Cosley Zoo

Such a wonderful little zoo so close to home! Both my kids enjoy going here. Only downside is not very much parking. Oh well! A little exercise never hurt anyone.

Took my 2.5 daughter here, to see some animals and spend a day out.
Not a zoo, but more of a farm. Horses, cow, goats, rabbits, chickens. Most your not allowed to pet, atleast at the time I came.
Owls, birds in large cages. Bring stroller for little ones, you’ll walk near them.
They have a cute free little library, in the «zoo» so bring a book you wanna trade next time.
We went to the duck pond, daughter seemed to like that the most. Because she can throw duck food at the ducks in pond. Small fee for duck food. Cash only.
I feel they need to get on their staff with cleaning the cages and animals. :(
Probably wouldn’t come again, but nice for a little visit if your in town — or if they have an event.

This is not a zoo! More like a little farm. I would not waste the drive to go here again. It might be ok for real small kids but that’s about it. It’s about a 20 min visit here. It’s nice that it’s not packed but that’s about it. If you are looking to go to a zoo I’d recommend to go some place else.

Great for smaller children… and a perfect way to spend a couple of hours having fun with them.
This is not a big zoo. there’s no Lion’s or Tiger’s or Bears «oh my!»
Not a Unicorn in sight.
But, it’s free to registered Wheaton residents, and (I think) $ 5 for adults, kids free for everybody else.
Fed the ducks ($ 1 for the feed) and visited with the Goats, Cows, Bobcats, Horses, Owls, Pigs, Hawks etc…
There is also a hands on (bring the wipes/​sanitizer!) collection of activities in the Caboose
A must stop if you’ve got little ones (or can borrow some. with permission. I am not advocating kidnapping!)
If you are so motivated. grab a snack or an ice cream while you are there.
Oh, and parking is free.

Waste of time
I drove a hour away to see this zoo. i called n ask for information. They said it would take all day to visit the whole
took 20 minutes. They only had cow goats n sheep oh no a few birds. i was so disappointed so was my kids very tiny zoo. Waste of time n money.

I recently took my two little nephews here and they LOVE it. It’s such a cute little place with a bunch of animals and fun activities for the kids. The staff is very friendly and helpful. I will definitely be back!

This is a very small zoo but you get to be so close to the animals! All native animals which was actually cooler than I thought it would be. I think this would be really fun for kids. But even as a solo adult I did not mind paying the $ 5.

Great for a quick time killer with little kids.

Came here on Columbus Day (hopefully soon to be recognized federally as Indigenous People’s Day). I should’ve known better to come on a school holiday. It. Was. Packed. I was driving around for about 20 minutes before I ended up calling the zoo to ask where overflow parking is. They sent me to Carl Sandburg school around the corner. It was about a 5 – 10 minute walk so not too bad. Just be aware if the parking situation is crowded, just head over there right away and save your time trying to park in the teeny tiny lot they have.
I’ve been here a few times before and was looking forward to an afternoon with my mom and toddler. We ended up bringing our stroller but this is a small zoo so you your child can walk I would suggest leaving it in the car. The strollers kind of take up a lot of room near the exhibits and the pathways.
I like coming here even though I don’t live in Wheaton and thus have to pay for my admission. It’s not badly priced — kids are free, adults are $ 5 and seniors are $ 4.
I’d say the maximum time spent here would be 2 – 3 hours and that would be pushing it unless you brought lunch. They have a handful of picnic tables to eat at. It is a no frills and smaller zoo but it is great for the kids! Since it’s small, the little kids can see the animals closer and there are farm animals that you don’t see at Brookfield. I’d say most of the non-​farm animals are really native to Illinois such as fox, raccoon, deer, birds, etc.
What I like about the zoo is that the animals seem pretty friendly, happy, and content. Overall I’d say come here with the kids and enjoy the afternoon! If I lived in Wheaton I would probably be here a lot, but I don’t so I reserve it for maybe a once a year trip.

Very cute small zoo with beautiful ponds and small waterfalls. Very well maintained, clean and has a nature feel to it. It is small so we walked around the entire zoo a few times and it was fun for my 5 year old. The animal exhibits are very clean and have a natural lay out for the animals. You can tell they are very well taken care of. Staff is friendly and seems to work hard. Most of the zoo has more of a farm feel. Lovable little zoo. We will definitely be returning.

Cosley Zoo does a fantastic job at being what it is: a small community zoo featuring a collection of animals native to Illinois. If you head to Cosley looking to see zebras and dolphins and spend a whole day in the park, of course you will be disappointed — you should head to Brookfield for that. But you can’t beat Cosley for a little immersion in nature for a reasonable price ($ 5 non-​residents, free for Wheaton residents with Park District pass). There are plenty of exhibits to visit, to teach kids a little more about the animals that they may see in their backyards here in Illinois.
Because the animals kept here are part of a permanent collection and generally not part of an SSP/​breeding program, like they often are at Brookfield Zoo, you can expect to see your favorites each time you go. The animals are clearly very well cared for and content in their exhibits, and the entire zoo is kept clean, well-​maintained and visitor-​friendly. There are different areas you can visit such as the barn, the bobcat exhibit (my favorite), a bird aviary, and a chicken and rabbit building. There are about 150 animals in total kept at the zoo. They also have a concessions area with outdoor picnic seating and a gift shop.
Throughout the year, they feature many special events for the community like pumpkin sales and Christmas tree sales, wine tastings, a 5k and a golf outing. You can also host parties there, and rentals of certain areas of the zoo are available. You can even get a zoo staff member to bring certain animals to your party! Check out their website for more details on all of these amenities.
If you’re looking for a way to spend some time outdoors with the animals, especially if you have small children, Cosley is a great time for a reasonable price.

Never heard of this place until I mentioned on Facebook that I wanted to take my son to the zoo today. A friend suggested Cosley Zoo so I looked into it. What appealed to me was that it was small, intimate, and we could get up close to the animals. Plus it was cheap.
$ 5 for non-​residents and kids 17 and under are free.
Got there a little before noon and the parking lot looked busy but we were able to get a spot within eye sight of the entrance. They were doing some sort of construction work so there were some cornered off areas but nothing detrimental. It was not at all crowded and the crowd was a good mix of kids on foot, strollers, and people wearing their kids so it was pretty easy to get around.
We (my 6 month old and I) lapped it once in 30 minutes. The second time around I took him out of his carrier so he could get up close to the animals. The bonus was by this time it had cleared out a bit and the animals had woken up and were moving more. He got to touch a horse and a goat. He was completely amused by the pigs and the construction workers and their tools (typical boy). We stopped in the butterfly area and sat on a shady bench so he could eat and stretch out.
The gift shop was small and had some standard stuff (stuffed animals, toys, clothing, books) as well as some packaged ice cream and bottled pop and water and sunscreen. The limited contact I did have with staff they were all very friendly. As a matter of fact even the other visitors we interacted with were friendly.
Got out of there for under $ 40. I bought him a peg puzzle of farm animals so we could play with animals he had seen. Then I also bought him a dinosaur peg puzzle because… Well dinosaurs are cool. Duh. Easily could’ve gotten out of there for just the price of admission but my kid is cute and I’m a sucker.
This is definitely good for little kids or any other kid who loves animals in general. I loved that we got out of Joliet for a bit and it did not take up the entire day and didn’t empty my wallet. He napped on the 40 minute ride there and back. I would go again for a short day trip and maybe pack a lunch so we can picnic and maybe bring a friend. We were home by 3pm (this included stopping in downtown Wheaton to eat). Next time I find myself in the area I would drop in for a bit. If you don’t want to make the specific trip out there it would be an excellent time killer/​leg stretcher id you have other business in the area to take care of.

Cosley Zoo is a great option for young kids. I would say this zoo is best for 5 years old and under. The $ 5 entrance fee is very reasonable.
This zoo has a variety of animals– horse, fox, cow, pig, chickens, owl, and ducks. The zoo staff offers a duck & chicken feeding during the day. They charge $ 1 per child for the feeding.
Also, they have picnic tables if you want to bring a packed lunch. Their café/​snack stand has other lunch and snack options.
Cosley Zoo has a fall fest in October. It is geared towards young kids and it’s a great addition to a zoo visit. The fest offers small ride, corn maze, and pumpkins.
Overall– great zoo for young kids and you don’t have to make a whole day out of it.

I love that there is a zoo in Wheaton! It is a small and easy to navigate place perfect for a family outing. We also love going her each year to pick out our Christmas tree. They have the best selection in the area and Greta prices. I also work very close by and have been known to go for a walk here on my lunch. On busy days parking can be tight, but they have additional lots nearby as well. It is such a great place with friendly staff and adorable me animals.

Small… very small, but if you plan on going with young children… well this place is a great place to entertain them… for about an hour. Since it is a quick place to visit parking was good (free). Cost $ 5 for adults… who are non-​residents of Wheaton. For adults you can see and walk through the zoo and see everything in about 10 minutes. Even though it was smaller than I expected, I loved the farm animals and the sandbox area.
There is also a nice little pond you can take a short relaxing walk and see the ducks. There are plenty of benches to relax around the zoo. There is also a café and eating area.

This place was pretty cool – definitely not your typical zoo by any means however. They focus on non-​exotic animals; horses, llamas, chickens, pigs, birds, foxes, bobcats, etc. but it was still pretty interesting. Admission is $ 5 for non-​residents and free for Wheaton park district members/​residents. It was not crowded at all much to our surprise! The owls and the hawk were amazing to see up close. One of the trainers brought an owl out and we took some amazing photographs. You can tell the handlers definitely care about the animals and don’t mind taking the time to answer any questions anyone may have.
Overall this would be a great place to take kids, adults may make their way through pretty quickly on the other hand. Still a nice place to go, take in some wildlife and nature and get out for the day!

Free admission for Wheaton residents is a plus (I’d probably only go once if we had to pay). There are a lot of bird cages, so if you’re a bird fan, there’s lots here for you.
As I write this, I want to drop from three stars to two. The last two times we were there, I noticed so many of the animals wandering around on concrete pavement, with no excitement in their enclosures other than piles of their own poo. Sad, right?
So many people love this zoo though, and it’s free for us and so convenient, so I suppose we’ll keep going back to see if we’re missing something.

It’s not quite a zoo – in terms that there are no exotic animals.
It’s not quite a petting zoo – because you can’t pet the sheep or goats.
It’s not quite a farm – because the animals don’t go out grazing.
I would say it’s more of an animal nature center.
But whatever I want to call it, Cosley Zoo is a nice place to spend an hour or two, especially when the weather is nice. It’s free to Wheaton residents, all others pay $ 5, unless you’re over 55 then it’s $ 4. Or if you’re under 17 then you’re FREE!
So for 5bux and free parking, my son and I had a wonderful time exploring this nature center. There are cows, chickens, pigs, rabbits, goats, llamas, a hawk, owls, red foxes, raccoons, bobcats, ducks… Each animal is listed on their website with the exact species name so if you’re into knowing that the goat is a Nubian Goat, check out their website :) The animals were active and seemed well kept. Two employees came out to brush the llamas teeth so that got an audience of toddlers squealing and giggling in delight.
The space is easy for strollers to navigate. There are plenty of benches to sit and take a break. There’s also a snack bar (I didn’t check it out because I knew my son would ask for ice cream and well, I had to be a Mom about that). There’s a natural play area (wooden stumps, rocks, planks) for kids to play on as well as a sandbox if kids feel like digging.
The space is small, but it’s a nice layout. I’m sure if more school groups were there it would be kind of crowded. But the day we visited, I was able to let my son wander ahead of me and didn’t have to worry about running kids or him walking into huge crowds.
Nice space not too far from downtown Wheaton and it’s cute ice cream and candy shops.

Yesterday the weather was perfect! I buckled my seatbelt and took the drive to check out Cosley Zoo. I arrived right at 9am and had a fabulous morning.
I read the reviews prior to going but I just didn’t get the same vibe others did. Maybe because I went right when they opened but all the animals were happily eating, drinking water, playing around. They seemed pleased as punch to me. Workers were everywhere finishing up tending to the animals. I heard them giving helpful information to other zoo-​goers, as well. The lady collecting admission was really sweet to me, too.
The zoo is pretty small, I was able to walk through it taking long stops to gaze at animals in less than 2 hours. I loved the setup and was able to get some very clear views of the animals, including great photos. They have a café that I haven’t yet tried… but will do so on my next visit!
Cosley participates in conservation projects that help Illinois endangered species. You can adopt animals, too, or purchase a sponsorship. I am interested to know more about how they’ve obtained their animals and plan to look a bit more into that.
Cosley Zoo is full of mostly native animals and nothing too exotic. No lions, pandas, hippos. They have a lot of other fun animals though Bobcats, Ducks, Turtles, Goats, Sheep, Pigs, Chickens, Rabbit (singular), Foxes, Racoons, Birds of Prey, Birds, Deer, Donkeys, Horses, Cows, Llamas and there was a coyote that recently passed away at the tender age of 17.
The duck pond is cool, loved seeing so many types of ducks. It’s kind of strange seeing houses in the background though. The donkeys were little cuddle buckets. They literally just stood there not moving. No reaction to people. Then I saw them — the bobcats! The bobcats are a new 2012 addition to the Cosley Zoo. They were so playful, running around and playfully nipping at each other, nuzzling heads, rolling around. They seemed really pleased in their habitat. The racoons were adorable snuggled up in their basket & then came down to gather nuts & play in the water — really cute. I had some fun with this cute deer who was not afraid of people at all. He followed me around a bit and had a funny nose that look like it was split. I kicked some leaves towards him so he could lick them up and then we were best friends forever. I spent way more time than I should watching the Bobcats, Red Foxes, Deer & Racoons. Those are my top picks.
While I was walking around the zoo, an announcement went overhead for duck feeding at 10am. I didn’t venture over to see what goes down for that, but it’s $ 1 to feed the ducks. They have a special Bobcat Backstage experience which you meet the trainers & go backstage for an extra fee. I’d be interested in checking that out the next time I go.
There is a gift shop that has a ton of toys, books, stuffed animals and clothing. I saw some cheap magnets that were Cosley Zoo branded and I debated on getting.
Admission is $ 5 for non residents and $ 3 for Wheaton residents. I’m contemplating getting a membership to their zoo which will run a $ 39 but there are also other family memberships. The zoo is open 9 to 5 just about everyday except major holidays.

Lately, I’ve been falling in love.
With chickens. Goats. Llamas. Horses. Pigs. And other such farm animals.
Because of this, I thought Cosley Zoo would be an enjoyable experience.
While I loved the animals, I’m not a big fan of this zoo.
We knew it would be a small charge for non-​Wheaton residents, but when we arrived, there was some kind of memorial event for an animal-​loving young man that passed away with Epilepsy, so everyone’s admission was free. It was a nice tribute to him. We ended up dropping our intended admission payment in their donations jar.
The zoo is small, so It didn’t take us very long to walk around and see the animals. Is it strange to say that the animals looked kind of sad? I don’t know if it was the cloudy weather, but nearly all the animals were laying down and kind of ignoring everyone. The goats seemed to be the only exception — I LOVED the goats!
We didn’t see any deer. The coyote was sleeping. The bobcat was inside as the employees were working within its habitat. The pigs were laying on concrete in front of the gate, right next to their poop. I didn’t even want to pet them because their home looked uncomfortable and dirty. The birds were birds. The bunnies were cute. The other animals were just… there.
The duck pond was our favorite part of the zoo. Many ducks were sleeping with their heads tucked in (maybe it really was the weather), but it was fun to stand on the path and watch the ducks swim around. At least they seemed happy.
We swung by the gift shop to check it out before leaving. It wasn’t bad — filled with some cute stuffed animals, books for kids, and a few other zoo odds and ends. Kind of pricey, though. We thought about staying to eat, but the menu didn’t seem appetizing so we went elsewhere.
If I lived in the neighborhood, I’d come back again. But, I don’t — so I probably won’t.