The Lincoln Park Zoo In Chicago

The whole time I was planning our August 2008 trip to Chicago, I was debating with whether or not to go to the Lincoln Park Zoo. There was no doubt that everyone online was saying how great it is - greatest FREE zoo they said. In fact, it's the only Free Zoo I've ever heard of as all the other ones I've been to cost money. So I made a point to work this into our schedule for our last day in Chicago.

Free?
Well, it is Free admission... but if you drive there, it isn't free... and if you eat there, it really isn't free. Parking cost us $14 for the hour we were there, and the price goes up from there. If you plan to spend the whole day there, I'd recommend parking nearby or finding another way to get there (bus or subway would be much cheaper). Food costs us $17 and all we got was 2 medium slices of pizza and 2 medium smoothies. When I've told this to people, they say "well they gotta make money somehow", however I don't think the food money really goes to the zoo as much as it does to the vendors. There is an area where they allow you to eat sack lunch. That's right - you have to go to separate seating for sack lunch! Regardless, I would bring sack lunch next time I go and also look for local places to park for cheaper.

Timing
We arrived on August 31 around 11:30 and boy was it HOT and sunny. The weather was perfect for a beach, but not so perfect for a zoo. As soon as I arrived and noticed how little shade there is throughout the zoo, I had wished we had gotten up a few hours earlier to avoid the sun. Further, I've been told at previous zoos that the animals sleep in their caves/shade more when it's so hot out, so I've always known the best time to see the animals active is either early morning before the sun hits it's peak, or early evening when the sun isn't as high. However, we were lazy, slept in a little too long, and didn't make it there until 11:30. This is the only reason we only stayed an hour. We were just getting too warm to stay that long. Also, due to the heat, indoor exhibits like the penguins or monkeys were a bit smelly and stuffy. Go early or late! Or wait until Spring or Fall when the temp isn't so high.

Crowds
It wasn't very crowded at all on this Sunday before Labor Day. In fact, the only area where crowds were most noticed was in the food court area. Kids were everywhere, however there were still quite a few empty tables. I imagine it gets more crowded during the summer when kids are out of school, but maybe it was less crowded this Sunday since school was starting up soon. Next time, besides going earlier or later in the day, I would aim for a weekday just to be safe.

Organization
I only remember two zoos in my life so I can only compare the Lincoln Park Zoo to those. As far as organization, the Lincoln Park Zoo ranks on the bottom of these 3. The Detroit Zoo is second on my list for organization because of the animal footprint path. If you follow this path at the Detroit Zoo, you'll see most of the animals without even having to think about where to go next. So that leaves the Naples Zoo as the best zoo I've been to as far as organization. This is because at the Naples Zoo it's basically a big circle and by walking the path, you can't miss anything. PLUS, it's a relaxing walk on top of all this.

The problem with the Lincoln Park Zoo is that, for it's large size, it's hard to know exactly where to turn in order to see the animals you want to see. Usually I don't like to plan which animals I will see, I prefer the other two zoos that take me around and make it so I see ALL the animals. However at the Lincoln Park Zoo, there would be an arrow sign here or there telling you a certain animal was in that general direction, but you'd walk that way a little, the path would split, and you weren't sure where to go. They could really use some better signs, or perhaps do the animal print path like Detroit Zoo has. We got stuck in a Children's play area at one point and every path was a dead end, we couldn't get out! We saw many people who seemed to think this was a path to animals, just to get frustrated like us and turn around looking for a way out. This was another reason we only spent an hour there. With the heat and lack of shade, I was tired of trying to figure out where to go next.

For the record - I've been to the San Diego Zoo but I barely remember it because I was young.

The Animals
Now for the reason we all go to the zoo - the animals. We did end up seeing about 20 different types of animals in the hour we were there and we had only covered less than half the park. This park is definitely a large zoo, biggest one I remember being too. This is why it would be easy to spend all day there if you wanted to spend a good amount of time at each animal. I liked the set up of a lot of the exhibits because they had multiple viewing areas and different ways to see the animals. For example, almost every animal we stopped at had the regular, above ground, fenced area. Then almost every one also had a glassed viewing area where you could see the animals up close and personal - if they were awake and near by of course. My favorite was watching the polar bears swim. The water was so clear that you could easily see the full bears swimming around in their element. I liked that the zoo gave you all these different ways to see the animals so that if the animal wasn't in one particular area, you could walk around to see them somewhere else.

In The End
I do recommend the Lincoln Park Zoo, even if you do end up paying $14 for parking. If you pack your own lunches, $14 isn't half bad! Other zoos charge $10 or more per person, so $14 for a car load isn't bad. I didn't see the pricing for longer stays, so check on that before you decide to park there. If you are visiting Chicago, and the weather isn't too hot, this is a must see attraction. Adults have plenty to look at, and they even have the extra areas to keep kids entertained. I will definitely return in the future, maybe when I have kids to bring with me. Enjoy!!