Review: Miller Park Zoo

I have been to this zoo more times than I can count on my fingers. It's a great little zoo. My family has a membership so we get in for free with our card. It pays for itself after the third or fourth visit for us. Once you enter, you can go left or right. The zoo is pretty well set up in a circle so it doesn't really matter which way you go. We normally go to the left, but that's just us. Right now, there are no concessions, but I believe they've been talking about putting some in when they do their next renovation.

Update: They are currently under construction right now so you can't turn right when you first walk in. They're putting in a flamingo exhibit.

There are some really great animals here. The river otters are always entertaining. We love to see the harbor seal feedings. They do training exercises with them. In the back are the large animals like the Sun Bear (who has terrible arthritis, I've been told by the trainers) and the tiger and the 2 snow leopards (who just had 2 babies in early 2015, which is very rare). There are also 2 eagles, singing dogs, reindeer, and many other animals. We love the petting zoo. It's always fun. There is also a carousel in the middle.

One of our favorite things about this little zoo are all the events they hold. We have been here to see if our reindeer could pass Santa's tests to be a backup for his Christmas Eve trip. We have been here for Halloween (always the Sunday before) to go trick-or-treating. We have even been here for Star Wars Day! In 2015, we went to the Zoo Wild Lights event for the first time. This was pretty cool. One thing to know about all the events is that you need to come early. Come right when the event starts. These things get very busy very quickly. We normally finish up about an hour after it starts and by then, there are lines 30 people deep for everything.

Now, if you're not visiting during an event, you will probably need 1.5 hours to see everything. It's a great way to spend an afternoon with the kids. Don't pass up the zoo if you're in town.

We have a couple things planned in the next couple of months with the zoo that I'm really excited about! First, we're doing a 5k through the park as a fundraiser for the zoo in March. My 5yo son is even going to do the Fun Run (¼ mile). Then, we're having our son's 6th birthday party at the zoo in April. There will be a post about that later. I just love this place.