Disclaimer: The information shared in this post reflects our experiences from visits to the establishment. Please note that prices, hours, or other details may have changed since our last visit. We highly recommend researching the location and verifying current information before planning your visit. Additionally, all opinions expressed in this post are solely ours; we do not receive compensation for our reviews of the places we visit.
1801 E Chestnut Ave Santa Ana, CA 92701 – Website
Santa Ana Zoo is located in Prentice Park. A small 20-acre zoo focusing on animals and plants from Central America and South America. The zoo opened in 1952 on land donated by Joseph Prentice with the agreement that there would always be at least 50 monkeys.
The zoo is open daily from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM with the last entry at 4:00 PM. They are closed for Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day. Admission for adults 13 years and older is $13, seniors 60 years and older is $10, and children 3-10 years old is $10. Parking is free for all visitors.
To be completely transparent in our opinion this is more of an enclosed park that happens to have some animals. It is a great place to take small children to have an afternoon out. There is a small train, carousel, and Ferris wheel for all to enjoy for a small additional cost per ride. Tickets cost $1.50 each and the rides are 2 to 4 tickets each per person. A small snack bar is available with hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken tenders, snacks, and drinks. We did not check to see if you could bring outside food in with you, it seemed like you could as we saw families with bag lunches.
The netting on some enclosures made it hard to see the animals. Some of the enclosures looked empty, but maybe it was just the time of day we were there. We went into the bird enclosure, walked through, and could not find one bird. Construction is happening so it seems that some new things are coming. The little train ride is a fun way to travel around the zoo and get a closer view of some things. In total, the ride is about 10 minutes long.
