Athens, Michigan isn't on the major highways - and I haven't seen Alligator Sanctuary advertised on, say, I-94 - yet well worth the trip. We spent an hour here. You can get a guided tour. We did it on our own. Inside the building, there are about 20 small enclosures for things like a bearded dragon or a snake. Then you go out the back of the building and follow the route. There are outside enclosures for tortoises, several different types of alligators, and a couple of observation deck. There's a building that has caimans in it. Takes about an hour to see the whole thing if you pace it. Some people go faster. There's the opportunity to buy food and feed selected crocodiles. They seem to like raw hot dogs! Helpful staff. read more

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Great stop along I94. short 15 min drive south at the Sturgis exit. The self guided tour is good, but do the animal encounter! We had Paige help us with the large alligator- she was very well informed and answered all our questions! The alligator was twitchy, but she made sure my daughter had all the contact she wanted! Highly recommended! read more

Alligator Sanctuary - Large alligator experience - Animal Shelters Near Me - Athens, Michigan

Wild. Unique. Informative. Crazy. I love it! I have been here twice and both times it blew my mind. There is no other place like this. Kind of a wild, unconventional setup. Hundreds of alligators. And you know what...you can buy some Gator food and throw it to them! Ever see a group of alligators go after a fish nugget? I have. Amazing! The staff are great and care about what they do. It's not a zoo. It's a sanctuary. They've got gators from baby up to Godzilla. The staff really care about these rescued animals and want you to know about them, too. I got to hold a big turtle. Feed some gators. And I saw a frog jump into a gator mouth. Amazing. Go check out the gators and have your mind blown! read more

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Great experience spending time here with friends. We had Cynthia as our tour guide, and she was a wealth of information. Learned a lot about alligators, crocs, caimans & more. read more

We had a wonderful visit last week. Coming from Chicago, we were very excited to have a gator encounter. The staff were all very friendly, welcoming and knowledgeable. From the beginning, learning about all the turtles & tortoise from a very well spoken young man named Mason, to the exciting Gozilla show (forgot his name), but very entertaining, to another staff named Lina who on various occasions stopped to share facts on all the gators and answer all our questions. We were able to feed special gator nuggets to these awesome creatures and also get to hold and pet a small gator, which was such a thrill!! I really respect and admire all their hard work in keeping these beautiful creatures living a good life in this sanctuary. From what we learned from Lina, most of these gators come from sad situations such as pets in drug dens and neglected pets kept in too small of enclosures. That is why we were cheesing at the fact that these babies get to walk around, swim in their ponds and get tons of photos taken by silly tourists...Me! read more

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I have a strange obsession with alligators, so when I planned a trip to south west Michigan and this place popped up, I knew I had to go. The park isn't fancy or anything, but it's a great value for the price. It was also very informative, especially the Godzilla and Medusa show. All (but one) of the gators in the park are rescued. Show included, I spent just over an hour at the park. With COVID, they have discontinued animal encounters to ensure proper hygiene and social distancing. I hope to return again when things are more normal for a more hands on visit. read more

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If you go at the beginning of Summer or the end of Fall, you can transport an alligator. It was so fun!

It's amazing that we can get such a great Alligator experience here in Athens, MI. I love how well they treat their rescue gators and how much they do to educate the community read more

What a wonderful alligator sanctuary! Very educational as well as entertaining! You can even hold an alligator and feed them! Very enjoyable time. They are handicap friendly too! There was only one area I had difficulty accessing with my mobility scooter. read more

We went to Critchlow Alligator Sanctuary today and it was certainly worth the trip, the cost, and the time! It isn't fancy, or commercialized, but alligators don't care about as neither will you. It's all about the Alligators. We had the pleasure of getting "Mr "C" as our tour guide. He was super knowledgeable about alligators along with being funny and fun. I learned so much about alligators today, and ask many questions which were all answered. Turns out Critchlow, is Mr "C", and he started the sanctuary about 11 years ago. Mr "C"'s kids and grandchildren are involved, it's a family run business. You can tell they care, truly care about these alligators. I hope to come back here with my grandkids, and highly recommend you visit. It is very very interesting. Sincerely, Donna Haapala read more

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Great place to take the entire family. Great variety of alligators and tortoises. Handicapped accessible as my Son walked it easily with his cane. Great staff very friendly and knowledgeable. Holding and petting an Alligator was a definite first. Hidden gem in Calhoun County. read more

Alligator Sanctuary - Animal Shelters Near Me - Athens, Michigan

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All the alligators you'd ever care to see. You get to feed them, too! (Biscuits, not limbs.) Owned by friendly local people compassionate about reptiles and willing and eager to share their knowledge with visitors. Definitely worth the drive. Bring the kiddos, they will love it! read more

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Lots of animals to see up close, I was excited to go but there are some things that I wish I knew before hand... First, if you don't have kids, then I'd advise skipping the tour and just venturing through the sanctuary on your own. The information our guide provided was minimal -- he was more focused on being an entertainer than an educator. We were a group of all adults so I guess he took that as a sign that he could tell some more "colorful" jokes, but some were crass and made my group uncomfortable. What information he did provide was out of date with modern herpetology and a few times he was blatantly (and confidently) wrong. Like saying "tortoises aren't turtles", when tortoises are in the order Testudines (making them turtles too). Or that reptiles don't feel emotions? Even if you don't know a lot about reptiles, I think most people understand that a gator can be angry. Them "having no emotions" is a myth that has been disproven in 30+ scientific papers in just the last ten years, I would expect a reptile sanctuary to know that. He said he had a degree but he must've gotten it a while ago and hasn't bothered to keep up to date since. Second, I was disappointed to see how cramped all the gators were as it seemed like half the enclosures were abandoned. When I think "sanctuary" I imagine the animals having more space, but they were all packed into the same few enclosures. The property is fairly large, why are the gators forced to live in groups of 50+ with no room to spread out? There were plenty of other enclosures already built that were completely devoid of animals and overgrown with plants. At times it felt kind of like "Tiger King" and I felt bad that these awesome creatures had no space. In the turtle section, there were two beautiful snapping turtles that shared a pond (along with 20+ sliders) that was the size of an inflatable pool. There were way too many animals in the same space, I don't understand how people who claim to love reptiles can treat them like this. Third, this place is advertised as a sanctuary that takes in gators from people who (foolishly) think it's a good idea to have one as a pet. So I was surprised to learn that they have bred them in the recent past. It's irresponsible to breed more gators, especially when the ones you own have no space already. I love reptiles and I was excited to go here and be around other people who love them too, but given what I saw I don't think I'll go back. It just doesn't seem like that really care all that much about the well being of the animals, it was more about putting on a show like a circus. When I think of an animal sanctuary, this is the exact opposite of what I have in mind. I would love to go back someday and see some big improvements in both the education of the staff and the treatment of these majestic beasts. read more

We took the 4 Grands ages 16, 7,6, & 3. They loved feeding the gators & learning lots of interesting facts about them. Our guide was quite knowledgeable & fun too. Only caveat for us was the price for holding a snake. We paid for the group but there is only one snake & with 4 children it took forever for them to get a chance to touch it let alone hold it. I would suggest you pay for one brave person. I'm sure your family can then at least touch the snake while the family member is holding it. Other than that, it was a very enjoyable & unusual outing in southern Michigan. We'll be back! read more

Great experience & what a wonderful learning activity for children and adults! Our 3 year-old grandson was fascinated with all the alligators! Definitely recommend the guided tour which was especially informative on the history of all of the different alligators. The staff is extremely knowledgeable and obviously are dedicated professionals who provide this wonderful sanctuary for these rescued alligators. Overall, a very worthwhile activity for the whole family and a great way to support a wonderful, humane, family-run sanctuary. The sanctuary does not receive any governmental funding. read more

Very nice sanctuary. Was in the area with a friend, checking out random places, and wasn't sure what we would experience. What we found was a truly unique place that sprung up for a good cause. It is owned and operated by a family that has had a lifelong love of alligators. We bought some alligator food and toured the facility with one of the family/employees Peter, who taught me more about alligators in an hour than I had learned my whole life. I'll save most of those lessons for your visit :) What I liked most about this place is that it's a true sanctuary; definitely not a theme park making money off trapped animals. Every alligator at the facility is rescued, coming from a variety of backgrounds and situations. But all share a common theme of someone not being able to care for them. If it wasn't for this place, the alligators would have been either killed or abandoned. It's an outdoor facility set up into various 'schools' as larger size alligators tend to attack and eat smaller ones. There is a pre-school, elementary school, middle school (with the 'kids' acting a lot like human kids in some ways haha... bickering over food, snapping at others who took food they thought was theirs, etc.), and the full grown area. There were also some tortoises in a separate enclosure, some unique plants, and a sprinkling of other rescued animals as well that fit the theme. There was construction off to the side for a 'college', and lots of evident room of space for these alligators. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that alligators are quite smart, and can be fairly tame; several came to the trainer when their names were called. It was evident that a lot of care was given to recreating as much as possible the native environments of these wonderful animals. If I'm in the area, I will be back for sure. Truly a hidden gem. read more

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we had a great experience! our tour guide wyatt was very informative, kind and made our tour very fun! it's very clear he likes his job a lot! read more

Had great experiences here. Family even bought a 2 year pass. I am so thankful for owners and their family who care about what they do and why they do it! My kids love coming here and the tours are well worth it! read more

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Take your family to this extraordinary haven in Athens, Michigan. Learn about these modern day dinosaurs. We asked for the full on encounter- we were not disappointed. The Critchlow family truly offers a one of a kind experience. The habitat and the staff will impress you. read more

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I went to the Critchlow Alligator Sanctuary. It was definitely on a whim, but I was very glad I went. Prices to get in were pretty cheap, as well as the feed, and if you wanted to go all out like me and hold some scaly little friends. That was only a few bucks more. Which was totally worth it! The staff were amazing as well. Their knowledge of each creature was seemingly never ending. I learn lots about not just Alligators, but turtles, snakes and iguanas as well! If you haven't been before, I highly recommend. Did I also mention they have ice cream? Because they have that as well. read more

Alligator Sanctuary - Animal Shelters Near Me - Athens, Michigan

What an AMAZING find! Bryce was an incredible tour guide and Alex did a fantastic show with Godzilla and Medusa. All employees were equal parts passionate about the animals and great at interacting with visitors of all ages and knowledge levels. Our boys are 9 and 6 and both loved learning new things about the gators and feeding them. Everyone in our group had a fantastic time and really enjoyed learning more and the experience overall. We paid for the small gator encounter and it was really fun to hold one! It is worth every penny. We would highly recommend the Alligator Sanctuary to anyone with even a limited interest in these amazing creatures! They are doing good work at this sanctuary, as they rescue and rehome crocodilians, turtles, and tortoises. It is worth your visit! read more

Our tour guide Lina was top notch! She made the experience and was cautious of our higher need for social distancing. As a family we had a great experience feeding the gators and soaking in knowledge. The whole staff was overall very pleasant. read more

We enjoyed our visit. Staff were knowledgeable and really enjoyed what they do. We learned a lot and got up and close with the alligators. Great experience. read more

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I was here years ago and I loved it i think about it all the time and tell everyone! Lol I hope I'll get to come back soon!

Fun and educational. We enjoyed feeding the gators and the Godzilla/Medusa show. Staff are friendly, knowledgably and available to answer questions. This is a true rescue only (no breeding) sanctuary. read more

Great time! Drove two hours to get there, worth it. Easy to get to from 94. Went in the winter, it was still fun. Sounds like there are even more activities during the summer. read more

We visited on 3/21/14. My family with kids ranging from 7-14 years old had a blast. We were scared that it would be boring since it was too cold to be outdoors, but we were wrong! the main building has like 70 small gators (they'll even let you hold one and take pictures), and several snakes that they'll let you hold. They also have a greenhouse where they keep the larger gators in the winter. You can tour that and get up close and personal with some huge gators and tortoises. Family run business. Mr. Critchlow was an excellent tour guide with a great sense of humor. His passion for these reptiles really shows. Come support a family business with a true mission to help these rescued reptiles - you'll be glad you did! read more

Disappointing. We visited Critchlow Alligator Sanctuary on 4/10/15. We had called ahead to make sure it was worth the trip this time of year. We were told there were indoor areas and to expect to be there "1-2 hours". We drove over and hour each way to visit. The gift shop/admission area is two small, crowded, and disorganized rooms, with a few gators and lizards. The greenhouse had maybe 6 small gator enclosures. The glass here was maybe waist high and people could easily reach over and touch them, if they tried. The rest of the outdoor area was under construction. We spent maybe 20-30 minutes max at the whole place. The man working didn't offer a lot of information about the gators or the facility unless asked. read more

Very small place but with well treated, happy animals. Personal tours are given and they are excellent with guests. Mr. C is exceptionally funny and good with children. read more

We went here during our trip to Michigan, who knew!?!? Grandma did, and brought us. It was a very cool and unexpected activity for us in Michigan. We got to see and feed gators of all sizes and even pet a beautiful tortoise. If that wasn't enough, Isaac got to hold a snake, baby alligator, and bearded dragon (others opted out)! There was an emphasis on educating and all the staff were super friendly and helpful. It was simple and low key with a fun gift shop. Check it out! read more