Is the Nashville, TN Zoo a Good Zoo?
Who doesn’t love a day at the zoo? You’re planning on visiting Nashville, and you’re eager to check out the zoo there, which is called the Nashville Zoo at Grassmere. Is this zoo a good one or should you schedule a zoo day elsewhere?
The Nashville Zoo at Grassmere is a beloved zoo. Of 13,858 Google reviews, the Nashville Zoo is rated a 4.5 out of 5 stars. Kids and adults alike will enjoy the extensive variety of animals, fun exhibits, and educational opportunities that abound.
If you’re looking for an introduction to the Nashville Zoo, you’ve found it. In this informative guide, I’ll tell you what you can see and do at this zoo, what the cost of entry is, what the hours are, and which animals roam the grounds.
Let’s dive right in!
What Is the Nashville Zoo at Grassmere?
The Nashville Zoo’s full name is the Nashville Zoo at Grassmere, but I’ll refer to it here on out as the Nashville Zoo.
Here’s a little bit about the zoo’s history. The Grassmere Wildlife Park had closed in late 1994. Meanwhile, the Nashville Zoo was over in Joelton. The mayor at the time decided to move the Nashville Zoo to Grassmere in 1996.
Construction of the zoo was underway by 1997. The Joelton version of the Nashville Zoo remained open through late 1998, but later decided to close because having two Nashville Zoos was admittedly confusing (and that’s why today’s existing zoo is called the Nashville Zoo at Grassmere in full).
Today, the Nashville Zoo is 188 acres and includes 350 unique animal species, with 3,000 animals on the grounds in all. In 2014 and since, the zoo has been the most popular paid attraction in middle Tennessee.
The Tennessean has called the Nashville Zoo the Best Day Trip and the Best Regional Attraction. Of all the zoos in the United States, this is the ninth biggest if measuring by landmass.
The Nashville Zoo is a part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums as an accredited member. In 2019, the zoo also got heavily involved in animal conservation efforts.
The efforts include protecting threatened and endangered animals like local crayfish as well as flamingos, oilbirds, streamside salamanders, alligator snapping turtles, loggerhead shrikes, cheetahs, and hellbenders.
Further, the Nashville Zoo has supported ending wildlife trafficking and engaging in coral rescue.
What Is the Nashville Zoo Known For?
In the many decades that the Nashville Zoo has been a local institution, it’s become known for many things. Here is an overview.
Attractions
Most families will come to the Nashville Zoo for the animals but stay for the attractions. These are some of the attractions that may be available if you schedule a trip.
- Grassmere Historic Home: Constructed in 1810, the Grassmere Historic Home on the Nashville Zoo grounds is on the National Register of Historic Homes. Featuring the Morton Family Exhibit, the family cemetery, and an heirloom garden, you can tour the home seasonally with a guide.
- Jungle gym: Are your kids still raring to go even after touring the zoo and seeing the animals? If so, then let them burn off some energy playing at the jungle gym. It has a snake tunnel, swings, super slides, and a treehouse that’s more than 30 feet tall! The jungle gym is 66,000 square feet in all.
- Thisbe & Noah’s Promise Park: Located within the jungle gym is Thisbe & Noah’s Promise Park for children with disabilities.
- Up-close animal experiences: Seeing animals behind a glass wall is cool, but you know what’s even cooler? Seeing them closer! With up-close animal encounters, your kids can gain a new appreciation for wildlife. Choose between these up-close experiences.
- Critter Encounters: Get to know birds, alpacas, goats, Galapagos tortoises, and goats with the Critter Encounters experience.
- Kangaroo Kickabout: The Kangaroo Kickabout features interactive opportunities with red kangaroos.
- Lorikeet Landing: Do your kids like birds? If so, then the Lorikeet Landing experience is a must. Kids and adults can feed the lorikeets for $2, which buys a single attraction ticket. Entering the Lorikeet Landing is free.
- Wilderness Express Train: Cross new frontiers on the Wilderness Express Train for kids five years old and up. It costs $2 per rider to get on the train.
- Wild Animal Carousel: The Wild Animal Carousel features 39 wooden animals to sit on, from clouded leopards to anteaters and all other nature of animals. If you always marvel at the Tree of Life in the Animal Kingdom at Disney World, the same carver (Zsolt Hormay) worked on the ridable animal sculptures at the Wild Animal Carousel!
- Soaring Eagle zip line: See the Nashville Zoo from 110 feet up on the Soaring Eagle zip line experience! The zip line is only 28 miles per hour, so it’s not too scary for kids. The zoo requests that riders are at least 42 inches tall and that those who are under the height requirement have an adult accompany them. The weight limit is 450 pounds for two.
- Adventure 4D Theater: As of this writing, the Adventure 4D Theater isn’t open yet, but it will be before you know it. The theater features 50 seats and will screen one of two films in 15-minute intervals. See life in 4D with multi-sensory effects such as wind, snow, scents, mist, and bubbles.
- DinoTrek: The DinoTrek attraction is a favorite of Nashvillians. Recreations of 20 of the most iconic dinosaurs of the Jurassic are faithfully and accurately presented for an attraction that’s fun and educational. The animatronic dinosaurs move like they’re alive, even roaring and spitting!
Backstage Pass Tours
How does the Nashville Zoo work? That’s a question you’ll be able to answer when you schedule a backstage pass tour.
This guided tour will allow you to see parts of the zoo that no one else does except those who work there.
The 75-minute This Is How We Zoo tour allows you to feed okapi and giraffes. The Rise & Shine with Rhinos tour lasts 75 minutes as well. You’ll be in the rhino barn petting and feeding these ferocious (but kind-hearted) creatures.
You can also opt for a Getting to Know You Tour with sloths, clouded leopards, and aardvarks. The tours last 30 minutes each and offer a feeding opportunity, except for the leopards. You can’t feed or touch them.
School Trips
The best field trips are at the Nashville Zoo! Schools pass through all the time with kids who are eager for a day of fun and excitement during a group school trip.
What Types of Animals Are at the Nashville Zoo?
Going back to what I mentioned earlier in this guide, the Nashville Zoo is home to 350 unique animal species. I can’t possibly go over them all, but I can talk about the animal groups that are on display at the zoo.
Amphibians
The Nashville Zoo has no shortage of amphibians. You may get to check out these animals:
- African clawed frogs
- Puerto Rican crested toads
- Hellbenders
- Axolotls
- Surinam toads
- Panamanian golden frogs
- Blue poison arrow frogs
Birds
Birds aplenty live at the zoo, including:
- White-faced whistling ducks
- Trumpeter swans
- Toco toucans
- Southern crested screamers
- Stanley cranes
- Tawny frogmouths
- Rhinoceros hornbills
- Ostriches
- Saddle-billed storks
- Maleos
- Mandarin ducks
- Lorikeets
- Great blue Turacos
- Common shelducks
- Hyacinth macaws
- Common barn owls
- Flamingos
- Cassowaries
- Black-throated magpie jays
- American comb ducks
- Blue-billed curassows
Fish
More than 25,000 fish species exist, and the variety on display at the Nashville Zoo captures a lot of diversity. You can see these great fish:
- Red-tail triggerfishes
- White-blotched river stingrays
- Redhead cichlids
- Ocellate river stingrays
- Piranhas
- Lionfishes
- Jaguar cichlids
- Lined seahorses
- Bluehead wrasses
- Black arowanas
- Blue tang surgeonfishes
- Blue discuses
Mammals
A favorite of almost all zoogoers, mammals are the big attraction at the Nashville Zoo as well. You’ll get to see so many great mammals when you plan your visit, such as:
- Plains zebras
- White-cheeked gibbons
- Three-banded armadillos
- Two-toed sloths
- Sumatran tigers
- Southern white rhinoceroses
- Southern pudus
- Sulawesi babirusas
- Ring-tailed lemurs
- Siamangs
- Short-tailed, leaf-nosed bats
- Red river hogs
- Red ruffed lemurs
- Red pandas
- Red kangaroos
- Miniature donkeys
- Miniature horses
- Meerkats
- Juliana pigs
- Mexican spider monkeys
- Giraffes
- Guinea pigs
- Goats
- Cougars
- Elands
- Cotton-top tamarins
- Clouded leopards
- Cotswold sheep
- Cape porcupines
- Baird’s tapirs
- Bonteboks
- Belted galloways
- American milking devons
- Alpacas
- Andean bears
Reptiles
From snakes to shelled turtles and everything in between, the Nashville Zoo’s selection of reptiles is extensive. Here’s what’s usually on display:
- Yellow blotched map turtles
- Rhinoceros iguanas
- Yellow-spotted Amazon turtles
- South American bushmasters
- Northern copperheads
- Indigo snakes
- Mexican beaded lizards
- Mata matas
- Green anacondas
- Green crested basilisks
- Gila monsters
- Eyelash palm pit vipers
- Haitian giant galliwasps
- Galapagos tortoises
- Dwarf caimans
- Eastern diamondback rattlesnakes
- Caiman lizards
- Alligator snapping turtles
- American alligators
- Aldabra tortoises
Arthropods
They’re creepy, they’re crawly, and they’re on display at the zoo. If you dare, see some arthropods on exhibit!
How Much Does It Cost to Get into the Nashville Zoo?
You’d love to treat your family to a day of fun at the Nashville Zoo. How much money are you going to spend to get in?
The pricing for adults and teens is between $16 and $25 each. For kids ages two through 12, you can save $4 on ticket prices. Children under two years old can enter the park for free.
The ticket price does not account for the cost of attractions. Each attraction costs at least one ticket, which is $2. Ziplining costs four tickets, which is $8 a person.
Plus, you have to pay for zoo parking, which is $8 a vehicle.
If you just moved to Nashville and the kids fell in love with the Nashville Zoo after one trip, you might consider a membership.
Single membership for one adult is $85. One adult and one guest can become a Dual Member for $185. An entire household costs $165. This membership is one for adult and one guest as well as six children.
Children are eligible for a Household membership if they’re under 21 and live in the same house as the adult member. Grandchildren of an adult member count as well.
A Household Plus membership for $200 includes two adults and one guest plus six children. There’s also the Safari Set for $200, which is for two adults, two guests, and six children max.
Where Is the Nashville Zoo Located? What Are Its Hours?
The Nashville Zoo is on 3777 Nolensville Pike, Nashville, TN 37211.
The zoo is open seven days a week from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. including both weekdays and weekends.
Is the Nashville Zoo a Good Zoo?
Now it’s time to answer that burning question that I’m sure you’ve been wondering about this entire time. Is the Nashville Zoo a good zoo?
It absolutely is! The Nashville Zoo has a long-standing history in the area and has been enchanting children and adults for decades.
The zoo is passionate about animal conservation and rescue, and it’s been ranked by The Tennessean as the Best Regional Attraction, as you’ll recall.
In both 2019 and 2020, the Nashville Zoo was nominated by USA Today as one of the 10 Best Zoos in America as a finalist.
Plus, as I mentioned in the intro, out of 13,858 Google reviews, the Nashville Zoo has earned a 4.5-star rating out of a possible 5.
The zoo has a multitude of animals on display, great exhibits, plenty of attractions and entertainment for the kids, food and beverages, and a gift shop. It’s a wonderful way to spend an entire day in the city of Nashville!
Final Thoughts
The Nashville Zoo at Grassmere or the Nashville Zoo for short has been a local attraction for more than two decades. Highly rated and much beloved, the Nashville Zoo has over 300 unique animal species on display and thousands of animals on its grounds.
Through the fun, educational attractions, you can sometimes pet and feed the animals or at least learn more about them. With a play area, a carousel, zip-lining, and a train, kids will love a day at the Nashville Zoo, and adults will enjoy it as too!