Zoo vs. Zoo: Minnesota

The Twin Cities are home to two zoos: The Como Park Zoo in Saint Paul, and the Minnesota Zoo, just south of Minneapolis in Apple Valley. We take a look at the two zoos in a zoo-off to determine where you should spend your time if you find yourself up in Minnesota. So here we go – our Minnesota Zoo Comparison.

Size: The Como Park Zoo is a bit on the smaller side if you’re comparing it to a large zoo, small enough that a toddler could walk most of it. Minnesota Zoo, on the other hand, as a very large loop as well as multiple indoor exhibits. Advantage: Minnesota Zoo

Shows: Como Park Zoo has the Sparky Show, where they showcase their sea lion through a series of dives and movements. This show is closed for 2019 while they rebuild Como Harbor. The Minnesota Zoo offers a World of Birds Show, a seal training program, and (during the summer) a cow milking demonstration. Advantage: Como Park Zoo

Indoor Exhibits: The Como Park Zoo has a primate house located inside, an indoor viewing area for the polar bear, and an aquatic animal building near the Sparky Show. The Minnesota Zoo has two large indoor exhibits. These are the Tropics Trail and Minnesota Trail. Both are comparable in size to most of the Como Park Zoo. On top of that, upon entrance there is an indoor seal tank, an aquatic area where you can touch sharks as well as see larger sharks and other fish, and a penguin exhibit. Advantage: Minnesota Zoo

Animal Interactions: The Como Park Zoo has a butterfly house (open in the summer) where you can release butterflies if you are one of the first ones there. The Minnesota Zoo has multiple interaction opportunities. These include a shark touch tank, a petting zoo at their barn, a kangaroo area where you can walk among them, and multiple animal encounters throughout the day. Advantage: Tie

Habitats: Most of the Como Park zoos exhibits are one-dimensional. There isn’t a lot of varied terrain, although the animals do mostly have both indoor and outdoor access. The Minnesota Zoo has very large exhibits, including a tiger exhibit in a forest, a moose exhibit on a hill, and a snow monkey exhibit with a tree on an island. Advantage: Minnesota Zoo

Wow Factor: The Como Park Zoo doesn’t have a big attraction when you enter the zoo. Their wow factor is in the Sparky Show. Outside of that would be the wonderful gardens surrounding the zoo. Minnesota Zoo has the indoor aquatic area with shark touch pool upon entry, with a splash pad outside. Several of their exhibits are very life-like, and are very appealing to the eye. Advantage: Minnesota Zoo

Kids Play Area: The Como Park Zoo has an indoor play area connected to the entrance. Here, kids can pretend to be a zookeeper and feed the animals. The Minnesota Zoo has a large splash pad. In addition, there is a nature play area that is a wooded play set up on a hill. There are slides connecting down to the bottom. Advantage: Minnesota Zoo

Price: The Como Park Zoo is free to the public. There is a suggested donation of $3 for adults and $2 for kids. The Minnesota Zoo is $18 for adults, and $12 for kids/seniors. Advantage: Como Park Zoo

Overall: This one is pretty clear to us. We have the Minnesota Zoo at 4th in our overall rankings, and Como Park at 35th. The Minnesota Zoo takes the 5-2 victory in our Zoo vs. Zoo Twin Cities competition!

Thank you for reading our Minnesota Zoo Comparison! Want more opinions? Check out this thread on reddit comparing the two zoos.