The African Safari Wildlife Park, a unique wildlife park located in Port Clinton, Ohio, United States, offers an unforgettable adventure. This park provides a drive-through experience, allowing visitors to observe and interact with the animals from the comfort of their own vehicle.
This unique approach provides a close-up view of the animals in a safe and controlled environment. Are you ready to get up close and personal with safari animals? Head to the Port Clinton African Safari!
Park Size and Interactive Experience
The park spans over 65 acres (26 hectares) and allows visitors to drive through and observe the animals. One of the unique features of the park is that visitors can also feed the animals from their car.
This interactive experience provides a unique opportunity to engage with the animals in a way that is not often possible in traditional zoos or wildlife parks.
What Animals Will You See?
Let’s just set expectations here… you’re going to see a whole lot of deer, alpacas, llamas, cows, and bison. The deer were so sweet and the llamas were super curious.
Read also: Experience Fad's Fine African Cuisine
Then at the very end, there were 3 giraffes out on our day (only one was eating) and zebras who wanted nothing to do with anyone. They were still fun to see, but just set realistic expectations about the more exotic animals you might see.
Park Sections
The African Safari Wildlife Park is divided into two main sections: the Safari and the Safari Junction. In the Safari section, visitors can drive through the animal's habitat, providing a unique and immersive experience.
There is also a walking portion, but feeding animals through your window is way more fun!
Up Close and Personal Encounters
The animals were super curious and friendly. Carter had a genuinely great time, as I’m sure you can tell. He quickly became my “window man” and enjoyed helping me roll it up and down.
It was great for Charlotte too. She was very curious about the animals, but let Daddy do all the feeding because we thought her baby fingers might be a little too delicious since she doesn’t understand to keep them out of the way.
Read also: The Story Behind Cachapas
We mostly stayed away from the horns after a bison tried to stick his whole head inside the car. The zebras weren’t too interested, but Carter still enjoyed seeing them.
I can imagine that the giraffes are a big draw for the park. You see them at the very end of your visit and they didn’t disappoint!
My First Drive-Thru African Safari Wildlife Park Ohio | Safari Moments and Sightings Experience!
One Word Of Caution…
Always, always keep an eye on the food. Sometimes it’s the animals trying to sneak extras and in our case… sometimes it’s the toddler! I was eagerly looking ahead to the giraffes with Carter, Daddy was feeding out the window.. and, well, oops.
Tips to Get the Most Out of Your Visit
- Plan Ahead: They currently suggest having reservations if you plan to visit over the weekend to avoid long lines + make sure you get in.
- Budget for Extra Food: You get one free cup of food per car. If you want to really get a good chance to feed the giraffes at the end you’ll need to purchase the lettuce and carrots.
- Protect the Food: On a similar note, the animals will try to steal the entire cup of food right out of your hand. Portion some out and help the little kids in your car do the feeding.
- Roll Up Your Windows: When you’re ready to move on, rolling up your windows makes it easier.
Will the Animals Destroy Your Car?
We hadn’t visited any kind of drive thru park before because my husband was convinced that the animals would destroy my car. While there are certainly warnings about vehicle damage, our car came out just fine. A few of the animals did try to nibble on the rubber around the windows and side mirrors, but they really were more interested in food than our car. The further you stuck the feeding up out the window, the less likely they were to even come close to your actual car with their horns or hooves.
2025 Update: Walk-Thru Safari
The walk-thru safari was so much fun! Your admission to the park includes both the drive-thru and walk-thru parts of the park. You can see all of the animals without paying for any additional upgrades.
Read also: Techniques of African Jewellery
You can also purchase individual feeding opportunities, a “Zoo It All” pass for every feeding opportunity, or individual “up close” encounters (which have minimum age limits, so be sure to check). The Zoo It All was currently $40/person.
The birds were the clear winner in our family and the best bang for your buck. It was $5 for two feeding sticks that lasted for your entire walk through. I didn’t even HAVE a feeding stick and the birds were still very interested in me.
The tortoises were also a hit, and we ended up going back here at the end so Carter could give it a try.
The giraffes were so sweet and I’m glad we did this encounter because they were NOT interested in eating when we went to the drive-thru safari later.
Can I feed the animals at the safari park?
YES! This is the best part! I absolutely LOVE hands on animal encounters and there’s plenty of that here! You can also buy sticks to feed the budgies, lettuce for the rabbits, and the new Zoo-it-All Animal Experience pass which lets you feed the kangaroo, porcupine, rabbits and tortoises.
Out of all of the budgie encounters I’ve been to across the country this was one of my favorite! It’s the ONLY encounter I’ve ever been in where they had numerous bird feeders AND water out for the birds in addition to the birds truly being very active in flying over to us. I absolutely loved it.
Can I bring my own food to feed the animals at the safari park?
This one is a no-no - even though it sounds like it would be nice! All food that is fed to the animals here has been cleared for the animals’ consumption via stringent regulations.
How much is food for the animals at the African Safari Wildlife Park?
Food is sold in “packages” if you will. For the drive through safari park you can buy food at $15, $30, or $45 amounts. We bought the $30 package for our family which pretty much covered our 3 kids plus a little.
Will my car get damaged by animals at the safari park?
Wild animals are animals! But seriously, I’ve been to the African Safari Wildlife Park twice now and have not had any damage. I have had plenty of slobber and mud though!
I DO however, highly recommend folding your mirrors in before going through the drive through safari! There are BIG animals, some with horns - anything can happen.
What ELSE is there to do there?
Yes - the animals of course are the main attraction at the safari park but there’s a lot of other things to see and do! There are educational animal programs during the summer, a playground, camel rides, gem mining, places to eat, and the gift shop.
Animal experiences are very important to me as I raise my children. My kids LOVE animals, they love learning about their habitats, and visiting the African Safari Wildlife Park was a fabulous hands on way for my children to see the animals they learn about up close and personal.
My youngest daughter especially loved Rabbit Row! It was a lovely little path that you could walk on with oodles of bunnies running around everywhere! It was so fun!
And perhaps one of my favorite animals in the park are these gentle giants - the giraffes! They’re so sweet!
Overall we had such an awesome day!! I know if we are back in the Port Clinton area my kids will be begging to visit the African Safari Wildlife Park again! It was a fantastic experience, again (I’ve been before but my kids hadn’t!)!
