Cherokee Bear Zoo

L Cardinal

2024-05

I enjoyed visiting the Cherokee Bear Zoo. It cost $6.00 to enter. They offered a paper tray with a piece of bread with cut up apples for $1.00. I bought one, but they also have gum machines that dispense, what smelled like dog food, for 25 cents. The enclosures were clean and had no odor. Most of the bears were adults but there was one bear cub in a separate cage. I enjoyed watching him play. They also had a small heard of Nigerian Dwarf Goats. If you are in the area, and have time, it is worth visiting.I almost forgot, they allow you to take still photographs but do not allow videos.

chris kidd

2024-04

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Lindsey Nease

2024-03

This is my second time visiting Cherokee Bear Zoo and each time has been amazing. Although, hate they live in a concrete facility I must say it’s always clean and has fun activities for the bears to do. The bears are well taken care of and the staff is always friendly and helpful. Maybe someday they will have a more grassy area for the bears to enjoy their time but I know that comes with the right funding. Thanks for the experiences, Cherokee Bear Zoo! From Indiana.

Matthew Brandley

2024-04

Ignore the bear hating fools on line. Just a bunch of Peta hating fools who need to get a life. Every bear. Every animal was well nourish and well taken care of. Enclosures were clean. My wife and I spent plenty of money feeding the animals. Even had our pictures taken with a bear cub. The staff was kind. Answers all questions you have

Levi Sanford

2024-04

There's a lot of nasty reviews about this place, and I had to see for myself. Took my youngest daughter Friday and liked it so much I took the rest of the kids on Saturday. The family is very nice and really cares about their animals. I'm left to assume the negative reviews are PETA and the likes commenting. Keep on doing what y'all are doing Cherokee Bear Zoo. We will be back for sure!!!

Kayla Xiao

2024-01

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Martha C

2023-12

A small zoo but nice. The people that run it are very nice. They also talked to us for awhile about the bears. We enjoyed our visit.

Randall Baumgardner

2023-10

A good place to bring kids and let them feed bears and goats. They have 4 enclosures of bears, black and brown. Go down the steps to see some monkeys, lemurs, and feed some goats. All in all we spent about 20 minutes here. $6 a ticket and worth it if anyone in the family loves animals.

Josh Sparks

2023-11

I absolutely love bears. I took my vacation to the smoky mountains to take hikes and see the beautiful sights. With the hope to see a bear from afar in the wilderness. Of course that’s not the safest action. I was driving by and saw this pop up on the GPS while shopping so I got excited to finally see a bear even if it felt like cheating. Paid $6, how can you beat that? Because you ,are literally paying to see what an animal prison looks like. This is ridiculous. Concrete everywhere, they can’t see anything but people looking down on them and throwing food at them, no better than being in a pillory. Pacing back and forth looking for a way out. Do you know how much room a bear requires? This place is awful. SHUT IT DOWN!!!

Shelley White

2023-10

I loved visiting this place. I've never wanted to hug a bear do bad in my life!! They are very well taken care of and friendly. They communicate with you when you're talking to them. And, they love playing. After visiting with the bears we walked down and saw the monkeys, lemers, a white fox, and many goats. Which, in my photos we watched one being born. Then you walk into the gift shop where they have ice cream and snacks. The Cherokee Bear Zoo souvenirs are quite affordable. All in all I rate this experience a 10 /10.

Ashlee Turner

2023-08

Super cool little stop! $6 a person, 3 and under free. $1 for a plate of food to feed the bears. $25 for a picture with baby bears. The staff were really nice too! So glad we didn’t overlook this place. They also had goats and monkeys and a fox. But the bears were awesome! You exit out into the gift shop which was really clean and organized. Clean bathroom. Ice cream counter. We spent about 45 mins here. Don’t skip it!

Travis Morris

2023-10

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Darrel Mcgivens

2023-11

This was the saddest thing to see. These bears are literally in closed in by concrete walls and a concrete floor with no room to roam around, no trees, no grass/dirt, just a small watering bin. Absolutely heart breaking. Literally left there feeling sad and upset to my stomach. The bears were literally trying to jump up on the concrete walls to get out. I don’t know how this place stays open.

Kimberly Schueller

2024-04

It was very cool feeding the bears and seeing them interact.It was incredibly sad to see them in concrete pens. It appears that some of the bears had sores from laying down and being in small spaces.Their "cages" were clean and included enrichment items for them to play and entertain themselves.

Jessica Lee

2024-02

Based on some of the reviews I read, I was a little afraid of what I might see in there (I don't believe wild animals should ever be used for our amusement) But, my 3 year old was stoked about seeing the bears. I was surprised. The gentleman that worked there was genuinely very nice and friendly. There was adequate room for the bears to walk around and play with each other in the enclosures. Each one had a large fountain of crystal clear water and the enclosures were incredibly clean. I'm sure that's no small task for bears that large. The bears are obviously well taken care of and were not by any means "begging" for food like I had read. They're eager for the yummy snacks, for sure. The food trays you can buy for them were only $1 and actually had fresh lettuce, bread and cut up apples. Well worth the dollar. Admission was surprisingly only $6 and kids 3 and under were free. It's not flashy or fancy. Just simple and pretty quiet. There are a few animals in a separate area that you can see and a bunch of friendly goats you can feed and pet. We actually went back before we left because my son and I both enjoyed it so much.

Kendra Yang

2023-08

We visited here, and although I think the zoo owners are trying to provide good care for the bears, I just don’t think it’s an achievable goal in such a small area. I felt guilty for paying to go almost immediately. It’s depressing to think they can’t even see out. And, I can’t help but wonder where the anxious mother bear is while her babies are being photographed all day, and what happens to all these cubs? Bears weight and appearance seemed healthy. The monkeys and lemurs appeared out of their mind or near death with boredom. I think the zoo would be better without them, and just keep the goats.

DH Hohen

2023-09

This location is the most sorrowful site, where bears are confined within walls of concrete, reminiscent of a prison, all for the sake of our entertainment.Young bear cubs are separated from their mothers to be exhibited to the public, subjected to a distressing human spectacle that greatly affects these innocent creatures.I urge you to show compassion and use your intelligence.The situation is truly heart-wrenching, compounded by the deplorable state of the surroundings. I earnestly urge you to refrain from supporting this establishment. The bears endure abysmal living conditions.Kindly open your heart and choose not to support this endeavour.

megan bonner

2023-05

Small family owned business that we have visited three years in a row. The owner and his family are always so friendly. Yes it is small enclosures for the bears and it would be nice if they had more then just concrete to walk on and bigger enclosures but this family loves these bears and takes care of them. Im sure when they are able to move to a bigger location they will.. It is always very clean, it doesn't stink at all. The prices are fantastic for the experience. When they have babies you can take a picture with it while feeding, which is an amazing experience and also doesn't cost much.. We love seeing how much some of the others have grown when we visit and watching them..

Monica Rivera

2023-05

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Anthony Disko

2024-04

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Christi Cash

2023-07

The Cherokee bear zoo was kind of a disappointment! . I expected a little more, I guess. They have 2 bear dens and a very small zoo down and around the ramp. If you wanna feed the bears it's $1.00 ànd the goat food is .25 cents. You can't take pics of the bears with your cell however, they can take a pic of you with the bear for 25.00 Wow!! Overall, it wasn't too bad.Price for entry: $5Ticket type: General admission

Julia Williamson

2022-05

This was the 1st time I had came back to the Cherokee bear zoo since I was 13 and it was an amazing experience just like it was when I was a kid. Loved all the bears, they even had a baby bear but you could only take pictures of, and all of the other little creatures that were down below. It was my 1st time ever getting to feed a baby goat that was barely a day old.

Xiaotong Hu

2022-05

This is the first time for me to be this close with bears and they are lovely. They are very active and playful. Watching them being fed and playing with tires make my day. It’s cash only and if you also want to feed goats downstairs, preparing some quarters to buy them treats.Definitely recommend this place!

Katelyn Thompson Turner

2023-05

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Shawna Brown

2022-05

We really enjoyed our visit to the Bear Zoo! The kids really enjoyed feeding the Bears and it was interesting to watch them play and interact! In my opinion the staff seems great, I honestly feel like they care for the animals! Getting our family picture with little Leo was quite an experience and definitely a first for all of us! I hope to visit again in the fall, looking forward to seeing how much Leo has grown!

Dylan Duvall

2024-04

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Amanda Selfridge

2022-05

It was very sad seeing all the bears just locked up in a little cell but they say that they're supposed to expand and move to a new location and maybe the bears will have some actual ground and not just concrete. We still enjoyed feeding them and seeing the goats. My three-year-old was so excited to see live bears.. I would at least go and support them just so you can support those bears.

Sheri Scavone

2021-05

We took our 11 year old granddaughter here and she absolutely loved it. They had around 10 bears to feed, watch, and entertain us. They also offer pics with a 3 month old baby bear for $20. You get to hold him, pet him, and interact with him. He's adorable.They also have around 13 or so goats to pet and feed that are so cute and friendly . Totally worth the admission.

La Tortuga

2021-05

This place was the highlight of my whole day in Cherokee. The bears looked happy and well fed. Two of them were putting on quite a show. The enclosures looked clean But the sad thing was they were to small and in cement. They needed to be bigger and more of like a natural habitat.

Black Cat

2024-04

Don't go. I'd urge caution going to any bear zoo in Cherokee NC. Some bear zoos here have gotten shut down and rightfully so but they keep popping up and reopening every so often.This is not what We (The Cherokee People) are about ! We should not support Bear zoos and we shouldn't allow them within the boundary.