Click The

To Learn About The Exhibits

Entry Valley Map

GUEST SERVICES

ENTRANCE GATE

RESTROOMS

EVENT TENT

INFORMATION WALL

Entry Valley

Animal Exhibits

Amenities & More

Back To The Full MaP
MORE ZOO FUN

Enjoy Experiences and Adventures At John Ball Zoo

All of our experiences are generally available during the summer season. However, occasionally Mother Nature requires that we close them for safety.

Note: Availability is subject to weather. Please call (616)336-2017 for daily availability.

Funicular

John Ball Zoo Gem Company

Budgie Aviary

Face Painting

Sky Trail Ropes Course

Zip Line

1300 W. Fulton St,
Grand Rapids, MI 49504

2023 Season: Mar 24 - Nov 19

Office Hours: Mon – Fri, 9am – 4pm

(616) 336-4300

Facebook Instagram Envelope

Tickets

Join Our Team

Events

Directions

HELPFUL RESOURCES

Sign Up for Zoo Updates

Amenity

Stroller Rentals

Information

Stop by Safari Supplies to rent a Tiger Print Safari Stroller ($12), a Wagon with a Canopy ($12), a Wheelchair (free, while supplies last), or an Amigo Electric Cart ($30). These are rented out on a first-come, first-serve basis.

All rentals require a $20 cash/card deposit to be held for the duration of the rental and given back upon return. Credit/debit card deposits may take 3-4 business days to return. Safari Supplies also sells select gift items as well.

Snacks & Drinks

Depot Snacks

Menu
  • Dippin' Dots
  • Mini Donuts
  • Pretzel Bites
  • Healthy Grab And Go Options
  • Souvenir Fountain Drinks
  • Hot Chocolate

*Open daily

Experience

Funicular

Information

Hours of Operation: Weekdays 10am-4pm Weekends 9am-6pm                  *Weather Dependent 

Guests taking the Funicular to the top of the Zoo should head to the lower depot right when they enter. When they disembark, they’ll find themselves at the highest point of the Zoo with a breathtaking view of Downtown Grand Rapids and will now be able to explore, walking entirely downhill. This is perfect for guests with strollers!

The other option is to take the funicular down to the main entrance. These guests should jump on the funicular at end of the Forest Realm Trail near the red panda’s and Bissell Tree House after they’ve explored the Zoo. By taking the Funicular back to the front entrance, visitors avoid retracing their steps.

General Guidelines:

  • Strollers are permitted.
  • No animals can be seen from the Funicular as it is on the outer edge of the zoo.
PRICES PUBLIC MEMBER
Per Ride $4.00 $3.20

Pygmy Hippo Pavilion

Pygmy Hippo 3

Pygmy Hippo

Learn More
joshua-j-cotten-6W8a_wn8Vjs-unsplash (1)

White Stork

Learn More
yomex-owo-ia5OIqM7SA4-unsplash (1)

Sitatunga

Learn More

Bald Eagles

Haliaeetus leucocephalus

Facts
Diet: Carnivore

Fish (rainbow trout, eel, and salmon) adult water birds and their eggs. In the winter they may hunt for squirrels, voles, or rats.

Habitat

Temperate forests, mountains, lakes, ponds, rivers, streams, and estuaries.

Threat Range

Least Concern

SSP (Species Survival Plan)

No

Region

Found throughout North America including Canada and Mexico.

Screenshot 2023-02-15 at 10.34.14 AM
Our Animals
Pygmy Hippo 3
Bea

Female

Pygmy Hippo 3
Ruth

Female

Food

Monkey Island Cafe

This main eatery offers a large menu of lunch and snack items

Menu
  • Hot Dogs
  • French Fries
  • Chicken Tenders
  • Soft Serve Ice Cream
  • Gluten-Free Pulled Pork Nachos
  • Gluten-Free Buns
  • And More!

*Open daily

Aquarium

penguin, bird, animal-6905568.jpg

Magellanic Penguin

Learn More
Lake Sturgeon

Lake Sturgeon

Learn More

Peacock Wolf Eel

Learn More

Coastal Birds

Spiny Lobsters

California Coastal Fish

California Moray Eel

Shark

Marine Invertebrates

Gift Shop

Gifts of the Wild

Gift shop display
Gifts Galore

The gift shop is open daily during normal Zoo hours. If you are a member, please have your membership card ready at all times. Show us your valid card to save 20% at any of our gift stands! Gift Cards are sold in the Gift Shop. Sold in any amount, they are good to use at any stand in the zoo. Call 616-336-4327 if you have any questions. 

*Curbside Pickup available – Call to pay by phone and have your item(s) brought out to your car. (Select times and days)

We can ship anything! Call 616-336-4327 to have any of our unique Zoo themed gifts shipped anywhere in the USA. Just pay shipping charges.

Historic Point

John Ball Statue

John Ball Statue
The Story Of John Ball

John Ball was one of the founding fathers of Grand Rapids. His biography “Born to Wander” is a fascinating account of his life and travels which took him from his home in New Hampshire to Oregon, to Tahiti, to South America and eventually Grand Rapids.

John Ball was born in New Hampshire in 1794. He had several different professions growing up including teaching, being a justice of the peace, and even helping run a manufacturing company. He always loved to travel and when he turned 39 he decided to join the third expedition to Oregon. On horseback he made his way across the country and on to the Oregon Trail. The group ended up at Fort Vancouver. There he was the first non-native American farmer and the first non-native American schoolteacher. He is honored as an early pioneer of the West in a statue in Portland, Oregon.

He came to Grand Rapids in 1836 and began buying and selling land for friends in the East. He settled here, opening a law office, serving as one of the state’s legislators, serving on the first school board, assisting in establishing the public museum, and more. He married Mary Webster, a young school teacher, and they went on to have ten children. His last child was born when John was 77. The child was born in Europe where he had taken his entire family to live for a few years. He wanted his children to experience and appreciate other cultures and other lands.

He was a great observer of human nature, a supporter of education, a naturalist, and writer. His gift in 1884 of 40 acres of land certainly helped make John Ball Zoo possible.

The John Ball Statue was installed and dedicated in 1925.

Black Swans

Cygnus atratus

Facts
Diet: Carnivore

Mainly insects. Also, amphibians, small mammals, and reptiles.

Habitat

Forest, savanna, or grassland

Threat Range

Vulnerable

SSP (Species Survival Plan)

Yes

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa, from southern Kenya to Botswana in the south.

Screenshot 2023-02-15 at 10.34.14 AM
Our Animals
IMG_0083-2 (1)
Dino

Male (all red on throat)

IMG_0083-2 (1)
Priscilla

Female (blue coloration on throat)

Pygmy Hippo

Choeropsis liberiensis

Facts
Diet: Herbivore

Update

Habitat

Update

Threat Range

Critically Endangered

SSP (Species Survival Plan)

No

Region

Update

Screenshot 2023-02-15 at 10.34.14 AM
Our Animals
Pygmy Hippo 3
Update

White Stork

Ciconia ciconia

Facts
Diet: Herbivore

Update

Habitat

Update

Threat Range

Critically Endangered

SSP (Species Survival Plan)

No

Region

Update

Screenshot 2023-02-15 at 10.34.14 AM
Our Animals
Pygmy Hippo 3
Update

Sitatunga

Tragelaphus spekii

Facts
Diet: Herbivore

Update

Habitat

Update

Threat Range

Critically Endangered

SSP (Species Survival Plan)

No

Region

Update

Screenshot 2023-02-15 at 10.34.14 AM
Our Animals
Pygmy Hippo 3
Update

Magellanic Penguin

Spheniscus magellanicus

Facts
Diet: Piscivore

Wild: Anchovies, Squid, Sprats, & Hagfish
Zoo: Trout, Smelt, Herring, & Capelin

Habitat

Coastline, except during breeding season where they may be found nesting in grassland, amongst bushes, and in cliff faces.

Threat Range

Nearly Threatened

SSP (Species Survival Plan)

Yes

Region

Temperate regions of South America. Found in Argentina, Brazil, Malvinas, Peru, and Uruguay. May venture to a tropical setting for breeding.

Screenshot 2023-02-15 at 10.34.14 AM
Our Animals
penguin, bird, animal-6905568.jpg
26 Males And Females

Lake Sturgeon

Acipenser fulvescens

Facts
Diet

Insect larvae, worms, crayfish, snails, and other small fishes.

Habitat

Temperate waters. Found only in the Northern Hemisphere in North America.

Threat Range

Least Concern

SSP (Species Survival Plan)

NA

Region

Freshwaters of North America from the Hudson Bay through the Mississippi River drainages to Alabama. It is found along the Great Lakes, St. Lawrence River drainage, and in large lakes in New York and Vermont, including Cayuga Lake and Lake Champlain.

Screenshot 2023-02-15 at 10.34.14 AM
Our Animals
Lake Sturgeon (1)
8 Total

Try to find them all!

Peacock Wolf Eel

Anarrhichthys ocellatus

Facts
Diet: Carnivore

Hard-shelled animals like crabs, sand dollars, clams, snails, and sea urchins.

Habitat

Rock and stone crevices, dens, and caves in shallow water as deep as 740 feet

Threat Range

Not Evaluated

SSP (Species Survival Plan)

No

Region

Northern Baja California north to the Aleutian Islands, Alaska, and east and south to the Seas of Okhotsk and Japan.

Screenshot 2023-02-15 at 10.34.14 AM
Our Animals
Bob