Lincoln Park Zoo is a must-visit in Chicago! Whether you're visiting the city or a local, this…read moreiconic zoo has so much to offer. There's plenty to see, amazing views of the Chicago skyline, and even a conservatory and beautiful gardens that are worth a visit on their own. Luckily, we live within driving distance and have become regulars, especially since my toddler loves seeing all the different animals, from lions and penguins to meerkats, giraffes, and so many more! I've been coming here since I was a kid, so being able to share this special place with my own child makes it even more meaningful. There are activities and events year-round, too. We recently visited for their Halloween story time and trick-or-treating, and during the holidays, ZooLights is an absolute must! Best of all, admission to the zoo is free year-round, with the exception of some special events requiring tickets. You really can't beat that, especially for such a wonderful attraction right in the heart of the city. It's a great place for families, visitors, and locals and we'll definitely keep coming back!

Lincoln Park Zoo was such a fun experience! The vibes were amazing, and we got to enjoy the fall…read morefestival, seasonal activities, and all the beautiful fall decor. It felt so festive and there was so much to see and do. The kids had a blast, and I loved getting to experience the zoo during such a fun time of year. One of my favorite parts was the open bird exhibit, where you can walk through and see the birds up close. They get to fly freely. Such a cool experience! Between the animals, fall activities, and beautiful surroundings, this was definitely a highlight of our Chicago trip. A must visit!

I've been here multiple times with my family. It's a nice small zoo, but the first time I've been…read morehere with the new setup this year. If you're in the area and you need a place to bring your little ones highly recommend. We can at bad time while it was lunch time and the workers needed a break but always a good walk as a parent and a lot to see.

Went to Randall Oaks Zoo for the first time today for a birthday party. We didn't go to the zoo…read morepart but we were outside in the park and garden area and it was lovely! They took us on a hayride to see the grounds and they had a fire for us to make smores. It was a great gathering area and I wish I lived closer, will have to go back to visit. The staff and hayride driver were very nice.

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!

We hired Animal Quest for my daughter's birthday party. We did the petting zoo only and it was such…read morea hit. The animals were well cared for, very nice even with small kids, and the staff was helpful and educational... and fun! Would highly recommend their services for a fun day with beautiful animals.

I hired Animal Quest for my 2 year old's birthday party and it was great! They were very…read morecommunicative and booking was pretty easy. They arrived on time, set up in my backyard, and helped teach the kids about the animals and how to pet them. Becky and Christian were super nice and patient even though the kid group was on the younger side and all high energy toddlers. Everyone loved it! Thanks for a great time!

Expensive? Yep. Worth every penny? ABSOLUTELY!…read more Just be prepared for some animal snot on your vehicle and maybe a scratch or two because these animals are NOT concerned about your paint job! We did the route THREE times and spent over 3 hours there, so we definitely got our money's worth. Splitting our bowls of food into 4 portions was a smart move because one hungry animal decided to help himself to one of our bowls! There was so much laughter, a little fear, and A LOT of fun! I'm pretty sure the kids AND us adults will be talking about this place for years to come. We all had a blast, and honestly, seeing everyone laughing, screaming, and having so much fun made it worth every penny. If you're looking for a fun and memorable family adventure, Safari Lake Geneva is definitely worth it!

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.

It's always so much fun going to the zoo. This is one of the more bigger shoes here in Chicago. And…read moreI think it's the first time I've been here again in like 8 years. I was so happy that I was able to experience feeding the giraffes and that they actually feed them a whole Leaf of lettuce it's a bit of a on the pricey side $15 you get about half of a bunch of lettuce but to be able to feed them the whole Leaf it was amazing because other places you would only get like strips of carrots. We were there a bit early and so most if not some of the animals were all out and that was so nice to see so I did enjoy it a lot. The only downside was the food the food trucks were closed and so the only choice we had was the outdoor one in the cafeteria until we did choose the outdoor one and the line wasn't even that long but the two boys that were there I guess they were new and it was a part-time thing it was so disorganized that we waited almost an hour for our food. The food was okay for Zoo food but I would eat it again it's just the long wait. But this suit was amazing I highly recommend feeding the giraffes I wish they also offered more animal encounters like feeding the goats and whatnot but I would definitely be coming back. Happy exploring!

Brookfield Zoo is a staple attraction in the Chicago Suburbs. When I visited, they were doing a…read morespecialty dino exhibit with animatronic dinosaurs sprinkled around the zoo. They were also doing Boo at the Zoo to encourage guests to wear their Halloween costumes. The maps at the park were great for navigating to the different exhibits but also for knowing where the specialty attractions are. Pricing is now about $30 for kids and adults and $21 for younger kids. Parking is $17-20. These prices are a bit steep for a one-day visit and it may make more sense to get a family membership for $200. Most of everything around the park was the same as when I visited about 10 years ago except for the primate area. They have done extensive remodeling to create indoor/outdoor areas for them. Overall, the park is nice and the staff is friendly/helpful. If you have kids, this is a great place to get the wiggles out! As an adult, I recommend trying to plan your visit around a specialty event like Zoo Lights.

My wife wanted to check out a new zoo that we hadn't been to before. We've been on this torrent…read moresince my son was born twelve years ago and suffice it to say, we've tackled most within a 2-3 hr radius. Somehow Bear Den had eluded our previous searches. Just a couple hours away, we were skittish about visiting during covid. Seeing as they allowed people to interact with the animals I wasn't sure this was such a good idea. But we went anyways. And we're glad we did! Bear Den has a solid mixture of farm animals good for the little kids to see and interact with, up to bigger and rarer animals, sprinkled with a smaller group of exotics. The last part is what drew us here. I'll lump the baby lemur in the exotic group, that you can 'hold' and pet. Easily our favorite part of the visit, the baby lemur has more energy then your average 10yr old kid jacked up on the Mountain Dew. He leaps from shoulder to shoulder without effort and will eat out of your palm. I have to give special kudos to the gal who worked back here. She was knowledgeable, friendly, and head-over-shoulders courteous. The baby lemur is as soft as the other side of the pillow and a blast to interact with. He's also just fun to watch without a cage dividing you from him. His antics are hysterical. We enjoyed the full range of animals here but other favorites included the foxes (black and orange), bobcats, adult lemurs, black bear, colorful pheasants and the baby deer (which you can also pet and feed). We usually love kangaroo's and this zoo's was no exception, but the larger male kanga hopped over by the side of the enclosure we were nearest, stood up, bent back and flexed. Kinda cool, kinda weird. Oh, one more thing. On your way in or out, you can pet baby kittens, chicks and bunnies. These likely get them adopted very quickly. Neat zoo, definitely worth the 2-hr drive and price. Cheers.

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.

Friendly people/staff Although the llamas spit a lot :) its a good time for toddlers!!read more

Such a fun little find!! This is a zoo, a park, a little history lesson and an overall great place…read moreto visit!! Best part, FREE!! Now, this is not a huge zoo, but man do they pack a lot of love into a little spot. Food selection of animals, very friendly staff and cute well maintained facilities! Then, there are multiple large parks on site!! Perfect picnic spot for place for large family gatherings!

It wasn't until this summer that I learned that we have an amusement park right here in the…read moresuburbs, not 30 minutes away. I guess since I didn't grow up here and it's not really geared toward adults it makes sense. We got a chance to visit this season before they closed and it was so much fun. As the name suggests, it's Christmas/Santa/winter themed. The daily price is high, but next year I think we'll be buying a season pass and hopefully can balance pool pass and amusement park visits. My daughter had so much fun with her friend here. And there's more than I expected! The rides were good, and though there aren't a ton of them they are solid and enjoyable. I rode a few, and I wasn't sure they'd be fat friendly. The Route 66 ride was fun; it reminded me of Tomorrowland Speedway, but with cooler cars. And the fire truck ride was a unique one; though I don't have a lot of amusement park experience but I didn't expect to see a fire truck that takes you over to a fire (gas powered) and lets the kids aim their hoses to put it out. There's a petting zoo, with pigs, alpacas, goats, sheep, and so on. You can buy a cup of feed and they will be your best friends for real. There's also an aviary, where you can buy a feed stick to encourage the birds to come pick from. We spent a lot of time in both those areas, and the kids really got a kick out of feeding the animals. After going on a bunch of the rides, we went to the wading pool. I didn't realize how extensive it was--it's a very large pool area, but the water is only a few feet deep and it's a zero entry pool. I thought it would be much smaller, so I didn't bring a suit--but luckily my friend did since you can't go into the pool unless you're properly attired. There were various slides and I think my kiddo could have spent hours there. But the day was cool and there was a bit of rain, so we only stayed a short while. I'm really looking forward to going more often next summer, letting the kiddo enjoy the pool much longer. Parking is free--at least as of 2026. There are concessions, and you're not supposed to be able to bring outside food, but somehow my friend snuck some in so YMMV.

This place was a very fun and family amusement park. My 3 year old was a big fan and she did not…read morewant to leave The location was very easy to find. It is conveniently located off of I90 and Dundee. The parking lot was pretty good for its size and, while we did arrive right when they opened, we had no issues finding a parking spot. Plus, as we were leaving, we saw a lot of open spots. The place does have a few restaurants but the food is decent for what it is. It will not be a 5 star groumet meal. We had the pizza and it was delicious. It reminded me of a school pizza growing up and a little bit of Sbarro. It filled us up and our picky 3 year old loved it so that was a bonus. We also went to a different location to get freshly squeezed lemonade and iced coffee. Both were delicious and perfect mid day snack during sunny afternoon The bathrooms were clean enough. The rides were fun and staff was very friendly. At the end of the day, we stopped and greeted Santa. I loved this experience since he was very patient and kind to our daughter. And it was very personalized. I was under the assumption was simple, and pose for photos but no... he talked to her and read her signs as to how comfortable she was. I appreciated Santa so much since he could tell she was getting a little scared and nervous. Overall, it is a fun place to be especially as a child. This one visit convinced us enough to become season pass owners as we left the park. We will be back in the near future.