United States
Michigan (MI)
Upper Peninsula
Wallace
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DeYoung Family Zoo
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DeYoung Family Zoo

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DeYoung Family Zoo
4.5
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
194 reviews
Excellent
150
Very good
22
Average
11
Poor
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Terrible
11
bigwawao
New York City, NY10,079 contributions
Family Zoo- Great for Kids! Not a typical city zoo.
Aug 2021
In order to appreciate this zoo, understand first and foremost that this is a family zoo. It is not your typical zoo that you find in the cities. It is geared towards children who will be up close and personal with the animals. We saw lots of kids there.
Animals were mostly common farm animals and a few non farms ones like monkeys and a smattering of exotic animals like a tiger and of course, why I went there- a hippo named Wallace.

Met the owner during the feed the hippo (1130 a.m.) He is quite friendly and affable. Incidentally, feed the hippo gets a long line but it moves quite fast.

The grounds are bare earth and it might get a little muddy if it rains so keep this in mind.

There is a small gift shop at the entrance where you pay your entrance fees. Here you can also buy feeds ( there are signs which feeds goes with which animals) to feed the animals. Children will love it!

Tailor your expectations. If you are expecting a zoo like New Zoo in Green Bay or the Milwaukee County zoo then you will sadly be very disappointed. Don't even plan to visit hee.
If you have kids, they will love this place!

As mentioned by someone, the place need more signs but the owner had diverted the funds from the signs in order to feed the animals. They had a year of no income due to covid.

A word on the GPS. My GPS routed me to a lonely spot by the road which I foolishly entered. Google gave me the right one which was just about a mile further. There is a big road side sign for the zoo. So keep this in mind.

Parking is free.
Written August 14, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Cheryl Z
1 contribution
LOVE IT
Jul 2021
The place starte many years ago. It is a more natural habitat for the animals, with larger spaces for them. It's far from big cities and large populations so doesn't get the $$ of a place like a cement fancy Milwaukee Zoo. It's lots of money to care for the animals and build on, and work to keep up a place (72 acres?) like this, cost and time wise. I like it better. The owner works extremely hard and long (not many workers in the area). They are very knowledgeable about the animals. I like walking around on the wooded trails to see the animals closer than you would at another zoo.
Written June 29, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
MJ R
40 contributions
Best part of our weekend trip
Jul 2020 • Couples
My favorite stop on our very quick weekend trip. No masks needed as you can socially distance! Great for ALL ages. Had fun feeding all of the animals including Wallace the hippo! Recommend getting all the types of foods as there are many animals to feed and you’ll want it to last the whole way around the zoo. The bucket of grains would be best, but don’t let the goats get the bucket. Monkeys are blocked off as they can get covid. All the animals loved people and we got to pet many varieties. Highly recommended and will be going back again.
Written July 5, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
SheenaVillageViewInn
Sister Bay, WI4 contributions
Most AMAZING zoo ever
Jun 2022 • Family
This is the most amazing zoo we have ever been too. A friend had told us about it and now it has become our family tradition to go a few times a season. We would be there a lot more if we weren’t three hours away. The owners are so nice and such hard workers and it is so fun getting to watch the wolf show, bear feeding, big cat feeding, hippo feeding, deer feeding, and so much more. So like some of the other reviews said the parking lot isn’t paved and there are no paved paths but they don’t spend the money on the cosmetics they spend the money on the animals. And others had mentioned that some of the animals were skinny and didn’t look like they were well taken care of… well if they would actually listen the the owners they had said that they do rehabilitation to get animals back to health to either stay with them or find their forever homes. You can clearly tell they love the animals just like their family members. We first walked up to the wolf enclosure and the wolf ran up and was wagging his tail so happy to see us. We have never had that at any other zoo we have been to. These people are a god send for these beautiful creatures. We love you Bud and Carrie. Thank you for giving us such an amazing place to come visit. Can’t wait until we can come back to visit again
Written June 24, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Jessica W
Gwinn, MI3 contributions
This is a zoo for people who hate zoos but love animals!
Aug 2020 • Family
Yesterday, we enjoyed an abundance of fun in the sun and learned a lot, too, at the Deyoung Family Zoo! 🦁🐯🐻 It’s hard to believe that this place is just a short drive away from home. 🚗 Conservation, education, rescue, rehabilitation and family fun, nestled in the beautiful wilderness of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, is what we found here at the zoo. ❤️ This was our first visit, but it definitely won’t be our last! Fun fact: This is no ordinary zoo, that caterers to humans and their need for entertainment, above the animals and their need for freedom; nope! The Deyoung family works extremely hard to care for these animals and give them the next best thing to a free life in the wild as they possibly can. 🙏🏻🙌🏻 Most of the animals here have been rescued from former irresponsible pet owners, big city zoos that just don’t want less than perfect animals, farms that have gone out of business, and sometimes they are called with emergency rescue situations and are even able to release the animals they acquire back into the wild after rehabilitation, as well, if it’s at all possible. 🌲🌳🌱They have over 80 acres of land altogether, and I am just blown away by this extraordinary family and their incredible dedication to these gorgeous non-humans who we have the pleasure of sharing this planet with. 🌎🐾 If you’ve never been, I very much recommend making the drive UP there; you will not regret it. Thank you to the deyoung family for opening up this beautiful zoo to the public so we can see and learn from you and all of the animals. Keep up the great work!!
Written August 24, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Barb A
1 contribution
An exciting unique zoo where you can see animals upclose in their own wildlife space. It’s amazing!!!
Aug 2019 • Family
We have traveled to the DeYoung Zoo at least twice every year for the last 10 years now. Often bringing friends and family who have not been there before to experience this awesome zoo!! This unique zoo has rescued many animals and gives them such loving care! When you are at the zoo, you’re able to meet not only the animals, but Carrie & Bud personally. You’re able to talk and ask them questions and see their passion for these animals! You see upclose and learn the stories of the rescued animals.
It is an amazing place to visit!! See for yourself before reading certain comments from people who know nothing of the zoo or the DeYoung's themselves.
Also as busy as she is with the zoo, Carrie also has the Pipers Animal Rescue Ranch for sick and abused horses, dogs and all other animals.

Please help support the DeYoung’s in their busy lives sharing beautiful animals and making a better world!!
Written April 6, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
ScubaDave16
Highland, IN926 contributions
small zoo with some cool animals.
Sep 2020
We saw a billboard for this zoo while driving through town and had a few hours free so we stopped in.

It is way off the beaten path with few signs so just trust your GPS.

This is a small family run zoo

They were friendly and welcoming. I got the feeling that the zoo has had some financial hard times due to Covid

The place is not super well organized – the enclosures were down some paths but not much was marked. They DID have notices saying that the money they were going to spend on signage was spent feeding the animals which of course is very appropriate.

The animals ranged from bears to tigers to lions to alpacas, deer, and many others.

The animals appeared healthy and fed and the enclosures were large if somewhat muddy.

The staff we interacted with seemed to be very caring about the animals.

They had several areas where guests could feed various animals. Goats, alpacas, oxen, etc. you could purchase carrots and grain and such. They did have signs saying what to give the animals. Dangerous animals like the bears and tigers were separated by 2 layers of fences, but the alpacas and such were able to eat out of your hand. I am sure kids would get a big kick out of being allowed to feed animals ((maybe some adults too)

They had some presentations of animals. They did a deer presentation while we were there, but I was really busy watching the tigers and bears.

While not a large zoo, it wasn't very expensive and I think it is worth stopping by. The big cats and bears are cool and if for no other reason they appear to need the business to continue to care for the animals.
Written September 27, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Teresa D
1 contribution
We Had A Awesome Experience!
Jun 2020
Wen were there 2 years ago. We were very impressed with the whole place. I did start raining while we were there and were just going to ride out the rain. They came up to us and ask if we were waiting the the next showing and in fact we were. That all being said eveyone had left so the 3 of us our granddaughter was with us. We just waiting. Well so glad we hung out and waited. My husband is handicapped and can't walk far for very long. So they offered to give us our private tour of the park. They pointed different things out for us. Gave us history on the different animals. Our Granddaughter got to help bottle feed the fawns. Loved the one on one that we got. It was clean and a happy place we will be going back this summer. Can't wait.
Written May 22, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Anns0508
Grand Haven, MI19 contributions
Sad, Left feeling terrible
Jun 2015 • Friends
I am always curious to see how zoos are run. I've found in my travels very few to be worthy. This is NOT one of the good ones. Cages are way too small for every animal type. If you are going to run a business and want people to donate, like you, want to get good word of mouth and no harassing you must show where and how you spend your money and how you care for you animals. Don't spend the money on an animal to "display" and they are in a jail cell, a tiny box, not enough room for that species to roam, run, stretch, swing, swim, etc. I want the owners and workers to spend a week in one of the cages. I bet they will start to pace and growl! No, people don't live like that - very true... but, neither do those animals in their "real" lives. We saw a worker feeding some animals and it was dirty and disgusting how they did it in front of the public. Not like the good zoos, behind the scenes. The wheelbarrow of "mush" that stunk to high heaven was wheeled past everyone and dropped right in front of the cage and the man shoveled it through the bars. This place is what I would call a slum. If you want to have a "feeding display" do it right! Not like pig slop on a farm. When you visit watch the animals, do they pace, how is their fur, check the edges of their ears, look at their eyes...there are plenty of signs that the animal is not in the right habitat. The workers in the little shop were un-friendly and rude. If you want to make a buck act like you like the visitors, be friendly and helpful. They need to stop getting animals and make the zoo bigger for the animals to roam not sway back and forth. They need room to do more than pace. In the wild they run, climb, hide in trees, logs, behind rocks..they need to LIVE not rot away.
Written November 26, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
pwhite
Warrenville, IL5 contributions
Terrible place
Aug 2017
I'm not sure why this place has such great reviews. The animals are confined to very small cages and they all seem stressed. The pictures on their website of the water that the bear and hippo are in must have been taken someplace else. The water was completely covered in algae. What a depressing experience.
Written August 6, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
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DeYoung Family Zoo (Wallace) - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go

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