Small zoo in the suburb of Chicago that offers free admissions in December. Kids can spend about an…read morehour or so to check out all the different animals, from chicken and rabbits, to racoons, llama, and Canada lynx. The newest additions are 2 coyotes. The lights turn on at 3PM. They also sell Christmas tree and weaths in December.

I had no idea about that "Cosley Zoo" existed until I found the deal on Groupon. My partner and I…read morewere planning a weekend getaway with the kids and "Cosley Zoo" came into the picture. The Groupon offer was equivalent to 50% off per adult, plus an internal promo code. That definitely sealed the deal for us. The surrounding area was having some constructions, but the direction to parking lot was clearly marked. I could see this zoo would be designed for local residents, but this was a quality one for taking small children for some good time. The animals appeared to be well taken care off. We dined at their cafe and the food wasn't too expensive. The giftshop was nicely air-conditioned and that was really a treat after a walk/chase with the little ones. My conlusion is that there is no need to travel specifically for "Cosley Zoo" unless you are also visiting other places in the area and happen to stop by. However, our little ones had great fun (no charge on admission for children under 11 year old) and helped us make some wonderful memories as a family.

Children were so excited to see all the animals. Fantastic place for adults and children to visit.read more

Absolutely wonderful - Healthy happy animals, and…read morebeautifully taken care of ! A joy to visit and... I will return

Colin came to our mosque this past weekend. We had the show outdoors and it was such a hit! He kept…read morethe kids engaged and it's very interactive. Also, his price seems pretty fair. Would highly recommend.

We had an amazing experience with Crosstown Exotics! Mike came to our high school class that works…read morewith preschoolers, and he was absolutely fantastic with both our little and big kids. He was incredibly educational while also being funny and engaging, which kept everyone interested the entire time. The kids loved getting to see and learn about the animals up close, and you could tell Mike is truly passionate about what he does. It was such a unique and memorable experience for our class. Everyone had a great time, and we're already looking forward to having him back next year. Highly recommend!

Living close to the Cincinnati Zoo I've been spoiled being able to attend one of the best zoos in…read morethe country. My experience at the Washington Park Zoo today far surpassed any visit I've had at Cincy. We arrived as soon as it opened, during off season. I had more up close encounters here with animals than I've had at any visit at any other zoo. All of the animals were active. The zoo was clean and well cared for. The employees were friendly and the animals were obviously well cared for. To top it off we went to the observation tower and had fantastic views of the lake. I loved our visit here and wouldn't hesitate to return.

Great hidden gem that is reasonably priced! We visited Memorial Day weekend with the kids and had a…read moregreat time. For $10 there are a variety of exotic and domestic animals to be fascinated by. You get your monies worth! If you don't like animals, then come to enjoy the views! The tower is definitely a workout, but worth it when you reach the top. You see beautiful view of the river and the lakeshore. Love it! This is our new family spot when we want to get away!

Such a fun and affordable day trip from Indy!…read more We took a mini weekend getaway from Indianapolis and spent the day at Columbian Park Zoo--what a blast! This little zoo packs in so much charm. Our favorite part? Definitely the petting zoo with the sweetest goats ever. The open garden area where you can see wallabies up close was such a unique touch, and the monkeys kept us entertained with their playful antics. The zoo is clean, well laid out, and incredibly family-friendly. It's a perfect low-cost outing that still feels special. We're already planning to come back when the penguins make their return!

I don't understand how this place is only $2 a person but you totally get your money's worth…read more There's only about 10 exhibits but they're thoughtfully laid out and you get up close and personal with the animals. For a few dollars more, you can get food to feed the goats, a train ride around the park, or paddle boats. Feeding the goats was so much fun. I'm not sure what I expected, but you're fully in the pen with about 20 goats and they are going nuts all over you because they want that food. My handful was gone in about half a second. My favorite part was the butterfly exhibit. I walked in and butterflies were just flying all around me. It's decorated like a little garden party. It was almost magical. It's designed with little kids in mind, but it was also fine for our family of three adults. We also pushed my mom in a wheelchair and she could access everything except for the butterfly exhibit.

Stopped here to charge car and walked into a whole farm world! They have a gas station, museum,…read morehotel, restaurant, working farm! Bathrooms are clean and they have some fresh made treats to purchase. Picked up an egg salad sandwich and little baggies of various cheese. They also had hand pies that I might have to try next time. The egg salad sandwich had very nice soft bread and nice flavor. Would make a stop here again in a heartbeat.

We came here to eat... grilled cheese! It is definitely a…read morenice place for kids. But we have a different mission --- to try their grilled cheese. We had cheddar grilled cheese and 2 soups (tomato bisque and chili). The grilled cheese is definitely great! I like the bread, it was soft and perfect for the cheese. A good portion, too! The tomato bisque was tasty and perfect to dip the sandwich. I am not that crazy about the chili. It was not flavorful - it was just ok. Our lunch experience here was great and we are glad that we stopped by. There's plenty of parking spots and there's a hotel and a gas station here as well.

Big man outside smoking BBQ outside, and in the general market you'll see the little old lady…read morerunning the cash register, note: takes cash only. Pick up a whole pie to go home, chocolates, jams/jellies or a few old fashioned candies. Looks like the big business is the orchard in the autumn, but if you just need a quick pit stop it seems like just as good a place as any.

Love Miss Kitty's! She had fresh watermelon slices out when we went. Great produce, cute animals…read more(we didn't do the petting zoo but looked at them over the fence), and super delicious canned goods. Also everyone working there was so friendly!

This is a cute little zoo that's best for kids under 5. It's very small and takes less than an hour…read moreto go through if your kids are older. I'm docking a few stars because they let way too many people into the petting zoo area at one time, especially when they only have a few goats to pet. I also docked a star because the walk over to the playground and picnic table area is unnecessarily long because they have the shortcut path blocked off.

For the price and what it is - it is 5 stars. If you're looking for a big city zoo that you'd spend…read moreseveral hours at (and pay 4x as much) - this is NOT it. It is a very good small zoo with about 15 outdoor enclosures; a half-dozen enclosures in the barn, and 8 or so exhibits in a separate building. During the busier times, there are keeper talks or events every hour for different animals. Apparently you can feed goats, llamas, etc... for $1.50. We went on a weekday in late February and the desk wasn't open. Yet... there were only a few other visitors in the zoo - and so it was very easy to see everything. They have pony rides as well. If you have a child under the age of 10 - I could see spending 2 hours here when it isn't winter. We spent just under an hour and saw everything and took our time.

We really enjoyed our visit at this reindeer ranch! The gift shop was filled with lots of reindeer…read moreand Christmas products, an old-school furnace in the middle to keep it nice and toasty, an upstairs full of colorful Christmas decor and trinkets. The highlight was the running train in the middle on top floor as you sit and sip on the hot cider while waiting for our reindeer tour at around noon. Luckily at the time we went we were the only once so we basically got a private tour. Who knew reindeers love graham crackers? It had snowed a couple days before so it was so special to see all the reindeer in the snow. The lovely gal answered a lot of our questions about the farm and the reindeer and my 4 yo daughter really loved feeding and patting the friendly and soft reindeers. It looked like they had a fun playground and an onsite cafe (it was closed) and some other amenities around but they were all covered in snow when we went. The only thing is it would have been nice if they plowed their parking lot after the snow for safety. This was in the same town we were visiting family so it was very close. I thought it was worth the price ($12) and I would recommend this for other families to come check out with their little ones and have a unique experience!

Such a cute little place. Did the corn maze with a bunch of friends, was so fun despite the heat…read more The little christmas shop was super cute. I wish they had some proper drinks like cider or something for the hot days but they just had this smashed pumpkin pie with icecream and a donut on top. It was delicious but a whole lot of sweet assortments I guess. Would love to return and do the maze in moonlight, if not for the horror movies I watched