Tennessee Safari Park — Attraction in Humboldt

A blast!! Go prepared! Their website is not super informative but it does have all the essential information you need. Entry is CASH ONLY - the entrance fee is cash only and you can buy your buckets of fed at the gate also. But if you don’t have enough cash for fed, you can buy that in the gift shop that does accept cards. No dogs allowed - there are signs on the way in but a lot of the complaints on google are about service or emotional support animals. They do ask at the entrance, and when a Buffalo sticks it’s head in your car you don’t want your dog in the car at the same time. Bring painters tape and towels - we had planned to tape the towels to the inside of the doors to catch the excess food and any drool. We unfortunately forgot the tape, but luckily the only animal that really needed the towels were the bison. The tape will be handy for your window seals. Lots of feed falls in the slots and can keep the feed from jamming your windows in the future. We ended up draping the towels over the side of the car but when the wind blew that scared some of the larger antelope and one almost charged the side of the car. The towels on the floorboards make cleanup slightly easier too but fed will go everywhere in the car, it’s inevitable. Ask for extra empty buckets - the food goes a whole lot further if you only place a handful or two in the buckets at a time. Several animals, especially the ostrich also do a whole lot better with very little fed in the buckets. Also if an animal steals a bucket it’s less of a loss of food. And they do try, the ostrich, zebra, and dromedary camels (one hump behind the fences) were the worse ones. Allow time - it will take you over an hour to do the drive thru portion. The walk through portion is small, and looks like a roadside zoo but the goats can be fed with any leftovers of the fed and you can buy carrots for the giraffe up there also at the gift shop. There is a map for purchase in the gift shop for $3. Buy plenty of fed - you will need 4+ buckets, there’s tons of animals! If you have small children that will dump lots of food on accident, get more! You can always go through twice too!! We did and got more fed in the gift shop prior to round two. Vehicles - There are signs that say if you fed the bison they may damage your vehicle and the hogs bite. We also had a ostrich peck the window seal when he couldn’t steal a bucket and a antelope almost charge the side of the car. There are pros and cons to any size vehicle you drive but just be aware the llamas purposefully walk in front of you to make you stop the car so they can come to the windows. Have someone well experienced with good spacial awareness drive. Time - go early! We had lots of interest and interaction with the animals early in the day when we went through about an hour after opening. When we went through later we had a slight rain and not many were interested that had been in the morning. People Food - they did have snacks and candy in the gift shop but when we went in COVID October their one “restaurant” was closed. We did see a seasonal sign for it saying it was only open in the summer. Not sure how true that was. But there is a McDonald’s about a mile from the park entrance and a subway maybe 3 miles away coming from the Nashville direction. It’s not a zoo - this is someone’s very large backyard! You actually drive past the main house as this is a family operated business. Don’t go expecting zoo fencing and perimeters. The safari is just a drive through some very large connected pastures that backup to the house. The walk through area looks like something you would see in a roadside zoo or off of tiger king but it gets the job done. This is why I give 4 stars instead of 5. it’s a lot of fun and very different and exciting getting close to that many species of animals you never get to see that close up at a normal zoo! Its definitely a 5 star experience! I hope this...

This place was pretty awesome!!!

90% of the place is you driving around in your car, looking at and feeding wild animals.

When we went, the food buckets were $3 each or 4/$10. Anticipating some of the animals knocking them out of our hands (or maybe taking them), we got 8 buckets. I'm glad we did, because then we didn't have to worry about being stingy with the food.

More food = more interaction with the animals!

There were a LOT of different types of animals here. There were only 2 that the park/signs warned you about: the bison and the pigs. Bison can cause damage to your vehicle and the pigs bite!

The bison are in their own area, and you do NOT have to go through there. No need to worry about damaging your car if you don't want to risk it. We decided to risk it, and didn't have any problems. Although, we didn't feed any, because we didn't want to chance the damage.

Now, one other animal I will warn you about is the camels. My wife was holding the food bucket how they instruct you to at the entrance, and the camel bit her finger as it was trying to TAKE THE BUCKET! Thankfully it wasn't a severe bite, but it still drew blood. (There are PLENTY of signs that warn about potential dangers, and entering at your own risk before you go in.) We're not complaining, nor did we mention it to any employees, just wanted to warn people before they go in.

Our favorite animals to feed were some of the huge cow like creatures (elands, maybe), because they were so non-aggressive about eating. Also the giraffes were one of our favorites. You have to save food, because they are the last ones on the tour. It was definitely worth it!

The alpacas/llamas were kind of funny because they would get in front of your vehicle and STOP. Almost like they are strong-arming you for some food!

Overall it was definitely worth the trip. Would highly recommend the vehicle tour. The zoo where you can walk around is just ok. We bought some carrots for the giraffe there, but he wasn't interested in anyone's carrots that day. Waste of money on those :(

Go for the vehicle tour, maybe skip...

We made the drive out to Tennessee Safari Park with the whole crew — my wife, two young kids, my mom, and the in-laws — and it was absolutely worth it. First off, the drive-thru safari itself is wild — animals walking right up to the vehicle, feeding them out the window, you can’t beat that for hands-on fun. I didn’t get photos of the drive-thru (too busy steering and making sure my girls didn’t climb out the window), but trust me — it’s the real deal, and there are plenty of pictures floating around online if you need proof.

The rest of the park beyond the safari is where we stretched our legs and got some great photos. You’ve got everything from giraffes up close, to lemurs, to birds flying around the enclosures. My kids loved the parakeet landing, and seeing the lemurs posted up behind the fencing had them fired up.

There’s a laid-back, country vibe to the whole setup — rustic buildings, sunflower patches outside the barns, shaded areas to cool down, and even a gem mining area for the little ones. The park’s got that old-school Tennessee charm but still feels safe and family-friendly.

Big plus? The giraffe area was wide open — easy to get close, no crowds pressing in, and you get real interaction, not just seeing animals at a distance. Same with the peacocks hanging around the trees — free-roaming, adds to the atmosphere.

For a family with mixed ages (toddlers to grandparents), it hit the balance perfectly. Clean grounds, plenty of shade in spots, and it’s easy to navigate without wearing everyone out. Definitely recommend rolling out here if you want something different than your average zoo — and make sure to bring the truck or SUV, especially for the safari drive-thru.

Solid spot, worth every penny, and a memory maker...