We attended the award-winning Jacksonville Zoo (currently the official name is Jacksonville Zoo and Botanical Gardens, which was changed in May 2025) in north Jacksonville (located at the mouth of the Trout River) on Saturday. This is a very large zoo that has over 2,000 animals (plus 1,000 plant species) and draws more than 1 million visitors annually.

If you want to see all the exhibit, it will take you most of the day, so there were some animals that we didn’t see – particularly the rhinos and their East Africa area (mostly because we never saw the signage for it). You definitely will walk a lot throughout the 122 acres, so you’ll be exhausted at the end.

I’ve been to a few zoos, and the Jacksonville Zoo is probably my favorite, just because they had so many animals living there. But don’t take my word for it, the zoo is nominated for Best Zoo in USA Today (it is currently #4 in the ranking). What is interesting to note is that there are two Florida zoos (the other being Brevard Zoo in Melbourne, Florida), and I am assuming it is because of the warmer/tropical climate of Florida that makes housing animals much easier. Just based on my experience in my backyard, there’s definitely way more animal species just living in the wild here than Minnesota.

If you were to ask me what my favorite was, I have to say it might be the giraffes. I’ve previously seen them, but from afar. Maybe it was just feeding time, but if you paid extra for the “total experience” you allowed to feed them. Personally speaking, I think general admission was fine, you got see them very up close and personal. I think if you had children, touching the animals, like the giraffes or the stingrays or goats, it might be life-changing experience.

As for disappointments, you might not see everything you want to see, just based on the sheer size. Pricing is what you would expect for these things – it’s eye gouging. We’re talking $10 for a pretzel. Drinks are sold via stands throughout the long walk and there is a food court about half way. Everything extra costs money, like watching a 4-D movie (15-20 mins) or taking the train back to the start. Again, I think general admission (as expensive as it is for a little less than $40) is fine, especially because there are still plenty of things to do and see.

Below are just some animal photos. I definitely have way more photos, but there are just some that turned out good. Many animals were behind shatter proof glass/plastic that is sometime foggy or muddy that sometimes doesn’t translate into a clear image. For example, I had a very close shot of a Bald Eagle, but the glass just distorts the colors and brought the overall image to a very dark tint.

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