Visiting Wildlife Safari: Drive thru Zoo in Winston, OR

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Oct 22

Written By The Southern Oregon Mom

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What is Wildlife Safari?

Wildlife Safari is a drive thru zoo located at 1790 Safari Rd, Winston, OR 97496. It’s just a few minutes off the Winston exit along I-5 in Southern Oregon. It’s a 600 acre animal park. You drive your own car along 4.5 miles of road through the zoo, and according to their website they have around 100 species of animals.

The drive thru safari takes about 1-2 hours depending on how frequently you stop to view the animals. If you are a slower moving car, pull to the side and let all the speedsters behind you pass. You definitely want to take your time and make sure everyone in your family got to watch the animals along the way.

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A lot of the animals are free range throughout the drive. That includes the big guys like giraffes, rhinos, and bison. Give them their space. Don’t worry, the elephants, hippos and carnivores are NOT free range!

Stay in your car, and don’t feed or pet any of the animals as you drive through. There is a very clearly marked section of the drive where you can purchase food to feed the animals from your car. This is a favorite with kids and the animals in that section. It can be a bit intense once the animals see you have a cup of food for them. It’s a lot of excitement, and it goes quickly so have your camera ready. And be sure to have lots of hand sanitizer because you’ll likely get lots of licks in the process.

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If you’re looking for a more up close and personal experience, Wildlife Safari has some pretty cool animal encounters you can add to your visit like feeding giraffes, giving an elephant a pedicure, and taking a stroll with a cheetah.

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Cheetah Conservation Program at Wildlife Safari

Wildlife Safari has the number one cheetah breeding program in the Western Hemisphere! They started in 1972, and over 200 cheetahs have been born there.

On our visit, we were able see tons of young cheetahs. Right now cheetahs are my kiddo’s favorite animals so this was a huge win for our visit. Don’t worry if they’re napping and you can’t find them. There are usually a couple in the FREE part of the zoo where you park and walk around. Read more about their conservation here.

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What is there to do at Wildlife Safari?

After you’ve completed the drive-thru safari tour, there’s still a lot of fun to explore! Pro-tip: you don’t have to pay for the drive thru tour to explore the other activities at Wildlife Safari in the Safari Village! I love that option here. If you don’t have room in your schedule or budget to go on the drive thru section, you can still have a great visit with your family.

Wildlife Safari has a large petting zoo area (you’ll need to bring quarters for the food machine). They also have lots of animals to view like red pandas, alligators, lions, monkeys, wallabees, koi fish, cougars, flamingos, and more. They have keeper talks through the day. It’s great to hear extra info and ask questions about the animals. You can purchase tokens for a camel ride and to take a train ride to see the animal park. They have a small restaurant with kid friendly food choices. We typically grab an ice cream from there during our visit. And their playground area is always a hit for our family, and a good way to get out all the wiggles before getting back into our car.

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What Animals are at Wildlife Safari?

I don’t have a complete list but you’ll be able to see camels, zebra, eland, black bucks, scimitar horned oryxes, alpacas, elk, bison, bears, rhinos, wolves, giraffes, hippos, monkeys, elephants, deer, sheep, goats, cheetahs, lions, tigers, red pandas, wildebeest, ostriches, flamingos, alligators, cougars, and more!

Family Friendly Places to Stay near Wildlife Safari

WIldlife Safari in WInston, OR is about 30 minutes away from Seven Feathers Casino Resort. Seven Feathers Casino Resort properties are such a great family friendly place to stay after visiting Wildlife Safari. They even offer discounted tickets to WIldlife Safari to their guests!

Seven Feathers is kid friendly. Each of their properties has something special for family fun! Read more about my family’s visit at Seven Feathers.