Lincoln Park Zoo (Chicago) Reviews

Great place to take the kids. The animals look well taken care of.

A wonderful zoo in the heart of a great city. Fantastic creatures and knowledgeable zookeepers at every turn. Food prices are a little steep, but you know... It's somewhat expected, and they're not the worst I've seen. Bring the whole family and plan an entire day.

It's free to get in and I love it with my grandkids will go again soon

Love this place, is awesome! to come with the family.

We enjoyed our day at the zoo. The grounds are very well kept and beautiful. The staff was very friendly and welcoming. We had lunch and the portion was pretty good for the price. We brought a water bottle and found enough spots throughout the park to fill it. Bottled water and drinks are pretty expensive, so you can save a lot by bringing your own drink. Parking was fairly expensive but there is no admission fee, so it wasn't too bad for all of us. It was $35 for 4+ hours. We walked over to the beach and spent some time there since we already had a parking spot and the fee was the same once you hit 4 hours. So making a day out of it made the parking fee feel more reasonable.

One of my favorite places in this city one of the oldest and no admission fee zoos in the country.

Parking was a pain in the ass! But nice zoo overall. Coming from Saint Louis was disappointed they didn't have a indoor polar bear and penguin exhibit :(. Overall a nice variety of animals and it beats paying for the brookfield zoo

Very nice, lots of upgrades done in last few years.

Lots of animals we couldn't see but that was mostly due to feeding time and allowing the exhibits to be comfortable for the animals which I appreciate. Can't complain too much considering this is a free zoo and it's supposed mostly by donations. Clean walking spaces are always welcome and staff was helpful in finding exhibits. Red Panda was cute but being crepuscular he wanted to nap. (Lazy bum)

Zoo Lights is must-see holiday attraction, and the 25th anniversary was no exception. I was surprised by how many animals we saw (but strangely no polar bears in the frozen tundra that is Chicago!) My only beef was a lack of directional signage to exhibits...maps don't cut it in the cold. Note: check back pics to come...

Great place! Would recommend the main entrance on the east side.

Church went with me cool if You Say It's Bad Bad Luck for you Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah [Coughing]

Free small zoo in the middle of the city. Has good information about the birds and animals. Gorillas and big cats were particularly interesting.

Nice zoo, Free admission, but not many animals out the late afternoon we were there. Kind of boring.

Loved it. Great free attraction in Chicago. You also have the plant conservatory which is also free and next door. Love the primate and monkey houses

Didn't know what to expect at Lincoln Park but it was a pretty nice zoo. The polar bear exhibit in particular was top notch. Some of the other large animal enclosures seem small for what they are though, especially for several of the larger African animals (Zebras, giraffes, etc)

Just okay, a lot of the animals were not out on display. Staff was very friendly and helpful. Not bad for being free.

In a city that charges for everything it's refreshing to see a free zoo open to the public. I've never been a fan of zoos, something about caging animals, but it's a nice place to stroll through on a summer evening. It's small but it seems like everyone with a small child comes here on the weekends, avoid on Saturday mornings.

One of the best attractions this city offers! And free!!

This is definitely a place to stop by if you're in Chicago. First and foremost it's completely free there's a wide variety of animals to see and things to do. It's right off the lake so it's quite beautiful with the city as a backdrop. I have many great memories as a child and as an adult bringing my children there now truly a special special place for me and I hope for you.

What a beautiful place. Such a blessing to have a free zoo in prime location. Parking is a bit expensive but worth it. Get ready for a lot of walking. So if your pregnant like me? Make sure you take comfortable shoes and take advantage of the bathrooms too. They are a bit hard to find in the south part of the zoo.
A lot of new exhibits opened up this year on the west size with bathrooms so your good there!

My 2 yr old and 6 yr old love the farm/barn. So make sure to check it out! Don't forget your snacks! But if you do, they have a cafe restaurant. No worries!

If you have extra time walk on over to the west side where you'll find a free (donations welcome) plant conservatory. Just beautiful!!!

There is free for everybody whole year,a must see attraction for Chicago.

Enjoy the botanical garden. For being a zoo there's barely any animals. It's almost isolated by animals. Except the house exhibitions.

Best zoo around and it s free. Zoo lights attract a huge crowd, a huge benefit for chicago!

My dother have fun watching all the animals and is a beautiful place 2 visit.

Fun place I will be back next weekend I enjoyed it thanks for the free pictures

Lot of changes goin on,no elephants, lot of closed exhibits, expected with changes.

Naked baby rats from the reptile building. Of course the annual lights. A nice place to spend the evening taking in the sights especially since it was a warm winter night.

It a great free zoo where anyone can enjoy their day I just wish the animals had bigger and nicer enclosures

Although the staff and volunteers were lovely and the grounds themselves are beautiful, I can't help but ask what would it take to make the enclosures for the larger mammals (lions, apes/gorillas, polar, zebras and giraffes) more suitable in size and in mental stimulation? Most of the larger animals like the lions and polar bear seemed to have gone mad with boredom and with little space to run or exhibit natural behavior. It's pretty depressing. With world leading experts there that work as vice president and executive vice president... you think that they would prioritize this. There is plenty of space on the property. Some of the enclosures even adding 10 feet would be an improvement. If it's a money issue then charge money to enter or raise the funds through donations? I would gladly donate if I knew there was initiative to make the living environment better for the animals - clearly labeling what we donate to would help... I'd like to give money specifically to enlarging enclosures. It's quite sad to see animals in this way. My four year old nephew noticed himself that the animals seem depressed. Also there is no posted signs asking people not to bang on the glass or to maybe use quiet voices to not constantly disrupt the animals. It's like there is no care given to how the animals feel...yes they are fed and protected but that seems it.

Great place to spend time with the family. If you have kids and tend to drive just get a family membership. The money you save in parking alone is well worth it plus then you get all the membership discounts and benefits. The staff is very friendly and super helpful. The bathrooms are clean. There is really something for everyone.

Possibly the worst zoo in the US. Many empty exhibits and run down buildings. We even saw mice in with the primates. Poor monkeys. The only saving grace was the Christmas lights at this time of year. Parking is almost impossible this time of year. Sad zoo, but you get what you pay for.

Great zoo in the Chicago area with free entrance. Good for families with children. Right on the lake for easy access to the beach for some evening fun!!

Clean fun the festival of lights are on!!! Some animals are not on display unfortunately. Cool time.

free for all
went here with my sister and it was really nice experience.

I loved the animals but to b honest its very hard to navigate in a manual chair

Zoo is free so no complaints there. Zoo is always kept nice and clean. There are always tons of events hostel at the zoo. Annual holiday lights are always worth seeing.

All thr animals were acting drugged out. Only the primates and zebras were up and about. Not really much to see and parjing for an hour was $25.00.

Can't beat free. Come before they open to grab free street parking, otherwise expect to pay 30 something dollars to park.

I have to preface this by saying, I live in San Diego, which has one of the best zoos in the country. I felt a little bad for some of the animals. Because of the winter in Chicago, a lot of them are kept inside in buildings, so they don't have as much space as I think they should. However, this zoo is beautifully maintained, very informative, and FREE!

Went to see the Zoo Lights,they were Fantastic, the kids really enjoy it

Old fashioned zoo. Animals is enclosures too small. Parking and absolute rip off. 35 dollars for 2 hrs. Not happy

They had strollers you could rent which made it easier for us! Great zoo, small but very interactive with kids. Baby gorilla was out and about when we went.

I love love love this zoo! It's free! Parking can be on the tough side but well worth it. Beautiful zoo lights! This past Christmas season! A must see!

Everyone should visit this zoo. The zoo is free to enter during normal hours (you do pay to park). There is so much to see and learn here.

The exhibits have wonderful information and the staff is extremely helpful.

It was free which was a good thing. The day we went there were several animals missing and Google maps doesnt understand how to get you to the parking area and theres no signs telling you where to go. so we circled lake shore dr. 3 times before finding it.

I love this zoo. Great exhibits, they take care of their animals and work to help restore wild populations. Great way to spend the day with kids. Plenty of bathrooms, food isn't overpriced. Lots of learning tools. Excellent.

Good. Facilities are decent for a free zoo. Needs better odor management/ ventilation in the enclosed sections.

Great place to visit with friends and family.
Parking is a little expensive comparing to surrounding parking lots. Still ok as the park has no entry fees. Definitely recommend a visit.

It was probably one of the best zoos I've ever been to and completely free!!

I'd be pretty happy with this zoo if I had paid money. It's pretty incredible that it's free. Really nice selection of animals and exhibits. Highly recommended visit

Great free zoo even for the winter season! Family friendly and lots of animals.

Love being here with kids. Free entrance, however, paid parking.

Zoo lights!!! Fun experience with kids...parking is difficult to find on the street.

Nice enough zoo but not very large. The exhibits are nicely done.

A good variety of animal exhibits and it's all free! Great place to bring your kids or a romantic date!

If Covid is still a thing, you will need to make a reservation online and choose a timeslot.

Did a great job with traffic control at the Zoo. We felt safe, no crowding.
Lights were beautiful, don't plan on seeing animals besides the lights if you're going at night. Christmas music would've been a nice addition.

One of my favorite places to go. Can't wait for the remodel of their visitors center and when they get the return of the cats. But what they're doing is great.

As of August 2019, all the big cats are currently moved to a different zoo due to renovations of their exhibit. I was told it's going to take 2 years to renovate.

Gorgeous location, with a classy/historical feel. It's amazing that it's free! However, with it being free, comes the feeling that some areas could use the TLC of a pay to enter approach.

Very nice park and has a wide variety of animals and exhibits. It's free but you have to pay for parking unless you manage to show up early and park on the street to the South. You could also reserve a space at a nearby garage for a lower rate with a parking app. Definitely a place to visit when in Chicago.