Not fair to match this cool little zoo to a big city zoo. It's truly Apples to Oranges. Marshfield is a small city of less than 20,000 that supports an remarkable free zoo. (Marshfield also has a lot of other parks, trails and recreation areas. Including an outdoor pool). This little zoo It has a lot to offer... up close access to all kinds of wildlife. It's clean and very well kept, and I really think it's awesome that it has walking and biking trails running through it... AND it has a road that you can do a drive through experience. How great is that for the elderly, or handicapped or exhausted young kids? (Or lazy adults like me!) and it's all free! read more

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Wildwood is a small zoo, but wow, does it deliver on the variety of animals and the opportunity for an up-close look. There are two parts to this zoo, the walking section with the birds, water fowl, bobcats and mountain lion, bears, prairie dogs, turtles, and the like; and then the drive-through section with the larger animals: elk, buffalo, grey wolves, big horn sheep. For a small town, Marshfield's zoo is pretty great. The zoo is small enough to make it an easy walk from one exhibit to the next. If you do get tired, there are strategically placed benches all around to sit, watch the people and the other nearby animals. The nearby lake and the small stream that ran through the zoo appeared to be an endless amusement for several little kids who were intrigued by the ducks and turtles and a few fish. Entry to the zoo and parking is free, but there is a suggested very reasonable donation. It's still a bargain any way you look at it. read more

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Nice zoo. Great Kodiak bears. Lovely drive around to see the buffalo. Lots of hard work keeping up with all the changes

Late positing; but we were at the zoo in August 2024. Its sad to read such positive reviews and think our experience will be the same. Young children are just getting up at 6-7AM. By the time you travel an hour you arrive say 9:30. By this point the bears have the choice to be in shade or outside. Most cages the animals were laying down or you couldn't see them. We were in Marshfield all day and stopped 3X. Someone from the vehicle walked to see if the bears were out playing. 9:30 (when we arrived) am, 1pm after lunch/playground, and 4:30pm after shopping. Each time sadly they were not. The high light that you read in the reviews that people enjoyed. In September we tried the Madison Zoo. Both free; and Madison went above our expectations as we saw lots of animals. read more

Think of it as conservation zoo and not exotic animals. Animals with local natural habitats were included (grizzly bear, wolf, cougar, deer,..). Educational opportunities- guide came out to talk about the cougars, water cycle exhibit in the welcome center, etc. FREE (donations accepted). Great place for a family to spend the day. read more

Wildwood Zoo is small and it has limited animals. So much so that the kids with us from age 8-15 were bored. However the zoo will excite kids under 8. My 2 year old nephew enjoyed it thoroughly and wanted to stay close to his favorites. The weather was a scorcher. I wished they had an ice cream shop nearby. The zoo had free parking. We saw people bring in fishing poles to fish and food for a picnic. It's a very scenic area so even If you don't visit the zoo, the area is great for family hangout. read more

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It's small yes but very well kept and animals are well cared for. The exhibits are nice and you actually see the amimals most of the time. The big attraction is the Bears, that even have their own people bridge. A nice walk and great for your younger toddlers that can't walk around those huge zoos. Parking and entrance is free but as always donations accepted. read more

Love the zoo friendly animals clean area great place to take the kids and it's free also comes with a playground and during the summer people from other zoos come in with different animals to teach the kids all ages are welcomed and that's also free it's just a great place to go great for having a picnic great for the family read more

Wow, what a huge surprise! We were in Marshfield for the night, saw there was a park within walking distance, with a zoo, and had to check it out. After all, what kind of zoo could a city this size have? A really good one. It is small, true. The focus is on native or cold weather animals. I didn't see any inside exhibits. This is probably a way to keep down costs and focus on what they can do best. There is a huge brown bear exhibit, mountain lions, fox, several raptors (hawks, eagles, owls) and others. I highly recommend if you're in town. And it's free. But leave a donation! read more

I went to this zoo many years ago, so I had an idea of what I was in for, but I was really surprised at how much has been expanded on and improved since my last visit. The bear exhibit alone, with the bridge for the bears that crosses over the path at the main gate, is worth the trip out of the way to Marshfield. I didn't have much time to visit, but the free parking had tons of room for my box truck, and the free admission is a nice touch (though donations of course are welcome, and clearly a big part of why the place is so nice!). The place was immaculately manicured, no trash, flower beds and neat benches everywhere, with lots of informative signs for the animals there. It's not a big zoo, so you can probably see the whole thing in an hour or so, but if you've got kids there's a big park, playground, and a huge old train set up next door (all also free) if you need more stuff to do. Really though, go and see the bears as they roam around! read more

Wildwood Zoo - The "old" part of the bear exhibit and the bridge that connects it to the expanded "new" exhibit as seen from over by the prairie dog pen. - Zoos Near Me - Marshfield, Wisconsin

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This is a great zoo! My son and I had the place to ourselves today. It's totally free and all the animals were really active (probably trying to stay warm -- it was 25 today). We saw Kodiak bears, a bobcat, a mountain lion and some timber wolves. We also saw about 3-5 species of hawks, some owls and a bald eagle. Don't be afraid of the Canadian geese who accost you right when you walk in. As soon as they realized we didn't have snacks, they took off again. :) I saw either deer or elk off in the distance but the sidewalks were a combination of glare ice and big puddles and I didn't want us to fall and/or get wet so we just stayed on the main trail and then the wind picked up so we left. There is a nice park for kids and I believe they have a store in the summer. The park was located right next to our hotel, the Hotel Marshfield, but I'd recommend going to the lot on 17th street. It's much bigger and you'll be right next to the bears when you arrive. I also found it helpful to print the zoo map right from my computer before we headed out. We'll definitely be back when the weather warms up a bit. read more

Rarely do small cities the size of Marshfield have zoos this size and with so many different animals.