A good activity for the family that is indoors! We went on a Saturday and it was a little busy but…read morenot so busy that you couldn't enjoy seeing the animals up close. When you arrive you purchase your tickets and decide if you want to any add ons. You can purchase various sizes of feeding cups, experiences with the animals or opportunities to hold some of them. Once inside you can feed or pet any of the animals that are behind a single fence. Those further away or in glass enclosures are for observation. There are kangaroos, goats, lizards, chickens and more. There is a fun pulley system to feed some of the goats. They have an informational show that happens a few times a day where they discuss some of the animals and reptiles they house. It's not a huge space but we spent about an hour there. If you have real animal lovers you could be there longer. It's an interesting experience.

I love it. Lots of animals and you get to feed them! I got the capybara meet and greet thing and it…read morewas so fun! They do bite fingers tho so I used a spoon to feed them. Saw turtles f*cking and that was funny. And one thing DO NOT mess with the parrot

Must see - llamas are out in the open for visitors in their habitat. Definitely a cool experience…read more My biased opinion - The Red panda and the red fox are the cutest animals there. Dipping dot flavors are good, but a soft serve would be amazing.

First time checking out the Treetop Trail, a great addition to the zoo! Half of the trail is in…read moremore of a wooded area with limited animals. Unfortunately, we started on that side so our kiddos were a little bored by the time we got halfway through. Note to self: start on the other side first next time. There are plenty of places to exit and enter along the trail. The playgrounds were also a huge hit. We spent more time on those than we did seeing actual animals. I loved the self-service kiosk at the food station, and they have great beer options, too. It's a busy place no matter when you go, but it's so nice to have that much space to walk around and explore. Excited for the Japanese monkey update coming soon!

The conservatory is such a magical place! It's amazing that the whole place is completely free. It…read morecan get busy on the weekends, but we went on a rainy Friday afternoon and had the place to ourselves. We love the bonsai exhibit and the Japanese garden. The garden is so beautiful in the springtime! There's plenty of space to walk around both in the conservatory and at the zoo. Even the grounds outside of the conservatory is beautiful!

FLORA & FAUNA This…read morefabulous public zoo in Saint Paul is fun, multi-faceted, and FREE! When researching things to do in the Twin Cities, Como Park Zoo & Conservatory popped up on numerous "best of" lists, including best places to bring kids, best free attractions, and other recommended activities. The family and I came here in early June, and we had a lovely time. Parking is free but lots fill up quickly and street spots are on a first-come basis, so the longer you wait, the further you'll have to walk.  My advice is to get here early to avoid the gauntlet of busses filled with school groups, summer camps, and other families heading to the zoo. They suggest a voluntary donation of $5/kid and $8/adult; we chipped in $20 for our family of four.  By comparison, Brookfield Zoo in Illinois charges $30/adult and $21/kid....the 4 of us would have paid $100 PLUS parking.  The Shedd Aquarium in downtown Chicago is even pricier, so this was a welcome relief. We saw giraffes, a gorilla, polar bears, zebras, fishes, turtles, colorful dart frogs, a tiger, and lots more.  Within the zoo is a small amusement park with a handful of kiddie rides and a 'Galaxy' model roller coaster, as well as a splendid carousel outside the park that's $4/pp.  All rides are open seasonally from May-Sept. The sea lion show seemed mid.  They made a big deal of it (not to mention amassing a huge crowd) and all I saw were some volunteers trying to complete some goofy task faster than a sea lion would.  There was a lot of narration but very little actual activity from what I could tell.  yawn. We couldn't get anything to eat or drink outside of the visitor center cafe.  None of the snack stands were open (despite it being 11:45) and every pop machine was either unplugged, sold out, or all the plastic bottles were removed for environmental reasons.  Thank goodness we packed snacks for the kiddos. The conservatory was breathtaking: lush jungles with funky plants like the Ipecac tree, air potato, chocolate, cacti, and aloe.  We encountered a logjam of people near the fruit tree section with everyone stopping to admire fig, papaya, coffee, and sugarcane plants. The Marjorie McNeely Conservatory was home to a legendary 81" tall corpse flower named 'Frederick' in 2025.  These plants, considered some of the rarest and smelliest on earth, bloom once every few years and last for only 1-2 days.  Witnessing this in person takes incredible (lucky) timing or tremendous patience. 'Horace', their latest corpse flower, displayed his magnificent burgundy bloom from 6/7/26 to 6/9/26.  We missed it by less than a week!  These generate quite a crowd, with lines stretching for hours and people waiting outside to view (and smell) a once-in-a-lifetime botanical event. * TL;DR * A cool zoo, an even cooler conservatory, and the coolest part?  You don't even have to crack open your wallet. Spending a day at Como Park Zoo is perfect for those wishing to embark on budget-friendly adventures.  Pack a lunch, wear comfortable walking shoes, and get here around opening to take advantage of decent parking.  The animals appeared to be well taken care of, and the grounds were clean. The conservatory is stunning although the narrow pathways can get crowded during peak hours.  We loved our time spent here and would highly recommend Como Park Zoo & Conservatory for families or solo travelers seeking to kill a few hours in the Twin Cities.

Cool place to check out of you or your kids are into snakes, lizards or gators! Kinda small and you…read morecan get through the place in about 30 minutes. The best parts of our visit were: 1. Watching staff feed the animals 2. For $5 you can hold and get a picture with a small gator or large snake Parking is free. The zoo is within an outdoor shopping mall so it took me a minute to find it. My GPS was leading me to the wrong building. It's in the front left corner of the shopping strip.

The first glimpse is a little deceiving. The front area is pretty good, but there are a substantial…read morenumber of displays in the back. They brought out a huge snake and a young alligator for us to see up close. You can also get pictures with some animals for an extra charge. Fun for everyone, but especially little kids.

Who knew there was a hands on alpaca farm right in the Twins Cities. Owner has a farm with full…read moregrown and baby alpacas plus a small gift shop with alpaca wool merchandise for purchase. For $10 you can take Salomon and Talledega out for a leisurely stroll around the marked trail surrounding the farm. 80% of the trail is pretty shaded so nice during the summer time but still hot. Sometimes our alpacas just wanted to stop and stare at the lady alpacas from across the trail. It was a moment trying to get them focused on the exercise. Lastly, we purchased some alpaca wool mittens and socks which were so soft and comfy. Check their website for events or appointments to visit.

So much fun! Who doesn't like baby animals, cookies & cupcakes?! The alpacas were so cute! Cutest…read moredonkeys, baby goats, chickens, turkeys, rooster & kitties! Surprise gift shop & bakery! Beautiful selection of alpaca yarn!

Awesome spot for kids and adults alike! Huge playground, petting zoo animals, and beautiful…read moregardens. The cherry on top is that they have alpaca and I freakin' love me some alpaca Definitely worth a day trip down from the cities for a little R&R and if there's time check out Minneopa Falls!

What a lovely park, big trees, flowers beds, and some neat animals. We enjoyed wondering through…read morethe flowers and see the water features, watching the alpaca's, pigs, and cows!

My girlfriends and I went to check out the great pumpkin trail. Tickets can be purchased online or…read moreat the door. This trail was really cool, a mesmerizing trail, illuminated by over 10,00 0 intricately carved jack-o-lanterns! The trail was a Half-Mile long so it is not too long, we had fun and an enjoyable evening of pumpkin mania and seeing faces on pumpkins we've never seen before. Free parking.

I really loved heading over here - I will say that it's rare to experience something just as fun as…read morea kid as when you're an adult. Walking in, I made a bee line for the little coffee house after the drive from St. Paul out to Wyoming. It was good, and I was on a mission to find the funnel cake food truck. It's been a minute, and since I didn't make it to the fair this year, I was determined. We got the cookie monster, funnel cake topped with Oreo and Chips Ahoy cookies, chocolate drizzle and whipped cream. Pretty sure I had a week's worth of caloric intake, even with splitting it, and I didn't care. Next, we headed over to the apple launcher area. At first I couldn't see where the workers were, but the building is set back a bit. We had a blast launching apples at the farm equipment and barrels. We walked over to the pumpkin patch trailer area and had a great time picking our pumpkins. I immediately grabbed a pretty pink one. I was glad they had little wheelbarrows for us to transport our pumpkins as we continued walking around. Before we headed out, we checked out the farm animals and the gift shop. I loved the variety of jams, pickles, and salsas. I grabbed the blueberry jalapeno salsa, cherry jam, apple butter and dill pickles. I've had a chance to bake with the apple butter and it's delicious! Overall, a great time and something for everyone!

We love visiting Minnetonka Orchards every fall! It's filled with fun activities to do, yummy…read moredonuts, and plenty of space to run around with your little one(s). The staff is always kind and willing to answer any questions. We will be back next Fall for more!

My review is solely based on the pizza and wine night vs. other parts of the orchard such as kids…read moreplay and the special event tent. The wood-fire pizza concept is adorable and overall a fun experience as it's outside, served from a food truck, contains live music and lots to observe amongst the large area. The pizza once ordered and delivered is extremely fresh with the dough being rolled on-site. My friend and I split the pesto pizza and an appetizer of the caprese salad. The service was excellent once we got through the giant line. There are also a variety of tables and chairs to leverage. The negatives are that the pizza is ordered in one giant line which for us took 1-hour and the tables are hard to snag unless you do in advance. A beeper is provided once ordered and you walk up to claim when the buzzer goes off. I would return just to check out the other areas of the space as the land is gigantic. Contrary, I would probably pass on the pizza experience as once is enough. Parking was easy too which is always a worry for me with a big unpaved lot with lots of signs directing to the right area. Note: there is no admission fee. Enjoy!

It seems well kept and parking was free…read more NOTE: NOT a super affordable thing just walking in. Admission was expensive $16 - $20 a ticket just to 'get in'. Maybe coupons somewhere? Family of four could EASILY blow through $200 here with food and extras. Treats and food and water are expensive - I was a little bummed that for the price ... $2 for a bottle of water !? ...and there wasn't drinking water around somewhere. I'm always a little iffy drinking from the sink in the bathroom. Most the employees there seem super young, but they seemed genuinely nice and helpful for a place with an obnoxious amount of young kids running around. Overall it was just OK for me. It was "treat" for my family as we had relatives from out of town BUT I am not sure I'd be itching to go back anytime soon in today's economy. TLDR; Not a super frugal activity, but it's cute. No cash needed/preferred. No dogs. No water readily available (that I noticed). Free parking. Instagram worthy photo ops for those who want them.

The parking area is a large and rather bumpy open field. You can prepay or pay at a self serve…read morekiosk to get tickets to enter the farm. Many varieties of Apples to look at and take home if you paid a little extra for a take home bag. The staff were friendly and helpful in finding the Apple variety we were looking for. The Ambiance of the farm was very fall/harvest season themed. Try your hand at finishing the corn maze!