The Wilds Reviews

More people need to know about this gem in Ohio. A must see for animal lovers and conservationists. Especially with kids.

Sitting on over 10,000 acres of reclaimed land, you will be exposed to animals you can not see anywhere else.Their conservation and care of the animals is top-notch.

The open air tours have breaks with the option to get off the bus This allows parents of preschoolers and toddlers to expend energy. For parents of preschoolers and toddlers it's all about energy management. There's even an option for food midway through the tour.

You will be amazed how how close you can get to the wildlife and the variety of the wildlife.

Only one caution, not a complaint. If it's late in the year, get an earlier tour, sometimes the animals have to be sheltered and you don't want to miss them. They shelter some of the animals if the weather will dip below 40 degrees Fahrenheit.

The Wilds is some distance from popular eateries, so factor that into your planning, but the food served there is great for young kids and their parents and grandparents.

Because of the variety of animals you will enjoy a return visit every tour is different.

Must see!

Had the greatest day here today. Want to go back already

Beautiful scenery, amazingly close to the animals. Dottie our tour guide was spectacular. Amazing experience and will definitely be returning.

We went to celebrate my daughter's birthday. Had a great time! Rosie, our guide, made the open air safari a really good time, lots of information along with lots of laughs. Can't wait to go back.

We always have a blast on this unique open air safari style tour. The animals are in open fields so you'll get to see them meander as if they were in the wild. We've lucked out with the majority of the animals being in close proximity to the bus. The drivers are knowledgeable and full of interesting facts. Every visit is unique and every experience is memorable. I highly recommend this hidden gem.

I'm only giving it a 4, and I'll tell you why later, but first; This was a 5 star visit. Cassie was very informative, entertaining, and funny. She made sure we got to see as much of the animals as we could on the open-air bus tour. I'm only knocking off 1 star because of the 30yr old former school buses with the original dreadfully uncomfortable seats in them. For $30/head, you'd think they could afford new busses.

This place is amazing. The tour guide was great, I could really tell she enjoyed her work and yet took knowing the facts details fun facts etc very seriously and wanted to provide tourists with everything she knew personally.
The fact that Ohio has such a beautiful place for these endangered animals to reside, reproduce, and roam is in itself amazing and makes it worth visiting and supporting.
The only thing that someone may consider inconvenient is the parking/shuttle service.
Definitely recommended to go on the tour, and if you have the money go back and experience all options. They have a zipline tour, horseback riding, stop and pet and see animals up close. Stay overnight do a sunset tour. It's amazing what they have to offer, and it's in boring old Ohio!!
About 2 hours from Columbus I believe.
Make it a weekend and stay at The Garland Hotel outside of the recommended hotels for tourists. Worth the extra distance and drive.
Take the backroads it's a beautiful ride through the country

Awesome place to visit. Got to see a lot of animals close up and even saw some of the workers from the t.v show.

Great place to see non-native animals up close and get a bit of history on the area and how it came to be.

This is really a hidden gem! There are experiences available here unlike any I thought were possible in Ohio. If you have the means, I strongly suggest taking the tour where you ride in the back of a pickup truck. You're able to get very close to a lot of the animals, which makes for some great opportunities for photos. We even got to hand-feed a rhino! There are also yurts and a cabin that you can rent, if you want to spend the night. Again, it was a blast staying in a yurt. However, it's pretty expensive to make the jump from the cheapest tour to the truck tour, or to stay in the yurt. If you can cover it, though, it's absolutely worth it.

My daughter's Girl Scout Troop chose The Wild's as their summer trip this year. We knew about it for months in advance. I was not particularly thrilled with the idea because I'm not the worlds biggest lover of Zoo's, which is what I kinda pictured it would be like. Boy was I ever WRONG!! My daughter, husband, and I (along with GT/Leaders & parents) had the most WONDERFUL time. It is such a beautiful and amazing place to visit. The conservation programs are almost mind blowing. Our tour guide/bus driver was AMAZING. I wish I could remember her name. She was knowledgeable, kind, patient, and above all HILARIOUS to boot!! BEST GUIDE EVER!! I learned so many many interesting things I did not even know I was remotely interested in. We even got to see the 4 DAY OLD GIRAFFE (check out their web page to watch a video of him learning to walk. #toostinkincute). Some day I'd LOVE to stay in one of the YURTS (21 and up only due to alcoholic beverages offered) on the park hillside overlooking acre upon acre of gorgeous scenery and tremendous wildlife. I could go on for hours about our FANTASTIC day at THE WILDS. I will spare the novel and say, honestly, everyone young and old and in between should make the drive out that dirt road to this surreal perfection of a place.

..& next time ZIP LINE!! WOOHOO!!

PRO (one time visitor, lol) TIP: -1*BRING A BOTTLED DRINK WITH YOU FROM HOME.. the first, out of two, stops along the trail offers pop at a mere $3 a bottle. I'm not certain the price for water but I think it was the same.
^^^if you forget your water and are completley parched keep in mind all proceeds go back into the park. An extremely worthwhile cause if ever there was.^^^
-2* DON'T FORGET YOUR GLASSES PRESCRIPTION OR OTHERWISE.. several of the animals are off in the distance a bit. It's no fun being the only person on the bus missing out. Notably, in the open air bus at least, your on a dirt road and there will be dust n such kicking up. Everyone w glasses had a layer on their lenses.

Great tour and wildlife!! Everyone was friendly and knowledgeable

Third visit enjoy The Wilds more on each visit. Plan on coming for a weekend.

Something for everyone in the family, very peaceful.

Great experience, what makes this place so special tho is not what they do its the people that do it AMAZING staff!
(Hannah/Olivia/kenna! Get an extra thumbs up!)

Great experience for adults and kids. Not just a any zoo!

Loved it. Great learning experience for all ages. Among many things to see and do, got to see the baby born just last week in the habitat with it's mother.

When I called The Wilds about people wearing masks today August 4 2020 I was told people can choose if they want to wear a mask. My husband and I are older in our 60's. We wanted to take our grandkids to the Wilds. I do not feel covid safe riding a bus with random people who are not wearing masks. My mistake for assuming Ohio/Muskingum county health department rules would apply. I was told by a Wilds employee I could probably get a refund if I don't feel comfortable riding the bus. Why can't we set up situations for all of us to be safer vs not safer?

First time here and it was a great experience. We stayed in the cabins at Straker Lake and they were spacious and had all the comforts of home. Large screened in porch with ceiling fans made a wonderful place to enjoy the view of the lake. Small boat and private dock was a fun unexpected addition that comes with each cabin. The excursion into the wilds was interesting and informative. Our tour guide, Molly, was the best. She always stopped to give us great photo opportunities and was very funny. Horseback riding was also a great time. Highly recommend and I will definitely make a return trip.

My daughter and I had a blast at The Wilds. We stumbled upon the signs for The Wilds and checked it out. The roads leading up to The Wilds can be a little imtimidating. My GPS was a little off. The only real complaint that we could come up with is the food that is served. I would think with such a great company you guys could pair up with a fantastic vendor to provide great fresh food for your guests.

Paid quite a bit for a "safari" sunset horseback ride for my wife and I, not much of a safari as they only take you about 500 yards from some Buffalo and deer, the rest is just riding in fields, the horse staff was very nice and the horses were good but like I said when you list it as safari it should at least go near some kind of animals considering that is what your place is known for.

Had a great time! Our tour guide Molly was fantastic. Lots of animals to see and well worth it. Highly recommended fun family place.

Just an amazing place!! Recommended to anyone with children or who just loves animals

We love this place. Have a season pass and can't say enough great things about this place, the staff and what they are doing for these animals!

An absolutely amazing time! We will be going back again soon!

Nice educational facilities great way to spend a family day together

I highly recommend the Sunset Tour by Horseback. Our guides were Cara and Riley. Very nice young ladies. They made sure everyone enjoyed their time and shared information on the area. I wish we had planned on making a day of it and gone on the bus tour first, but we will be back.

There s a lot of fun when it comes to this place. When you first arrive you ll be confused as to where the animals, people, and buildings are. This is where a google maps comes in handy. Try to wait a bit in a gravel parking lot for the bus. It ll show up. Trust me on this.

This place is amazing! Very clean. Everyone is very nice, willing to go above & beyond and super knowledgeable. The animals are very well cared for, the horses are beautiful and shiney. Did have a wasps nest next to our yurt and I got stung so we could not enjoy our patio as much as we wanted. They came out and sprayed right away but only did a small area because the person they sent was allergic to bees. So we still had a wasp problem outside. All in all it was a great experience. Definitely a must try.

Amazing place to visit! We got to see all the animals! Sometimes they arent up close like the last time we went.

Had a wonderful time and my 5 year old grandson loved it. Stayed at the Cabins at Straker Lake. Couldn't ask for a nicer cabin.

I love it, it had lots of amazing animals and beautiful land.

Had an amazing time with my family! Thank you Paula! We will definitely be coming back!

If you have the money, do one of the Wildside tours! Amazing!
The Offen Air Safari is great, too.

A great place. However, not sure the Wikdside our was worth the extra money. Our tour guide, Hannah, was wonderful....friendly and very knowledgeable about all the animals.

Would highly recommend this excursion!

Met up with some friends for a bachelor party. Not a "normal" bachelor party but it was a great time and our tour guide Cole did a great job and was extremely knowledgeable especially for his first day. Never would have guessed it was his first day. Great job Cole.

A fun family day. Wild animals. Plan ahead for prices. See the web site for price listings.

Wonderful place to take family to see animals up close. Tour guide was informative and friendly. Recommend the open bus tour. Enjoyed the cheetahs who lounged in the shade. Great scenic location in rural Ohio.

Bullet points:
1) it takes an hour and a half to drive here from Columbus in good conditions, with almost half of that on back country roads. Don't trust Google maps; follow the directions on the Wilds web site.
2) this ain't the zoo. Parking is rustic, bathrooms and food are sparse, and you're going to be bouncing around in a converted school bus for 2 hours.
3) the landscape is beautiful, and the animals come right up to the bus. Get ready to get real friendly with some Persian Onagers and an Ostrich or two. Watch your fingers.
4) Bring your own drinks and snacks. You won't have a lot of time on the tour to eat, so make it stuff that's easy to cram down in a rush.
5) I'd say 8 years old is the youngest kid that can handle the bus ride and be interested in the format. Younger kids get bored and/or are rambunctious.
6) If you have a zoo membership, get the Wilds add-on. The add-on pays for itself with one visit.

The winter tour was fantastic! Jordan was an excellent guide with a very pleasant personality. It was great seeing the animals up close, unforgettable. So glad I got the season pass.

This was our 3rd time visiting The Wilds and probably the best visit that we've had. Well be back in the future for sure.

Wonderful place to see animals in natural habitat. Highly recommend the "Wildside Tour" where you can go off road in a pick up truck and get up close and personal!

Awesome place to see endangered animals ling close to their natural habitats

Great place to work and visit. Would give more stars if I could

A great place to get a safari experience without going to Africa. As tours are part of research find raising they are on the pricey side. But your guide is educated in the animals and work being done. This is not an animal park but a true wildlife safari.
The buses used ride rough they get you close to the animals.

Really enjoyed the tour. We went on an open air bus and got to see lots of animals up close. We took some amazing photos of a Giraffe two feet away :)
Highly recommended.

The Wilds is a wonderful place!! Went there today with husband and son and thoroughly enjoyed it. Was first time for husband and me; son has been there several times. We took the last "Safari Tour" of the day and saw many of the animal species living there. Can't praise enough our tour guide, Lois!! She was so personable, so informative, shared fun tidbits from her years of working there, great sense of humor as she would explain habits, etc of certain species, and so thoughtful about giving us "photo bugs" opportunities to take pics of the animals. We plan on coming back this summer and staying overnight to more fully enjoy this amazing place. There are several "stay packages" from which to choose - good job making The Wilds so family, couples, or individual friendly! And when we return, sure hope we will be able to get our tour with Lois again!! Everyone needs to visit this amazing place!!

Wonderful conservation Park effort dedicated to the preservation of endangered species. Great narrative and informative tours in open air buses. Might be a bit pricey but worthy of the support.

One of the greatest places on earth. Instead of standing outside a cage, peering at sad animals in a zoo, you ride on an open-air bus right through vast grasslands, with herds of exotic creatures on your left and right. It is truly thrilling, and your money goes to a good cause: the animals are there for breeding and scientific research. We have gone several times. The best time to go is when the weather is cool, since when it is hot, the animals often hide in lakes or tall grass. Regardless of when you go, however, you will have a wonderful time.

The Wilds don t disappoint! They do an awesome job with their tours making it fun and educational. And Its really cheap for the Open Air Safari of $30 ($15 if you are a Columbus Zoo member). They offer additional tours including a overnight stays out at the outpost sleeping really close to the animals. So worth the drive from Columbus. Be sure to bring cash for the parrot cage or for drinks out on the tour. Due to COVID and going at the end of the season, there is limited food services available. Highly recommend this place and hopefully I will be able to go back for some of the other tours.

My family visited for the first time last week and we were all blown away.

Our driver, Don, was so personable and extremely knowledgeable about all aspects of The Wilds - we learned so much from him (more than just about the animals too!) Our youngest in the bunch (2 years and 4 years old) couldn't get enough of the views either.

The conservation efforts by the people involved here are just awesome - more people need to experience this. I think many expect to have a zoo experience but this is a conservation. Yes you have the chance to be up close and personal but you also may not have that happen every time, at least in their basic tour.

The primary focus is conservation - the public just gets the opportunity to experience a glimpse of the progress they have made which is amazing. The Wilds is a MUST if you're in the Central Ohio area. Our family cannot wait to go back again, there's far more than you can see in just a day's trip here.

*Take binoculars, we wish we had!

Awesome experience to see the animals and the way The Wilds is working to help those threatened.

Wonderful experience for the whole family, seeing non native animals in a natural environment

Beautiful grassland pastures, awesome animals, and Don was a fantastic tour guide!

OMG A RHINO!!!!!

Great tour and amazing use of land for these wild animals. Bus tour was great with plenty of up close views of animals. Driver was well informed and hospitable. Souvenir shop offers plenty of opportunities to make you child hate you for not buying them something.

The best girl was our guide! Super fun for the whole family

My girlfriend and I did the Winter at the Wilds tour on December 1st. We were with Hannah and 2 other patrons. It was hands down the most incredible thing I have ever done. We are still talking about it regularly 2 months later! We got to pet the Rhinos and got a chance to see some really amazing stuff. Hannah was super knowledgeable, and was the perfect guide. She managed the tour in a way that let us see all the things we wanted to see for a little longer. I can not rave about her enough! My girlfriend and I hope to come back again in the summer, and would be delighted if Hannah was still with the program. Highly recommend!

It was like a once in a lifetime experience, except its affordable enough to take the whole family over n over. We have not had that much fun in a very long time. I even ran out of gas as we pulled in the parking lot and they gave me enough gas to make it to the station.

Great place to go on a safari. The price is very reasonable, the people are fantastic. Gives you the chance to get up close to the animals with out bars or fence between you and them.

You get to be very close to wild animals. But you are still safe. You can even get to pet some of them and feed a giraffe named Tuffy.

The Ziplining experience is totally worth it. They have professional instructors, who know what they are talking about and will lead you to and awesome experience... You Zip through 10 lines, over woodland, waters and exotic livestock!

Don t think about it twice and enjoy the ride

I spent my 50th birthday with four of my best friends soaking up the beauty and majesty of Straker lake, the cabins and the surroundings. The Wildside Tour was a once in a lifetime experience. Being up close with all the animals was incredible and our guide Kristin, as well as our zip line guides Will and Jo were so fun and knowledgeable. We will be making this an annual event. I can't praise The Wilds enough. What an incredible time. The staff, facilities and experiences were just top notch. Thank you for such a memorable birthday!

Great mission with a great purpose. Tours are long enough to be worth it, and the views are spectacular.

Wonderful place. Our driver was very knowledgeable and explained a lot. E sawbaby rhinos that walked 10 feet behind the vehicle. The driver stopped for many pictures. We went in May and it was not busy.

It was pricey at $31 each . The kids had fun and it was interesting.

Excellent! There is literally nothing like it. Animals extinct in the wild in herds in Ohio. I loved the Rhinos!

Amazing experience. Learned so much and enjoyed the ride. What a gem we have in Ohio. Our tour guide Teara was very knowledgeable and had a great sense of humor. Highly recommend to all!

Our tour guide, Mary, was amazing!! She knew so much. We had a blast and will be back!

My kids lovd d roaming animals around vehicles overall wonderful experience

Didn't see nearly see as many animals as expected. Tour guide was awesome!!! Beautiful area. I recommend The Farm at Walnut creek in Holmes county.