Riverbanks Zoo & Garden
Award-winning zoo and botanical garden with over 2,000 animals and 4,200 plant species.
Sensory Accommodations
Quiet hoursSensory kitsAccessibility featuresreduced lighting
Community Insights
Based on a sample of recent Google reviews
Overall: Highly Recommended
Riverbanks Zoo is consistently praised as clean, well-maintained, and beautifully landscaped with abundant shade and rest areas. Reviewers frequently describe it as peaceful and manageable — not overwhelming. The botanical gardens provide an especially calm environment. The sky tram eliminates the steep hill walk.
Highlights
- +Consistently described as clean, well-maintained, and not overcrowded
- +Abundant shade on paths — manageable even in warm weather
- +Botanical gardens offer a peaceful, quiet escape
- +Sky tram provides a gentle, accessible way to reach the gardens
- +Compact enough to complete in an afternoon without exhaustion
- +Aquarium and reptile house are indoor, climate-controlled quiet zones
Heads Up
- !Can be a full-day experience which may be tiring for some children
- !Some food vendors may be closed
- !Weekend afternoons are busier
Best time to visit: Weekday mornings are calmest. The botanical gardens are always quieter than the zoo side. Use the sky tram to avoid the steep hill. The indoor aquarium and reptile house offer cool, quieter breaks.
Last updated: 2026-04-01
Details
- Address
- 500 Wildlife Pkwy, Columbia, SC 29210
- Phone
- (803) 779-8717
- Website
- riverbanks.org
- Rating
- ★ 4.7(22,524 reviews)↗
- Hours
- Monday: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM, Tuesday: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM, Wednesday: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM, Thursday: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM, Friday: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM, Saturday: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM, Sunday: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
- Admission
- Not specified on the page
Last verified: 2026-03-31