Every family has that one road-trip stop that's not up for debate. For us, it's GarLyn Zoo.
Every year, we head up to Curtis in the Upper Peninsula, and every year we drive right past this little zoo on US-2. And every year, the kids want to stop. It doesn't matter how old they get. They absolutely love it.
That says a lot. My kids are not little anymore, and there aren't many places that still get a "we have to stop" out of both of them.
Where Is GarLyn Zoo?
GarLyn Zoo is right on US-2 along the northern shore of Lake Michigan, about six miles east of Naubinway and roughly 40 minutes west of the Mackinac Bridge. If you're crossing the bridge and heading west into the U.P., it's practically on your way.
It's also easy to miss. You can zip right by it at highway speed without realizing what it is. Watch for the signs and the big carved bear out front, and if you see them, pull in. You won't be sorry.
This Is Not a Traditional Zoo
Let me be clear: this is not the Detroit Zoo. It's small, it's family owned, and it's been there since 1994. And honestly, that's the appeal.
The whole place is built into the woods. You walk a wood-chip trail through pine and birch trees, and the exhibits are set around the natural forest rather than surrounded by concrete. The enclosures are big, with room for the animals to climb, roam and just be animals. Everything we saw looked clean, and the animals all looked well taken care of.
The workers are super nice, too. Ask them anything about the animals, and they'll happily tell you about it.
Bunnies, Goats and Peanut-Butter Bird Sticks
Here's where GarLyn really wins over kids. It's hands-on.
You can buy carrots to feed the rabbits, which are ridiculously cute. I got a couple of my favorite pictures of the kids here, leaning over the rail to hand a carrot to a little white bunny. You can also buy cones of feed for the goats, and the goats are always awesome. They know exactly what those cones mean.
There's also a birdhouse where you get a stick coated with birdseed and peanut butter and hold it out for the birds. Between the bunnies, the goats and the birds, you'll want a few extra dollars on hand for feed.
A Zoo Built Into the Woods
Part of the charm is that not every animal stays behind a fence. Peacocks wander around the grounds like they own the place, and chickens run all over. You'll be walking down the trail and suddenly have a peacock strolling next to you.
It makes the whole visit feel less like touring exhibits and more like walking through a farm in the middle of the forest that happens to have a lion in it.
Lions, Tigers and Two Very Different Bears
For a small zoo, GarLyn has some surprisingly big animals. There are lions and a tiger, which my daughter, Hallie, loves, because she's a big-cat person through and through. There are wolves. There are monkeys and alligators. And there are bears.
The bears turned into a great moment. Atticus and I were back by the bear exhibits, and he didn't realize at first that the black bear and the brown bear were two completely different animals.
That's because when we visited Oswald's Bear Ranch, they explained that black bears aren't always black. They can be brown, tan, cinnamon or black. So a "brown" bear sounds like the same thing.
It's not. A brown bear is a different species altogether, and a lot bigger than a black bear. At GarLyn, you can see both of them, so you get a real size comparison in person, which is pretty cool. (The zoo lists its brown bear as a Syrian brown bear.)
Singing Dogs, Camels and the Kids' Favorites
Some of the exhibits are just plain unusual. There was one group of animals I couldn't remember the name of. They were a little bigger than a fox, sat up on the rocks in their exhibit, and howled the whole time we were there. Looking at the zoo's animal list afterward, I'm fairly sure they were New Guinea singing dogs, which are famous for exactly that.
There are camels, too, plus big flightless birds. (The zoo lists emus and rheas.) There's a reindeer exhibit, and that brings me to the kids' favorites.
Atticus's favorites were the reindeer and the cows. He just loves cows. They're his favorite animal, period, so a zoo with cows is a good zoo in his book. Hallie, like I said, was all about the big cats.
The Duck That Stole the Show
One of the best pictures I took on our last visit wasn't a lion or a bear. It was a mallard drake, just floating on a pond in the middle of the zoo.
I'm still not 100% sure he was part of an exhibit. He might have just liked the neighborhood. But the water was still, the woods were reflecting in it, and it turned out to be one of my favorite shots of the day.
The Signs Are Half the Fun
GarLyn has a sense of humor, and the signs made my kids laugh. There's a sign with a cartoon steak that says, basically, "This is how our carnivores see you." There are signs pointing the way to the meat eaters. And there's a bright yellow caution sign near the lion warning that if you see him turn around and raise his tail, you should step to the side, because his spray range is 7 to 10 feet.
There's also a big painted sign comparing the lengths of the big cats, so you can stand next to it and see how you measure up against a tiger. Little things like that make a small zoo memorable.
How Long Do You Need at GarLyn Zoo?
GarLyn isn't huge. You could walk the entire place in about an hour. We stayed for about two hours, just taking our time and watching the animals.
It wasn't crowded when we went, which made it even more relaxing. It's an easy, low-key stop that breaks up a long U.P. drive in the best way.
There's a good-size gift shop at the entrance, too, if your kids need a souvenir.
Before You Go: Cost, Hours and Parking
The practical stuff, all in one place:
- Cost (2026): $17 for adults, $15 for kids 3 to 13, free for 2 and under. The family rate is $64 for up to six people. Recreation Passport holders save 10%. Feed for the animals is extra.
- Hours (2026): Open daily from May 1 through Aug. 31, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sept. 1 through Oct. 13, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Last admission is one hour before closing. After mid-October, opening depends on the weather, so call ahead.
- Parking: Free, right off US-2.
- Address: W9104 US-2, Naubinway. It's about six miles east of Naubinway.
- Good to know: The zoo doesn't allow outside food or drinks, and pets aren't allowed inside.
- How long: About an hour if you walk straight through, two hours if you let the kids feed everything.
Is GarLyn Zoo Worth Stopping For?
Yes. If you see the signs, stop.
I'll go one step further: I'd rather go to GarLyn Zoo than the Detroit Zoo. The Detroit Zoo is probably ten times bigger, but GarLyn feels like the wild. The animals are outside in the woods, the trails are quiet and the whole place has a small-town warmth that a big city zoo can't match. It's one of the nicest zoos I've been to in Michigan.
And the fact that my kids still beg to stop every single year? That's the best review I can give it.
More Eastern U.P. Stops Near GarLyn Zoo
GarLyn sits on the main route into the eastern U.P., so it pairs easily with our other favorites. North near Newberry, Oswald's Bear Ranch is where Atticus first learned black bears come in more colors than black. Not far from Curtis, the giant wooden troll Benny the Beard Fisher is in Germfask, and west on US-2, Kitch-iti-kipi near Manistique is Michigan's biggest spring. Farther north and east, Upper Tahquamenon Falls and the Soo Locks round out a great family trip. You can find more on our interactive map.
