Great zoo that is free! Big park and fun to see the animals. Fun for everyone in the family and…read morealways a nice time!

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.

Please stop here!! The berries are so delicious I cannot even contain my excitement on the ride…read morehome--I just want to break in to my container and start munching right away! I love being able to pick our own berries! Awesome memories!

Continues to a nice place to bring the kids. A little off the beaten path so stays a little…read morequieter. Prices are up this year, pet food is $.50 more expensive than deer park, per cone at $1.50each. Could use some more people on grounds keeping things nice.

this place may seem small, but oh my gosh so much excitement in a nice amount of time. we fed the…read morealligators ! saw a bunch of animals (won't ruin the suprises waiting inside) and my kids all loved the experience. for all the things avaible in the area this was very affordable and very well worth it. they all made us feel comfortable and had a great friendly customer service . they really went above and beyond for our group. not only for the youngest (6) but also the adults.(40) would definitely come back!!!!

Wish we could give more than 5 stars! This experience far surpassed my 6-year-old grandson's…read moreexpectations. We got to see a two-headed snake, so many gators, and the biggest snakes we've ever seen. The absolute highlight was when my grandson and his Dad got to hold a gator--he hasn't stopped telling everyone about it since! Definitely a must-see highlight of the Dells.

Some of my travel fun moments at Shamba were truly memorable. We love animals, and most of our…read moretrips are to visit animals. it only costs $10 to enter! Can you believe it? A full bucket of food for anime is $10 You will definitely love this place and share in so much laughter, joy, and maybe even a bit of screaming.

This is a great fun experience! There's a lot of cool animals to see! 10/10 would recommend! I have…read moreto give 4 out of 5 stars because there are a lot of other animals you don't really get to see from your car. Wish they had a caged walking trail to see the Zebras, Hippos, African dogs, Lions, Tigers, Tapirs, and Rhinos as most of these are hard to see from your car.

This was my favorite place in the dells! It was absolutely adorable and all the deer were so…read morefriendly and pretty! As an animal lover it made me so happy to see that they have so much space. The animals here have a good life, definitely come here! Also make sure to skip out on the crackers, just get quarters and use their corn machine. The deer prefer the corn and you get a lot of food.

We visited Wisconsin Deer Park in late summer 2026 as a way to kill some time with our family…read morebefore heading out to Madison to fly home. The grounds are much larger than they appear they may be from the street and there seems to be lots of room and different environments for the deer to explore. There are a variety of other animals in the park as well, none of which ever made us feel uncomfortable to be seeing in captivity in the middle of Wisconsin. The kids had a great time getting to interact and feed many deer and we enjoyed our short little visit. The most alarming thing about the Wisconsin Deer Park is the number of branded items they had in their gift shop. Was not expecting that. Buy a t-shirt. And a hat.

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.

My mother had never rode a horse and she wanted to check it off her bucket list. Canyon Creek…read moreRiding Stable was the closest horseback riding activity near our hotel. Initially you pay and sign waivers at a small building and the actual stable where you ride the horses is right across the street. I paid a little over $50 for the both of us, at the stable you walk onto a tall platform where the employees walk a horse up to you and you get on. My mother got a horse named Pepper and I got a horse named Scrappy (his name is quite suiting). This experience reminded me of why I don't like riding horses and why I hope to never ride one again. Although, they are beautiful and majestic Mr. Scrappy made it very clear that he was the one in charge lol. Despite my efforts to steer him with the reins, Scrappy was in his own little world. He would sometimes stop in the middle of the trail and when I gently kicked his side he just looked at me like I was stupid from his peripheral, he would turn completely around and just stand still facing away from the rest of the group, he would leave the single file line to grab a little snack (the surrounding plants), and he kept invading Pepper's personal space by walking too closely behind him/her. Scrappy was beautiful but he terrified me lol. (Obviously, the staff can't control the horse's behavior, this portion of the review is not reflected in the rating). The trail was beautiful and we even got the opportunity to see some deer. I agree with previous reviews about the animatronics being too much or a little tacky. I just think they're unnecessary, the trail is beautiful in itself, no need for the extra props. I definitely feel like you get your money's worth, the ride last about an hour, no exaggeration. Unfortunately for me I was ready to get off Scrappy 15 mins into the walk lol. I've seen some reviews complaining about the staff not being friendly, I have to disagree. I never felt like the staff was being rude. However, some Horses did have a bad cough including Scrappy (for the first portion of the trail), additionally the staff is really strict about taking pictures, I'm not sure why. It's unfortunate I couldn't take pictures of Scrappy or the trail. After Horseback riding you have the opportunity to checkout the petting zoo. They recommend you go to the petting zoo after riding with the horses because apparently the horses don't like the smell of the other animals (which mostly consist of goats and I saw 1 donkey). All in all Canyon Creek is really good for beginner riders and first timers. Staff is friendly, and the trail is pretty. Definitely worth a visit if you're in the area.

This was one of the worst customer service experiences I've ever had. The staff was rude,…read moreunwelcoming, and made us feel like we were an inconvenience from the moment we arrived. The older woman working at the front desk was especially unfriendly and came across as mean and dismissive. A front desk employee sets the tone for the entire experience, and unfortunately she did the opposite. If this stable wants to improve its reputation, it should seriously reconsider who represents the business at the front desk. We came expecting a fun experience and left feeling disappointed. I would not recommend this place based on how we were treated. Oh and someone ahead of us go extremely hurt and the ambulance should up to rescue the rider.

We spent a fun morning here this past Monday. They have so many baby goats and for $2 you get a…read morebottle of milk to feed them. These baby goats do not kid around when it comes to drinking their milk and the bottle will be gobbled up in a flash. You can also feed chickens and they have a model cow you can pretend practice milking. Plan to spend at least two hours here. Right now they have a gorgeous lavender field filled with bees. Very picturesque and looks great in photos.

Eugster's is one of those pumpkin-picking-apple-orchard-petting-zoo family farms, this one in…read moreStoughton Wisconsin. Coming for "Lavender Days there was plenty of lavender around for sure. Plus goats, cats, kittens, pigs, ponies, donkeys, chickens, turkeys, sheep, etc... Wife seemed pretty happy walking a goat through the lavender field.

We are so lucky to have the International Crane Foundation in Wisconsin. Home to the most amount of…read morecrane species in the world! The park is accessible to all with wide, cement pathways. For those wanting to go on trails, they also offer loops off their paths. There are a few covered areas for viewing the cranes and lots of areas to sit and observe the cranes. Admission is $12 or you could buy an annual pass. They have a video you can watch first about their work prior to checking out the cranes. This is a great place to spend a morning, afternoon or even the whole day.

What I can say about this place is that if you're a fan of endangered species you would definitely…read morelike checking out the Crane Foundation. It's not exactly like a zoo either but it does have all the crane species here and the experiences feel up close and personal. Me and my wife came here to experience this place since this is kind of part of our Wisconsin Dells visit. The admission fee is fair for what you purchase. What I like about this place compared to your typical Zoo is that it's not full of people at all. There's limited parking and a money goes towards helping the cranes and helping their population grow. There's a lot to learn about the rich history of this species also there are plenty of short Trails too there's not any concession stands for food here at all which isn't a big deal at all either it's not a place that you need to check on every exhibit it's probably a hour hour to a hour and a half visit typically. They even have a little movie theater and a gift shop as well. The bathrooms are also very clean this place is a unique find so give this place a visit if you have the time