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Wildlife Safari
Categories: Active Life Zoos Active Life Parks Zoos, Parks [Edit]
1790 Safari RdWinston, OR 97496
(541) 679-6761
- Hours:
Mon-Sun 10 am - 4 pm
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
26 reviews for Wildlife Safari
26 reviews in English
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Review from Luke M.
Santa Cruz, CA
11/20/2011
Unplanned Road Trip stop.
THIS PLACE IS AWESOME.
Some of the cheapest and best fun you can have. Les than 20$ for three people to do a safari is a killer deal.
We did the self-guided drive thru tour and for the first time on our 10 day road trip I no longer minded being stuck in a car all day with my 2 companions.
Grabbed a map and headed out. The variety of wildlife was awesome and they get right next to your car.
Here's how it went-
Ohhhhh a Zebra..... cooool!
Ohhh some antelope thing, cool!
Oh a Giraffe. Oh a giraffe blocking the road. He really doesn't want to go anywhere! Oh he left, look at those legs! cooooooool!
OHHHHH a LION EXHIBIT! Aww none of the lions want to come near the fence. They are all so lazy. Get up lazy lions. OHHHH HERE ONE COMES! Oh no hes walking away...wait... what is he doing... OH GOD! ROLL UP THE F#@%$#%ING WINDOWS HE IS PISSING ON US, RUN AWAY!
Ohh a Hippo! cool.
Ohh yay rhinos! They are so far away but that's okay with me cause I don't want them anywhere near the car.
Ohhh elephants!
OOOH MONKEYS! DANCE MONKEYS DANCE (they were gibbons, silly little things).
Ohhhh bears. COOL. That fence looks really tiny for separating me from things that want to eat my face.
Hi Buffaloes!
Hi more elk looking things, you are cool.
Hi lazy smaller bears, you are cool.
Hi EMU. Hi EMU. EMU? Hello? please stop blocking our car. Oh god why are his eyes red and why does he look so evil. Is he a zombie emu? Whew, I think hes gone. **EMU POPS up in open drivers side window, looking intently at me, apparently hungry for my brains!** RUN AWAY!!!!
Hi pretty birds.
Hi Tigers! You are hard to find and lazier than the lions. Lazy is cool. Tigers are cooool, and they don't try to pee on you.
Wow we are done. I want to go again
Oh well lets go inside and have some Umpqua ice cream.
An awesome experience, highly recommended.Listed in: Oregon Road Trip
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Review from Beverly W.
10/15/2011
The safari was neat. It was interesting to see giraffes so close to you. We also saw a camel which was cool. Bears and lions are in enclosed areas compared to the other animals that can roam around.
There is also a petting zoo with goats at the Safari village. -
Review from Jen K.
I am not a zoo person or a morning person. But because I'm a mom, for years I begrudgingly made endless Sunday morning trips with the boys to the Oregon Zoo so they could see the animals. This place is ten times better. We considered going to the West Coast Game Park Safari in Bandon, but the description of the enclosures there made me wary.
Wildlife Safari is really a wide open game park with only a few of the jungle cats and bears in fenced enclosures. Similar to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park (formerly called the Wild Animal Park), but in this case you are driving in your car rather than walking or taking a tram.
The majority of the animals roam the property in separate regional enclosures (Africa, Asia, America). Some are quite inquisitive and approach your vehicle. The bears in their fenced enclosure were enormous and particularly frisky. Shaking trees and playing with chew toys. Impressive.
My boys have their own cameras, so they had a blast taking photos of animals up close that are usually hiding or not interactive at the zoo. I've been on safari in Africa and this is as close as I've come in the states to that same vibe.
During the summer, they are open until 5:00p and we barely arrived before closing time. Fortunately, you just need to pass through the gates before 5:00p, but you can drive around until 6:30p, so we had plenty of time for one thorough loop. Our late arrival did mean we didn't get to experience the Safari Village or petting zoo. With your ticket, you can actually make two loops if you arrive early enough in the day.
Prices are steep, but unlike most other activities during our trip, there are discounts:
--Entertainment Book
--AAA
--Zoo membership (show your card for another zoo)
--Military
They gave us both an Entertainment and AAA discount, so it saved a lot of money. Please keep in mind that they won't permit you to bring your own animals in the park, so you'll need to rent a kennel.
Even though we didn't get to experience everything and it was late afternoon when animals are usually less frisky, it was a fantastic experience. Totally worth a visit if you have animal lovers and/or photographers in the family. -
Review from Foodlover p.
Tacoma, WA
8/13/2011
This is a great place overall. We didn't really know what to expect, but Wildlife Safari was fantastic. We did the drive through the park 2 times in one day and saw different creature activities each time making the drive through worth it. We also visited the "Village" twice because it was so fun.
The Village had a restaurant with fairly good food and options - I wish every place had a vegetarian option. The veggie burger, teriyaki chicken and hamburgers were pretty good, as was the Umpqua ice cream.
There are a lot of activities offered on different days so we'll have to go back and visit again to experience new activities! (Lion tug of war, Elephant car wash, etc - all for $5-$10 more depending on the activity).
Great place for kids to get up close with the animals. We had an emu come up to our car, yaks walk alongside us, we had to drive around giraffes standing in the road and watched elk and baby emus/ostriches cross the pathway in front of us.
I would recommend paying the $7 to get a guide book. Not does it tell you which animals you are seeing, but it goes into more detail about each of the animals. Without the guidebook you have a general map of the area and which animals belong to it but the kids think it's fun to compare the animals to the pictures. -
Review from Jason B.
Lebanon, OR
8/13/2010
Great day trip for us and our 2 and 3 year old girls. About an hour and a half to cruise through the park, and the animals definitely get up close and personal with your vehicle! The giraffe walking right in front of our Suburban and looking at us through the open sun roof was pretty cool!
The zoo portion offers some decent entertainment for about an hour or so as well, and the grounds are very beautiful and well kept. Overall kids and parents both had a great time and it was well worth the $36 price of admission. I recommend Wildlife Safari! -
Review from Steve W.
Portland, OR
8/31/2011
This was awesome! Llamas, giraffes, ostrichs, bison outside of the car. We even saw the brown and black bears right out of our window. Amazing experience. You need to go early in the day when the park is open. The line of cars gets long as you get to Noon. You're supposed to keep driving at 10 mph but cars tend to stop a lot which creates a traffic jam. We passed other cars a lot.
The petting zoo and walking par was neat too. Very well kept and clean. the cheetahs were up close also so that was pretty cool seeing one only 4 feet away. We really liked the playground in the middle too. We plan to go again on our next road trip. TIP: Oregon Zoo members get 50% off and kids under 3 are free. -
Review from Sara G.
Sutter Creek, CA
10/1/2010
This was the best part of our 4 day road trip around southwestern Oregon. We got really close to many animals and saw almost everything on their map. The elephant car wash was the highlight for me but my kids liked the petting zoo.
I would rather pay this ticket price and help support animal conservation than on some crappy tourist trap like a wax museum. -
Review from melissa b.
Sacramento, CA
12/13/2010 4 photos
This was a great add-on to our road trip from CA to OR. We were told about this place from the owner of the hotel we stayed at the night before. Initially we thought the cost would be high for a family of four, but it was reasonable. We live in CA and are used to $30+ for parks of this nature. Plus we had a museum card, which got us 50% off everyone!
The bears were having fun frolicking in the water, giraffes and emus walked straight up to the car and looked in. Of course there were some animals hiding in the shade far from site, but I would be doing the same in 90 degree weather! -
Review from Rebecca C.
Emeryville, CA
5/9/2011 2 photos
Next best thing to Safari Adventure in an African country which I have yet to check off on my "TO DO" list. Had 2 chances to visit Wildlife Safari twice in a month. Each visit was different and unpredictable. You can self - drive in the comfort of your own car or pay a few extra bucks to ride their "cage" like vehicle with veggies to feed the giraffes. After the drive, stop by the village (on foot, that is) to check out the petting zoo, other small animals and play structure.
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Review from J C.
Vancouver, WA
12/28/2011
This is one of the best places I have ever been! I really didn't know what to expect as I didn't do much research on this safari before traveling all the way down to Winston OR from Vancouver WA. It was kind of a spur of the moment summer road trip and I was dying for some adventure. I was very pleasantly surprised. As soon as I entered the Safari, I had a giraffe walk right up to my car and sniff around. I loooove giraffes! They were so cool to look at as they stood around eating leaves off the trees. As I continued to drive, I seen some zebra's and Watusi cattle. They were kind of off in a corner so I didn't get a very good look. The rhinos however stood right in front of my car as I patiently waited for them to cross the road. They kind of freaked me out, as I thought of the damage they could do if they really wanted to. They finally moved out of the way and I proceeded to drive and came across some ostrich's. When I drove a little bit further I seen some Northwest Elk and boy were they big! The bears were the funniest of all animals. They are actually kept behind a fence (probably because they're so curious) but when I seen them sunbathing I turned up my radio so they could hear. They got up and looked around and came closer to the fence. They then started playing with each other enjoying their afternoon of music and sun. They had a ton of animals at this 600 acre safari. The ones I mentioned are just a few of my favorites. I definitely recommend going on a tour of this adventurous safari! I would bring a camera along and make a whole photo album, because you will see some sights worth remembering. They offer an elephant car wash as well and they have a monkey on an island that you can walk up pretty close to. I WILL be going back next summer and I recommend this place to anyone and everyone who will listen!
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Review from David A.
Fremont, CA
5/19/2008 6 photos
We've driven past the signs for the Wildlife Safari on I5 near Roseburg several times and always wondered what it was and whether it was a visit. Today, on our way up to Portland, we decided to check it out and I'm glad we did. Hundreds of species of wildlife can be seen while driving 4.5 miles through 600 acres of scenic rolling hills just outside of Winston, Oregon.
Unlike the San Diego Wild Animal Park, many of the animals are just off the road. A few creatures will come right up to the car if you let them. A sign warns you to keep your car moving when you drive through the bear area to keep them from getting too friendly. I think it is much more pleasant to view animals that are free to roam over a large natural area than see them in the zoo and I imagine they prefer it too.
Here are some general tips:
Tip 1. Try to arrange your visit for a cool day as more of the animals will be out roaming.
Tip 2. Try to come soon after the Safari opens (9 AM during the summer months) both because it is cooler and because the light for photography is better.
Tip 3. Allow about 1 hours to drive through. Your admission ticket allows a second drive any time through the park the same day.
Tip 4: There is also an exhibit area you walk through just before the drive-through area. There are several species of monkeys, a number of other animals, and a small petting zoo as well as a gift shop. We spent about 30 minutes in that area. At certain times there are also shows in that area but not while we were there.
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Here are some photo tips for the Safari
Tip 5: There is no extra charge for non-commercial photography.
Tip 6: If you are the photographer, if possible let someone else drive. In the bear and lion areas there are signs to keep your car moving. If you are the passenger you can take pictures while the car is slowly moving. Elsewhere, you can stop the car anywhere you like but you can't get out of the car. The way the park is arranged, more of the shots were on the passenger side.
Tip 7: Of course this is a great place to justify your ultra zoom cameras or your long SLR lenses. But you'll take at least as many close up shots so you'll use everything from ultra-wide to super telephoto if you have them.Listed in: Best Oregon Vacation Spots
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Review from Rosanna C.
West Sacramento, CA
2/24/2010
When were greeted at the gate by a feathery friend, I knew this was going to be something my family would enjoy. I think my husband and I were more excited than my two year old. It was a nice drive through the park where we stopped a couple of times to allow our animals friends to pass through. At one point, there was a peacock that stuck his head in our car and was inches from my husbands face. SO COOL! They advise you to drive through with windows down, although as scared as I was at times (especially by the herd of buffalo) my window was rolled up. My two year old was allowed to sit on my lap and he really enjoyed the animals.
Facts:
17.99 pp
3 yrs and under free (not sure about kids prices)
Free parking
Museum 2.00 suggested donation with petting zoo, play area, train, stage area, food carts, (most of that was closed due to off season)
Only thing open:
play area
gift shop
restrooms
Petting area to view animals not pet
Take your family SOON, they will love it and you will love it with them! -
Review from K Y.
Bellevue, WA
7/15/2011
Worth the trip. Plenty of opportunities to get close to animals. More animals than Olympic game farm at Port Angeles, WA but does not allow feeding.
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Review from Zac G.
Pleasant Hill, CA
7/8/2008
When my girlfriend and I were resting on our road trip up to Portland. We decided to check this place out after hearing about it from the owners at the B&B we were staying and I am super glad that we did. When you first drive up to this place it seems like nothing special, but when you actually drive into the place, it is really exciting!
There are bears, camels, giraffes and condors all just hang out in their own special spots in the park. You drive in you're own car into the park (on this set road) and before you know it, you're surrounded by animals! You can get an up close look at all off them from the comfort (or uncomfort depend on your view) of your passenger seat. You're so close you don't even need binoculars!
I thought it was really cool because it wasn't like going to the zoo only to find that the animals are hiding in their sleeping areas because it all out in the open. If you got kids this is definitely a must see! -
Review from Mike R.
Portland, OR
3/5/2010
"This is the coolest free zoo. Haven't even been to pay safari part"
That is the text my wife sent me right before I gave a presentation to Southern Oregon Tourism Marketers on Social Media.
If she had posted it here or on another review site, it would have immediately made it into my presentation...
Anyway, she told me all about it on the ride home to Portland. She and my 3-year old son had a great time in the zoo and driving through the safari (even had an ostrich head-butt the car window).
I had driven through 15 years ago and we'll be back! -
Review from Shannon L.
Fremont, CA
7/24/2007
I remember going here when I was younger and it was great being so up close and personal with the animals!
BEWARE: Your car is at risk as soon as you drive through the zoo. Some bears climbed on top and scratched up our Camry. It was worth it!
We drove right by a Camel but I was afraid to open my window because there were so many flies around it's head.
Don't worry though; there are people in high towers watching in case you and your family get attacked. -
Review from Todd M.
8/18/2009
We found ourselves Plan-Less last weekend and decided to take our little nugget out of town for some kiddie/family type fun.
Our first stop ws the Wildlife Safar in Winston Oregon ( exit 119 just a few miles past roseburg - time to get there.. about 3 hours with 1 toddler, and one daddy rest stop each along the way )
This place rocks!!! we've been zoo members for years, but this place blows it away.. lemurs and gibbons actively swinging on the monkey bars, grizzly bears playing with logs in their ponds, elephants washing cars... camel rides, cheetah feeding, bear activities... it's enough to make a toddler giggle with delight ( which she did ).
Biggest hit of the day... the emus... they walk right up to the car window and look inside.. kind of neat for an adult.. but for a 3 year old it was heaven!! ( "I want the other one to look at me too daddy!!" she said )
Admission to the walking center is free ( $2.00 suggested donation) and there is enough there to keep a family busy for hours $2/adults for the train ride.. totally worth it for the close up views of lions tearing meat apart, and lemurs doing whatever they do.
The ride through the park was great.. rhinos close by, tons of meat on the hoof, as well as big tigers, lions, cheetahs.
What really made it great was that the animals seemed so alive and active.. not just sitting in a cage like the zoo. I'd rather see something like this, than a lion in a 100x100 pen.
If you have kids... get your butts down there.. they'll thank you.
Another tidbit.. Abacela Winery, home of Oregon's best Tempranillo, is only about 4 miles away... kids win/parents win. -
Review from Ashley B.
Florence, OR
7/14/2010
My friend and I live on the oregon coast and decided to make a special trip to winston just to see this safari.
We are in our early 20's with no children so maybe that could be why we did not enjoy it as much as everyone else. First of all, it was VERY expensive (18 bucks a person)just to drive a 30 minute dirt road to see animals that were so far away you could barely makeout what they were. The only animals we got a good look at were Alpacas and the bears. But neither of them were close enough to our car to get excited about. I give the wildlife safari 3 stars because we did enjoy the free walk in where you could see a few animals and pet them..they also had a really good coffee shop.
Will i go back? No. I'd rather pay 12 bucks to go to any other zoo in oregon and see them closer. -
Review from Holly S.
Waltham, MA
7/3/2008
On Day 2 of our drive from Seattle to San Francisco last fall, as we sliced our way down the state of Oregon on I-5, we started seeing signs--lots and lots of signs--for a wildlife safari. How incredibly random! While we didn't come all the way across the country to see hippopotamuses and giraffes and ostriches, I'm sure glad we took the slight detour to check out this place. It was a blast!
It's kind of surreal, driving through the habitats where these free-range zoo animals make their home, and it was great to see them all just hanging out together (well, not all right together zoobilie zoo style). It seemed to be a much happier environment for the animals than if there were cages and such all about. (Only the bears were in a fenced-in area. And did I mention how cute they were?)
Road trips are all about exploring what's off the beaten path, and this was a perfect diversion to the monotonous landscape that is central Oregon. If you have a couple hours to spare, check it out. We laughed and oohed and aahed and snapped a gazillion photos.
Go see for yourself! -
Review from Sean C.
Pflugerville, TX
8/14/2010
The kids loved seeing all the animals just outside the car. We saw all the animals listed, which exceeded my expectation. It was worth the stop, I recommend it if you need to take a break from the freeway for awhile.
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Review from Gabriella C.
Carmichael, CA
9/18/2010
If you have kids take them to this safari! We went in the morning around 9:30, and all the animals were out feeding. We had a great time.
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Review from katie h.
Berkeley, CA
6/25/2010
After all the great reviews I was expecting something more.
The free zoo ($2 donation requested) is good for toddlers, but will entertain older children for a maximum of an hour. Smaller animals are brought onto the lawn for closer encounters (but not much touching). The petting zoo is more of a fence through which children can pet willing animals (warning - the llama spits!). There is a creepy model cow for children to milk. It seemed a little graphic for the evangelical overtone of Winston.
The drive though safari park is expensive (although you do get to go through two times in the same day for one admission price). You drive slowly (under 10mph) around the park with windows rolled down taking pictures and enjoying the view.
We saw all the animals advertised and in many ways it was like being out in the wild - particularly when driving through vast expanses of grass. The brown bear enclosure was wonderful. The bears are behind electric fence, but still very accessible (more so than the tigers, lions, and cheetahs). It was the one area where drivers were encouraged to drive around more than once. We watched as two brown bears wrestled in their pond while other sat back gnawing on a hoofed-animal leg!
The cheetahs (the flag ship animal) were something of a disappointment in their chain link enclosures and the guide waiting in her booth to tell you more didn't know much. Still, the record of their cheetah breeding program is impressive - so they must be doing something right.
Check out the museum about the origins of the park. Clearly they expected Wildlife Safari to be Oregon's Disneyland. Not quite.
Another note - there is a weird Noah's Ark display "with Bible Land models" as you come up to the Safari. It isn't part of the park, but it is a big part of Winston (there are brochures in Wildlife Safari's guest services describing ways to use the park in your "homeschool curriculum.") Being a more liberal sort of Christian I was a little weirded out. Aside from the funny look we got from the ticket taker when we named our Northern California hometown, we didn't experience any negative Christian consequences. -
Review from Kevin D.
Felton, CA
3/31/2011
Didn't become lion food, that's a good thing!
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Review from Paige B.
San Jose, CA
7/31/2009
In fairness, we visited on the hottest day ever. So the animals were just trying to keep cool and were not at their most active. However, we were amazed by the bears! One guy is ripping up some tasty animal carcass with gusto, the other three were rollicking in the pond, worth the price admission for that alone. But, can't muster too much excitement for the rest. Wouldn't stop for a second time.
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Review from elisabeth a.
Mountain View, CA
6/15/2009
I'd never been to anything like it before, and it was AWESOME!
It costs about $18 apiece for adults for two rides through the park. It takes about an hour to go through once. I thought I'd want to go again, but it was getting late, and as someone noted earlier, the animals get less active during the warmer parts of the day.
I was amazed by how close you get to the animals and the animals get to you! We had a few animals come right up to our car and had to wait patiently for a mother emu and her babies to figure out what to do while standing in front of our car!
I loved being able to see all of the animal babies (camel, giraffe, bison, emu, etc.). We went during late spring/early summer, probably the best time to see the babies.
After our tour, we visited the Village which has some traditional exhibits with smaller animals and a small petting zoo that had baby goats! (Are you sensing a theme yet?)
Overall, it was well worth the money and time we spent at the Wildlife Safari during our road trip to Portland. -
Review from Gabriella C.
7/30/2011
If possible, I think I would rate it a 4.5!! ;) Such a wonderful place to go, and I had some astonishing experiences!!! I must say though, for admission, go there ready to pay extra for some animal interactions!! First off, in the very morning we did the cheetah photo and encounter. (Cheetah photo is pretty short, so I suggest doing the encounter after too!) Anyway though, it was money WELL spent!!! Personally, I am a true animal lover and it was so unbelievably amazing to be that close to an adult cheetah!!! Such a beautiful animal, and it's hard to believe we were soooo close to her!!! A MUST for any animal lover!!! The cheetah encounter, right after, is absolutely wonderful too!! The keeper was knowledgeable, extremely friendly, and one again we found ourselves closer to cheetahs than ever before!! We also did the elephant encounter, which was great! We got to pet the elephant, go behind the scenes, and feed the elephant! (if your really fast you can snap a photo!) ;) And we also did the giraffe feeding, where we went out on a safari vehicle and had an incredible experience!!! I literally brushed heads with this giraffe!! :-) (Not guaranteed, I just happened to be standing in the right spot!) I got closer than ever before to giraffes!!! :) Yes, you can feed them at other places.. but this one was exceptional. Sooo close, it's a must do if your visiting or if you simply love giraffes!! To end our day, we did the lion feeding. UNBELIEVABLE experience!!! There is absolutely no way to convey the sheer size of these lions, or the raw beauty of them and their eyes!! So amazing..... honestly, truly, there is NO way to explain it. The majesty of them.. the vibration of their roars!! A MUST DO by FAR!!!!!!! Although, in my opinion the participants should not go into this having jumpy tendencies, and I do not think it is for the lighthearted. Adrenaline pumping, it leaves you with a true appreciation for these animals only arm lengths away from you!! The lion jumped up on the cage twice, and they were so astonishingly large and beautiful!! After reading this review, please do not get the impression I'm dramatic.. This was the best trip of my life when we went to Oregon and did animal interactions. It is amazing and powerful and completely incredible!!!! (Also, please keep in mind you must reserve the cheetah encounter/cheetah photo/ and-or lion feeding in as much advance as possible!! For the giraffe feeding and/or the elephant encounter go to guest services when you get there and sign up!! For more info, visit their website for phone numbers, other animal encounters, and specific times) :-)
