Idaho Falls Zoo at Tautphaus Park — Attraction in Idaho Falls

I lived in Salt Lake for 11 years and frequented the Hogle Zoo (admittedly not a fantastic zoo, but it is a metro area of over a million people). We recently visited the Idaho Falls Zoo and I have to admit... I went in with low expectations, but was very impressed.

In comparison to the Hogle Zoo, there are definitely animals that IF doesn't have. But to my surprise, there were actually animals that Hogle doesn't have. Overall, I was very satisfied with the great variety of the animals they had.

In comparison to Utah's Hogle Zoo, here are my thoughts and a few comparisons:

1. At the Hogle Zoo, the trails are very wide, meaning you don't get any shade and it is often miserably hot there on even a moderately warm day; no shade, lots of hot asphalt, and tons of people. In contrast, the IF Zoo had smaller trails that meandered through well landscaped, wooded areas. I felt shaded most of the day, and even though it was a hot day, we all stayed very comfortable.
2. The exhibits at the Hogle Zoo are very large, which I'm sure is great for the animals. However, the IF Zoo exhibits are a bit smaller but I feel are also arranged better to maximize the viewing of the animals. You are generally MUCH closer to the animals at the IF Zoo and the whole thing feels much more like a petting zoo, than a zoo with exotic or unusual animals.
3. We did go on a weekend during the fair, so that may have played a role, but it was hardly crowded at all. At the Hogle Zoo, you often battle others for a sliver of space to peek into an exhibit. At the IF Zoo we were often the only ones at each exhibit, and were able to take our time and enjoy the sights.

Overall, I would honestly rather go here than the Hogle Zoo. It's much more comfortable and pleasant on a warm day, and it is overall a much more close-up, intimate zoo experience. I left here very, very impressed with this...

During our family roadtrip from Las Vegas to Yellowstone we were looking for things to do on a short leg of our journey from Ogden, Ut to Jackson, Wy and we discovered this zoo. Las Vegas lacks very little but one thing it does lack is a zoo and we thought it would be a great stop for the kids and us to move our legs and check out some animals.

Upon arriving we were immediately pleased with how the city zoo melts into the landscape and really feels as if it's not even there. The theming through out the areas keeps I terest up and never do you feel like you are just walking from cage to cage but more immersed in the experience.

Despite this being a small zoo there are a healthy number of exhibits and animal species to view and the staff is informative and very helpful. The zoo is also a well priced attraction and gave us an easy 3 hours of family entertainment all for under 25 dollars for the 5 of us.

Despite a great time and experience there are a couple things that may not be to others liking. This is not a large zoo and should not be compared to the likes of San Diego or Phoenix Zoo, but the price reflects that at 8 dollars for an adult ticket as opposed to 50 dollars at some large zoo's. Parking is less than to be desired here as there are very few spots available, you may need to park at am adjacent area and make the walk to the zoo.

The minor potential inconveniences did not bother us in the slightest and we had a great time here and will be back if we are in...

A charming little zoo that offers a pleasant experience with every single visit. A very tiny zoo, compared to many other zoos out there, but it gives locals a chance to really get to know and enjoy all the animals individually. The season pass for a family pays for itself after maybe 3 visits. It’s easy for us to come many times throughout the season, even if we can only make it on Saturdays. Well maintained with staff that care about the animals wellbeing. You can easily see everything the zoo has to offer in about 1.5-2 hours. Membership comes with extra perks like a gift shop discount, after-hours events, and I think a discount on the few premium experiences such as a zookeeper visit with the penguins, if I’m not mistaken. I wish the zoo were a little bigger and had a few more exotic species to enjoy, but I’m grateful for what we get in our “little” city. The earth day event was really enjoyable, and we’ll keep coming back often throughout this (2024) season. The biggest improvement would be to do something about the admissions line to get into the park. It is a huge bottleneck and the zoo experience would be greatly improved if there were some way to move people through the line faster. How about an option to scan yourself in with a separate employee/checker for those who have memberships? Just a quick scan of the barcodes of our digital cards, so we don’t have to wait behind people who have to...