Turtle Bay Exploration Park, Redding CA

An excellent spot for families, ideally children.

The inside of the museum is focused on local history, such as the Wintu, Redding in the 20's, local biodiversity, etc.

There's a dedicated hands-on section in the back that's good for young kids.

The backside of the museum is the actual park and quite expansive. There's a sizeable playground for families and an area to interact with exotic and local birds.

Further down is a trail that extends for a mile or so and you can check out small caged areas for hawks or the bobcat.

Definitely an easy way to spend 90 minutes to get an idea of the area.

It's also common to find stray cats nearby as the locals pointed out that there's a gentleman who tends to them.

I received free tickets so it was okay but i would have been disappointed if i had to pay that much for what they offer. My daughter had fun.

We came for the first time on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. The indoor exhibits and museums are simply amazing. They are very family friendly and they keep things brief but educational. All of the outdoor playgrounds were AWSOME. Our kids played for hours until their cheeks were red and they were hungry! The restaurant attached to the hotel in Turtle Bay was also so delicious. The prices are a hair steep but the portions are HUGE, the food is so fresh and has wonderful flavor. Even the kids ate all their food! So 5 For the indoor exhibits, 5 For the restaurant and I gave over all a 3 Because all of the outdoor animals were living in deplorable conditions. Garbage that they are calling “toys” like empty cottage cheese containers and old dirty cardboard pieces. Broken dog/cat crates that they were using as “beds” for all of the animals be it birds or raccoons. The cages are very very small. Some with no shade from the hot sun, the Bob Cat we watched pace for 20+ min. The animals looked stressed and board, with nothing to stimulate them. The grey & red fox were just panting & running circles over and over through their cage. It was truly sad. We’re were very disappointed with that aspect. With the hearty admission fee to get in, they should be able to provide better for those animals.

Turtle Bay is having its 2nd year of a holiday light show on the bridge and throughout the park! There are fun new surprises this year! This is a must see for the family this Christmas

I am severely disappointed with the lighting on this magnificent structure. I see no reason the colored spotlights have not been trained on the uprights!
The only lighting is under the deck, and the clear plates are always dirty! Also, the name is turtle, but I've seem idiots trying to release tortoises, which are desert creatures that cannot swim! Not the fault of the turtle bay center, but I think a sign should make the distinction for these idiots!

First time visiting and we absolutely loved it! If you haven't visited here it's worth the time! The bridge was awesome to walk across but my favorite part was going through their parrot cage. Being able to feed them while they land all over you is a blast. Make sure to bring some money!

Recommend this park. There is a museum, wildlife (mini zoo), restaurant, botanical gardens and large play area for the kids.

Favorite place to take the kids in Redding California. The staff is friendly and helpful and there are so many things to do and see the membership is worth every penny.

Nice park to spend a couple of hours going for a walk. Sun Dial bridge is amazing and the river views aren’t too shabby either. Lots of parking and it wasn’t too crowded on a weekday.

We are driving up to Seattle from Fresno, and decided to stop for a quick visit on our way to Medford.

This was an amazing little find! We hope to plan a trip back to TBEP when the weather is nicer and our 15mo old can enjoy the activities a little more!

So much fun. Definitely plan to spend a few hours here walking around, it is so worth it!

Great location, for family time.

The parrot house and butterfly house were great. Enjoyed our time in both.

Enjoyed the animal show and museum displays as well.

A great place to take kids if all ages. Fun play areas outside. Interactive hands/on learning experiences inside. Entertaining animal show. Parrot & butterfly pavilions enchanted kids & adults. Lots of shade and great AC indoors.

Absolutely love turtle bay! I’ve been going since they opened. Always offering new exhibits. Free flower garden tour. Beautiful view of sundial and river. Always pleasant to go.

This place never disappoints. I’ve been to their bubble event, Christmas light show, butterfly exhibit and many more. The kids love it. It’s seriously worth every penny for a year pass. When it’s too hot or bad weather outside this is our weekend go to for sure. But we also try to enjoy it on nice days also.

Lovely place to stretch our legs after a long drive. It was a little too harm to stay too long, but we we able to get a three mike hike in. It's five dollars for non members to walk around. Pay asked for by honor system, so cash only. Saw deer and a green heron.

Okay the place seem very fun but when you watch the animal show the female were lacking of performance with animal. This is definitely the worse performance I ever seen. My tips don't lack of confidence you seem like lacking it. The animal don't seem very enjoy it all they only came for treats. I don't highly recommend paying for the performance. What a boring to watch it didn't not make me enjoy and made me disappointed as who has performed stage.

I volunteer here. This is a great place for children. Look into the web site for a list of activities for the whole family. The animal show and walking park are great. Play structures are clean and a lot of fun.