Drove 1h45 min from the Chicago suburbs to see the hyraxes! Was definitely worth the drive - we saw…read moreeverything we wanted to see, and more. The zoo was easy to navigate and the staff were very helpful. The zoo looked well kept and clean as well. I love seeing that they serve Colectivo coffee at the zoo!

One of approximately 43 zoos and aquariums that don't charge admission in the U.S., the Henry Vilas…read moreZoo is part of the bigger Vilas Park in Madison, WI, and was a great quick stop for my wife and daughter (during her toddler years) when growing up in Madison. The park land was gifted in 1904 by Sen. William Vilas, naming the park for his son. One of the conditions of the grant was to maintain public access to the park without admission charges. The zoo opened in 1911, with the City of Madison getting ownership in 1937. In 1983, the ownership was gradually handed over to Dane County. There was a non-profit fund raising arm for the zoo (Henry Vilas Zoological Society), but that relationship ceased in 2019 with a dispute with no distinct replacement. Thus, operational costs are borne by the county government for now (with a small endowment). An important ongoing goal is to maintain accreditation by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) for operational excellence. It was a hot weekday, so the zoo was pretty empty (of both visitors and animals), and none of the snack/food areas were open. The American Flamingo exhibit was a colorful stop, and the Aviary building was a good place to observe parrots and bats, along with aquariums.

We are lucky to have the Milwaukee County Zoo! It's such a nostalgic place to visit with the…read morekiddos, I love the walking routes and ease of navigating. They've made some really great updates through the years while still maintaining the integrity of the original charm (looking at you carousel and choo choo!) I haven't been all summer and it seems they've recently updated their payment process which went smoothly. Instead of stopping at the front check points, you drive right through and pay online for parking via a barcode. We then bought our tickets at the front entrance. Love all the misters sprinkled throughout the zoo and indoor areas where you can cool down if needed. We had lunch at the new "Crust and Copper" which is the big lunch facility by the grizzly bears and I must say - they're chicken salad pita with peaches, radishes and lettuce was SO tasty!! Will definitely be trying to recreate that one at home!

This zoo was over hyped as being the best zoo in the Midwest, and I gotta say I wasn't too…read moreimpressed. Too much wasted space with not enough attractions. Paying for parking seems a little much when already paying for the zoo. And again some exhibits were nice, but a rather empty zoo comparing to others I've seen, even close by in the Midwest!

I do love animals and I am Scouting For safaris around the area. They Safari is the one closest to…read moreme and I started going when it was charging per car now it's charging an arm and a leg to get in. But I don't mind paying that because I do see the improvements as I go every year. They have a drive-thru which uses your own car to feed the animals and they also have kind of like a petting zoo as well as giraffe experience where you can feed the giraffe and the capybara experience. I was able to do the giraffe experience which is so much fun. Hopefully I'll be able to do thecapybara next time. Still going to be a yearly thing for me I would go back every time.

This place is a MUST for anyone visiting Lake Geneva! Brings out the kid in you when the animals…read morecome to you and approach your vehicle for yummy snacks. I absolutely love the fact that you can drive through the safari as many times as you want.

We have had numerous wonderful experiences at Shalom Wildlife Sanctuary over the years! Taking our…read moregrandchildren, Madison and Owen, around in the golf cart has become one of those special family memories we always look forward to. There is excitement around every turn -- seeing the animals up close, hearing "Look, Grammie!" and watching everything through the eyes of kids is such a joy. We love that we can take our time, enjoy the beautiful setting, and experience it at our own pace. Every visit feels a little different and gives us new memories to take home. If you're looking for a fun family outing, especially with grandchildren, this is a wonderful place to spend the day.... and many return are in the future.

A fantastic zoo with a huge variety of animals to visit. Although is a walkable zoo, the dirt…read morepaths warrant renting a golf cart that can handle 4-people.

This should be your go to zoo as a family. Racine Zoo was the perfect stop for our 5 and 6 year…read moreolds. It was affordable and had a good selection of animals. It took us about 3 hours to walk around and see everything, which felt perfect. Once you get in, there is a lot you can do at no additional cost - visit with the animals, petting zoo, large playground. There is also a train for $3 (cash only) per person that takes you on a nice ride around the zoo. The staff were wonderful. They seemed genuinely happy that we were there and shared their love for the zoo. Even the gift shop was affordable. I really appreciated being able to spend time as a family and not have to take out a small loan to do so!

We are staying less than a mile from the zoo, and with nothing to do, we were able to check this…read moreoff of our "to do" list. Arriving first thing, we were behind a couple of groups of kids out on filed trips. The $11 entry fee is easy on the pocketbook as well. The zoo is much smaller than others we have been to, but it was laid out nicely, and they have a fair selection of animals that they care for. A couple of them were not out when we first arrived, but the keepers were working on opening the pens. It was quite peaceful strolling thru the grounds today and the weather was spectacular. It is smaller than the zoo we go to at home, but we found it to be a charming spot to stop at for an hour or so, and we would come back if we are in the area again.

Pricing is extremely fair considering all of the activities you can do & animals you can…read moresee/interact with. Staff is friendly. For a farm - well kept/clean. Multiple playground areas, corn play pit, miniature town that you can play inside, make shift basketball hoops, swings, tractor slides, tractor rides, water well play area, kittens / bunnies to pet, small horse rides for little ones. Then in the fall you can pumpkin pick - Honestly have a great time every time we go. No complaints.

We went with our granddaughters school. She didn't know that the pony rides were done by group…read moreONLY! She was denied a ride even though no one else was at the pony rides at that time. We paid for her admission so what's the problem? She was so disappointed! Meanies! Also too many non-animal distractions like playground equipment.

Dang, I was impressed with Kelley's! What a great spot to take the fam and great a really great…read moreoverall farm & hands-on animal experience. My kiddos are 2 and 4, and we also went with some cousins who range ages 7-10. The takeaway: this place is nice for all ages. My first impression was how well-kept Kelley's is! For being a farmstead, you'd assume the space to be a bit more untidy/dirty, but they do a fantastic job. We entered into the initial barn where we found a bunch of baby farm animals! There were plenty of staff members about helping kids take turns holding animals if they chose to. Oh and there is a big hand-wash station, which is of course appreciated. As we wandered on to the next space, we found tons of outdoor yard-like games and activities - everything from hula-hoop'ing horses and duck tik-tac-toe, to outdoor bowling lanes and ride-on trikes. Safe to say our kids were stoked! Another bonus: the huge corn pit. It was so busy while we were there, but it's big enough that there was still tons of space for kids to all play at once. It was filled with toys, trucks, and buckets too. The best kind of sensory overload. We then wandered into the next/lower barn, and to our surprise: tons more animals to interact with! Cute chickitties, little pigs & mama pigs, goats, chickens, the list goes on. It was kind of a shock how well-mannered all the animals, meaning at no point did it feel unsafe to interact with them. Overall a wonderful day out a Kelley's Farmstead. I definitely recommend checking it out and supporting the nice family that owns and runs the place!

Wonderful visit with toddlers! Staff is extremely helpful in giving all the children an…read moreopportunity to get close up and even holding the baby animals. Our kids loved all the extra play areas!! Very creative. Very clean. Our families will make this an annual event for sure.

This was an incredible experience. Getting to hold the kangaroo made my entire weekend. The staff…read morewas very friendly. You can buy a bag of goodies to feed the animals for $5 which just elevates the experience so much. I appreciate this place, i definitely would love to visit this farm again.

Best petting zoo we have experienced so far. I have a 5 and 7 yo, they enjoyed cuddling with a baby…read morefox, armadillo, bunnies and kitten. There is a play area as well-little slides, swings. Our $12 admission fee was worth it. We bought food for the animals, there was a $5 and $2. The $5 was enough for the entire visit. There's a hayride that was included as well. We spent about 3 hrs in the zoo, kids wanted to stay longer but we need to go. We drove to Milwaukee Public Market for a late lunch, about 30 mins away.

We visited Timbavati in late summer of 2026 with our family…read more On a scale of Tiger King to your local Metropolitan Zoological Society, I would say this ranks somewhere in the middle. The property was definitely larger than I was expecting and a lot of the exhibits exceeded the very low expectations I had set for them based on the curb appeal of the Park. I genuinely thought what I was looking at was out of business based on our first few passes by in the car. Worth a trip if you have some kids or animal fans in the travel party. There were several interactive exhibits for better or worse, some of which had an additional cost and some did not. We did not need any food or drink while we were visiting but I noticed multiple options and good amount of space to sit and enjoy. Tip - entrance was covered for us due to the package we purchased with our stay at Kalahari so be on the lookout for that!

Neat zoo located within the Wisconsin Dells…read more Some of my favorite exhibits there were the white tiger and penguin habitat. The baby animal building was also very cute. The red panda was unfortunately not out much and the glass was too reflective to see it well. Admission is a bit high for the size of the zoo, but they have deal days (ex free for Father's on Father's Day). There's several paid attractions like a zoo train, camel rides and animal encounters. They also have some good discount coupons for nearby attractions in the rack outside the gift shop.