Some of the best things in family life really are free. Como Park Zoo & Conservatory has welcomed St. Paul families without charging admission since 1897 — a friendly, walkable zoo (gorillas, big cats, polar bears at Como Harbor, the beloved Sparky the Sea Lion’s legacy) joined to a jewel-box Victorian conservatory.
The Marjorie McNeely Conservatory blooms year-round: palm dome, fern room, orchid house and the Sunken Garden’s rotating flower shows, plus the serene Japanese Garden and Charlotte Partridge Ordway Japanese Garden outside. Summer adds Como Town’s kiddie rides and the historic Cafesjian’s Carousel, its hand-carved horses spinning since 1914.
Donations keep it free, and families keep it full. Como is proof that a city’s generosity compounds like interest — 125+ years of free wonder and counting.
