Whether you’re looking for adorable baby farm animals or even fully grown exotic animals, petting zoos near Chicago are your answer. From the city to the suburbs and southern Wisconsin, we’ve rounded up some of the best animal encounters, local farms, and petting zoos near Chicago. A few are even open for year-round fun!

For more animal and farm fun check out our list of the Best Zoos and Aquariums in Chicago for Kids and our picks for the Best Farms with Family Entertainment.

Explore Connecticut restaurants where kids can play, roam, or be entertained while you eat.

Strawberry picking means those sweet local berries will taste even better when you pick them yourself. There are several farms with strawberry picking near Los Angeles where families can play farmer for a few hours and come home with a basket overflowing with berries. The first ripe berry in Southern California tends to be a strawberry, and its harvest tends to be accompanied by popular annual festivals. 

Discover our favorite farms for strawberry picking, all on an easy day trip from LA. For more pick-your-own fun, here are places to go cherry picking with kids, beautiful sunflower fields for picking your own flowers, and our Pick Your Own Guide for the Best Farms Near Los Angeles. 

Orlando and Central Florida residents are lucky to live among diverse wildlife and greenery. Explore these lush areas with a drive-thru safari from your car! Families can enjoy Orlando's wildlife regardless of weather or physical limitations. Wildlife drives offer safe ways to experience the outdoors.

Observe Orlando wildlife and even exotic animals from the convenience of your car. So, grab some snacks, load up the kids, and head out on one of these drive-thru safaris!

It's time for strawberry picking in Atlanta! The season for u-pick strawberries is upon us and usually lasts through June. We have plenty of strawberry farms within driving distance of Atlanta that not only offer u-pick and pre-picked strawberries, but also activities like petting zoos, jumping pillows, and train rides. Strawberries are also the theme of some of our favorite spring festivals like the popular Georgia Strawberry Festival in Reynolds.

Check out the best places for Atlanta strawberry picking—all you have to do is throw the kids in the car...strawberry-themed outfits encouraged! 

If you've got a child who loves cows, like my daughter, South Mountain Creamery in Middletown, MD is a must-visit. At this family-owned farm less than a 90-minute drive from DC, visitors can tour the maternity ward and other farm areas, play on a playground, eat delicious homemade ice cream, and even feed baby cows. And the best part is, it's FREE to visit (though you'll have to pay for the calf feeding and certain other activities).

Read on to learn all about my family's visit to South Mountain Creamery. Then visit our Guide to Farms in Washington, DC for more farm fun with kids, from great animal farms and petting zoos near DC to awesome places to pick your own produce.

Taking a vacation with kids can be tricky, especially when it comes to traveling. Flying can be stressful and expensive, and if you're anything like me, it's your least favorite method of transportation even without kids.

Sometimes, half the fun and adventure of a vacation is getting there! Road trips can be a great way to bond with your family, so we've rounded up a few awesome places that are less than a 10-hour drive from the greater Philadelphia metro area. As an added bonus, you can travel to a few of these places by train, too!

At New Jersey petting zoos, you and your family get to spend time outdoors while visiting cute, cuddly animals. In addition to seeing chicks, calves, lambs, bunnies, and piglets, kids can often pick fruit and vegetables. Some farms even host events where kids can watch cows being milked or take in another demonstration, like learning how cheese and bread are made.

Read on for more than a dozen of our favorite NJ petting zoos.