Wildlife Safari Park — Attraction in Ashland

Took the family here for the first time on a Tuesday and everyone had fun. There are large driving areas (pictures don't do it justice) as well as an area that you can get out and walk around or hike if you're feeling adventurous. In the driving areas you'll see things like cranes, turtles, elk, whitetail deer, ducks, swans and bison.

In the walking areas you'll see an eagle aviary that you can actually go into and observe them. We thought that was pretty cool. You'll also see a petting zoo area for little kids that has goats and rabbits. The wash station by the petting area wasn't working so when you're done you need to walk over to the bathrooms to get cleaned up.

On the walking/hiking trails you'll see owls, hawks, wolves and black bears. CAUTION: if you're not physically able to walk up steep terrain this area is NOT for you! We're by no means physically incapable people but it was tough at times along the trail. Especially past the bear and wolf areas. We hiked the trail that runs along the back side of the frog wetlands and it gets really steep there. The signs do warn you beforehand that there are steep areas but we thought it wouldn't be an issue for us as we like to do that as a family. Well, it was harder than we anticipated. It was a hot sunny day with 3 little kids and a stroller.... Let's just say that I won't be doing it again until they can walk themselves!

They have a few different spots throughout the park for kids to get out and play. The best one is by the Bison observation deck. It's a natural playground with wood chips and a winding walkway.

The bathroom situation was actually WAY BETTER than I expected for a safari/zoo place. They were clean, air conditioned and had modern finishes. There is a changing table in the women's bathroom but I'm unsure about the men's.

The visitor center was simple and quaint with a concessions area and a gift shop. They had a few animals on display right next to it that were nice to see as well.

If you're into bugs, there are very large animatronic bugs scattered throughout the park that you can see up close. I think this is a seasonal or annually changing thing as I've heard from other people that they used to have dinosaurs. Bring back the dinosaurs! That'd be way more awesome....just saying.

Overall we had a good time and we will be back as it was a full day of fun that was priced reasonably. It also was not busy so that was a plus for me. The only reason I give it 4 stars is because I felt that there weren't as many animals to see as I would've liked. I thought I'd get to feed the animals in the car like I've seen on the Internet but they didn't offer that here so it was strictly an observation situation so I was a little...

I wish there was a way to give a double rating.... The park itself is great (4 out of 5 stars). Yes, there is quite a bit of traffic and it moves slowly, but I don't mind that. If I'm paying $6.00 a person, I'm taking my time, and going around more than once yes, there is a cutoff road at the end to make the loop again!). Lots of animals if you spend the time looking for them. They are not on display. This is wildlife in the wide open spaces.

Now the bad news... While we drove through the elk enclosure, there were many elk moving around. As we pulled up, two elk were moving to cross the road, so i gave them about 60 feet distance to cross in front of us. The first crossed. The second male seen our car and decided that we were a challenge. He casually walked towards our car with head (and full rack) down. We backed up only about 10 feet because of vehicles behind us. With antlers down, he put a good 12-inch scratch and actual dent into the hood of our car. After about a minute or two, and several antler bumps later, he moved on. We pulled over about 1000 feet down the road and a safari staff truck pulled up along side us. They said not to worry and that their insurance would cover any damage. I thought "that's odd, but hey cool!". Usually places like this are "enter at your own risk". We followed them to the staff building, filled out a report, took several digital pictures, and again were told not to worry, that their insurance would cover the damage to the fender and hood. A call from the HR rep at Omaha Zoo (the safari partner/owner) also told us not to worry.

Two weeks later, their insurance finally called and emailed me that they were NOT covering the claim because of no sign of negligence. They were not wavering and no further discussion was needed.

If the insurance were THAT firm, why did the staff personnel repeatedly tell us not to worry? Someone needs to talk to their insurance provider.

An estimate at the body shop came back as $1500 for work on hood, fender, bumper, and headlight assembly. But it would be a mark on our insurance, so we left it. We wear it as a badge now and one...

We visited the Wildlife Safari Park on fathers day 2023. It was pretty crowded. It was a hassle just paying to get in. But once inside, we were mired in the conga line of vehicles crawling along the road trying to get a look at the next live exhibit. The problem I found was people felt their time was worth more than others. As such, they would just sit, hogging the views for themselves. A lot of times the people behind them would miss the views because the guy in front of them took way too much time for himself. Just selfish people in this world. Anyway, it was nice checking out the animals and animatronic Dinosaur's. They didn't mark where the Bears and wolves trail was very well, so we missed it. We had to go back to find it. It is right near a good size parking area with restrooms and other things. The trail is on your right behind the right side parking lot. If you pass the parking area, you went too far. We walked to see the bears and wolves. There were no bears to be seen. But it was in the 80's, so the bears we probably trying to stay cool. The wolves were not much better. The was only one wolf up the embankment, kind of sleeping. The bison park was nice with a lot of them hanging around the water to keep cool. I had just seen quite a few in Yellowstone and Badlands, so I snapped a photo and we went on our way. But it was a great exhibit. We didn't visit the gift shop and such as it was getting late and we still had miles to go. The Wildlife Safari Park was a decent time. But I would suggest going in off times like during the week or such. It would probably have a lot less traffic. Also, I don't see the name of Safari in viewing American game. Not to be a downer, but I think of Rhino's and Elephants when I hear safari. I think American Wildlife Park would be more fitting. Either way, it's...