applegate park zoo

Applegate Park Zoo is very small but very well taken care of. It is obvious that the employees and volunteers put their heart and soul into running this place.Good for an afternoon trip with the kids.

It's not a big zoo, but a nice quiet, peaceful place. Not hundreds of visitors there either. I'm a senior, so it cost $1.50. The gift shop was closed because of a shortage of volunteers. Too bad, I would have like to find something to take home. Payment was on the honor system. Put your money in a big metal elephant piggy bank. Not a big variety of animals, but a good assortment of types. Lots of different types of birds, from finches to great horned owls. Petting corral with mostly rabbits. Lots of benches to just sit and enjoy.

No lions and tigers...oh my! But there were bears. Two big sleepy brown bears shifted their heads to give us a lazy look as we peered into their cage. That was pretty exciting for our preschoolers! There was also a bobcat, a cougar and quite a few monkeys. We saw a deer, a big African tortoise, and all kinds of birds. When I paid my senior entrance fee of $1.50 (small kids were free) the man asked if we'd like to buy some food for the goats. It was well worth the dollar to watch the goats and alpacas jostle for position as we held the food out to them. And how gently they nibbled it from our palms. The zoo is maintained by volunteers for the most part. It was clean and peaceful and very inexpensive. A nice afternoon for grandmas and little ones

Taking a family visiting from Australia to the Applegate Park Zoo was enjoyable for me and a thrill for all in our party. I hadn't been to the zoo in years and was impressed by the number of animals and the cleanliness of their cages. The park zoo has a delightful little gift shop too. Whether you are picnicking in the park or just out for a walk, stop by and say hello.

Adults $3, Kids $2. The Zoo is small and you're done with it in 30 minutes. That's the bad part. But the AMAZING part is how close you are to the animals. You can really connect with them. They have Bears, Monkeys, Alpacas, Goats, and a female Lion just to name a few. It's worth the visit.

We stopped by the Zoo to kill some time and were pleasantly surprised at how cheap it is. It cost $6 for my two sons and I to enter (BRING CASH ONLY in case gift shop is closed, you still want to be able to contribute by placing the money in a cash box). We were able to kill time and beat the heat a bit by roaming around the tiny (and I mean tiny) zoo. We were greeted by a very bored cougar who had the grace to lay by the fence for optimal photo ops, a few friendly bears who appeared to be domesticated by how close they were and how unaggressive they were, a couple of cheeky monkeys, deer, a few curious bobcats and more. There was a small petting zoo where the kids were able to spend some one on one time with some goats, sheep, etc. The cages were small but clean and there wasn't the smell I was expecting, especially considering the weather. The kids had a great time (did I mention that they are 13 and 8, so not toddlers that would be entertained with a wooden spoon and a pot) and I was pleasantly surprised that they liked it, possibly as they were in closer proximity to the animals as per usual. It's not a world famous zoo, but they don't profess to be. With not a lot to do in Merced in general, this was definitely a must-do for families.

A friendly, relaxed fun experience at one edge of large city park, but the old school cages will make some a bit uncomfortable. I was uneasy about the bears especially in a rather small area. Gift shop has fun stuff and snacks, PS it can get HOT in Merced in summer so plan accordingly.