Zoos in Minneapolis, MN
Looking for zoos in Minneapolis? Here are 6 of them, with the details parents check first: price, opening hours and the right age range.
Sorted by distance from the middle of Minneapolis, nearest first. Those are straight-line miles, so every drive is longer than the number on the card.
Como Park Zoo and Conservatory in St Paul, Minnesota is a free zoo and conservatory that has served the recreational needs of residents for over one hundred years…
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SEA LIFE Minnesota Aquarium is Minnesota's largest aquarium located at Mall of America in Bloomington, featuring over a million gallons of water with unique sea…
Sustainable Safari is a wildlife attraction in St Paul, MN where families can see animals up close and spend a day outdoors together.
Snake Discovery: A Reptile Experience in Maplewood, MN is an educational zoo featuring over 75 exhibits of reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates. Families can…
Minnesota Zoo is a zoo in Apple Valley, Minnesota, where families can experience cutting-edge animal exhibits and habitats featuring species from around the globe…
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Sustainable Safari in Burnsville, Minnesota is an animal encounter destination featuring over 200 animals available for visitors to feed and interact with…
Where a card says no price or no hours listed, the venue does not publish it. We would rather leave the gap than fill it with a guess. Prices come from each venue's own website, and we publish one only when the figure appears on the page we took it from. Tell us if we are missing one you know.
Which one, by age
Two children three years apart do not have to be a compromise. The age line on every card shows what that venue serves.
SEA LIFE Minnesota Aquarium
Best here for under 2, 9 miles out, listed ages 0–12 and admission $22.
Snake Discovery: A Reptile Experience
Best here for two to five, 14 miles out, listed ages 3–12 and admission $9.
Sustainable Safari (Burnsville)
Best here for six to nine, 16 miles out, listed ages 3–12 and admission $18.
Como Park Zoo and Conservatory
Best here for ten and up, 6 miles out, listed ages 0–16 and free admission.
Free zoos in Minneapolis
One place on this page gets you in free. That makes a short trip easy to justify on a day when nobody is sure how long they will last.
Como Park Zoo and Conservatory
Free to get in, 6 miles out and listed ages 0–16.
By town
Most of these are not in Minneapolis proper, and the town is usually what decides whether a place is worth the trip.
Zoos in St Paul
2 of them: Como Park Zoo and Conservatory and Sustainable Safari, the closest 6 miles from the middle of Minneapolis and 1 with a published admission price.
Planning a visit
These run from 6 to 16 miles out from the middle of Minneapolis. Hours move with the season and with school holidays, so check the listing before you set off. If you run one of the places on this page, you can claim it for free and keep its hours and prices right.
Before you go
Grip socks. Almost every venue requires them for children and several require them for adults. Most sell them at the door for a few dollars. Bringing your own is cheaper and means you are not buying a fourth pair.
Check whether adults pay. It runs from free to full price and it changes the cost of a visit by a lot when there are two of you.
Weekday mornings are the toddler rush. If you want space, aim for after two on a school day. Weekend mornings are the busiest hours of the week almost everywhere.
Ninety minutes is the realistic ceiling for most children under five. There is rarely a gradual wind down. Leaving with time left on the clock is not wasted money, it is a better afternoon.
Call ahead in school holidays. Several of these venues run camps and private events that close open play with no notice on the website.
Looking somewhere else in the metro? Browse every kid-friendly place in Minneapolis.
Other things to do in Minneapolis
Zoos in nearby cities
Common questions about zoos in Minneapolis
How many zoos are there in Minneapolis?
We list 6 zoos within 29 miles of Minneapolis, MN. Every one is a published listing with an address we checked.
Which zoos in Minneapolis publish their prices?
5 of the 6 here do, and each price was checked word for word against the venue's own page before we published it. The rest do not publish one, so their card says no price listed rather than carrying a guess.
Are any zoos in Minneapolis free?
Yes. One place gets you in free: Como Park Zoo and Conservatory.
Which zoos in Minneapolis suit a toddler?
4 of them list an age range starting at two or under. Check the age line on each card, because a place that suits a six-year-old does not always suit a two-year-old.
How did Mini Navigators choose these zoos?
We list every one we have within 29 miles of the center of Minneapolis. Each is a published place with an address we geocoded and checked, and the business can claim its listing to keep the hours and prices current.
Do adults have to pay?
It varies more than you would expect, from free to full price, and it changes the cost of a visit by a lot when there are two of you. The price on each card is what it costs to get a child in. Where a venue publishes an adult price it is on the listing, and where it does not we have left it out rather than assume.
Do I need to book ahead?
Usually not for open play, but several venues cap capacity at weekends and during school holidays, and some close open play entirely for private events. Where a venue has its own booking page, the listing links straight to it.
What should I bring?
Grip socks, a water bottle, a change of clothes for anyone under four, and a plan for leaving before the meltdown rather than after it.
What else is there to do with kids in Minneapolis?
Minneapolis has 13 categories of kid-friendly places on Mini Navigators, from playgrounds and museums to splash pads and zoos. The Minneapolis hub lists all of them.
Listings last checked August 21, 2026.