. Where else can you enjoy a delicious meal at a fair price a mere 15 to 30 yards away from a White Rhino grazing in the company of Gazelle and other safari animals?
I wish I could explain it better but words cannot do it justice.
I should also note that the customer service was phenomenal! There was knowledgeable staff at numerous locations eager and willing to share their knowledge and answer any questions!
By far the best zoo I’ve ever seen.

the new Africa Exhibit is seriously something to be proud of in Fresno. There’s a huge meadow full of rhinos, elephants, antelopes, wildebeests, cheetahs, lions and who knows what else. the new exhibit is seriously almost as the big as the rest of the «old» zoo.
Really cool patio and it overlooks the whole Africa exhibit as well. The food is good too! I had a wood-​fire pizza cooked right in front of me and it was better than some of the pizza places around town.
This is basically in my back yard and I have season passes now and you’d be crazy to not take advantage of this and check it out.

I love the new exhibits at the Chaffee Zoo we had a wonderful day! The zoo keepers are friendly and take the time to talk about the animals and their habits with such passion! Alex with the Rhinos Amanda with the cats and the gentleman at the elephants and I did not catch his name. Always so educational. Now lets head over to lunch at the Kopje Lodge for lunch. Burgers and hotdogs have always been really good at the zoo but with this new restaurant the food is fresh and so good. I recommend the pizza or maybe the grilled hamburgers. Grilled cheese sandwich was delicious and don’t forget the mac and cheese. Yes Measure Z

I have always gone through several phases throughout my life known as growing pains. At one point in my life i refused to patronize any sort of animal captivity. Seaworld, forget about it, wild kingdom, nope! However I have come to the realization that no matter how unnatural I feel animals living in captivity may be places like Zoos can also be a sanctuary for them or ways that we preserve certain species. Also with a 2 year old niece I my love for the zoo and animals has been rejuvenated.
Hence, I recently decided to visit the Fresno Chaffee Zoo. What I love about the Fresno Chafee Zoo is that it is not overwhelming. I used to live in San Diego and let me tell you that their zoo is huge I barely finished seeing everything. With the Fresno Chaffee Zoo that problem does not exist because it serves the purpose of providing a nice outing for families looking for something to do.
You get to see the animals in their splendor and you can tell that the zoo keepers really enjoy their job and care about the animals. All of the animals are well kepted and appear to be healthy which is great to see. Also if you visit the zoo you are not paying an arm and a leg for admissions. While I still have not completely gotten over my aversion to animals in captivity I will say that the improvements Fresno Chaffee Zoo has made to the animals enclosures and the seemingly healthy aesthetic appearance of the animals is helping me cope :). So long as my niece loves this place I will continue to visit PETA be damned.

Had a Great Time here last Tuesday. Barely anyone there. Enjoyed the Zoo to ourselves. Small cute zoo. Had your Main animals. There were more employees than people but I bet it’s because it wS a Tuesday definitely want to come back n bring a crowd.

My daughter loves learning about animals and so we decide the give Fresno Zoo a visit. I have to say I was amazed of how many different type of animals were at the zoo. My daughter loved it and enjoying the Valley Farm area where she has the opportunity to interact with billy goats. She learn so much and even though it was a regular hot day I Fresno we weren’t affected by the heat since there is plenty of shade to keep cool. I would definitely refer others to pay Fresno Zoo a visit you will not be disappointed.

This zoo keeps getting better and better each time I visit. The recently built sea lion cove is amazing and they’re currently building a whole new expansion called ‘African Adventure’ with a lot of new exhibits set to open this October. The zoo itself is clean and the staff working there will gladly answer any questions you have with great informative answers. For only $ 7 per adult and $ 3.50 for children it’s a great deal. The entire zoo is covered in trees so don’t be afraid to come here on a hot summer day like I did, the trees provide enough shade to cool you down. :)
There’s a good variety of animals. There are tigers, prairie dogs, bears, a reptile room with snakes, frogs, lizards and much much more. There is also a huge bird enclosure with a lot of neat looking birds and even small monkeys you can get really close to. My favorite part was the sea lion cove where you can watch the sea lions swim from up above on a cliff like view or from underwater. Overall my visit to the Chaffee Zoo was amazing! I would recommend anyone to come here.

The Fresno Zoo is always a nice place to go, take the grandchildren, relax and enjoy the animals, scenery and time with the family.
It’s inexpensive and just a fun place to go.

No offense but when I heard of the zoo in Fresno I was expecting it to be horrible and danky looking because it’s in Fresno. It has proved me wrong. This zoo is so spectacular. Good looking exhibits, fun activities, and very educational! I’ve seen many info cards everywhere very nice. Various fun activities like feeding the giraffes, petting stingrays, petting zoo (i.e. goats, sheep & even a cow! Lol!), a Dino Dig and there was one more I think but I forgot. And they’re all cheap! Yes, I love cheap.
Because Fresno is a hot city there is shade and benches everywhere. I’m not sure if the zoo is big or not but it took me a few hours to walk the whole thing with my son. I think it took about 3 or 4 hours or so including breaks.
Overall a very nice zoo, a «have-​to-​go» sort of zoo. And everything is cheap from admission, additional activities and even food. Happy zooers here. Next time in Fresno will definatetly come again.

The best zoo I visited in California so far and I have been too many zoos in my past; San Diego zoo, San Francisco zoo, Sacramento zoo and Los Angeles Zoo. What I really love and feel passionate about the zoo is how well the animals are treated here, how well the exhibits are kept and finally its actually an enjoyable zoo, because its not too big yet not too small for you and your friends or family to get tired. The best part is the zoo is not at all expensive at $ 7.50 per entrance. I was so impressed with my first visit that I got their yearly membership for $ 30 (student price) and I can tell you its worth it. Try visiting weekdays and on a school day to avoid the weekend crowd.
The parking fee is $ 5 per vehicle, and this is when you enter the roading park. The main entrance, of the zoo is very nice, with wood-​work and it really looks like a wildlife park. You won’t expect this being in the central valley, because people often complain about Fresno and how underrated it is. This zoo is really amazing and should be a good representation of Fresno as a city and how fast its growing, Im happy that the zoo is well funded by the people here and becoming a proud symbol of Fresno.
To add to the excitement, this zoo keep adding new exhibits. Early last year they improved on their Sea Lion exhibit which brought the coast to the valley residence and made the exhibit really impressive and big, you get top view, underwater view and beach view. In addition end last year they added the King Cobra exhibit to the amazing reptile room. Now they are going to introduce the african adventure which would double the size of the zoo and bring africa to the zoo, its just amazing how the zoo keeps adding new exhibits and making it exciting for members and new visitors.
The food here actually taste great and they don’t overcharge. I especially enjoy their salad and ice cream. Prices are from $ 2 – 10
The aviary show is a must, because you will be amazed how well trained their birds are, you won’t think much before, but you will impressed with amazing eagles and owls allowed to fly without their cages over your head. I would normally circle the birdshot to see which fits my schedule best.
My favorite would be the stingray bay, where you could actually feed the stingrays. Its really a phenomenal experience and nothing like it. To be honest the zoo is so well decorated to make it feel like a zoo, with rock work and details that it excites me the whole time.
The staff here are really helpful and friendly and all of them are dressed in african safari khakis. The zoo isn’t too big to make you tired, so that I love.

The extra zoo tax paid in Fresno is making this a very good zoo. There is continuous upgrading and new exhibits are being built. Animals are well cared for and the grounds are kept up and clean. Although a zoo, Chaffee thinks it’s also an aquarium with its water exhibits, especially Sea Lion Cove. Don’t miss it.
Please give yourself a few hours here if you want to see everything. Small children can quickly get tired, though, as there is lots of ground to cover and so much to see. Take time out and get a snack at the zoo café in the middle of the park. Hopefully, with all of the upgrading, an indoor eating space will be developed for those really cold or really hot days that Fresno is known for.
More restrooms would be a plus, too. I found myself walking too far with children to find a restroom. Sure would like better signage.