Lincoln Park Zoo (Chicago) Reviews

Very fun for the season. Weather was fantastic. Hot chocolate was delicious.

I used to work here in the 80s and it still remains a fantastic addition to our wonderful city.

Free admission makes it a no brainier to take the whole family. Clean facilities, friendly staff, and large variety of animal enclosures make it a must for anyone visiting the Windy City.

Free, nice, small. We paid 25$ to park for 3 hours.

A bit too difficult to find animals but otherwise a peaceful and entertaining experience.

Both ourselves and our kids enjoy this zoo in the heart of Chicago. Free admittance and plenty to see for a full day of a zoo experience. We thoroughly look forward to these trips when we plan them

For a free zoo, this place is great. They have lots of variety in animals and the grounds are very well kept. The location is very good for extending your trip into the park, out onto the lake, or into the conservatory. Those three activities would make for a great half day in Chicago when the weather is nice. The bridge just outside the southwest exit of the zoo provides one of my favorite views of the city. Also, if you are a sloth lover, the mother and baby sloth are worth the trip alone.

Great availability and variety of birds and primates

The Lincoln Park Zoo is great for a weekend walk to see a differenct perspective of the Chicago. It host a terrific holiday zoolights event every december. Come enjoy the holiday season at the Zoo.

Wish we were told during reservations that its under construction and there are no lions, tigers or elephants

Monkeys are worth it. Lights in the winter too, can't complain about a free zoo

GOOD TIME W THE FAMS. THE VIEW...CLEAN. FOOD..THE ANIMALS.A VERY.GOOD
WALKING. I RECOMMENDED..

Love the cost free option of a zoo!!! The lions and zebra were the highlight for me for sure!! Favorite animals!!!

Myself and my kids love the Lincoln Park Zoo! I've been going here for years and my kids will continue also. Who wouldn't love a zoo in the middle of Chicago! Everything about it is awesome

Gorilla exhibit is amazing. The major problem, was the lack of good direction layed out for getting from one location to another ( and that's WITH a map. ) Now don't get me wrong, typically I'm VERY good with instructions, sense of direction, etc.... but my friend and I were completely confused using the map provided and the lack of direction along the walkway. Other than that though, we thoroughly enjoyed the day there and truly enjoyed ourselves. Plus, with it being a FREE zoo, we were very impressed.

It's a great place to take children and it's free!!!! Absolutely love it here!

First who doesn't love free? The zoo is free. Having said that of course there are plenty of ways they make money. The Merry-Go-Round is $3. The 5D underwater ride is $6. The gift shop has some reasonably priced items. The zoo can get busy pending on the time. Otherwise it's a good time, and still fairly inexpensive with the few extras.

It was really nice! I wish the lions were there when I went but it was still very nice.

Great zoo to take kids and it's free.....petting zoo also

Great place to visit and hang out any time of the year.

Super-Nice Zoo, with lots of healthy well fed animals. Kids loved the Polarbear-show, and the Gorillas.

Zoo is great. Lights are spectacular. Very disappointed in the special glasses offer. No one seemed to know where to get them and we never did find any. We were at the zoo at 630p on a Monday night. They really ran out so fast? Or did they ever really have them? Not a nice tease.

Growing up in the suburbs of Chicago, I didn t go to Lincoln Park Zoo as often as Brookfield. I was so pleasantly surprised by how lovely it is! The process of reserving tickets was easy and made us feel so much better about heading out during the pandemic. The COVID regulations were thorough and well-followed. My son, husband and I had an amazing time at our son s first trip to the zoo! A month later, my son still talks about how the flamingos go squawk squawk squawk .

This zoo is one of the best and cleanest zoos I've been to. Best part is that it's a learning zoo, so there's plenty for kids to do. (Photo: Mother pig nursing her piglets at the Farm in the Zoo exhibit.)

It used to be much better 20 years ago ... What happened !!

Lincoln Park Zoo is one of the best attractions in Chicago. Besides being free admission, the grounds are very well maintained and the animals are loved by the staff and the city alike. I love walking through the Zoo and seeing all of the animals, I especially love the Ape house and the Zebras.

Zoo Lights is one of my favorite holiday traditions, and it is worth a stop if you are in Chicago over the Christmas holidays. They deck the zoo in festive lights and have carols, ice carving and lots to look at.

People give five stars because it is free. I think it is a sad and depressing place. Large animals do not have enough room; Lion, cheetah pacing along their cage. It is very hard to watch, and it is so sad to see the animals unhappy. It seems very wrong to keep storks in a small cage. Birds need to fly!! White Storks (not really white but dirty) do not have enough room to walk and no chance to fly. Keeping storks in such an environment is cruel.

Lovely place I've been going to since childhood. Hopefully they open up soon

Its Free, so dont expect much other than just hanging out and spending couple of hours. Not lot of animals but ok to visit one time or just to spend time. Dont go with the idea of zoo visit.

If only more cities ran Zoo's like this. I completely support the Lincoln Park Zoo. Free admission to the public and running off donations and purchases from their store. I always make sure to support when I visit.

Love this place. Excellent for families or a date.

The lights were nice ... Kids enjoyed being there..

Such a great zoo and free!! There are beautiful views of the city and lots of animals to see. Perfect way to spend an afternoon.

This is the best place to spend the day with your family in Chicago, open all year, always free, kids love it, you can define your day here whether you want to stay an hour or all day long.

Incredible Experience!!! THE LIGHT DISPLAYS was stunning...so much to see...really was a great time with the family!!

One of my favorite Chicago attractions. I love coming here throughout the year - Zoo Lights are my absolute favorite. Highly recommend if you are visiting during the Winter Holidays!

Very good zoo! Well maintained with nice exibits though its free!!! Brookefield has a wider range of animals and shows but this one is closer to city area and nearby attractions.

During times of COVID-19 a lot of the exhibitions are closed.

The realities of caring for animals and the comfort they enjoy being here is a learning in itself.

Awesome Zoo especially during Christmas. Don t forget to visit when the lights are on - a must see in the city.

Animal variety is pretty good and the gift shop has basically any animal you can imagine as a teddy.

I appreciate the fact that it's free to the public.

Came here on a beautiful fall day. So fun to have a resource like this in the city. Spent so much time watching the baby monkeys

Very few animals... The ONLY reason it's 2 stars it's because it's FREE if you had to pay it be 1 star. Crowded, expensive food, very few animals NOT the typical zoo experience... It's like walking in your local neighborhood park with a few animals... I might as well next time go to my local family farm.

Can t wait to go back, I love biking through the park and seeing the zoo.

Seamlessly integrated with the grounds of Lincoln Park. As an adult, you will marvel not just at the animals, but the turn-of-the-century architecture of the buildings which house them. Your stroll through the zoo comes complete with amazing views of the city skyline, which makes it the perfect family day out--thanks to that element of "something for everyone!"

Great display. It was well maintained, quite extensive, food court on the grounds, walked the whole thing in 3hrs. Highly recommend.

Have seen better places. If you have kids or have absolutely nothing else to do, then you can go ahead and check out the free fun this place has.
Also, go at a time when you can see the zoo lights.

Very big Zoo. Admission is free and usually isn't too crowded. The lion house is awesome!

Awesome place but get there early...parking fills up fast!

Can't do Chicago without walking through the zoo!!!!

It's free and has a good tree decoration around new years

Great zoo with tons to do and see, and did I mention its free!!?

It's always enjoyable especially wit my granddaughter

I actually enjoyed walking around the zoo to see the animals. My friend and I went in the evening ish like 3:30pm so it wasn t that hot.

There s not much you can really complain about with a free zoo! It is honestly a really quality zoo! They have plentiful amount of animals, including Lions and tigers. The only thing that s a little pricey is the food, but that is definitely to be expected being that it s a free zoo in Chicago haha! I would definitely recommend going here if you have some free time in Chicago, and especially if you have kids! ;)

A great free zoo in Chicago. My kids love walking here from the house.

I wish this park had a bigger budget for the animals I think for what they have they are doing a pretty good job and the staff are pretty passionate about what they do from what I can tell

An important factor when taking children: it's a reasonably-sized zoo. You get the full experience and see lots of animals, but you don't have to walk ten miles per visit to do it.

It's clean and well-maintained. Staff are friendly.

We were particularly excited to see the lions out on our most recent trip! A fun experience all around!

I love that it's free but most of all my children enjoyed it.

Is a zoo inside Lincoln park, it's nice to take a walk there. It's free.

Missed seeing the big cats. Will be back to see them.

I brought my grandson. Its just as nice as I remember from when I was a kid.

If you enjoy a leisurely walk you will enjoy going to Lincoln Park Zoo. If you really want to see animals it's not the place to go. Quite a few places in the zoo where empty.

The fact that the entrance is free makes you think this is a normal zoo. In fact, this is one of the largest zoos I have ever been to. And it was nice.

it is free, great park. nice place for kids. staff were friendly.

Its a nice place to go. Free to enter but parking is outrageous in their lot.