Lincoln Park Zoo

Save

Similar · Cosley Zoo

Similar · Shedd Aquarium

Photo: Jrbarc! · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

🦒 Zoo · Chicago

3 hours · Free · No reservation needed

age fit

0–1 yr

★ 4.0

1–3 yrs

★ 5.0

3–5 yrs

★ 5.0

5–10 yrs

★ 5.0

🚗
About 50 min drive
From Naperville · Parking: Zoo lot about $20–35 (by the hour); Stockton Dr meters; bus 151 / 156
🍼
Stroller-friendly
Flat surfaces — bring the stroller
🌳
Some shade
Great on sunny days · Good on cool days · Fine on cold days
⏱️
Typical visit: 3 hours
Best seasons: Spring · Summer · Fall · Winter

The oldest zoo in the country and one of the few big ones still free: gorillas, lions, polar bears, a Pritzker children's zoo with a climbable treehouse and beavers and otters, a Farm-in-the-Zoo where you can touch cows and goats, and a few dollars for the Lionel train and the carousel.

💡 Tips

Admission is free but parking is expensive, so come early on weekends or take the bus. The lion house is liveliest in the morning. ZooLights runs in the evenings in November and December. Out the north gate are the Lincoln Park Conservatory and North Avenue Beach.

What this place offers

✓free

✓zoo

✓children's zoo

✓farm

✓train ride

✓carousel

✓restrooms

Featured in these guides

This weekend's weather in Chicago

Forecast at the destination itself (coast and hills often differ from home)

☀️

Sat 10/17

Sunny · 36–57°F · 3% rain

☀️

Sun 10/18

Sunny · 48–63°F · 0% rain

Location

Chicago, Illinois

Lincoln Park Zoo

🦒 Zoo · Chicago

What this place offers

Featured in these guides

This weekend's weather in Chicago

Location

More like this

Cosley Zoo

Brookfield Zoo Chicago

Trailside Museum of Natural History

Shedd Aquarium