Magnolia Wilds — Attraction in Clinton

This review will be lengthy but I hope it provides some insight! Note: We did the Wild Discovery + Otter Swim in early early February - Barn Hill Preserve (soon-to-be Magnolia Wilds) was a great experience! Our tour guide D was amazing and really made the experience so enjoyable. There was a mixed bag of kids and adults but the group was roughly 20 people total. This is definitely a great activity for people of all ages. There is walking involved and going slightly down on downward slopes; it can get hot too, just to keep in mind. The weather the day we went was wonderful - sunny & high-60°s/low 70°s. D was so knowledgeable and added great humor to the tour, his personality was overall super great. Plus! He was our otter-swim guide too and was just as great during the swim. There’s several animals that you’ll have the opportunity to meet and learn so much about. D, our tour guide, also ensured everyone had enough time to observe the different animals and that the kids had their fun before moving onto the next animal.

I will note, I believe the animals included on the Wild Discovery tour are different than the animals you’ll see on the Safari Wagon Adventure tour. But I believe the animals we saw were just as great. Just think about what animals you’d like to see most and ask which tour would be best. From what it seems, most of the larger animals are on the safari tour (i. e. zebras, ostrich, camels, and cattle). On our Wild Adventure Tour we saw kangaroos, capybaras, and Eurasian Lynx - to name a few. Looking back I would’ve have liked to know the animals vary by tour type. This is kind-of communicated on their website, but I feel you have to know to look at all available activities and compare. Which is more my error than theirs! Just wanted others to know as I didn’t think of this. I would’ve added the safari tour had I known!

The otter swim is only available with the Wild Discovery tour (the safari tour is very affordable, so to add onto the swim package would be ideal - I’d ask but I’m sure that’s do-able!) The otter swim was so great too! The pool (in February) was cold at first but the body acclimates to the temp quickly. The pools are temperature controlled so it’s not freezing and unbearable - just cold at first. And that’s more so because it was the beginning of February. I imagine in the summertime the water is amazing. The swim lasts for an hour and our party was small (4 total people), so that was plenty of time for our otter to explore the strangers in his pool area. Afterwards, we got time to dry off and have the lil guy dry off with us.

My sister loves otters so this was a great opportunity! Lastly, Check-in was easy & finding the place was...

I really enjoyed my experience. There were a few things that were off-putting, but overall it was worth the money.

Upon arriving 30 min early, I went into the gift shop to escape the heat and was quickly escorted out of the building back into the heat. I was told that customers were doing their owl encounter inside. I asked if I could peruse the inventory in the AC and was told no. The animal trainer disappeared back inside and locked the door behind her. I just feel it’s a little odd to do an exclusive animal encounter in your gift shop and lock everyone else out in the heat. Minus 1 star for this

There are NO signs anywhere to tell you where to go on arrival. The only signage I saw was 1 sign at the entrance releasing them from any liability of death or injury related to the exhibits. That being said, you are only allowed to touch the animals that they say you can. If you aren’t a good listener, I would avoid touching anything. This is probably a good opportunity for some explicit signage.

Overall my experience with the otters was positive. An hour swimming with otters for $300 is pretty unique and hard to find. The otters are pretty ADD and spent most of their time trying to escape the pool area. That being said, they are animals and no one should expect any specific behavior from them.

During the walking tour it was a extremely hot with no shade. That is ok, just be prepared with plenty of water. There were only 2 staff escorting us around. If at any point you needed water for hydration, there wasn’t anyone to sell water to you. You had to wait til the end of the tour. I was told I could drink from the hose though. Minus 1 star for this. Water is cheap and should be provided to customers for free or even charged.

Overall I would return. Locking me out of the gift shop in the beginning was a bit of an off-putting way to start my adventure. Lack of signage and hydration was also a bit concerning considering the heat, hence the 3 stars. The animals made up for the experience though and I would recommend this to families...

What a cool experience for all ages who love animals! We would go back.

Location: Easy to get to by google maps. Park seems to be pretty secluded with homes nearby. Parking was a little difficult, as it was pretty full by 11am.

Environment: Very friendly and knowledgable animal handlers. One girl helped take our photos with the sloth when my fiance proposed! Grounds are kept up and clean. No strong odors. Some shady areas (trees, animal talk areas, and pavillion). Very large land area with a lot of room for people and animals.

Animals: We saw joeys, a sloth, hyena, baby giraffe, goats, birds, 3 kangaroos, owl, armadillo, porcupine, tortoise, emu, otters, camel. We were able to hold: sloth (on pillow), joeys (like a baby), and owl (with glove)- pricing mentioned below. We were able to pet: adult kangaroos, goats, tortoise. All animals look to be well taken care of.

Pricing: We went during October 2020 and got in for $15 each- this included animal talks, petting zoo area, hayride, and pumpkin patch. It was an additional $10 per animal per person for the bigger encounters (sloth, owl, joey). Our total for 2 adults for all 3 animals was $90.

Amenities: Onsite they had portapotties, and food (not sure if food was because of the pumpkin patch or if thats typical). We did not eat there. They had a few gift shop items available near the ticketbooth (shirts, stuffed animals, etc.)- we did not purchase.

Activities: Sips with Sloths, Yoga with kangaroos, pumpkin patch, otter swims. See their facebook for more info.

Pros: friendly and knowledgable staff, large area, hold/touch exotic animals, can book online

Cons: no signs of where activities were located (no map/arrows/etc.- we were lost and rushing to find the right location for the time slot given), limited parking.

Recommend: 100% yes. This place deserves support and you/family would love this...