louisiana purchase gardens & zoo

My bad experience started just outside the zoo. I would NEVER let my wife and kids go there without me being with them. The zoo is not in a very good area. Once inside I wasn't impressed at all. This place needs a lot of tender loving care. I've been to several zoos and this one doesn't even come close. It was nice to see animals that you normally don't get to see, but I was in a hurry to just get the heck out of there. I would love to give them a good review, but I just can't.

Your concept of zoos will be forever tarnished if you go to this place. I couldn't believe the powers-that-be would allow this zoo to remain open. The animals were dirty and sickly. The grounds were unkempt. I can't think of one good word to say about our experience.

Found this zoo while road tripping with my wife. I honestly thought we stumbled into an abandoned zoo. Animals look in terrible shape. The actual enclosure's looked like they could fail any minute. The only zoo I have ever been to that is in worse shape is the Jackson Mississippi zoo. The U.S.D.A. failed if they think this zoo is adequate for business.

We visited this zoo in mid-December, hardly the peak of the season but the weather was nice. I first came to this zoo in the 1970s, when I was in elementary school. Apparently since then the zoo has declined and rebounded at least once. Zoos are precarious. If they lose funding, they start to decline, and if they start to decline people stop coming and the zoo declines even more. I'll say that our experience was a really mixed bag, but overall my 12 y.o. daughter LOVED it. There is a nice variety of animals, especially for such a small zoo. Some of the areas and structures are beautiful, even in winter. Others could use some help, replacement or repair, or simply be torn down. (*There had been a strong storm in Oct in the Monroe area, and that could account for some of the damage and some of the trees down.) However, there is a lack of signage in some areas that would be relatively EASY to fix. It's too bad, too that the "children's zoo" wasn't open. While there weren't too many people at the zoo, we saw a number of children who would have enjoyed petting the donkey (who seemed to really want some attention), the turkey hen, and the goat. The boat ride and the concession booth were also closed for the season. Again, overall we enjoyed ourselves in a very peaceful setting and saw some really interesting animals. We'll go again in the spring and perhaps they'll have had time to do some repairs and things will be even more beautiful.

I recently visited with my children and did not expect much based on the reviews. My lowest expectation was better than what I saw. The best word to describe the experience is sad. I did not see many of the animals that were listed on the zoo map. There are more empty exhibits than exhibits with animals in them. The boat ride was the only positive part but the boat captain did not slow down so you could see the animals she was telling us about. Also, The boat captain came to work wearing her shower cap, very unprofessional attire.

We visited here with low expectations after reading so so-so reviews. We have been to many well known zoos, but still enjoy visiting smaller ones too. This zoo was easy to walk around and we saw many animals (buffalo, lion, tiger, monkeys, black bear, zebra, rhinos...just to name a few). There is a boat ride to see animals and I recommend this. The zoo has some brown pelicans there that were hurt in the BP oil spill and are not able to return to the wild so they have a new home here. There was work being done on several exhibits, but it is obvious the zoo has a tight budget to really fix the place up. They are finishing up a small waterpark/play area for kids which looks nice and will be a good addition. We enjoyed our visit and if you like animals and zoos this is worth the stop for a couple of hours.

My daughters and I often visit the local zoo when we travel and they enjoyed this one. My step mother does not like nature at all and there was an abundance here so she was very unhappy.

I took 2 of my grandchildren to this zoo when we were in Monroe. There weren't many animals around and some of the gardens looked to need some care. The tiger was beautiful and he swimming around in his very small habitat. The lion gave us a "roar" but again, her habitat was pretty small. There was supposed to be a hippo in a dilapidated building but we couldn't find it. They were putting up some sort of playground for the kids, it looked to be a water play area. It looks like it will be nice when it is finished.

I was not impressed with my last visit to this zoo. We did make a mistake of going in the hot summer months. They were not many animals exhibits. It is run down. The staff is unfriendly. I did spend several minutes watching a tiger play and swim, the definite highlight of this trip.

Bernstien park became Louisiana Purchase Gardens & Zoo when I was still in grade school. It was a showplace! Never big, but always clean and pretty, with lots of colorful plants and flowers and a wide array of animals to make a day at the zoo a treat. A dedicated bunch of volunteers have tried hard to keep the place presentable, but a lack of ongoing mantienance and upkeep from the City has left the place to slowly decline into a dirty rundown facility that seems more depressing than exciting for a visit. The city needs to decide if it wants a Zoo or not. If it does it needs to invest the money and effort into keeping the place up. If not it would be better for all concerned, humans and animals alike to relocate the animals to a better environment and close the place down.

The animals themselves were ok. The shape of the grounds and the habitats were deplorable. Things just seemed to not be being taken care of. They have a building that is dilapidated and should be torn down. Just all in all not a good showing of a zoo.

it is not expensive , so you get what you pay for they have all kinds of animals and flower gardensa boat ride and gift shop the whole park doesn,t look appealing it is in need of some touch up here and there but if you have some time to spend in the Monroe area it,s worth a visit specially if you should have small kids

This is a great place to take your family, and enjoy nature and tons of animals from all over the world. I also loved zoo camps as a kid.

My three year old loves animals and insists on walking by herself. This zoo is the right size for her to explore. We went last month and will likely visit again soon. Visitors can see the entire zoo in less than two hours and still have time for shopping, etc. before leaving Monroe. Admission and boat ride prices are very reasonable, too.

I drove from Arkansas expecting a great time. Everything was good except the boat ride. The boat driver is not a people person & doesn't know how to lie good. She told us only one boat works but when the only boat broke down suddenly the boat that doesn't work, worked perfectly. I stood patiently waiting with my family for 40 minutes only to receive an I'm sorry no more boat rides. # Wasted wait!!