Review: African Safari Wildlife Park (Port Clinton, OH) is great for kids and adults alike
Last week, I traveled to Toledo to see William Shatner and Star Wars II at the Stranahan Theater, and I realized that the African Safari Wildlife Park was a mere 50-minute drive from there. This was my third time at the park, but my boyfriend had never been before, so we decided to make the drive.
I previously had visited the park in 2015 with a friend and one other time before that, with a few friends. If you enjoy wildlife, it's definitely an experience!
It was a little odd to be there in the winter, because we were the only car there (more on that later, too)—in the summer, there is usually a line of cars to get in to the park. We waited for the ranger to let us in, and were soon approached by some hungry alpacas.
The alpacas are overall very friendly. After you pass the alpacas, though, you get to the deer, who are a little more feisty ... hold on to your feed cup!
There were some very cute baby deer, as well as two adult deer who were rather ... energetic, shall we say.
Because we were the only car in the safari at the moment, we kind of were swarmed by the deer, and eventually the ranger had to come over to help us out / herd away the deer so we could keep driving. Not going to lie, this was a little scary ... but like I said, every time I have been here before in the summer, I haven't had that issue, since there are lots of cars in the park at any given time.
The buffalo were a bit more chill and didn't come over to greet us, though in the past we have had one stick his head in the car window! The giraffe was unfortunately not out because it was too cold for him/her.
RULES OF THE SAFARI include:
- Car doors must remain closed
- Stay inside your car
- Feed from cup provided
- Bringing your own animal feed is prohibited
- Touching or petting the animals is prohibited
You are allowed to open your car window to feed the animals, though. Just hold on tight to the feed cup! The deer in particular are super strong, and will try to yank the cup away from you (and inevitably always do ...).
If you are a fan of animals, the African Safari Wildlife Park is a must-do attraction—and it's only about a 2-hour drive from the Detroit area, too (and about 20 minutes from Sandusky). It's definitely an experience to have the animals come directly up to your car window, and it's fun to feed them, as well.
The park is introducing a Walk-Thru Safari this spring, and that sounded like it would be awesome as well.
Ticket prices range from $11.95 to $23.95, depending on if a child or adult ticket and if you go in spring/fall or in the summer. I believe feed cups are an additional fee, but I can't find anything on their site about it, so don't quote me on that (we had a VIP Pass which included one feed cup). If you order online, it's currently $14.95 for adults and $8.95 for children, also.
{As of this writing, Groupon currently has tickets available, too! It's $11 for an adult ticket, valid Mondays-Fridays, or $16 for a ticket valid any day of the week. Another option is $79 for an annual pass.}
If you are a fan of animals, the African Safari Wildlife Park is a must-do attraction—and it's only about a 2-hour drive from the Detroit area, too (and about 20 minutes from Sandusky). It's definitely an experience to have the animals come directly up to your car window, and it's fun to feed them, as well.
The park is introducing a Walk-Thru Safari this spring, and that sounded like it would be awesome as well.
Ticket prices range from $11.95 to $23.95, depending on if a child or adult ticket and if you go in spring/fall or in the summer. I believe feed cups are an additional fee, but I can't find anything on their site about it, so don't quote me on that (we had a VIP Pass which included one feed cup). If you order online, it's currently $14.95 for adults and $8.95 for children, also.
{As of this writing, Groupon currently has tickets available, too! It's $11 for an adult ticket, valid Mondays-Fridays, or $16 for a ticket valid any day of the week. Another option is $79 for an annual pass.}
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| Camels! |
In the summer and possibly springtime, there is also an outdoor area with lots of activities to do, including animal shows. The park now also offers camel rides (!), for $5-10—$5 for ages 11 and younger, $10 for ages 12+. I rode a camel in Israel last summer and it was definitely an experience!
Overall, we had a good time at the African Safari Wildlife Park, but next time I go will probably be in the summer, rather than the wintertime.
The African Safari Wildlife Park is located at 267 S. Lightner Rd., Port Clinton, OH 43452, and can be reached on its website or at (419) 732-3606.
