A unique city park is out there waiting for zoologically-minded visitors.
Welcome to Garden City, Kansas and Finnup Park, home of the Lee Richardson Zoo. Owned and operated by the city's zoo department, this menagerie of several hundred species from around the world is a welcome destination for visitors of all ages throughout the entire year. Lee Richardson Zoo is unique in that it offers a choice of experiences, whether it be a traditional walk through the property at no cost to the visitor, or a safari-style drive for a small fee to help maintain the grounds.
Heading to this property was slightly unique in that, because it was done during the travel portion of this trip, we had the trailer in tow. After calling ahead, the staff was quite helpful in how we would be able to park to enjoy the zoo, although parking the "heart" elsewhere is recommended during peak times, as it is a small parking lot. Naturally the walking tour was experienced, and although we recommend taking a picture of the map as you walk in, all of the different sections of the zoo are well labeled, and both drivers and walkers are able to co-exist through the property quite harmoniously. To further help fund the zoo, various animal feeding opportunities are offered throughout the day while clearly publicly announced by loudspeaker and schedule.
At the end of the day, the experience at Lee Richardson Zoo is one that you would come to expect from an organization, whether private or public, that participates in this sort of activity. It may not necessarily be the sort of place that one would want to go out of their way to visit, especially when compared to some of the other major menageries across North America, but if you're crossing the country on either US routes 83, 50, or 400, it's not a bad spot to make a pit stop and enjoy the city, especially when the price cannot be beat for a large family.
So as you Follow Your Internal Compass to a particular destination, do take some time to see what's on the way. You may just find a hidden gem such as this.
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