This is a fantastic day trip for your family! Entirely free for entrance. The food is pricey but they allow coolers so you can bring your own. You can even ride the carousel or train for only $2 each. There is also a great petting zoo and you can feed the goats for free!

After living in Madison for 10 months, my son and I enjoyed a great visit to this zoo!! Free admission!! Most of the animals were out and enjoying the gorgeous Spring weather!! Limited parking lot but there's plenty of street parking. Not too crowded for a Saturday. There's no doubt that is is a popular space for all ages!! Look forward to many return visits!!!

Clean zoo, friendly staff. All birds were inside and not accessible to guests due to the bird flu going around in Jefferson county, it was kinda nice to see they pay attention to those things!

I loved this place! There is a zoo and there was no cost to go in. The park was inside the zoo. It was a lot of fun, and there was a mini beach just outside of the zoo about a half mile to mile walk. There was a park and picnic areas just outside the zoo. The lakes in the park had white lotuses in them.

We had some extra time so stopped by this zoo, open to the public for free! And were we delighted by the experience!! Compact zoo but well laid out and managed. I'm sure locals relish their visits!

The Henry Vilas Zoo is a phenomenal anomaly! They care for so many amazing animals and offer adventures for the whole family. It astounds me that you can enjoy this magnificent treasure for the low, low price of free. That's right, $0 entry regardless of your age or residency and $0 parking. They offer a pleasant little Cafe where you can order and eat your food in the presence of polar bears. The food was perfectly priced for what you get. My daughter is in love with their tree-inspired playground. We finally rode their "Conservation Carousel" (even though it's technically a merry-go-round as it offers more than just horses to mount.) My daughter was fascinated that she was able to sit on a caterpillar. We hope to take a tour on their mini-train on our next visit. The quaint gift shop offers a few items that help support the caretaking the various animals require. I would love to see the educational level of their toys to grow as I know kids are sponges that absorb knowledge faster than the animals they'd read about can swim or run. The real treasure that makes a world of difference to the zoo are their caring volunteers. Every volunteer I've had the pleasure of interacting with has been so kind and has passed on some of their knowledge to me and my family. Their time and efforts deserves so much respect and I thank them all for having such passion for what they do. I can't wait to return and see more that there is to explore in this gem that Madison has.

This place is an incredible, little gem! It’s nestled nicely in Madison and surrounded by beauty. It’s an amazing attraction to take the kids to or just anywhere in general. It’s free and has plenty of stuff to do. There is a suggested two dollar donation and there’s a few donation boxes around the zoo. Vilas Park is one of my personal favourite ways to spend a whole afternoon. There more than the zoo inside this park but that’s what makes it amazing!

Absolutely take a trip to this Zoo if you find yourself in Madison! The park is better suited for older toddlers and children. It is wheelchair accessible, however some of the hills are a little steep. If you have a hard time with a steeper ramp, I would bring help. The ground in the play ground is soft bouncy rubber which is wonderful to protect the little ones, but also makes it possible for me to get into the playground with my chair, instead of sitting on the sidelines. Clean park, bathrooms close by and plenty to do.

Such an amazing zoo, even in the winter. No fee entry. But please donate 🙏

I grew up nearby and played all my city league hardball there as a kid. Today I just walked around the park for exercise and was happy to find some nicely paved trails

Love the beautiful scenery especially in the fall

Awesome place ..this guy was super funny!

Nice spacious area to set up for a picnic (brought our own foldable table), great playground area and equipment, and peaceful path to hike along the lake and the woods edge...perfect place to connect with family and enjoy the outdoors.

Great free zoo with many different animals.

Near Vilas zoo, it has a beautiful beach for kids to play around.

Beautiful open space with great views and access to a world class free zoo.

Not worth trip driving there. Everything was closed

It's a good clean park with a good variety of different things to do and see.

I loved it, a very nice place to spend a day with family and share with other people, and be connected with nature

Nice quiet day. Didn't know if any of the animals would be out since it was still early in the year and a little cold. There were a few big cats, orangutans, giraffes and some others. The gift shop is remodeled and has a very nice selection of souvenirs.

It is a great place to bring the children to go. There are many kinds of animals, the lions are nice. The camels are fat! The snake are very special!good for a half day family tour.

Just walk in and enjoy. Honestly, it's refreshing to be able to see so much wildlife within a large city like Madison. Worth the time and worth donating to. It's an easy way to help inspire and teach the kids about animals and how they contribute to the environment.

Came here as a kid and now brought my kids here. Neat place with good exhibits. Maybe not worth the drive from Waukesha, but a fun day out for the kids. The kids area is cool.

Love it eveytime! Everything wasn't opened yet (playground, carousel, and train) but there was still plenty of animals too see.

This park was wonderful! It has a huge slide, and lots of different activities. There is limited equipment for smaller children (2 and under), but a couple of small slides are built into the large structure.

Great little free zoo in Madison. With younger kids you can see everything in about 2 hours. They have as good of a variety of animals that you could expect of a free zoo and it is well maintained. Some of the exhibits feel a little bit small, but with a zoo of this size it's understandable. Open year-round and they do an awesome Christmas light display around Christmas time. Don't forget to donate what you can!

Free zoo, which is great for young kids who have never been to a zoo yet or families on a budget. However, I feel that whenever we go, no matter the time or year, there are not really a lot of animals on display or they are always doing some sort of renovation on many exhibits at once. The food is over priced but I suppose with the admission being free, they need to make up foe the overhead cost somewhere. Definitely not the zoo I grew up going to but again, overall it is still a decent zoo foe younger children.

Been coming here since I was a child and now I'm bringing my children it's still a good time. Walking around with my kids while they learn and experience interactions with the animals is always fun.

An excellent zoo, and it's free! Our 2 year old daughter loves visiting and we do too. We were lucky enough to see the new orangutan baby on our last trip!

This small zoo is perfect to visit for a couple of hours. You can pet and brush the goats. Be prepared to park in the neighborhoods and then walk. There are plenty of picnic spots. We enjoyed the train and carousel, too. There is a playground for smaller children. My husband and I plus our three children all had different favorite animals we saw. There's something for everyone! Thank you for being free!

The sweetest little zoo! Plenty of things to do for the kids - train ride, park to play, carousel. Very nice and clean. FREE parking and entry!

Every once in a while I will happen to drive past the zoo, and I think "might as well stop in. It's free, after all!" It's always a wonderful way to spend an hour or so. A wide variety of animals, a pleasant and beautiful walk, all around a really nice experience!

Nice, smaller zoo! Good variety of animals from around the world. There are mammals, aviary, reptiles, and aquatic. We were disappointed not to see the grizzly and polar bears, but it was a hot, smoky day. Thank you for having such a nice, free admission facility in Madison and helping preserve these species.

Loved going to this FREE zoo. The exhibits don't really change, but it is perfect for a weekday getaway. The exhibits were well kept and the animals looked so comfortable in their areas. Schools and day camps make sure to use this facility to their benefit as an awesome way to get away. We went on the hottest day of the year. We were so happy for the excess shade and refreshments that were available. We do miss the penguins, but maybe they will fill that area in with a walrus or something soon. Definitely worth the visit.

Free zoo experience. Sunday afternoon stroll with grandson. Most animals were out and active.

Great park right next to the zoo!

Nice lights. Not all cars had lights on. Should be a reminder posted.

Went to the zoo lights ! Beautiful loved it !!!

One of Madison's treasures💜

Clean, nice views and beautiful trails.

Beautiful park

Beautiful place.

Madison institution, I enjoy the ice in the winter in particular

Awesome day

Love this place

We came on a very hot day. This is a cute tiny zoo. I didn't expect much because is ran on donations only. Most of the exhibits didn't have any animals. The ones that did they looked very sad. I wish they had misting fans like other places because it was way hot a miserable especially for the animals. They had a few areas to get food, the lines were long, and you had to walk all they way back to get to them. The soda machines were all broken. But overall we had a good time. Drove an hour and a half to visit. They had a nice seating area great for large groups with tables, benches, covered area. Check it out. Free day for the family!

To many areas closed. Many animals not out. Still had fun.

Really nice zoo. Hard to believe admission is still free with how nice it is.

They have the holiday lights up for an extra $10. The animals are so friendly and amazing.

Nice little zoo with more than you'd expect. Free entry with a suggested donation box in front. Animals all seemed healthy. But generally small enclosure areas without a lot in them. Some sad, depressed looking animals, but not all. Kinda what you would expect to see at most zoos, especially smaller ones. Kids loved it. Lions, giraffes, reptile house,bird house, penguins, alpacas, flamingoes, and much more. Cute little gift shop had nice options and very reasonable prices. Some food and ice cream stands available.

My family and I loved this free zoo! If you're in the Madison area and have kids (or not) check it out. The flamingos, tigers, lions, bears, Badgers, and the zoo itself are all a treat to experience.

Great zoo. It's free and has a lake and park around it.

Free and nice variety of animals from around the world. Unfortunately, inside venues were closed.

Pretty nice place to walk around for a pandemic early winter day.

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Free, clean place to visit. Couldn't see all the animals because of closed exhibits due to Vivid 19 and because some are hibernating already. Still had a great time!

Great view!!

Cute little zoo that cares about their animals. I only wish there were more signs with the names of the animals on them near their enclosure.

Very disappointing. 80+% of the zoo is closed and of limits, and so many of the exhibits that can be seen are empty and unkempt. Where outside, sun and exercise is what is needed right now. You're not allowed to here.

Very good for family

Really nice, clean swimming spot in Madison. The wonderfully diverse People enjoying the park & water very respectfully of distancing & healthy practices.

Lovely little zoo. Close to arboretum.

Beautiful park.

Lovely park and zoo! Would recommend. Just be aware that some buildings are currently closed down due to covid, but kids are still kids and run around touching barriers and surfaces. I'd keep my hands to myself or carry hand sanitizer. Hand sanitizer is available at the entrance to the zoo, which was a nice touch.

Nice park

Beautiful this fall.

Awesome Place .I pray for all the animals to be safe and remain happy