Racine Zoo

This zoo is very small and when I visited on a weekday morning I think I was the only person there. There was very little presence of staff. I was able to see some animals, as other reviewers have said they seem kind of sad/​cramped, even though the zoo itself is pretty big and filled with long, confusing paths. The winter rate of only $ 4 was very fair, I appreciate that they lower the rates knowing few animals will be seen in cold weather. Overall, this zoo was allright, but there are many other better ones nearby, so I won’t be back.

I grew up going to this zoo and even now, as an adult, go there at least once a year. I admit there were some lean years where the Racine Zoo looked pretty sad but in the past several years it has improved greatly with excellent improvements to the animal enclosures, zoo experiences and activities offered to the guests. It’s no longer free but it’s still a very inexpensive way to enjoy a beautiful day on the lakefront seeing some amazing animals. Well done, Racine!

Best kept secret in Racine and I’m ok with that but really a must stop if your in Racine

It’s nice and small. I loved the little playgrounds they have. But even for a small zoo they still didn’t have enough animals. The monkeys were pretty funny though, I liked seeing them.
Some of the paths went to no where or way out of the way which was really weird. I just wanted to walk through the grass but it was so steep I of course couldn’t push a stroller up or down it. So I didn’t have a choice but to go 5 – 10 minutes out of the way. Yes, it was that long!
The price is good, a dollar off for racine residents. I’ll try the petting zoo when I go back. Wish they had more food though, they only had one place to eat other than vending machines and the that place is really slow.

Wasn’t this zoo free at one time? Anyway, it’s very inexpensive to visit here, and the parking is free.
The collection of animals is small, but still varied enough to give young kids a thrill.
This is another zoo that is located in a neighborhood, keeping itself kind of a secret to non-​locals.
When in Racine, city or county, come check out this zoo. You won’t be spending all day here, so you can fit it into your Milaegers or SC Johnson tour road trip.
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I was really disappointed with our second, and last, visit to this zoo today. First off, why ask me whether I’m there for Boo At The Zoo if the end result is you’re not letting anyone in until 10 am regardless? And would it kill someone to post a warning on the website that the zoo is opening an hour later than usual so I don’t have to stand around for over a half hour?
Also, I’ve seen houses decorated better for Halloween than this zoo. Decorating a few pumpkins with a penguin design is only cute for so long. How about something else? Talk about boring!
Finally, this place didn’t have that many animals to begin with and there are even less now. No penguins (ironic, given the pumpkin designs), no fennec fox, no cranes. The only redeeming part of the visit was seeing the two month old lion cubs.
Despite that, I will not be back. It’s not worth the drive.

We decided to visit after buying a deal from Living Social.
We live about half way between both the Milwaukee and Madison zoos and have been to both several times.
The Racine zoo is definitely has less animals than both, but it’s far less crowded. You can get super close to see the animals which we LOVE. The zoo is nice and open too so people can spread out more. My almost 2 year loved being able to run and walk around instead of being confined to his stroller which we have to do at busier zoos.
My husband has a bit of animal behavior background and thought the exhibits were set up quite nicely with a great amount of enrichment activities for each animal. Milwaukee Zoo for one doesn’t have as much stuff for animals to do.
The train ride was cute too and our son loved it.
My husband is 6 foot and was able to fit in the car with my son and I.
Parking is free which is great too! Gift shop prices are very reasonable and our son picked out a cute giraffe stuffie for less than $ 5 with tax that would have been easily 2x as much else where.
We can’t wait to come back again! We plan on driving a bit farther just to come her.

Well, it’s my 100^th review here on Unilocal,and I’m doing the Racine Zoo? How anti-​climactic, I know.
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In all seriousness, I had a great time. My endorsement comes with a huge caveat, though.
I was here as part of a wedding party, so my review as it follows is an endorsement principally of the zoo as an event venue and not, strictly speaking, as a zoo.
In that role, it served its purpose fine. Aside from issues with the weather (which obviously aren’t the zoo’s fault and they can’t do anything about them), everything seemed to go quite well. Hey had the spaces ready for the ceremony and reception on time, and the staff seemed to be reasonably helpful when they were needed. That’s all I’m going to say on that point, because I didn’t have to deal with them first hand, I’m speaking as a witness.
The pavilion reserved for the reception was large and was large enough to have all of the standard reception things. There was space for the DJ, tables were arranged to make a space for a small dance floor, and everything was well-​marked enough to lead partiers to the party and keep regular guests from stumbling upon us
The place was also pretty tolerant of our party. Despite being a family oriented zoo, we were allowed to have alcohol at the reception and we had plenty of space to make asses out of ourselves without annoying regular guests.
The zoo also allowed the reception to stay well after the zoo’s normal closing time. The employee who stayed behind to open the gate as we began to trickle out was friendly. I do wish the paths had been a bit better lit, though. It was difficult to tell where we were going as we walked through the park and we could have easily ended up going the opposite way from what we intended (compound the darkness with having a bit of alcohol in our systems, and you can imagine).
Strictly as a zoo, this place is okay. There’s enough to see to satisfy someone visiting from the immediate area. I wouldn’t recommend driving more than an hour to come here though unless it was for a special event.
I’d have liked to have seen a few more amphibians and reptiles, but that’s motivated by my selfish love for the slimies and scalies. They do have a tortoise, but that’s about it as far as herps go, it seems.

We’ve been here several times. It’s about 1.5 hour drive for us to come and visit. Perfect for a nice day trip.
The Racine Zoo experience is much different than the Brookfield Zoo much in the same way that the Brookfield Zoo is different from the San Diego Zoo. They are different places with much different to offer.
The Racine Zoo is small, between 30 and 40 acres right off of Lake Michigan. The parking is free, and you have access to the lake and local beaches all from the same place.
Small children (not just ours) seem to love this zoo, honestly its one of the few places anymore where you can go and get up close and personal to some of these animals. Are the exhibits small, yes. But, every time we have been here we have seen every animal. I’m no zoologist but the animals look healthy, are very active and seem generally happy.
The extras that you pay for like the train rides, giraffe or camel encounter and the feed the birds activity are all great and worth the time and money. Just be advised that although the train is good for small kids it is a little tight for large adults.
If you plan the day right you can go from one encounter to the next and take in the animal shows/​activities and then catch lunch at their little café (or being a picnic) and enjoy some excellent views of the lake. Take a blanket and enjoy some time watching the waves from the grassy areas at the zoo or walk down to the beach after you leave.
We have fed the giraffes many times and it remains my favorite although the kids really enjoy feeding the birds. The folks who lead the activities, and everyone at the zoo in general, are very nice.
The zoo has not been too terribly crowded when we have been there which has been nice, it’s an excellent time to really enjoy the animals. Expect children, its a great place for them and there are several nice playgrounds.
I thought the grounds were nicely kept and seeing the local flora and fauna was just as nice as the exotics.
I did read some reviews which stated that the zoo was dirty. I did not think it was dirty any time we visited. But it is an important reminder for all of us to pick up after ourselves and not just rely on the zoo staff to clean up our messes.

For a little zoo it was well stocked with animals and very clean. I have 2 children who loved being able to walk everywhere without getting tired and needing a rest. The food in the grill at the zoo was inexpensive with quite a nice variety. We did not do any extras but for $ 4 you can feed a giraffe or meet a camel. Well worth a visit if you are in the area.

We really enjoyed this zoo. We went on a very hot day but there were several misters and shady spots. We have a 4yr old so the newer playground was great for him. Loved feeding the giraffe and the Zoo Choo! Small enough that you can see it all unlike some larger zoos that are far more expensive.

We went while the animals were put away for the night. It was a night of jazz, food, and drinks for us. The weather was perfect, the mosquitoes were asleep, and we had a lovely time!

Super cute zoo! It’s Definitely smaller than most, but makes up in charm. The staff are all so nice. It’s not too much for my 1.5yr old, but offered enough to satisfy my 15 and 8 yr old nephews. We absolutely love it and choose it over the Zoo’s in Chicago because its so low key. It’s location right next to the lake provides serene views and lots of places to sit and just enjoy. Also everything is very affordable. I spent less than 50 dollars and it allowed myself and 3 children to get in, eat a good lunch and enjoy a camel ride as well as feeding a llama, some goats and birds! Talk about a super win!!! We will be going back (I’m even considering membership)!

Admission to the zoo = $ 6. Sure, the Racine Zoo is podunk to the max, but one can have an awful lot of fun for an hour and a half or so here for that price. As long as one doesn’t think too long about how sad some of the spaces the animals live in are. The tigers and the lions didn’t have any water in the water pools in their exhibit areas, for example, and the boyf and I visited on a hot, hot day. Also, Wisconsin folks need to reign in their students on field trips: the two of us had to sharply reprimand a group of six children who were waving open bags of Skittles and Doritos over the meerkat exhibit’s low walls. Thankfully we only saw a solitary green Skittle fall into the exhibit, but COME ON peeps (who designed the exhibit, who are letting their kiddos run wild in a zoo). But let’s close this review by returning to the positive: the giraffe exhibit is neat and one can feed the giraffes graham crackers at ordained times (or, in our case, watch kids being held by their parents do so). I found the experience well worth my six dollars, but I’m pretty generous and good-​spirited and I don’t let the sad aspects of zoos get me down.

This zoo has gone downhill in the past decade. First of all, it used to be free and both the north and south entrances were open. Second, there was a nice walkway all around the zoo. Now it’s all overgrown with shrubs. It’s actually really sad to see this place degrading.

This is a great small zoo. I agree that it was nice when it was free, and I spent many wonderful hours running around in here as a kid. But I’m happy to pay to support it, too. They do have really nice grounds and exhibits for being a smaller place — it’s really a much nicer zoo than lots of bigger cities have. Always a fun stop!

I love zoos! I grew up in the great city of Racine and the zoo was always a special place for my family to go. I have memories of picnics, feeding the bears marshmallows way before you knew that bears really shouldn’t be eating marshmallows, and crawling all over a big cement turtle! Not sure why a big turtle was so much fun, but it was the best! Good times with the fam for sure!
A lot has changed at the Racine Zoo… good and bad. So, I will start with the bad because, like in performing, you always want your audience leaving on a high note, right? So, I will make a list.
Bad
— No longer free! The zoo used to be free for many years but now its not and that’s sad.
— They replaced the otters with meerkats! Who cares about meerkats. not me.
Good
— Giraffe Experience! For $ 5 you can feed a giraffe! I was lucky that my brother is a member of the zoo and didn’t have to pay the $ 5 but it was way cool to have a giraffe look you in the eye!
— Australia exhibit lets you get up close to the roos and emus! Always fun.
— Zoo Chats. There are special times where you can listen to an expert on the animals. I love learning!
— Animal Crackers. Amazing jazz series on the zoo grounds looking over Lake Michigan. I had a chance to hear the Count Basie Orchestra and Paquito D’Rivera here. The 2009 series includes David Sanborn if you like crappy smooth jazz. The good thing about it is that its not always smooth jazz and give you a great variety of artists.
— Zoovies! They are showing The Muppet Movie on June 19^th! I might just go up just for that!
— Beautiful grounds. I love the zoo because it is so close to the lake and just a beautiful spot for picnics and just chilling with the peacocks that wander around.
So, all in all, the Racine Zoo is a great place to go and it really does pain me to only give it 4 stars. Be free again and you will get 5 stars!