Ellen Trout Zoo — Attraction in Lufkin

A great family-friendly zoo — affordable and fun!

Ellen Trout Zoo isn’t the biggest or flashiest, but it’s a fantastic spot to spend a couple of hours, especially with kids. We paid $25 total for two adults and our 4-year-old, which felt fair for what we got. My daughter had a blast walking the zoo for about 90 minutes — we explored a wide range of animals, and even went back to revisit the new rhino and the hippos.

Most of the zoo is outdoors, but there’s a small reptile exhibit tucked into a shaded corner with ice-cold AC — a welcome break from the heat! (Some construction was going on nearby, so a portion of the path was closed during our visit.)

There are peacocks roaming freely, which added a fun, unexpected touch. The gift shop is small but reasonably priced — we picked up a stuffed animal for under $8. You can also rent wagons for around $5, which is great for little ones. (Just a heads up: we didn’t find out about the wagon rentals until the end, so ask early if you need one!)

One thing I do wish we had known before paying: they offer a $50 annual pass that covers two adults and all the kids in your household for unlimited visits for a year. That means if you go just twice, it’s already paid for. Unfortunately, no one on staff mentioned it until I spotted a pamphlet and asked about it — would’ve been nice to know up front! That said, the staff were all super friendly and helpful otherwise.

Bring quarters and pennies for the penny press machine (a perfect keepsake for kids), and don’t miss the mini train ride! It’s about $2 per adult and loops around the outer edge of the zoo. You don’t see a ton, but our kid loved it — totally worth the 6–8 minute ride for the smile...

We visited this zoo for the first time recently on a Monday. It was almost completely empty, so it was nice for us to be able to take our time reading all the info plaques, observing the flora, and interacting with the animals instead of fighting crowds.

We started with a train ride, which is about 5min long, goes on a track around wooded areas and a lake outside the zoo, and costs $2/pp. We enjoyed this, and saw other families getting on to ride a second time.

The zoo looks very small from the outside, but we were able to spend a couple hours walking around once inside. There are rules posted at the entry and they have free maps to take along with you. There's also a small concession stand as you enter; which is the only one available so grab your drinks and snacks before getting started.

Some of the animals we saw were kookaburras, sloths, komodo dragons, alligators/crocs, snakes, bats, parrots, emus, a lion, a tiger, and a leopard. There are also a great many peacocks/hens roaming freely all over the grounds. It was fun seeing them up close, strutting their feathers, and calling to one another. Every animal seemed to be healthy and in a clean environment. Don't miss the reptile house!

The paths are wide and flat; great for wheelchairs, walkers, and strollers. There are various places to sit and watch the animals, some areas are shaded. There were a couple of areas that also had tables to use (outside food...

First time zoo goer, but was surprised by my experience! I always imagined the stereotypical zoo with all the animals in some form of cage or enclosure, so imagine my surprise when the second animal I see is a raccoon in an open air pen! I was partially surprised at how this little guy could easily walk out of his "area" and yet all he wanted to do was relax on his tree trunk.

I will preface by saying that it was a cloudy day and there was light rain towards the end of my visit, but unfortunately a few of the more exotic animals were either not in their enclosures or just in areas obscured from view. That said, it was pretty cool to see peacocks just roaming freely around the area, seeing a komodo crossing sign, and the general presence of the other animals there.

The day was cloudy, the atmosphere was pretty chill, and though most of what I saw were either turtles or birds, I still enjoyed myself.

Admission price was very reasonable and they also have a little train by the parking lot you can ride which was neat. Was told the train went by some exotic animals like giraffes, however those were in the list of animals not present, so the train ride itself felt a little anticlimactic.

One star lost simply because of the not all the animals were there that I had hoped to see, but overall it was a...