Columbian Park Zoo

Address:	1915 Scott St, Lafayette, IN 47904, USA
Phone:	+1 765-807-1540
Site:	columbianparkzoo.org
Rating:	4.5
Working:	10AM–4:30PM 10AM–4:30PM 10AM–4:30PM 10AM–4:30PM 10AM–4:30PM 10AM–4:30PM 10AM–4:30PM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 22

Carter Cormier

Went to the playground at the park the other day, my child never wants to come back. We witnessed a goose attack a 2 year old child and then proceed to attack a puppy. Later reached out to the owner and found out that the puppy had immense brain swelling, its eyes were swollen, the head was 4x the size it should have been, and the dog was paralyzed and had to be put down. The child was not badly hurt, but had a few scratches. I would definitely not recommend going here until they control their goose problem.

A Private User

The playground for the kids is huge, I always see kids having a great time on the safe looking play area. Right now the zoo is free, and my friends and I have already gone 3 times this year. There isnt much to really see, but the petting zoo part is really awesome, all those little baby goats are so cute! Plus theres a place to wash your hands afterwards. The swim area I might never try, someone told me its something ridiculous like $7 per person to get in, but I can imagine that for kids its cheaper.

Brenda Hagadon

Ive attended a few community events at The Zoo and have found them to be well attended, excellent content and activity, and very well organized. The park is clean and all playground equipment and shelters seem to be in good working order. The playgrounds are very modern and engaging, and children seem to be in full action continuously-even moving between the different playgrounds easily. Two outstanding events that my family enjoyed were the parade days and Boo in the Zoo.

Peter Baenziger

The zoo has surprisingly high quality engaging exhibits including interactive spider monkeys, crawl-underwater river otter tunnels, and a feed-the-farm-animals area to name a few. The park has subsections suitable for varying ages perfect for sending a troupe of kids off to each while keeping everyone in eyesight. And an ice cream and sand which shop right across the street, too. Certainly a half day of fun if not a full day.

A Private User

Columbian Park in Lafayette has had VAST upgrades in recent years. Very nice playground areas for young & older kids. Large pond; can feed ducks; gift shop. They have a little train that goes around the park, and some rides for younger kids, too. Many picnic shelters. Baseball stadium and small zoo. Also, Tropicanoe Cove swimming area with big slides. Nice place to visit for a few hours or spend the day.

James Woodford

In the heart of the city and within walking distance of downtown (about 1/1.5 miles). It is not a large zoo but it is free of charge with an excellent assortment of animals. Very kid friendly, next to Loeb Stadium (where the Lafayette Aviators play), the water park and is, I believe, technically a part of Columbia Park. Well worth the time to take in.

queendragonfire

Columbian Park has so much to offer children and adults. Not only is there a zoo and a waterpark, the playground is great. Different play areas according to the age of the child. Safe and friendly surroundings. Walking and biking paths. A pond with a fountain. A train to let you tour the park relatively inexpensively. All in all, an amazing park.

Ben Bir

Nice little community zoo located in a central park area of Lafayette. Staff has always been friendly when asking them about memberships, animals, etc. The grounds are particularly clean and well-maintained. Animals all seem to be well taken care of and enjoying life. Nice place to go when you have an hour and the weather is great!

Erich Kirchubel

A zoo in the loosest sense of the word. I suppose its good for little kids since its free to enter. The feeding lectures were well-given but its really small and though the website boasts that it has hundreds of animals, I think they were counting all the butterflies as well. Definitely not that many unique animals.

Jalena Reschke Nielsen

So many fun things to do here! There are multiple play structures for varying age groups, an excellent free zoo, a train and childrens amusement park rides (costs), a baseball field, a pond, picnic pavilions, pathways, and a water park (costs). Definitely one of the best places to take the family in Lafayette.

Lucas Woody

An amazing, kid and adult friendly zoo with a wide variety of animals and great staff. Small in size, but not in activities. Several zoo chats and interactive programs to join in daily, and the education department offers many camps, classes, and even birthday parties! The best part? Visits are FREE!

Doug Samuel

You wont confuse it with Brookfield or the Indianapolis Zoo, but for a city the size of Lafayette to have a zoo like this is impressive. That its free is even more amazing. A fun place to spend an hour seeing a variety of animals. Highlights are the Wallaby Walk and petting the farm animals.

Daniel Pierce

This place is a gem of the community. The zoo is small but excellent. The train is great fun for kids (and rivals the train ride at the Indianapolis Zoo) There is plenty to do and see - you can easily spend a whole day in the park with children keeping them entertained the whole time.

Jeff Snyder

Great place to spend a day. Between the zoo, the train, and all the parks for kids to play there is plenty to keep the kids entertained. It can be crowded though. Get there early for easy parking. As we left after our picnic lunch there were lots of cars trolling for a parking space.

Christopher Kauffman

I have enjoyed going here since I was a child. I remember when the layout was different, but I like this layout better. I enjoy this zoo more than I do the Indianapolis zoo. Yes its a small zoo, but the animals seem genuinely happy. The staff are also very helpful.

Kimberly Hendricks

Got to the Zoo and it was closed...we were greeted by a very rude employee that told u we had to go he was showing us out and argued with us about what the website said...It said open until 7...they closed at 4:30...my kids were super disappointed...UPDATE your site

A Private User

Columbian Park Zoo is a great place to go! Its kind of small, but there is plenty to do. It is great for small children! The staff is very nice. There is a room with wallabies that you walk trough. There is a nice petting area as well. We all had a wonderful time!

Rick Garrett

This is a small zoo, but VERY clean and well kept. The employees/volunteers are knowledgeable and friendly. Youll not see anything terribly exotic here....Wallabys, otters, Bald Eagle, etc, still, its nicely landscaped and maintained. We enjoy visiting here.

Joe Schoen

The Zoo is very small, but for younger children it is perfect. They also have a great playground for the kids to play on and the price is right (FREE). We had a great time spending about 1.5 hours between animals and play area.

A Private User

Another Lafayette treasure! This Zoo is easy to access, clean and VERY affordable! It is clear the animals are happy and well taken care of! A great place to take your kids to create wonderful childhood memories!

Annemarie Saied

Very kid friendly, lots of things to see and do. The farm animals were well taken care of, the zoo train ride was perfect for the kids and the little splash fountains were a lot of fun to play in and get wet in.

moriah martinez

Staff is really nice & the scenery is beautiful for pictures. But some animals i wanted to see weren’t even there, like the otters. otherwise it’s really fun and i definitely suggest you check this place out!