Stopped by on a lark on drive back from Red Sox game and enjoyed an affordable viewing of snow leopards, wolves, jaguar, cougar, bear, monkeys, otter, etc. Good viewing of the animals, but not brilliant for natural setting photos given the plethora of fencing. Animals seemed well attended to. Nice education signs, not overly commercial. Not too crowded, lots of nannies with strollers and grandparents with kiddos. Left just as 2 bus loads of summer camp kids arrived. At $15 per adult, a pleasant diversion.
I've been coming here for years and still enjoy it. I have been bringing my son, now 11, and his friends for years. This is the type of place you can go through in an hour and 1/2 easily. They have made some improvements, but other parts of the zoo needed some attention. New American alligator exhibit offers a close-up view of the animals, but is unremarkable. Recent births have added to their collection. Grounds are pleasant offering both sun and shade. Most of the exhibits are easy to access for little ones and elderly. Wolfs are up a hill that may be too strenuous for some. Small gift shop and food stand. Bathrooms available but are cramped and often smelly. The staff and volunteers are dedicated and hard working and deserve public gratitude and support.
My wife and I had seen some advertisements for Stone Zoo's "Zoo Lights" celebration that they hold through the beginning of January and decided to check it out. I grew up with a small, local zoo nearby and it was always fun to just go and walk around for an hour or two. There is an admission charge for the facility, but remember that you're helping to support the zoo and their various activities/initiatives.The facitility was beautifully decorated everywhere with Christmas lights and they even had "Santa's Castle" for people to visit with their children with rides, displays, etc. For a small zoo, this place is great. The staff is very attentive and you can really tell that they care about the animals at the facility. The grounds and animal enclosures are also very well kept and nicely maintained. I've seen a few previous comments on this board stating that the facility is "dirty" or not very well maintained, but they must have visited on an off day. This place was clean and the animals were happy, despite the temperatures being a bit cold. There is also a good number of animals to see (including new arrivals), but some are not out during the colder months for obvious reasons.It's so important to support these types of facilities because having a local zoo is something a lot of people would love to have, but unfortunately don't. And remember, the more you support the place, the more money goes into any improvements that they want to make. We will be visiting again very soon and will continue to in the future.
Went with my husband to a nearby restaurant and happened to pass the zoo, we wanted something different to do outside so we decided to go. Such a small zoo! We were disappointed that there wasn't more there, lots of local seeming animals instead of exotic. An intern was there for the summer and I asked her what they feed the jauger and she said she had no idea, probably meat...said they just gave her a paper to read and didn't know anything else. Not educational at all. Save your money there are better zoos...
We loved the ZooLights! So pretty! It was a great place to take the kids and show them the animals and the lights.
I have always disliked zoos in general, but Stoneham Zoo is the exception. They have all sorts of events during the year at Holiday Time and there are always lights, animated figures, and a very family atmosphere; this is the choice for a nice cold night out with the kids, and it doesn't cost a fortune!.
The Stone Zoo is a lot of fun for families. The zoo is small enough to explore it in a few hours (~3) and they support the local economy. The concessions are a bit expensive, but I hope you are not going to the zoo for the food!The facilities are very clean and the staff universally pleasant. In December, they have a zoo lights exhibit that is a lot of fun at night.
This zoo is small and doesn't have many animals and is in need of an update. We went this year and the bear attraction as well as the bird building were closed. They really wasn't much to see or do. Only one of the ride was running and it took 20 minutes to for my order of chicken fingers to be ready. The birds of Prey show is very good I'll give them that but other than that doesn't waste your time or money. There sister zoo Franklin park is much better,
I feel so very sad for the majority of the animals here. I understand the need for zoos, but this one is very dirty and the exhibits are often very cramped and awful. I will never bring my grandchildren here again.
There are animals, a petting zoo, and rides - plenty to dowith small children. The summer bird show is great, butmight be a little scary. The a Education Centre hasfun and educational classes for kids.