Henry Vilas Zoo, Madison

We are on a limited income so to find a zoo we can go to for free is great. The kids always have a blast every time we go. There is quite the array of animals to see and you always see something you didn't see before. Its a must see if you are visiting the madison area. Highly recommend it.

I love this Zoo. We go there every time we are in Madison. It is free & you get close to the animals. It is small but full of awesome animals.

The Henry Vilas Zoo is surprisingly popular with foreign students. Or maybe it's not surprising since relatively few countries have similar exhibits so this is a great chance for them to see some unusual animals. The Zoo is constantly under renovation so there is usually something new to see each year. The kids will enjoy it but leave time for them to play in the new playground and take a ride on the indoor carousel. The Vilas zoo can be paired with a visit to the Arboretum (across Lake Wingra) which is home to a restored prairie and has some nice nature walks as well as a huge lilac and flowering crab tree garden (you have to time that right-May for the Lilacs). Or spend the rest of the day at the playgrounds and beach in Vilas Park, just across from the zoo. Zasu's is across the street on South Randall for lunch and ice cream.

Free zoo??? Who's ever heard of that??? It would cost me at least an arm to take my family to the zoo in Des Moines. Also it's near a beach, where we went swimming (also for free!!!) spending NO money rocks!!

it was dirty and disgusting and the animals were all stinky and not well groomed. I had the worst time of my life after all the trouble I went trhough to get off of work

If your going to visit madison this should be on your list of places to visit. very relaxing enviroment the zoo is beautiful with alot of differant species.there is also a beach and picnic and play area for kids.

great place to take the kids. it's free to enter and it has more animals then most zoos that you have to pay to get into. if you have the chance i highly recommend this zoo

The Henry Vilas Zoo is a free zoo that is located next to a lake in a shaded park. I was impressed by the variety of animals to see for no cost. We visited in late in the afternoon. The buildings close at 4 so we missed out on those. There was still enough to look at to make it worth the trip. I enjoyed the variety of bears and the lions were on the prowl the day we visited. Make sure to check out the seals. A little smelly, yes, but the larger of the seals taunts the crowds and really acts up.

I took my 8th grade students here as part of a Madison trip and it was fabulous. There are a large variety of exhibits with lots of animals and it is free. Highly recommended for a school trip!

The best zoo I have been to that costs nothing. Just the right size to see everything. They have a wide variety of animals, and most of the favorites, such as chimps, lions, bears, etc.