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Today's Schedule
Open from
10:00am - 4:00pm- Last
admission : 4pm
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Purchase Ticket
Adult (13 and over) $22.00
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Senior (62 and over) $19.00
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Child (2-12) $19.00
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Baby (Under 2) Free
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Plan Your Trip
6 Experiences 
5 Attractions
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Arrival
560 Northfield Ave,
West Orange, NJ 07052- Last
admission :
4pm
Events
View all
10am - 4:30pm 
From our smallest spider to the half-ton North American Bison in our Great Plains Exhibit, Essex County’s Turtle Back Zoo offers a look at more than 100 different species of native and exotic animals from five continents. Get up close and personal with our animals at our Essex Farm Petting Zoo, and don’t forget to take a tranquil ride through South Mountain Reservation on our miniature train. Come back often as we constantly are adding new and exciting natural habitat exhibits for our animals. Whether you spend a day or an afternoon, Turtle Back Zoo is a special place where children and their families can learn about animals and gain appreciation for nature. I invite you to Experience Essex and Turtle Back Zoo.
Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr.
Essex County Executive
About The zoo
For over 60 years, we have been inviting people to explore animals and habitats from around the world at their local zoo.
Learn More
Year Established
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Animals
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Number of guests
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Special Exhibits
Receive a FREE keychain made from recycled tires with every purchase, renewal, or gift membership! 🛞🐧 Proceeds from each membership will support our Membership In Action: Saving African Penguins initiative! You can learn more about African Penguins at our Shores of Africa Exhibit.
🔗 Learn more at the link in our bio!
Jun 16
This summer, come check out our Butterfly Tent and meet some very important pollinators! 🦋
Come visit and see if you can spot all 8 species we currently have:
1️⃣ Painted Lady
2️⃣ Monarch
3️⃣ Malachite
4️⃣ Common Buckeye
5️⃣ Question Mark
6️⃣ Eastern Comma
7️⃣ Red Admiral
8️⃣ Julia
There`s a good chance you`ve heard of monarch butterflies before, especially when it comes to conservation. This is because monarchs are the only known species of butterfly to migrate two ways, north to Canada and the US to breed, and south all the way down to Mexico for the winter. This gives them a huge range that can impact their population. The main cause is urbanization, damaging the population of monarchs by limiting their access to the milkweed plant, which is the only plant that monarchs will lay eggs on. However, urbanization is a severe threat to all species of butterfly, not just the well-known monarchs.
🎍🌼🌷🌻If you can, try to plant your very own pollinator garden to support butterflies, bees, and many other insects that are integral to the survival of biodiversity! The zoo has pollinator gardens throughout the park to create greenways for local species to utilize.
🎟 The Butterfly Tent is open Memorial Day through Labor Day. $3 cash only.
📸: Painted Lady, Monarch, Malachite, Common Buckeye, Question Mark, Eastern Comma, Red Admiral, Julia
Jun 14
🎇 Species Spotlight Sunday
Meet: Bulu
▶️ Wrinkled hornbill (Rhabdotorrhinus corrugatus)
▶️ IUCN Conservation Status: Endangered
Wrinkled hornbills have a very distinguished beak with a reddish casque on the upper portion which is fused to their skull. This reddish color comes from their preen oil, which keeps their feathers healthy but stains their beaks. They feed primarily on fruits which helps with seed dispersal in their native Indonesian rainforest habitats!
🥝 Bulu`s favorite fruits are kiwi and blueberry, but he loves his bugs too. He is also aware of how handsome he is and loves looking at himself in the mirror. He is incredibly friendly with his keepers and loves to spend time on the upper parts of his tree.
Jun 8
Happy World Bongo Day! Meet our three Eastern bongos: Rosie, Anuli and Zito! Our bongo can be seen in the African Adventure Exhibit with our Masai giraffe, ground hornbill and ostrich. You can see them much of the time in the shadier side of the habitat.
The Eastern Bongo (Tragelaphus eurycerus) is a critically endangered species. It is found in montane rain forests with dense undergrowth. Fun fact: When running from a predator, they do so with their head up and back, so their horns do not catch in the dense forest trees and plants.
📸: Rosie & Anuli together, close up of Zito
May 31
We don`t really need a reason to celebrate this fan favorite, but today is his moment to truly shine! It`s National Alligator Day with Peaches our American alligator! American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) were once on the brink of extinction due to extensive poaching but have made a remarkable recovery with efforts from the US Fish and Wildlife Service and individual state wildlife agencies. The species was eventually removed from the endangered species list in 1987, with regulations still in place to protect them.
A main reason American alligators are hunted is for their skin. To continue to care and protect this species, avoid buying animal skin products, even ones that claim to be fake. 👜👢Hunting is heavily regulated, and harvesting is even more heavily regulated. Products that claim to be fake might still be part of the illegal trading that occurs. And, like any aquatic or semi-aquatic species, keeping local water sources clean is extremely important to the survival of the American alligator. While you won`t see any of these in New Jersey (except here at the Zoo), there are still plenty of other animals you can protect by cleaning up any litter in the water and limiting chemical use.
May 29
Today celebrate World Otter Day with our two North American River Otters (Lontra canadensis) Han and Shelby! These fuzzy critters are known as keystone species, meaning they are integral to the survival of their habitats, and their quality of life can indicate notable issues in their ecosystems. While they are currently listed as a species of least concern by the IUCN Red List, there are still significant threats to their survival as a species that could have a ripple effect to the survival of dozens of other species.
In the 19th and 20th centuries, North American River Otters were high-value targets of hunters and trappers for their furs, even being completely wiped out of some ranges. While this is still a threat to them today, much greater threats to them currently are habitat destruction and pollution.
Here in New Jersey, otters are not as common as they once were. What can you do? Nurture nature 🌱💧 Consider organizing community cleanup days to remove any litter from local rivers and try to avoid chemical pesticides and fertilizers. That way, we can hopefully see cute faces like these around our homes again!
May 28
Spend this Memorial Day weekend at the Essex County Turtle Back Zoo & South Mountain Recreational Complex! Here are some new weekend things to note in your plans.
📅 Friday, May 23
Butterfly Tent opens at Turtle Back Zoo! 🦋
Treetop open 10am - 4pm
Mini Golf Safari open 10am - 7pm
Paddle Boats open 12pm - 7pm
📅 Saturday, May 24
Butterfly Tent open daily 🦋
Zoo, Treetop Adventure, Paddle Boats & Mini Golf Open Regular Hours
Live Band @ Zoo amphitheater 11am -2pm 🎵
📅 Sunday, May 25
Zoo, Treetop Adventure, Paddle Boats & Mini Golf Open Regular Hours
Live Band @ Zoo amphitheater 11am -2pm 🎵
📅 Monday, May 26
Live Band @ Zoo amphitheater 11am -2pm 🎵
Zoo Open Regular Hours 10am - 4pm
Treetop open 10am - 4pm
Mini Golf Safari open 10am - 7pm
Paddle Boats open 10am - 6pm
May 23
