It's a lot bigger than it looks. It's pretty wild to see a rhino and other exotic animals just in…read morethe middle of central Minnesota. You can tell all the workers love what they do. That said, some of the animal enclosures were pretty small and sad. The penguins didn't look like they had much water, the crocodiles had fake grass in their enclosure and minimal water, etc. That said, we don't know much about zoo requirements or animal health. It would have been nice to see more information about how/why the animals are kept at the zoo -- are they rescued? Does the zoo return them back to different environments eventually? Things like that. Our son loved the playground and feeding the giraffe. It was a nice pit stop, just a bit jarring when you're used to the Minnesota zoo and Como.

I almost didnt write a review. Hemker is just so perfect Im not sure my words will do it justice…read more It honestly made me feel like I was back home. I grew up in a small town in the South. Hemker feels like a summer in the country running bear feet....but also like a top notch zoo. How?! How do they create a welcoming atmosphere that feels like home....but have a wode variety of animals that look so healthy and well cared.for? Im not sure but I absolutely loved it! LOVED IT!

Our family had a great time here for an afternoon! While slightly understaffed (which were were…read morefine with), the staff that was there was very friendly and made it work. One person might work two rides going back and forth but we never felt like things were not running smoothly. It was VERY clean and kept up. The food was good (just prepare to wait a bit). The giant Paul Bunyan at the entrance was a huge hit. Our four year old enjoyed the rides and we really liked walking around the back area of the park where the models and antiques were. We spent four hours here and thought it was well worth the admission price.

I first met Paul about 70 years ago. Amazingly, he still remembered me when we visited him last…read moreweek. What a great guy! Babe is still there. So is Sport, the reversible dog. This place holds many happy memories. It is heartening to see families there creating their own new memories.

Viewed a WIDE variety of amazing animals. My wife and I were VERY impressed with the exhibits…read moreincluding helpful placards in front of the enclosures giving good details about the animals. They had grizzly bears, black bears, cheetahs, a white rhino, many varieties of monkeys, skunks, sea otters, snow leopard, white bengal tigers, a parakeet encounter where you could be among about a hundred parakeets, a petting zoo for the kids, fed the giraffes carrots, anteaters, birds of all kinds, kiddie rides, safari train that travels among the animals and a snack hut that was truly family affordable.... We had a pulled chicken sandwich with fries and 20 oz beverage for $10! We spent 3 hours there in this walkable zoo and will return again. And keep in mind I'm usually not very excited about zoos in general but this place blew us away !!! Well done!!

Great little zoo... well maintained, friendly staff, and enough to see to stay entertained for a…read morefew hours. Worth a visit if you are in the area.

I happened to find this place for the first time in July 2025, after heading into town to go to…read moreDollar General and it was my 2 years old best time of her life! She loves animals and her heart was so full with so many laughs and shrieks of joy at all the things to do here! I've recommended it to so many people from well over 2 hours away! We came up to Rice Lake for a weekend get away and found this lovely place! Our family grew up on farmland as well and this was the coolest thing I've ever seen! Anyone else who has anything negative to say is just a DEBBIE DOWNER hanging out with their friend NEGATIVE NANCY. There is no such thing as animal abuse at this special place and the people making up false allegations like that need to get a life. Most likely liberal lunatics.

DO NOT SUPPORT As stated in the most recent review, this…read moreplace allows animal abuse and theres is no staff managing children with small animals. Bunnies especially get injured easily and can get extremely broken / die from this malpractice. I am hearing from other sources that they also sell animals from breeders nearby. Specifically one named Valley View Puppies, who also are abusive to their dogs. RUN RUN RUN

Excellent. You have to walk thru and due to the rain the weeds were very high. We were able to see…read morethe wolves and black bears. Lynx were out and the Bob cats and cute foxes.

We've enjoyed seeing the Wildlife Science Center at many community events. They bring raptors and a…read morevariety of pelts. It's always interesting to learn about why a raptor came into their care and how they have rehabilitated it and care for it. We used to go regularly to the events the WSC had at their old location; and would bring our dogs there to see the wolves and other animals. We hope to get to their new location soon. The WSC does a fantastic job educating people of all ages about wildlife!

Absolutely beautiful store. This is of all the fish stores I've been too in Minnesota, this is my…read morefavorite. Not only is this store located in a very pretty and interesting building, it was very bright, open and full of fully landscaped aquariums with plants & fish everywhere. As soon as me and my friends walked in we were approached by an employee immediately. My friends went to look around and I asked a few questions. The employee gave me a lot of good answers as well as recommendations and items that might interest me in the store. The store is extremely well stocked, with items I've only been able to find online before. Me and my friends had a ton of fun looking at the tanks around the store and I good some great inspiration looking around. I got a few items including a snail trap (another item I've only seen online!) and the cashier was super friendly and knowledgeable about the history of the shop. The store below even had an enormous reef tank installed and maintained by the store employees. It is always a wonderful experience coming to a store where everyone is so passionate about their craft, and I can't wait to come back

I love this place!…read more You know how your kid bugs you for a fish tank and promises to take care of it only to lose interest as soon as the first pair of guppies dies? Well, that was me over 50 years ago except I never lost interest. I've been keeping fish and visiting fish stores around the country for my entire life. The people from World Of Fish who started RiverShore Aquariums have done a great job. Located not far from the original World of Fish, RiverShore has clean tanks, friendly and knowledgeable staff and they are super keyed in on planted tank setups. These days my tanks are relatively simple just to keep things easy, rocks and driftwood mostly, but I've been wanting to do a planted tank for a while. I know the basics but had some questions on substrate, plant selection and lighting for what is basically going to be a freshwater nanotank. The staff person who helped me was super knowledgeable, answered my questions and gave me some good advice for getting started. They had a good selection of different kinds of gravel as well as an assortment of driftwood and rocks. I liked that they have a table where you can do a little aquascaping trial and error before you make a final selection. The fish were high quality and appeared healthy. Most were smaller species suitable for planted tanks. I even discovered a new species that I had never heard of - anchor catfish. Super cool and perfect for my little nanotank. I know enough about fish and have been to enough fish stores to know which ones are really good. Rivershore is at the top of the list if you live in the Twin Cities, and especially if you're interested in giving planted tanks a try. Even if its plants aren't your thing or you are new to the hobby, I'd checkout Rivershore for your first aquarium.