Blank Park Zoo, Des Moines

Went on a Tuesday, and not crowded at all. Easy to park, enter and get around. Could see it perfect for strollers or even wheelchairs. Great for toddlers, and younger children. We enjoyed seeing the giraffes and lions most of all. Staff was very friendly in the gift shop and as we excited. Very clean park overall. From the restrooms to the walking paths.

This is a nice little zoo that you can easily take in over the course of a couple hours. We went in when it opened, saw pretty much everything, ate a picnic lunch outside the zoo, and then went back in for the sea lion show before ending our time there. The zoo keeper woman we talked to after the sea lion show was excited to answer our questions and a joy to talk to. We didn't do everything there is to do (feed the giraffes, play on the playground, ride the train), so you could do more than we did and easily stay longer (and spend more money). It's certainly worth a trip, especially if you are either in the area or live nearby.

I love going to the Light the night events every year. I have been there the last two years and each year has had some amazing scenes set up. I love the ones that are on the water or that the kids can interact with. Each year they pick different themes and set up displays all over the zoo. We actually walk the zoo twice. We arrive a little before sunset and get the sunset view. Then we walk again to see the displays in the dark. Also the second walk is a lot quieter as most of the kids have gone home. The animals are not out during this event so it is good for kiddos to know in advance. Parking is the same as always you might get lucky and get something close but you'll probably end up in the gravel lot and walk a little. Tickets are a tad on the expensive side especially for a family but tbh not much different than going to a movie. On the plus side it's a memory to share with someone and something different to do.

This is just the right size zoo to enjoy an hour or two out with your family, or just by yourself. Many larger city zoos are just too big to get around and see what you'd like to see. At Blank Park, every exhibit is well done, on a natural circle path that allows you to see all the exhibits, and the animals are all very accessible and easy to see! A very good indoor tropical rainforest and aquarium exhibit which a lot of zoos don't have. Definitely worth a visit.

The kids absolutely love going to the zoo, we've been rain or shine. It's a nice size to be able to walk the whole zoo in a couple hours if you just want a quick walk through, or take your time visiting a little section at a time. The kids especially love that there's a park in the kids zone, where they can get their wiggles out. We've been to soo many different events, and they always do such a nice job at exciting the kids. The animals seem happy in their enclosures. Overall a great experience and definitely worth a family pass.