Lincoln Park Zoo (Chicago) Reviews

Me and my kids we love it. This place is very clean and we do not have to pay the entrances to joy the zoo.

Visited the zoo on a cold, snowy Sunday in late February. Wasn t expecting to see a lot of animals out but we were surprised to see more than our fair share. The indoor exhibits were great, specifically the aviary, the primate house, and small mammals. The polar bears, zebras, and eagles were all enjoying the cold. Pretty sure it ll be crowded in the summer but don t rule out visiting in winter.

Don't forget to go in the winter and check out the zoo lights. I also enjoy the paths around the zoo where you can get excellent and interesting views.

I love this place. I have been going here for 55+ years. Unfortunately because of Covid all the building are Closed

been there multiple times in summer for animals and in december when the zoo is closed because of cold there is a light show which is amazing.
Typical family spot, find the parking in advance since it can be really crowded.

Beautiful place to visit with family and friends. We visited this place during Christmas. We loved it!

Such a great place to visit while in the city. Is a free zoo and offers spectacular "zoo lights" around the holidays. There is also a run- a 5k and a 10k yearly to help support the funding of the zoo. Don't miss the conservatory-- such a magical place!

Free zoo open to the public. Best value in Chicago. Staff was informative and willing to answer questions. Love it. Worth taking the family.

Fun free zoo. Great for a short period of time or a long period.

It was beautiful and it's also a great place to take little ones.

It is as wonderful as ever... Great job with renovations... Timed entry is brilliant.. .the animals look healthy

Cool zoo with lots of animals and things to do. Many animals were not in their exibits when I went there

Wasn't much to see. All the animals we inside and a lot of the park was turned around due to renovations.

It's ridiculous that this zoo is free. Numerous excellent exhibits!

Zoo in the middle of the city! Great for kids and for dates.

Family oriented. Great attraction for children. My son is in the Leap learning program for toddlers. Program is fundamental and interesting. My son loves it. A pleasant visit for all ages.

Definitely not Brookfield zoo. Animals were hardly out. But nice time for a free admission

This was something I had planned. Loving All animals wanted to see them. Going back soon

This zoo is amazing and free. Did I mention, it is FREE! There are many animals and you can walk around with beer, ride your bike, and/or take Fido with you. I definitely recommend this zoo.

Great place to come to see the Christmas lights and the animals in winter.

Good luck finding parking spot otherwise you good to go.

My family visits the Zoo lights event during Christmas. The event is the highlight of the holiday season. It's not just for kids, there is something for everyone in the family to enjoy.

We always have a great time here with our small children

It informs the public about the issues concerning wildlife and how it lets the public know how it impacts our survival on our planet.

Best tourist destination on Chicago. It's free! How can you beat that? Only takes a few hours to walk around. Up close and personal with the animals.

A very active hotspot for spiritual activity. Over 150 people were buried under it and then moved because they were so close to the city's water supply.
Other than that it's a great zoo.

I honestly wasn't expecting much considering this was a free zoo. However I was pleasantly surprised!! Lots of animals and the zoo was very open and clean

Always a blast coming here when it's not crazy crowded (which you should expect all for all Christmas lights). But given that Chicago hardly has any free spaces anymore it's just such a treat that they continue to offer it for free. I love just taking a walk here and they have more animals than you might think.

Visit during spring and summer time when the trees and flowers make the scenarios even more beautiful. Prefer weekdays if you don't like crowd.

The bathrooms were very dirty and not working properly.

Hassel to get in. Hassel to get out... Do manage your expectations or you'll regret it... it is free I guess *shrugs*

Oh you got to take the dog back to bed with you hey dudes are you going to stay out here and bother me what are you going to do with I had a great time at the zoo. Cold but after expected when you're in Chicago especially in the winter time. I enjoyed it immensely now I'm going back the Florida where it's warm. But most of all I enjoyed the company of my family.

A free zoo in the heart of a city? Yes, please. In addition to the animals, you'll enjoy the meandering paths with gorgeous landscaping. Be prepared for breathtaking views of the Chicago skyline. Fall Fest is a must for singles and families.

I really enjoyed it here, there's a lot more to see than I thought. If you took your time going through you could easily spend at least half a day here, so if you're visiting the city then plan accordingly. In the winter it seems like there's a little less to see, but also its a lot less crowded. And on top of it all, it's free!

Took our high school band there. Excellent exhibits and it's fee to get in.

Other than good collection of animals, they also have engagement activities for kids, like face painting etc. It's very close to the other main attractions of the city. May cover the whole zoo in half a day.

A free zoo park, well maintained and a good place to spend sometime with the kids

Very impressed by the variety of animals, especially the gorilla/chimpanzee display! What more, entrance to the zoo (and conservatory nearby) is free. Perfect day out with the family on a summer day.

It was so much fun! The juggler gave it such a fun surprise.

Fantastic place for children to get information and a well kept service and overall it's amazing place to visit.

Went for the Zoo lights, lots of sites and fun to walk around. However, the hot chocolate is way over priced

We were told the "other" zoo in Chicago was the better choice ... We chose this one and GLAD that we did! Being from out-of-town, this zoo was even bigger than our local zoo at home AND it was free to visit!
So many animals, so much to do. We did not get to spend as much time here as we wanted as we had a hard time with transit, but I think we saw most of the exhibits!

Fantastic if in the area, combine with a walk down lake shore drive for a wonderful day in Chicago

It is a smaller zoo in a major metropolitan area but the fact that it is free to the public is what allows for a high rating. The selection isn't as large as the Brookfield Zoo, but it is still great all the same. Great to stroll through.

This is one of my favorite zoos in the world. It's free for all. Please donate eine bugs if you visite to keep it free. Also Love the Zoo lights.

Very nice place. Very big so there is a lot to see, however many of the animals were not on display when I visited. Still had a great time and definitely recommend if you happen to be in the Chicago area

It's so hard to believe that a zoo of this size is FREE. Yes, I said FREE! I can't think k of an animal they didn't have that I wanted to see. It is a very large zoo so it never felt crowded to where you couldn't see the animals. I have to say it was also so clean and animals look like they are well cared for. Amazing place to go and they even have a few kiddie rides.

Prefer Brookfield, it was ok. My son didnt enjoy it as much as Brookfield. In his words he didnt see any animals

Great zoo for free. Parking was $30. Great family time for an afternoon in Chicago.

Staff went above and beyond to help us through a tough situation and we're helpful even though the park was closing. They gave us great customer service and weren't just concerned with rushing is out of the park asap as companies typically can be right before close

Additionally the zoo lights were phenomenal, great for the whole family.

Super fun place. Free admission. Amazing view of the city.

Maybe you should edit to add that all of the exhibits and buildings start to close down at 430pm and are completely closed by 5. It's only the park that is open until 630pm

Love this place. The fact that it is free is the cherry on top of a great asset the city. Amazing place for people of all ages.

there seems to be less animals at the zoo. but, we enjoyed the underground exhibits.

Took a friend on his first visit. Now he's taking out of towners to see the amazing foliage that abounds! The animals here are like family.

Fantastic zoo that, unlike many attractions these days, has free admission. Perfect to visit for a day in the city.

Very well kept, beautiful park, and its free to enter

Several buildings are being remodeled. Only one gate open and no signage to indicate this. Indoor attractions in buildings are closed due to Covid-19. Wearing a mask was annoying outdoors. We picked a HOT day to go so not a lot of animals to see. Minimal shade and seating available.

They are to expensive,..for a zoo who only has 9 animals.. lol..A Pepsi was $4.50 and it was 12 ounces..

Great zoo with a lot of room and it's free to enter

Love it! FREE admission, nice animal exhibits. Clean public area

This place is fun for the hole family. THey have Zoo lights every Chirstmas wich is so much fun to go and see. THey have they farm wich is great for the little ones to see how the farm works. And tones of Houses you can go and see. Go see the aminals!!

The best part? It's free and near the water. The animals seem little sad and the facilities are a little run down, but being able to pop in and see a lion sunbathing whenever I want? Pretty special;)

Beautiful animals, beautiful people, beautiful view of the city. Don't forget to notice the art here too. Sculptures, landscapes, fountains, and architecture. This is a beautiful meditation from the cityscape.

Really nice zoo for being free! One thing that I didn't like was the advertised 5D sub experience. It was 2d on a hydraulic platform so nothing 5D about it. Big let down. Many of the animals were not present for whatever reason. The seagulls were out of control.... Some were aggressive enough to come closer to attacking visitors, and one even attacked a sparrow and ate him whole. Swallowed him down headfirst. That wasn't on the list of attractions....

The lights we're oh Soo Beautiful , but Parking was a Real Problem.. otherwise had a good time..

My favorite zoo in the entire world. Of course, being free gives it a big advantage, but even if you don't count that, it is still very user friendly and has great exhibits. The African Safari exhibit is my absolute favorite.

I've been here twice. There are so many animals and so many aspects of the zoo.

Irrespective of if you like zoos or not, unless you're the Grinch, you're going to like the lights at Lincoln Park Zoo. The south lawn is my favorite with Christmas music synced to the light show. Take a spot in front of the park cafe to get the best view. Cheers.

It's refreshing to visit Chicago, coming from Phila and being able to visit a FREE ZOO. Philadelphia's Zoo is extremely overpriced.

Nothing to see there... just a few gorillas and monkeys... very bad looking, there is no staff to take care of the green areas... like my wife said, the first zoo that I go where there is no animals, unfortunately I have no pics because there was no animals to take pictures to...

Friendly staff, free to the public and easy to walk

Going early and on a cool cloudy day will give you the BEST chance to see ALL the animals awake and active. From a polar bear swimming, black pear at the glass to monkeys howling it was a great day.

Nice place for a free zoo.. but Dallas and Ft Worth zoos are better

IF you give this zoo a poor review than GTFO.
It is literally FREE and very cute and enjoyable. I love the scenery and location.

In social media it had said it would be open, November 26 along with the zoo lights. I was extremely upset when I showed up at the time that supposedly the lights were going to be lit. And it was closed. So we went to the tree lighting instead.