One of the two reasons, I wanted to do the Chicago suburbs for girls weekend was to go to the Brookfield Zoo. This was on the original bucket list and we've tried several times to do this trip. Life didn't get in the way and we were able to hit the Chicago Suburbs. We kind of planned the trip around Brookfield Zoo and what else was close by.
The Brookfield Zoo is located in Brookfield, IL which is about 30 minutes west of Chicago. It is open on weekdays 10-5 and weekends 10-6. Tickets are $30/adult and $21/kids. Parking in is $17 in the main lot or $20 in the south lot. It does not participate in the Milwaukee Zoo Pass program. There is plenty of parking. You buy your tickets before walking under the road to the main the entrance.
Our original plan was to go lunch first and the explore but got turned around so we checked out the Australia animals first. We headed inside first and some a really cute Echidnas. They waddle.
Outside we saw Emu, Kangaroos, and Capybara.
Then we headed over to the food. We saw food trucks but apparently they were closed for the season. So we had to have pizza. I had a pizza that was little an Italian Beef Sandwich on a pizza. We wanted Tiramisu Funnel Cake but they were out of the coffee syrup. It was good but a small pizza was a lot for me.
One of the animals I wanted to see was the sloth. He was not very active. Go figure.
We checked out the monkeys of all kinds. I love all the climbing apparatus they had for all the monkeys and apes.
We saw flamingos on parade. I'm not sure why they were on parade but they were being led out of the lake and through the zoo.
This gorilla enjoyed picking his backside and licking his fingers. Eww.
The monkeys had a fun tunnel to go from inside to outside and we timed feeding time just perfectly. It was probably one of the best parts of the day.
As we walked through Africa we saw Zazu bird, Wildebeest, Rhino, Giraffes, and Painted Dogs. Lots of new animals for me.
The polar bear was quite active.
The lion was sassy.
On Roadside America, I saw that the Trachodon from the NY World Fair was hiding in the zoo. We went on a quest to find it. He was hanging out by the lake. It was a random dinosaur in the middle of the wooded area of the zoo.
As we were running out of time and our feet were starting to hurt, we headed over to check out the dolphins and sea lions.
I even found a porcupine that I was slightly worried he would shoot his spikes at us.
We did skip about a quarter of the zoo due to time limitations. We didn't see the The Living Coast, Feathers and Scales, Birds and Reptiles, and the Family Play Zoo. We never did find the koalas. Apparently they were in the Family Play Zoo.
I am glad we planned on Hemingway's Birthplace and Frank Lloyd Wright House before going to the zoo otherwise we may have never made it those attractions. 4 or so hours is not enough to see the entire zoo. We definitely could have spent all day there especially as first time visitors.
If you have never been to the Brookfield Zoo, it is definitely worth checking. Many of the animals were active when we were there which made the experience a whole lot more fun.
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