Everyone knows about Lincoln Park Zoo and Brookfield Zoo, and each is worth a day-long visit. But when time is tight, small and somewhat lesser known enclaves of tigers, monkeys, cows and deer can satisfy a critter fix fast.
Area public, petting and barnyard zoos hold everything from snakes and chickens to bear and bunnies. Perfect for younger kids, who are short on patience and leg power, these zoos are easy to navigate, with a fascinating new snout or beak just steps away. Many are run by park districts, so admission fees are nominal or non-existent.
Animals act a lot like humans: they take it easy during summer’s dog days and become friskier when temperatures dip. Schedule two trips to the zoo–one in the summer and one in the fall for different views of your local zoos.
Lambs Farm
At Lambs Farm in north suburban Libertyville, animal-lovers head to the farmyard, petting zoo and the small animal nursery.
Cows, horses, llamas, sheep, ponies, pigs and goats graze, wallow and bleat
from fenced enclosures, while dozens of chickens scurry across farmyard paths. Rejects from classroom incubator demos, the feathered escape artists dart back and forth, under visitors’ feet. Flocks of guinea hens, gaggles of geese and solitary peacocks provide more avian action.
In the petting zoo, kids and adults make friends with sheep and goats hoping for a handout. There’s goat feed to be had for pocket change; a handful has the hoofed beasts eating out of your hand. Inside the nursery, aquariums and cages hold hamsters, a boa constrictor, other reptiles, chinchillas, rabbits and tarantulas. Incubators warm duck and chicken eggs.
The farmyard and nursery are open 9 a.m.-6 p.m. seven days a week, year-round. The $2 entrance fee includes trips through the farmyard, petting zoo and nursery. For another $2, kids can saddle-up a pony and take a trot around a ring.
Lambs Farm is located at Ill. Route 176 and Interstate-94. Call 847-362-4636.
Cosley Animal Farm
Both a barnyard and a habitat for native wildlife, Wheaton Park District’s Cosley Animal Farm is a haven for fox, raccoon, coyote, owls, birds of prey, Clydesdale horses, Shetland ponies, cows, deer and more.
Resident and migratory ducks and geese paddle around the duck pond, and friendly goats poke their heads out of fences for a head rub. Farm animals make their homes in cherry-red barns and white-fenced corrals. Native species reside in enclosures designed to imitate natural habitats; at some of the exhibits water barriers replace fences. All of the natives at Cosley are unable to survive in the wild because of injury or having been raised as a pet. During summer, staff sets up a Small Wonders exhibit, featuring five aquariums filled with kids’ favorite creepy crawlers including turtles, snakes, frogs, insects and spiders.
Additional attractions include an old caboose for exploring, a concession stand, a gift shop in a former train depot and Wheaton’s oldest barn, built in 1862. The barn houses a display of antique horse-drawn vehicles.
The zoo is open year-round, but hours change with the seasons. April through October, it’s open 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. From November through March, it’s open 9 a.m.-4 p.m. every day. From Dec. 1-23, Cosley is open 9 a.m.-9 p.m. to celebrate the holidays with a Festival of Lights. Admission for individuals and families is free, but there’s a donation box for contributions. Fees are charged for group tours and special educational programs, both of which are available by reservation.
Cosley Zoo is located at 1356 Gary Ave., a couple of miles south of North Avenue. Call 630-665-5534.
Washington Park Zoo
Two hundred animals call this 71-year-old zoo home. Perched on a sand dune across the road from Lake Michigan, Washington Park Zoo in Michigan City, Ind., is just the right size for kids with short attention spans.
It takes about an hour and a-half to look at the animals, stop at the Education Center and climb the tower. After climbing 221 steps to the top of the Observation Tower, visitors see Lake Michigan and, on a clear day, the Chicago skyline. Lions, Siberian tiger, bears, zebras and camels sun themselves in enclosures complete with rocks and waterfalls. Lemurs swing from branches and baboons scramble about on Monkey Island. In the petting zoo, there are goats to feed and pet; in the barn, miniature horses and donkeys attract attention. Weekends, a curator at the Education Center answers questions.
The zoo is open April 1 through Oct. 31. From Memorial Day to Labor Day, the zoo is open 10:30 a.m.-6 p.m. daily. During the rest of its season, hours are 10:30 a.m.-4 p.m. daily. On weekdays, parking is $2; on weekends, it costs $4. Admission is $2.75 for adults ages 12 and up; $1.75 for kids 3-11; $2 for seniors 62 and up; and free for kids 2 and under.
The zoo is located on Lakeshore Drive. Call 219-873-1510.
Randall Oaks Barnyard Zoo
Set at the top of a hill, overlooking 141 acres of parkland, Randall Oaks Barnyard Zoo in northwest suburban Dundee, can be summed up in a song: “Here an oink, there an oink, everywhere an oink-oink. …”
Holstein cows, regular-sized and pygmy goats, pigs and piglets and rabbits fill the barn with a symphony of mooing, oinking and bleating. Three incubators showcase the hatching process. Behind the barn, steers, sheep, lambs, a burro family, turkeys, ducks, geese, peacocks, pheasants and fancy-feathered poultry provide understated entertainment from inside their pens. Kids may pet every animal, except the foul-tempered barnyard fowl. Make like Old MacDonald and scatter feed to the goats, chickens, sheep and geese; the farm sells bags of corn and cracked grain for 50 cents each. After June 15, kids can fork over $1.50 and climb aboard a pony for equestrian adventure.
Randall Oaks Barnyard Zoo is open early April to mid-October. It’s open daily from Memorial Day to Labor Day. From Sept. 17 to Oct. 17, the zoo is open only on weekends. Hours are 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday through Friday; 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. On weekends and holidays, non-Dundee residents pay $3 per car for admission. General admission is 75 cents for kids and $1 for adults.
Randall Oaks Barnyard Zoo is located on Randall Road, about 1 mile north of Ill. Route 72 and just south of Binnie Road. Call 847-551-4310.
Phillips Park Zoo
At age 84, Phillips Park Zoo is a bit timeworn but still delights. Kids run from enclosures to cages to aviary, pointing fingers and greeting the animals.
Located in Aurora’s largest city park, the zoo sprawls on a hilltop above a sunken garden, natural lakes and picnic grove. Bear statues mark the entrance and a water wheel turns nearby.
Roosters, white and gray geese, domestic and wildly colored ducks and iridescent blue peacocks strut in a fenced-in yard. River otters cavort in a small pool. Pot-bellied pigs, goats and a llama share a barnyard, while wild turkeys occupy the pen next door. A black bear stretches out on the floor of his cage; a capuchin monkey darts around the space he shares with a flock of long-necked white swans. Deer and reindeer graze in an enclosed grassland. Black and white goats make their home in a Billy Goat Gruff exhibit complete with a bridge. Parrots and cockatiels whoop it up in a screened aviary built onto the side of the bird house. A fairy tale-like black swan swims in a pond beneath a
small waterfall.
Phillips Park Zoo is open from dawn until dark, 365 days a year. Admission is free.
The park is located on Smith Boulevard, about 2 miles southeast of downtown Aurora. From Interstate-88, exit south on Farnsworth Avenue to Fifth Avenue. Head west on Fifth Avenue and take a left on Smith Boulevard. Call 630-898-7228.
Riegel Farm
Run by the University Park Recreation Department, Riegel Conservation and Educational Farm boasts a petting zoo, a museum, a corn crib, a barn and a resident alligator.
Typical farm animals mingle alongside more exotic critters like rheas, llamas, deer and peacocks. A 5-foot alligator lolls about in a newly built indoor pond. Rabbits from Asia and Africa and tropical birds add unexpected international flavor to this south suburban zoo. Kids eyeball chickens and ducks and pause to pet the livestock. An eclectic mix of mammals, birds and reptiles, Riegel Conservation and Educational Farm also houses doves, crow, turkey, turtles and iguanas. A cup of grain, for feeding the animals, costs 50 cents. Kids and grown-ups are welcome to handle and pet baby rabbits and deer.
The farm is open 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday from May through October. Admission is $3 for adults and $1.50 for kids ages 2 to 12; $3 gets you a pony ride and $1 buys a hay-bale seat on a tractor-pulled farm wagon.
Riegel Conservation and Educational Farm is located off Western Avenue and Olmsted in University Park. Call 708-534-6456.
Children’s Farm
A 60-acre agricultural enterprise, Children’s Farm in southwest suburban Palos Park features almost every kind of farm animal.
This is a working farm; its fields provide hay for the animals and a U-pick pumpkin patch for October visitors. Guests are welcome to get in the pens with cows, sheep, goats and pigs for an up-close look and touch. (Here’s a chance to discover how leather feels when it’s still on the hoof.)
Smaller residents include ducks, rabbits, chickens and geese. Downy-soft baby ducks waddle across their own pen and scamper into their own swimming pool.
Seventeen horses whinny from the largest barn. When weather and work schedules permit, farm staff give free hayrides. A pavilion offers a picnic spot; bring your own lunch, but don’t feed the animals. That’s against farm rules.
Children’s Farm is open to the public 1-4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, from March through November. During October, to allow for pumpkin picking, the farm is open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Admission is $3.50 per person.
The farm is located at 12700 Southwest Hwy.; the nearest cross street is 131st Street. Call 708-361-3650.
