Big Joel's Safari Petting Zoo & Educational Park

Miranda and Russell Miller

2024-04

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Shannon Richardson

2024-04

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Drew John

2024-04

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James Fredeking

2023-11

We took our 2 year old granddaughter and her mom and dad. She had so much fun feeding the animals. They have set the animals up in a way that is fun and not intimidating for the little ones. There is also lots of staff to help you and keep both the people and the animals safe. Please use the spoons they provided to feed the animals, they keep you from getting bit and also protect the animals

Brittany Mayer

2023-09

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Mike Blosser

2023-09

Great place a bit off the beaten path, but not too far. You could spend as little as a few hours to most of the day here. We were there about three hours which allowed plenty of time to see all the animals and let the kids play for awhile.Prices are reasonable and the place is clean. Clean as one can expect an animal park to be that is. The staff was also friendly and willing to talk about the animals and share stories.No food service, as they say on their site. So eat before or pack a lunch. You can eat in the parking lot area if you’re making a day of it.

William Vallellanes

2023-11

What a cool petting zoo! It is much larger than we imagined! There was so much for the kids to see! The spoons were a smart idea for those that may be afraid to feed the animals with their hands. Took us close to an hour and a half to go around the whole place at a leisure pace. Animals, playground, huge slide for the kids, they had a variety of things to do. Fall decorations all over when we went. Was super fun.

Tommy Davis

2024-04

Big Joel’s Safari is an absolute game changer. Huge fan. I legitimately had more fun than 97% of the small children in attendance. The wife and I hand fed frickin goats, camels, deer, donkeys, some strange animal I didn’t know existed. 10 out of 10 experience. We even made friends with an albino peacock! An 8ft tall camel did a food dance when we fed him. It was absolutely epic. Tell a friend, bring your family, get ready for an adventure.

Carolyn Mackenberg

2023-10

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Tricia Pyatt

2023-07

This is one of our very favorite summer activities to do. We go multiple times a year and I'm always telling other people about it. We love getting up close to the animals and getting to feed them. And the parakeet enclosure is our favorite part! Or maybe the baby goats. Or alpacas. OK we love it all! Big Joel's rocks and has from the year they first opened. And it just keeps getting better!

Laura Marschel (LalyMom)

2023-05

We went with two kids, ages 9 and 12, plusfour adults. What a great place! Such a huge variety of animals, all of them seemed happy. The staff members throughout the grounds were all so very friendly, knowledgeable and great talking with the kids too. Summer camp or other kids programs would be awesome here. Would definitely recommend this place to anyone!

Megan Robinson

2023-05

Great place for the family! It was large enough to have a good variety of animals to see. But not so large that everyone is too exhausted by the end of the visit. My daughter was very excited about the pony rides. We'll have to come back when camel rides are available again. Feeding the parakeets was also a highlight for both of my kids.

Allimarie Wallace

2022-05

We had so much fun here, what a blast! It was so exciting to see all of the animals and feed them, many were hungry!! They race their cute little selves to the fence to get food which was adorable. We also enjoyed the fish in the tanks located in the gift shop. Very reasonable and educational fun all the way around, we'll definitely come back.

Siddharth Penmetcha

2023-05

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Angie D

2023-08

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Jaclyn J

2023-05

The kids and I had a great time! We got to see and pet weeks old baby goats. The kids loved feeding the birds in the bird sanctuary! Joel's has such a variety of extravagant animals and birds from all over! We all loved to spend time petting and feeding many of the animals during our visit. All of Joel's crew were very friendly and knowledgeable about the animals. Highly recommend!!

Amanda

2022-05

A fun place to bring the family. Close enough to visit on the weekend but definitely a treat. A little pricy, but bring your cup back and refill. Kids and adults of all ages will have fun. The bird house seems to not be as exciting as it once was, the birds aren't too interested in the food so we only had a few land on our sticks. Many of the other animals seemed "over fed" too with their disinterest in food. Still cool interacting with some unique animals! Grounds are always up kept and staff is friendly and helpful. We've been many times and will continue to visit.

Josh Uelhof

2023-10

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Jessica Stranc

2023-05

Been more than once. For a birthday party and for Halloween time. Kids always have a blast. They love being able to get up close with the animals to feed them and give them lots of attention. They like reading and learning about the animals. They liked the pony ride and going in the bird house gave so many giggles. The play area is a nice area to stop and let them play. The koi pond is always fun. Better concessions would be awesome but it's kinda understandable why it is what it is being a beverage vending and snack vending machine.

Nicole Wilson

2018-05

Love Love LOVE this place! If you are an animal lover this is heaven! Very affordable and my 2 year old LOVED it! You can feed just about everything there by hand or with a spoon and for just a few dollars you get a very large cup of feed! (Cup seen in pics) all the animals are sweet and come right to You! You can get sticks with bird seed and have tons of birds flock to You! Stafe very friendly and animals well cared for! Wonderful place for kids!!

Sara Davis

2020-05

This is such a fun place. My 2 1/2 year daughter and my 6 year old niece both love this place! They have a lot of different animals and the kids think it’s really cool to feed them. There is a cool little playground area in the middle of the park. Staff was very polite, prices reasonable. Park and the restrooms were both very nice and clean. It’s perfect size for younger kids that can’t run around the bigger zoos all day. Always a good time and worth the drive to check it out!

Stephanie Rhea

2022-05

What a fun place to go! We had a family outing here with the little one (18 months old) and we had a blast feeding all the animals! Also, very educational with all the signs with so many facts about each one. Employees were super helpful and knowledgeable. We will probably be back for the spooky safari in the fall!

Jenni Pruitt

2018-05

We're so fortunate to have such an awesome place in this area! First of all, I love that Joel himself, and his family, are actively involved in running the Safari! His parents are so kind and fun to talk to! They're knowledgeable AND they treat you like family!I was impressed with the play area, my kiddos had a blast crawling over the tires and going down the slide. It was fun to see and read about different animals as well to get to feed them!I felt the area was well maintained and the animals were well taken care of. It was big enough to provide fun for the whole family but not so big that it was overwhelming.This is a fun, affordable place to take the family! . Ahuge thanks to Joel and his family for all they do!

Brittany Holden

2024-01

This is for the Winter Wonderland only. We have been to the park on other multiple occasions.As far as the lights, animals and displays, everything was great. However, I did not pay almost $40 to be followed around by a worker the entire time. Granted I had a child with specials needs and behavioral issues,but this lady was trailing us everywhere. It honestly made me uncomfortable and made the experience with my boys less enjoyable. She would even try to correct my son's behavior before I could do so. I respect and understand the rules for animal safety,but this made me feel like I was at the art museum. Please consider boundaries of your guests next time. Not all of us are careless.

Lisa tiggerrrt

2022-05

I wish I could give more stars! I so enjoyed this place. It's off the main roads but worth the trip. It's affordable admission and then for $5 you can buy a large cup of feed or $1 parakeet stick. Some animals are on special diets so you can't feed but there are so many to see and pet and feed. I wish I could say what was my favorite but too many to chose. Goats are a given for any petting zoo of course, but Highland cows, camels, deer, llamas, donkeys, rabbits, sheep, ponies, parakeets, all can be fed by hand or using a spoon that hangs on each pen. Pony rides for the under 12 crowd and camel rides for everyone else is available for $7. If you are close its so worth the time.

Nick Sanazaro

2022-05

Way exceeded my expectations. Great for young kids. The playground was awesome. The kids didn't want to leave. Everyone was helpful and friendly. For sure get the large cup of food to feed the animals.

Terri Durbin

2022-05

Highly recommend Big Joel's Safari. This was my first time and I can see what all the talk was about. All of my kids had been with grandparents before and they were not sad to go back. There was a fun playground the kids really enjoyed playing on. They loved being able to feed all of the animals. They also loved going in with the goat's to feed and pet them. I would definitely recommend this petting zoo. It is great for all ages!

Jennifer Stewart

2022-05

Big Joel's is lots of fun and really affordable. Even though my husband and I don't have kids, we still love going and feeding all the animals. We enjoy seeing the unique animals that Joel has chosen, and we notice something new each time we go. The Halloween decorations are especially fun and very appropriate for small children.

Kelsey Brown

2023-07

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Kleenex FromHell

2023-06

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