Potter Park Zoo Review

The Potter Park Zoo is a small zoo in the middle of Michigan. It’s about a 45-60 minute drive from several other Michigan AZA-accredited zoos. Although small, this zoo can be very fun for families. The zoo winds through a 100-year old oak forest, so it has its own charm, not to mention a lot of shade.

Pros:

Otter exhibit – There is a large viewing window to see the otters in the water. The exhibit is long, and you might be able to see them swimming below you as you walk across the bridge to the next exhibit.
Rhinos – The zoo has two rhinos – Phineas (male) and Doppsee (female). Doppsee is pregnant, with her baby expected in December/January!
Big cats – Lions and tigers live at this zoo! The exhibits are a tad small, but both feature varied terrains for them to walk around, which is much better than just a flat piece of land.
Arctic Fox – One of the first exhibits you’ll see is the arctic fox. When we were there, the male was very active and was fun to watch!
Penguins – Near the back of the zoo is the penguin exhibit. There is a large tent for shade. Zoo staff told us that they hope to renovate the exhibit in the future.
Mandrills – It’s not often we see mandrills at a zoo! The people next to us loved seeing two “Rafikis”.

Cons:

Layout – I wish the zoo was able to group the animals into their regions. Space is probably a big reason why the layout is the way it is, but regional groupings would enhance the visitor experience.
Signage – there are a lot of arrows pointing in the direction of the next exhibit, but if each exhibit was branded a bit more with large signage, that would both help navigation and add to the overall viewing ability.

Check out Mom Tips and Photos of Potter Park Zoo here!