Dakota Zoo — Attraction in Bismarck

Let me first say, don’t expect to see every critter in the middle of the day with temps above 80 degrees. Many animals were hiding or sleeping. Secondly, be sure to take a picture of the park map at the entrance or look for one online. I don’t know if they have paper maps available. There are some directional signs that say things like “hooved animals”, “big cats”, “grizzlies”, “penguins”, but don’t give you specific directions. We never did find the grizzlies. The bigger exhibits may have one small sign that you have to hunt for in order to know what animal you are looking for. So make sure you have a map.

There is a tunnel for children (or adults that want to scrunch down) to get close to the tiger and snow leopard but this is not marked. It is pictured on the map without explanation.

I noticed that when we walked the area of the hooved animals and the train comes through, the train takes up most of the path. We moved into the grass to give it room. The zoo was not very busy when we were there but I would imagine with a bigger crowd, this is more of an issue especially is you’ve got wheelchairs and strollers.

I did notice the petting zoo area had hand washing available but I don’t remember seeing signs encouraging it.

The staff knew about issues with two of the women’s toilets but there were no signs on the stalls indicating they had issues.

The interactive part could definitely be expanded here. There were some interactive elements that were disabled.

I have visited zoos in MN, IL, CA, WashingtonDC and Fargo and this was my least favorite based on what I mentioned above. However zoos play an important part in educating the public and this one does too.

At the time we went, there was plenty of parking. There seemed to be enough bathrooms and they were clean. We did not buy any...

Really fun! Definitely bring you're kids to have a fun time! The concessions stand and the train is a MUST!! 5 stars!! [EDIT] I am reducing my review to 4 stars because of an experience I had recently. My brother and I went on the train ride and the conductor said "can everyone hear me ok?" The car I was on (the very back one) our radio wasn't working so we couldn't really hear him so we yelled no. He didn't hear us which wasn't a huge deal. After the ride I went up to him and politely said that the back speaker wasn't working and we couldn't hear him. He then proceeded to roll his eyes and give a huff and said "Well I asked you if you could hear me!" I told him that we tried to tell him and he acted as if it was our fault. That ruined my time. We left shortly after that experience. The animals were...

Visited from out of town and spent family time at the Dakota Zoo.

I'm used to bigger zoos that are very crowded and the animals are 20 feet away. I was expecting to see animals I see at my home zoo; I was wrong. The variety and habitats of the animals is fun and interesting.

The zoo was not crowded. My family could wander around at their own pace. The zoo is very well covered by trees which provide shade in many places. The paths are a bit run down, but fine for wheelchairs and strollers. We did not have a map of the zoo which made it confusing to me. My daughter knew her way around and there are info signs periodically to show the exhibit locations.

I did not see many food stands that I'm used to in bigger zoos. I think everything is near the entrance. There is a petting zoo at the...