We actually visited there off the normal zoo season, driving through reminded the both of wonderful times spent there having picnics and family reunions there as children. I find it to be a really nice place to spend with loved ones. I do recommend going during warmer weather though.

It was a small zoo,but the extremely knowledgeable tour guide made it worth while! Awesome to hear that one of the first monkeys went to Space and made it back was from this zoo and was named Abel! Fun family field trip!

The train was going today and the carousel too! Such a beautiful place to spend a Saturday afternoon. The chili cheese nachos from the snack shack were awesome! There was a birthday party going on in the big building in the middle. Everyone looked like they were having a blast!

We made a quick stop here. For a free zoo it is really nice. We also checked out some of the surrounding park as well. They have done an amazing job with this park.

Great outdoors fun in a clean safe environment. The zoo and playground are free, and the train, carousel, and mini golf are super affordable. So I can spoil my kids and not break the budget.

Its such a cute little park. The zoo is great too. Its free and theres lots of equipment for a wide age range. They recently added handicapped swings and more regular swings also. Highly recommended. They also have a carousel, a miniature train and putput golf on the weekends currently.

Love this place! A carousel, miniature train ride, zoo, kiddie land with storybook characters, and a well done war Memorial of all US wars!

Fun little zoo. Mostly wheelchair accessible. Some steep hills that would not be made o your own. Almost not made with someone pushing. COVID-19 made seeing some animals impossible.

What a great park. The number of amenities is pretty incredible, and theyre all super reasonably priced. Its easy to make an afternoon--or day--of the park. Its great to see a city invest in its public facilities.

Its a beautiful little place and worth the visit. They have spider monkeys, some swans and ducks, raccoons, a red fox and a few other critters. They have a beautiful butterfly garden that is filled with species Ive never seen. The waterways and ponds ate in dire need of cleaning as we seen ample amounts of plastic in the form of bottles and wrappers floating around. Very sad to see. Admission is FREE!

This is a great little park! Our family could spend a whole afternoon here! There are several animals to see & a cute little play area for the kids. The park & zoo are free, but there are other very affordable other attractions, too, in the summer.

My whole family really enjoyed the zoo and tour!

I mean... This place is free so you cant beat that. Common animals as well as a few exotic species. Its a cute place. The monkey island was entertaining.

This place was great to get out and walk around on our road trip. The old play equipment was interesting and fun for the kids to play on. The animals seemed well cared for but soooo hot out in the sun. It is definitely an older place, no fee, if you have 20 minutes then stop in.

Super neat park! So many things to do! We enjoyed our time spend there and will be coming back soon.

This zoo used to be every childs fondest memory growing up. We couldnt wait to finally load up in the car after the parents loaded the coolers and stuff needed for a picnic. After making our way through zoo which seemed to be humongous when you were small. Wed get to the park for a family picnic and quality time together. The drive home we would be sacked out from exhaustion from our big day at the zoo. I came here for the first time today with some friends and their children and Im just baffled at how run down this place has become. Half of the animals had no water and looked ragged. Half the habitats were with animals but without water. I know we are in a time of craziness and covid ridden quarantine, but seriously our trip to this zoo could have been so much more magical for the little girl excited to go..... Very disappointed!!!

This was a cool little place. They have a play area for kids. Snowwhite and multiple other characters were scattered around the play area. It was not open but there appears to be a concession stand in the park. It was closes when we were there. It was cold so some of the animals were not on display. Definitely worth a stop if youre in the area. Even better its free

Very nice park. Th we zoo needs to get the Eagle out of the small pen. He is pulling out his feathers!

This is nice great place to take kids for free entertainment they accept donations and the kids love it

This was an awesome unexpected detour. Great for the entire family.

This is a wonderful place for everyone! We love coming here! Everything is so nice and such care is taken to keep it that way. We love the park, train ride, putt putt, carousel, zoo and the concession stand run by the Lions Club. The addition of The Veterans Freedom Square is outstanding!

It is a great place to take the kids. It even has a free zoo!

Wonderful place.

I grew up going to this park, it has so much wonderful history to it.. Wish they would keep animals there like they did when I was young. Such an amazing park/zoo

Not a bad zoo for a small town. I has visited the zoo several times in the winter time so not all about animals was out yet.

Awesome place to get away and have fun family time.

Cute little zoo great place to take the kids to kill some time and let them have and play its free and even has a little fun cool park for the kids to play at after finishing looking at the animals

This place was great. Theres so much to do here and its amazing that theres this large of a free park and zoo in such a small town. Great place to take kids and it seems like the animals are treated well.

Love riding the train and the carousel and eating the snacks at the snack bar. The rides and snacks you can definitely do on a budget!

It was nice,friendly,peaceful, and inexpensive family fun or date night material

Very nice park. Lots of trees make it nice and shady in spots.

The kiddie park is so much fun for our great-grandbabies

Excellent surprise.... Great hiking trail, love the waterfall

This place needs shut down. Submitting to PETA....poor animal quality of life.

We were pleasently surprised by the zoo! It has a lot to offer and it is free. Our kids loved seeing the animals and getting to play in the little kiddie area. We will be returning!

This was a very unique and fun place to visit. However its not the run of the mill type zoo. Small and all outdoors, not a large number of animals but a very nice place for kids to enjoy.

Free Zoo! Its awesome for kids and adults and FREE!

Visited this site with my family. First of all, it’s free and, that is always great. Most of the animals are native, just a few none native species. It’s very badly maintained for a place that provides such a great service to the community. I don’t know many towns with zoos. The place either needs funding or, more funding. I did enjoy the opportunity to see the few animals they have, up close.

Very nice park and zoo...

What A Nice Park! Lots of things to do for children or just take a nice stroll. Several animals. There is also a carousel and a small train that are reasonably priced. The veterans memorial was my favorite. It was very informative and up to date. Could easily spend an entire day here.

Super nice well done park

Such a wonderful place to enjoy with kids of all ages!

I visit regularly year round to photograph the park/zoo. Not just for the animals, but also to just relax. Marlin Perkins (Google it!) made an impact on our park that only senior citizens are aware of any more.

A great place to spend your carefree time.

Its free to enjoy!

Beautiful park & zoo! Stellar new Veterans Memorial! Lots of animals, merry-go-round is by donation, putt-putt, mini train rides, concession stand...zoo is free! Home to the first monkey to the Moon- Miss Able. Shes now in the Smithsonian!

Its a great afternoon with the kids. Get to see animals wouldnt normally get too. An than play on some very awesome park equipment. Than if lucky enough spend sometime on carousel little train an mini golf. It great place for all our age range of kids. Toddlers to teen love this place..

Great park and excellent venue for the new Memorial Park that was completed. Excellent and deserved homage to our US veterans ans their sacrifices. It is very well worth the stop and visit. I commend the community and support in resurrecting this memorial.

If you’re looking for a big zoo, just off US 75, that’s another 300 miles north or a hundred miles south. That said, this is quite the place for a small town.It a big monkey area. That’s my favorite exhibit here.Independence is my favorite Kansas town under 50,000. Now I’ve made like Senator Moran and driven ALL OVER KANSAS, so that’s saying something.

Great park park kids love it .....

Nice place for kids to play and see animals. Id recommend going. Its also free.

I grew up in this park. I am now 45 years old and still love it. We have family reunions there and ride the train. So nice and conveniently located next to the swimming pool. We love monkey island. Lots of shade to enjoy a picnic.

This is such a nice little zoo! Its free and easy to get through.

My children and I have very much enjoyed the improvement that has been made and excited to see what else is in store for the future

Best little zoo in Kansas.

Excellent place for families. Carousel, mini train and mini golf course are very cheap and fun. The zoo is free. Playground is newly renovated. There is a beautiful fountain with color lights at night time and tennis court that is free too. In the summer time the waterpark is open to public.

Best little zoo in southeast Kansas, cant beat the price, free to get in. Plenty to do for the whole family, park has been updated and the veteran memorials are top notch. This is a must see if you visit Indy.

Wonderful Park & Zoo perfect for Children and Families. I highly recommend small train ride, miniature golf course, and taking your time to enjoy the fountain in the park.It is historic, in that the first monkey to go in outer space, the first American monkey, came from the Ralph Mitchell zoo in their collection.

My husband and I found this park while on a drive. We live over an hour away and I brought 3 of my grandkids today to enjoy the nice park and zoo. We had a picnic lunch and they played at the park for awhile then we went through the zoo. We had such a nice time. The playgrounds are a mix of old and new equipment with quite a large variety. I enjoy the statues around the park. The zoo is small but well kept. I can’t believe this place is so nice in such a small town really away from any big cities. We will return. This is such a pretty little town!

Zoo??? If having a lot of empty cages make it a zoo well then by golly this place is awesome.

The niece loved it all

Poorly maintained and almost no animals

Fun, free zoo!

Absolutely amazing! We live in Missouri and every time we go to visit family in Texas we stop here to stretch and walk this beautiful park. Although a small zoo the layout and landscape is beautiful. And they have very nice parks in and around the zoo. We have a hard time getting back into the car after have such a nice and relaxing walk around the zoo. We usually stay about 1-2 hours. Will recommend this park to anyone and to top it off the zoo is FREE!

It was a fun place to go great for the kids.

Great day at the zoo and water park kids loved it

Very well cared for park. They still have the Monkey Island. Nice place to visit.

Awesome day. Great fun!

This would be a 2 star if it wasnt free. Not a large nice zoo, but it is nice and you can see a few animals and its a great place for a picnic. Plenty of playground equipment and a large park on the other side.

No animals very poor and small zoo

Beautiful place, very good place to spend some time with family and see some neat animals. Plus the swan was fun, every time we would go near its pond he was there to greet us ( looking for treats!)

Best place around. Free zoo. Very inexpensive train rides, carousel, and mini golf. Clean park with tons for the kiddos to play on. Great walking trails through the zoo or around the park. Nice ampatheater. Plenty of places to cook out under shady trees and tons of buildings to rent for parties. Plus the fountain.

Independence, Ks. is located in Montgomery Co. not Doniphan. Its population is closer to 10,000 than it is to 3 3

This place is absolutely amazing. There is something for everyone here. And it costs practically nothing with a family of 7 we had a blast and spent only 10 dollars

The grandchildren took us to their favorite place and we were really impressed, from the picnic areas to the zoo animals, huge play ground areas, everything was top notch!!

Maybe Im a bit biased since I spent many many hours here as a kid. But I really enjoyed going back to the zoo and being able to take my husband and 13yr old daughter. They have heard me talk about the Independence Zoo for as long as either of them can remember. We went during December, so as expected it was during their off time, but it was still a great experience to share with my family. I was afraid that it might be run down due to many years passing since I have visited, but they have done a great job at keeping it up. Monkey Island is everything I remember it to be and more! I do miss the prairie dog exhibit though! Bonus...this attraction is completely free to visit!! You cant beat that!!!

Very cute and scenic

Nice park and zoo. Its also free. Well maintained and a great experience for young and old.

Great park and Zoo. Looking forward to coming back and riding the train

The are always trying to improve and have added a lot of attractions in the last decade. The memorial to our service members through the conflicts the US have been in over the decades is very nice. They have the zoo, an antique carousel , lots of play area, tennis courts, plants, a building to have events in with plenty of parking.

Lots of fun

Absolutely love this place. They have a train to ride on. A little golf place. A carousel that takes donations of 5 cents. The park. And the zoo. Its not a very big one but its a great place to take the kids too, and it ends at a great park for little little kids.

Love taking my kids here. Logs of great events as well. Worth the drive for us and we visit multiple times a year.

Love this park

This is fantastic

I love this place, my family and I come here every year! I love the train ride also!

I absolutely loved this place! My family and I visited here while we were visiting family. I am shocked that its all completely free. Coming from Michigan not even parking is free. The zoo has beautiful views as you walk through the trails and the animals were all out to see. The pond with ducks and swan was my favorite. My kids enjoyed the park. Overall definitely worth the trip if your in the area.

A very fun and peaceful visit. Will definitely come back.

It was nice. Kinda stinked that half the zoo was closed but it was still fun

Very quaint. Simple but gives such a great experience for the whole family. Has a great variety of exhibits and animals. Great landscaping, and they even let you feed the animals on occasion. The Park is awesome. Very creatively designed. Many facets to the ground plan. Multiple jungle gym sets for kids to play on. There are some features that you wont see anywhere else. Lots of slides. Some antique features of the park have been there for decades and are still being used!This Zoo and Park combo is great for the whole family, and believe it or not, its all free!

It was awesome for this time of year.

This place actually tried to tell me they cleaned the burmese python cage this past thursday 6/14/18. Really? An animal that eats every 2 weeks and you tried to tell me that with 5 piles of feces in the cage. Then you tell me he is shedding, well that is fine, so than use a snake hook to get in there and clean his cage. His last shed was still in the cage also. But they say they just cleaned his cage out. I will be calling the state with proof.

It looked neat but by the time I got there, at 6pm, it was closed... So, I just moseyed around the outside fence looking in at the animals, and at the same got a good walk in!

Very pleasant. Good to see such a small town working hard to keep their park in order.

I stop by to visit the eagle whenever Im passing through Independence. Ive named her Wanbli,(the Lakota word for eagle). Shes such a beautiful bird. I also like seeing the buffalo. For southeastern Kansas this place is a true gem. Way to go Independence.

My family has had our family reunion at this park almost every year for as long as I can remember. Love this place lots of great memories.

Kids loved it. Most things are cheap or free!

The scene was very beautiful and the sites were well lighted and you got to feed the animals loved it

Ive been coming to this park for as long as I can remember. We have our family reunion here and just love this park.

Fun for everyone! Really enjoy the birds!