Lincoln Park Zoo Mom Tips

Our experts give you Lincoln Park Zoo tips to maximize your visit!

Parking – There’s a parking lot near the zoo’s East gate near the lake. You take a ticket and get it validated inside the zoo at a machine before leaving. It was $35 for parking, but since the zoo is free, this is a little easier to stomach. The entrance to the lot was from coming North on Lake Shore Drive. Upon entering the parking lot, if you’re able to drive down a bit, you can get a spot near the zoo entrance to make it easier to get back to your car (it’s a free zoo so you can come and go as you please). If you have a lot of stuff, might want to bring a stroller as I’m not sure if they have lockers to rent.
Dress for the weather – We visited most recently on a sunny June Friday. When we left our house in the suburbs, it was almost 80 degrees. However, when we stepped out of a car at the zoo, it was a windy 62 degrees. We totally forgot about the lake effect. The zoo is very open, so you get a lot of wind. The weather was still sunny and enjoyable, but our girls could have benefited from an additional layer outside of the tank tops they put on that morning.
Strollers – This one could go either way; we chose not to go with a stroller, and only had minimal insisting of “Up Please!” from our girls; the houses are wide enough that you can get your stroller in – but several buildings did have stair entrances. If your child isn’t quite walking yet, I’d probably say stroller for the fact of being able to put your diaper bag, bottles, food, etc. in the stroller as well. You could probably get away with a baby carrier and a backpack if you wanted. If you plan on walking to the Farm and/or Botanical Gardens (see below) you’ve increased your path length. In this case you might want to consider bringing the stroller for little ones.
Bathrooms – Overall the bathrooms here are pretty nice, as well plentiful. I don’t recall seeing family bathrooms, but none of the ones we visited were very busy. One thing to point out is that in the Park Place Cafe (main food source in the middle of the zoo), the bathrooms are on the lower level. To get there, you must go down a narrow, winding staircase. Instead, we recommend the entrance to the building that is on the far west side of the building near the pond (the door says “Acorn Room” on it). This will enter you directly into the lower level, with easy access to the bathrooms. This way you don’t have to carry your little ones down the staircase.
Nursing – In addition to having bathrooms, the lower level of the Park Place Cafe has a nursing room for mothers. It is in a secluded hallway away from noise or lots of visitors.
The Farm – The South end of the zoo has a “Bauer Gate” that you can exit through. Upon exiting you’ll circle past a pond, and eventually find yourself at the zoo’s farm exhibit. It’s just a short walk outside the zoo – maybe 1/4 of a mile. The farm is very clean. The zoo displays it as more of an educational how-to than a zoo exhibit. Our opinion would be that if you or your kids haven’t been to a farm, this is worth your time as it is good to see. However, if perhaps you’re from the country and have seen your share of goats, cows, and chickens, then the brief walk might not be worth your time.
Seal Training – The seal training takes place daily at 10:30am and 2pm. We would recommend attending! It only takes about 10 minutes, and is centrally located in the middle of the zoo. They do a great job showcasing the seals in training. Our kids love it.
Natural Nesting Ground – Something cool that we enjoyed was over near the Children’s Zoo. Part of the children’s outdoor play area was gated off because of the grey night herons which had nested overhead. The baby herons had fallen out of their nests, and were living on the ground near the play area. We enjoyed listening to the docent talk about the birds. They aren’t zoo residents but fly in and nest in the trees. We also enjoyed watching the zoo keepers make changes on the fly (pardon the pun) to accommodate these birds.
Botanical Garden and Conservatory – On the north end of the zoo near the rhino exhibit, you can exit the zoo to enter the Lincoln Park Conservatory. This is just a small garden, but it’s worth it. They even have a “seek and find” sheet upon entrance. Your kids can use this for a plant scavenger hunt. There are several sets of stairs in this building.

Thank you for reading our Lincoln Park Zoo Mom Tips. Check out our full review of the zoo’s exhibits here.