Wilderness Trails Zoo — Attraction in Birch Run Township

this is genuinely such a fun place! it’s honestly better than most large zoos that i’ve been to. we went in a friday night and it wasn’t very busy at all. i am a massive animal lover and coming out of this place (as a teenager) i’ve been heavily considering working towards opening a zoo of sorts of my own in the future after college. i had a great time here with my family and i got to see so many cool animals!! my favorites were definitely the tigers, kangaroo, and the capybara! i also really enjoyed petting their baby goat and hanging out with some of the reptiles. their gift shop is also super cool and all of the stuffed animals were so incredibly cute i couldn’t resist buying a few! we also were able to get through all of the feeding stations in about $2 in quarters. also, their staff were so nice and when we ended up staying a little past closing by mistake, nobody gave us a hard time and i appreciated that. they also had ducks walking around and we even spotted some deer outside the fences of the zoo which was very cool to see!

i do have a couple main complaints that did end up resulting in the loss of a star, but i still want to stress that my overall experience was positive and fun looking back and i would go back in a heartbeat! first of all, i noticed that a quite a large handful of their enclosures seemed too small for the animal inside, and you could tell that the animals were stressed from that. a lot of the cats like the ocelots were pacing a LOT and that is a sure sign of zoocosis which made me very sad to see. in addition, the parakeet house was SO incredibly fun and i enjoyed it so much and this wouldn’t stop me personally from going again, however, you are essentially paying an extra dollar to be bitten by birds. this might sound frightening, and honestly it might be to some people, but to me it didn’t stop me from loving the experience overall. however, just expect to leave the parakeet house with a few bird bites since they climb on you and nip at you for food. i don’t believe the birds are trying to be malicious, but the nips become quite painful at times. if birds freak you out or you don’t do well with essentially hard pinches, then i wouldn’t recommend it, and i’m honestly surprised people let their young kids in here and they’re able to walk out without crying. also recognize that the dollar gets you both into the parakeet house and gets you a feeding stick. you are not paying for the feeding stick but you are spaying to go in. my parents did not realize this and thought they were just buying a feeding stick so they unfortunately were not able to go in. this might have been on us though.

overall, i had so much fun at this zoo, i just wish their enclosures were bigger and more entertaining and enjoyable for...

Summary: Wilderness Trails Zoo is on the smaller side, but has a surprisingly large variety of animals. Staff are friendly, and the animals seem well cared for. Some of the conditions are not ideal, particularly for the larger animals, and it is expensive.

Pros: This zoo has a very wide variety of animals, including multiple species of wolf and big cat and even a bear. They have zebras, zorses, zebus, ostriches, emus, watusi, goats, and more. There are several types of birds, primates, and many others. I've been to many zoos and this one had a handful of animals I hadn't seen before (cava and watusi are two off the top of my head).

There are wide open paths, a playground, and a gift shop.

There are some areas where you can interact with the animals, feeding or touching them through the fence. If it is of interest to you, they have several different types of paid animal encounters.

The animals appeared to be well fed and cared for despite some of the concerns discussed in the cons below. Staff are friendly and engaging.

Cons: Some of the conditions are not ideal. In particular several of the predator animals have small enclosures relative to their size. The lions, tigers, wolves, and bears have very little room to run and move.

It is expensive. For one adult and one three year old on a weekday afternoon it was nearly $40 to get in. For about the same price you could visit the Binder Park Zoo in Battle Creek, which gives its animals tons of room to roam and is a great experience. It would only be about $10 more to go to the Detroit Zoo, which is a massive, world-class zoo.

It is not an AZA Zoo (like the nearby Saginaw Children's Zoo), which means they do not have the same sort of oversight. Also, AZA participating zoos are eligible for free admission or discounts if you are a member at any of their zoos.

While I mentioned animal encounters in the "Pros" section, I'm going to mention them here too. Professional zoologists generally consider animal encounters to be harmful and exploitative to the animals.

EDIT: I see a lot of other reviewers mentioned the big cats appearing in distress. This was something I observed by the mountain lions and one of the tiger enclosures. Also, at a different enclosure which we thought was empty, as we were departing the area a tiger snarled and leapt out from behind a barrel and crashed into the inner fence before starting to pace. It gave us a good startle, but probably is indicative of...

2024: Still a fun zoo! They've put some time and money into this place the past couple of years, and the upgrades are nice! The gift shop is a lot bigger than it used to be. Landscape is pretty. Some of the exhibits have been upgraded as well. Enjoyed a nice day with my boys here for my birthday! No complaints, besides getting pooped on in the parakeet house. Lol! But the parakeets were so cool and very friendly.

2020: This zoo is not your flashy city type of zoo, it's country, and it still makes for a fun day! Living in the same town, I've grown up visiting this place, and I've always liked it, even as a young child. It reminds me of walking through the woods, peaceful. Some of the negative reviews posted are a bit judgemental and harsh, and I disagree with them. The animals are well kept, and during our last visit it was a very hot 100 degree day. I overheard people complaining about the animals being too hot, but what are they expecting? Animals NATURALLY live in the outdoors, not in the air conditioned lifestyle our society is accustomed to. The animals have shady areas available, and just because they are laying down to keep cool and reserve energy doesn't mean they are depressed, dying or miserable. I also observed staff walking around doing head counts and wellness checks during the heat, and ensuring the animals had fresh water and food. The enclosures are as natural as can be in my opinion. Some animals have cement slabs, probably to deter the animal from digging and escaping. Some view this as cruelty, but what do they expect when going to a zoo that houses carnivorous, aggressive animals? I recommend this zoo, but maybe on a cooler day (not 100°), as there is a lot of walking. My 4 year old loves this place, and always enjoys ending the day by playing on the playground equipment and feeding the turtles in the pond. The prices are definitely a bit high now, so that's stopped us from visiting multiple...