This was the second time we visited the Hemker Zoo. There were a lot of upgrades and they added a new bird house where kids can feed seed sticks to budgies. The owners are very nice and work hard to keep the animals in good care. They also added a great playground and a few nice sitting areas. My kids had a blast running around checking out the animals and another bonus was that we did to have to fight any crowds!
Very awesome zoo! They could do a better job of cleaning up animal feces in the exhibits, but it was still a great experience! My mom and I love visiting Hemker. The best is when you can buy a stick of bird feed on it, and all the birds they have will fly right up to you. It's amazing! Very inexpensive admission for such fun. I am very excited for them to get their giraffe! There are many different ways to interact with the animals, which makes this zoo one of my favorites. I LOVE feeding the monkeys!!!! I fed one of them, and oh they were so happy! The one monkey was legitimately smiling at me and my mom! So cute! Can't wait to go back for a third time.
Hemker Zoo is wonderful! I first visited the zoo in September 2013 with my mom, who was visiting from North Carolina and my son. We had an amazing time. It's small enough to get to see all of the animals and yet they have camels, zebras, penguins and even flamingos in Minnesota. We used to live in Florida and I have been to Sea World 12 times and this was honestly way more fun. We weren't overwhelmed, got to feed and interact with tons of animals, and fell in love with this place. I hosted my son's first birthday party here in October for 30 people and the owners did everything they could to make sure it was a perfect day. We had rain, cold, and wind but it was still a wonderful time and we will be getting season passes annually from here on. I can't imagine a better place to bring children and have an amazing time!
This zoo was so much fun to go to with my family lots of animals to see that you can't see at other zoos. Animals all looked happy and healthy and the grounds were very clean. We will be going back. The staff were very friendly and had lots of knowledge to share with my children. We are looking forward to going back.
This small zoo outside a little town of Freeport is a great place to bring the family for the day. The animals look in great health and seem very happy. I have two boys under the age of 8 and they both really enjoyed all the animals especially the budgie house and jumping pit to see if you can jump as far as a kangaroo. My boys always keep asking when we are going back. The staff were great! This is fun and we will be going back.
My family and I went to Hemker Park & Zoo and had a wonderful time. We enjoyed seeing the variety of animals that we would have not expected to see. The animals all look healthy and well cared for with plenty of space. The staff was very helpful and knowledgable. The entire zoo is very clean and just a great place to go with the family. We will be back.
Who knew this was even here? Such a wide variety of animals! The best part was buying the bird seed sticks for $1 and going into the small bird cage. The little birds would come up onto the kids sticks and eat the food. I would high recommend doing that! You will be shocked by the animals you will find in Freeport MN- worth the stop!They also provide a picnic area and wash stations so that you can wash your hands whenever you would like.
We are sorry you did not have a good experience at Hemker Park & Zoo. Our main priority is the welfare of our animals. We strive to provide the best habitats for our animals here at the zoo. We do not have any exhibit with 5 monkeys in it. They range from 2-4 primates in an exhibit. We have to follow all regulations of USDA and are also accredited through the Zoological Association of America which has many regulations on size and style of exhibits that we must follow. We do meet all requirements for the Singing Dogs and Monkey exhibits. We would have been more than willing to address your concerns while you were here at the zoo. Again, we are sorry you did not have a positive experience at the zoo.
I took my toddler here for a day trip while in the Alexandria area vacationing. It is an unexpected gem! My toddler had a blast! There was a nice variety of animals to look at as well as to pet (turtle, baby deer, llama, sheep) and the zoo is set on large grounds, giving kids plenty of space to run around. There is also a playground area. The best attraction was the budgie cage (I think that's what they were) where there are many small birds that will sit on a "budgie stick" and peck the seeds off. This was great for child and parent both. There is also the option for an additional fee to hold a penguin and have a picture taken. For bathrooms, there is only port-a-potties on site. There are snacks available for sale, but no hot food items..
We have been to this zoo before and again we loved it just as much as before. The proprietors are very friendly and a smile goes along way. The kids especially loved the budgie house. You walk into a screened enclosure with tons of parakeets in it. You hold out a stick with bird seed on it and they fly right to you or on your hand-head-or anything else. All the animals are well cared for and most are friendly. HAVE YOU EVER HEARD THE SOUND A FLAMINGO MAKES? We brought a picnic lunch and the kids played on the very nice playground equipment. The monkeys had babies to feed also.--sweet.