This was a fun outing for kids - it was just exceptionally hot when we went. Workers were all very…read morefriendly. You get pretty large cups of feed to feed a nice variety of animals. Going in with the deer is a fun experience - kinda overwhelming because they can get a little pushy. The pony ride was the highlight. You get to go around 3 times, and its parent-led, which was nice to have that experience with your kiddos. The animals seem so well taken care of here. Great experience, just know it doesn't have much more than an hour or so worth of time.

It's not ideal for someone in a walking boot due to the gravel and hills, but we still enjoyed…read moreseeing the animals. The deer were almost more aggressive than expected, and I felt overwhelmed when they all came at me at once. It's probably best to feed them from outside the fence! A goat also rammed me, so be careful if you have small children. I loved seeing the huge racks on the elk and reindeer. I also wish we could have held the big bunnies! Unfortunately, I didn't have any quarters for the feed machines, so a better payment option would be nice. However, I appreciated that they sold a cup of food and an apple to feed some of the other animals. The animals with coin-operated feeders probably don't get fed as often. I also liked that there were signs indicating which animals could eat what, which was helpful. Overall, it was a great stop! I would just like to see more handwashing stations throughout the property.All staff were extremely nice.

Reading the reviews in advance of our visit I was apprehensive --but we had a great visit. If…read moreyou're expecting it to be like Disney --you'll be disappointed. If you're looking for a small park to take the kids away from the crowds you will be pleased. Parking: Plenty of parking and they carried the Christmas theme into the parking lot by making the parking spots with candy cane style paint. Perhaps the BEST part of the parking, aside from that it is really close to the entry, is that the spots are larger than standard. This was super helpful for unloading the baby, stroller, etc., plus I didn't worry about a child whacking my car with their door. Entry: They had a photo spot set up right before you entered. We went in October and it was Halloween themed. One review accurately noted that they do charge a 3 year old the same as an adult --I wish the park would revisit this --but entry was roughly $26 per person. I thought the price was fair considering they have to care for animals, maintain the park, pay employees, etc. Also, they offer a military discount, senior discount, etc. The lady at the entry booth was super friendly and super efficient. Park Overall: well maintained, pretty trees, and a creek that runs through the entire park. There is also a train that runs a loop of the entire park and comes and goes every few minutes. When we went, the park wasn't busy, and the employee/conductor of the train moved the train up so we could take a photo by the engine. Children and adults can ride the train to move from the entry to the amusements/rides. Non-Ride Entertainment: One of the overlooked aspects of the other reviews is that Santa's Land has a LOT of non-ride entertainment for kids. They have several playground areas. At the entry, there is a merry-go-round, a slide, several springy rides for small kids, statues for the kids to take pictures with, an igloo (that my daughter loved), among others. There was another playground in the zoo area that was themed like mountain-climbing with a slide that my daughter really loved. There were also several animated displays, to include animated reindeer preparing Santa's outfit, Christmas Carol, Nativity, a small church, among others. They also had a nicely decorated building where kids could take a photo with Santa. The Santa was super nice and super patient with the kids. Santa was wearing a mask due to COVID ongoing at the time of our visit. They also had a magic show, a blacksmith demonstration, among others, that the kids seem to really enjoy. I really appreciate the non-ride entertainment because it really spreads out the visitors, kept lines for the rides short, and gave me a break from repeatedly going on rides with my daughter. Amusements/Rides: The rides were a little older --but they were really cool and seemed to be well-maintained. Why cool? For example, the carousel had metal mechanics, however, the frame overall was made of wood --I thought this was really neat. They had a little helicopter ride (goes in circles and the rider controls elevation by a bar) which had rotors that actually turned while the ride was in motion. They had a reindeer roller coaster, which they are somewhat famous for, that let kids ride roller coasters, where they might be otherwise precluded due to age/height, without being too scary/intense. At the height of the Ferris Wheel there was a great view of the Great Smoky Mountains. There was also a small boat ride (similar to a carousel). Every single employee was SUPER friendly, super kind, and took safety seriously. The rides are most appropriate for children --if you have thrill-seeking teenagers they may be less amused by the rides. Zoo: They had a lot of cool animals, kangaroos, a camel, black bears, goats, reindeer, emu, alpacas, chickens, ducks, among others. The animal habitats all seemed to be clean, the animal caretakers seemed to be really good with the animals, and my daughter loved looking at and feeding them. They had a fish exhibit that had the largest rainbow trout I've ever seen and a fish food dispenser (required a quarter (and they provided change for dollar bills)). The black bears were super playful and you could feed them too by sending the food down a tube. You could also feed the goats, reindeer, alpaca, and others. Food: There was pizza near the entrance and a grill at the train stop near the rides. We ate at the grill near the rides. The employees working in the grill were super friendly and working super hard. They offered cheeseburgers, hot dogs, corndogs, chicken sandwich, nachos, soda, hot chocolate, etc. The food was priced SUPER reasonable: I had a double cheeseburger, fries, and a soda and it was $8.25. They also had a stand in the train station with funnel cakes, etc. I appreciated not being price-gouged for park food! We had a great visit --and will definitely be back when we're in the area again. The park should consider children pricing and renovating their bathrooms.

The kids had a good time at this run down amusement park but it was such a sad experience for all…read moreof the adults. The animal enclosures were honestly hard to look at. Many of the animals were housed on bare cement with no natural landscape, nothing like grass, dirt, plants, or anything resembling their natural habitat. Several enclosures also seemed to get very little sunlight. It didn't feel like an environment where the animals could behave naturally or be comfortable, and it took away from any positive experience. The animals looked sad and depressed. It reminded me of old timey circus cages that were used before we were held to any standard of how to treat animals. This park needs to invest in more natural, enriching habitats with real ground cover, shade and sun options, and space to roam. If that's not possible, those animals need to be given away to a zoo that is able to properly care for them.

What a great visit! Our tour guide Curtis was so great! He knew a lot and made us feel really…read morewelcome. The animals are friendly and so sweet! We had a great time at the farm!

We had the best time at Winchester Creek. Perfect stop for our whole party (grandparents, parents,…read moretoddler). Very clean and happy animals. Our toddler enjoyed feeding treats to quite a few different animals. They give you the option to purchase treats when buying tickets online - totally worth it. Our guide for the tour was so informative and you could tell she genuinely loved the farm & animals. Gift shop was adorable. They had different farm cheeses and eggs and we wished we would've had a cooler with us to travel with some cheese. Overall great stop!

Let me say that I'm absolutely amazed with all the beautiful and spacious enclosures for all the…read moreanimals in the zoo. The zoo is huge, so they had the ability to give animals lots of space! The black bear had his own little mountain nook (we didn't get to see him, though he was probably hiding from all the heat that day). We saw a baby gorilla playing with his mommy, that was worth flying from Boston to Knoxville just to see those eyes. There is a Turtle Trail were you get to go inside with the turtles and have them climb on your feet and feed them and scratch their backs...how cool is that! The budgies were pretty cool, you get to go in the enclosure with them and feed them seeds on a stick. Gorgeous, amazing creatures!! The green and blue ones are from The wild and the white ones with blue back are the bred ones in captivity. The otters for sure stole the show, they just played and played in the water, my son was psyched to see them !! The red panda was jumping all over and wanted to get in with the rest of the sleeping pandas on the bamboo trees...what gorgeous animals. And the Rhinos!!! Massive massive animals. First time I've seen rhinos and I'm in love with these very scary huge animals. You should see the enclosure that they had for them. It was very generous, full of mud and massive rocks. OK, I could go on and on about all the animals in there, but the most important thing that I wanted to say is that the sponsors of this zoo respect animals, they don't put them in a tiny enclosure and call it good, they actually spent a lot of effort on matching the natural habitat that these animals lived in, and they gave them room to roam! Also per their campaigns and posters within in zoo, they are trying to save endangered and critically vulnerable species from extinction. They do a lot of work and awareness about the lifestyle of the animals, especially that the staff is super friendly with lots of youths working there and learning about these beautiful animals and transferring this knowledge To visitors. Also, how thoughtful are they to include fun stuff for kids like a huge sandbox, slides, tunnels, climbing rocks, a beautiful merry go round with all the decorated animals, a water park for the kids to jump in fountains (wish I knew I would have brought my kid a swim suit)... my kid had a blast anyway!! They built a whole massive treehouse with a rope bridge so that you could see the gibbons and red pandas up in the trees. Massive enclosures, statues, canopies, overlooks....they thought about everything!! Not only did my kid have fun, my husband and I had tons of fun too. So did my mom! What a wonderful day. I will definitely donate money to this establishment that really cares about the conservation of animals and treats them with respect.. thank you Zoo Knoxville staff abc sponsors. All the love to your work. Keep spreading awareness.

I unfortunately have to say this zoo was a waste of money on our trip through Tennessee. Most…read moreenclosures had no animals in them and one was full of cockroaches. Those said cockroaches were coming out of the enclosure to where the people were. The kids area was dirty, nothing like the website described. Honestly the whole zoo felt dirty. The bathroom stalls didn't lock in most cases which is a very uncomfortable situation. The website makes the zoo look like a must see place as well as the google ratings. It doesn't live up to either. Parking is weird and you are charged at the gate for parking? The staff was annoyed by me asking how the parking is tracked if you pay after the fact. The whole place, besides the front gate, was a dead zone when it came to employees. This is not a place I would ever recommend going to. I wish there was a refund option.

I really enjoyed this stop for our toddler while we were in the area on vacation! It was the right…read moresize to not be overwhelming and wasn't overly crowded, so he enjoyed walking around inside to see the amazing birds, reptiles, and other animals. We especially liked the outdoor area to feed the goats and llamas, it was his first time trying that activity and he had such a blast. There are so many options on places to stop while you're in Gatlinburg, but if it's a rainy day, you have an animal-lover, or younger kids looking for an appropriate activity Rainforest Adventures is a great option.

Overall decent place. Wouldn't say it's a stand out attraction, but it does ok to see. 1 thing to…read morenote if you use your GPS, it will take you to an abandoned building parking lot. We went down the road/hill and found it. It's a nice exhibit, they do have animal shows a few times a day, you can easily spend a few hours here, the animals your aloud to touch that I saw were Guinea pigs, and a handler walked around with a boa. Nice little gift shop at the end

Great place for kids of all ages! The animals are well taken care of and the couple who run this…read moreare so nice. Had a great experience with our 4 year old granddaughter and her parents. Adorable bunnies, great pig named Winnie and donkey named Winston! You can feed the animals and children can have a pony ride around the farm on Elsa. Charming place and well worth your time!

From the owner: Our Obstacle Course Pony led ride and feeding playing with all the farm animals is $10 per kiddo…read more Little Rascal Fishing is $8.00 per kiddo, We supply the poles and worms and Our Little Rascal Gem mining is $8.00 per bucket! Come have a Gem of a time! Horse Lessons ( for all ages) where we teach individuals independent riding 25 for 1/2 hr and 35 for hr Book your Birthday Pony Parties Fundraisers Summer Camps Schools field trips or any Special Event! Reserve the Venue at our Farm or We can bring the Farm to you! Franklin NC 828-421-3308

My wife stumbled across Wandering Llamas while researching things to do during our annual spring…read morebreak adventure. We spent two nights in the fox den treehouse which is located in one of the llama pasture areas. The "treehouse" is a elevated wooden shed like structure that has been refurbished into a pleasant little hideaway in the Smoky's. The treehouse has a nice deck to sit and enjoy the mountain view. There's also a nice swing chair and firepit to enjoy as well. The treehouse has electricity with a small electric heater to take the chill out. The treehouse was very clean and the bed unbelievably comfortable. The treehouse is a one and only. If you are renting here you have the treehouse and llamas all to yourself. The property owner and host (Sandy) lives on the property and is available if you are in need of anything. Sandy is very personable and will spend time sharing of herself with her guests. On the llama walk each person usually gets there own llama to walk with. Sandy accompanies you and can answer any llama related question you may have. The walk is at a very leisurely pace and lasts about two hours. The llamas are easy to walk and well behaved. Contrary to popular opinion of some the llamas did not spit at one another. One thing to be aware of if staying in the treehouse is there is no running water and only a fancy bucket of a toilet in an outhouse under the treehouse. This didn't bother us, but for some that don't care for "roughing it" I could see it as a drawback. (There is a gas station about a mile away that we used the bathroom at. We are members of the YMCA at home. There's a Y a few miles away and with the Y reciprocity program we were able to go there to take a hot shower. The Wandering Llama was an awesome get away experience for us and Sandy is a great host. We appreciate her sharing her llamas.

A super fun, unique outing if you are spending time in the Smoky Mountains, about a 1.5 hour drive…read morefrom our cabin in Sevierville. We booked the 2-hour wine and cheese tour because it was the only tour that had open spots left (we booked about a week ahead). We skipped the wine and cheese part due to our concerns about COVID (the food is served in their open gazebo, so it's relatively safe - we just prefer taking extra precautions and had already eaten lunch just before we got there), but the llama hike alone was well worth it. The walk, about 1.5 hours total time, is along the gravel road, which is a little hilly, but manageable if you're fit (not so much if you have small kids that don't do a lot of walking). Most of the time was spent relaxing in an open field - very socially distant from the other eight people in our group - where we fed the llamas and took lots of pictures. The llamas are super friendly and so soft! Though Sandy (the owner) provides animal crackers and strawberries for the llamas to enjoy during the middle of the hike, definitely bring your own -- we brought graham crackers and sliced apples to feed them throughout the walk, and the llamas LOVE to eat! Sandy is very friendly and welcoming and took pictures of everyone during the hike, which she emailed to us later. A great highlight of our trip!

We came here during our trip to the Asheville area. We absolutely loved our visit here. They have…read moreample parking in front of the nature center. The only negative is that there is no direct ramp from the bear parking lot to the entrance, you have to walk completely around if you have a stroller or carry it up the stairs that go to and from that parking lot. We got tickets right away and didn't have to wait in line. You need to keep in my mind that this is not a zoo. It is a small nature center, their focus is on highlighting/featuring animals that live naturally in the Western Carolina's. I love that this is their focus, as I learned so much about the wildlife in our surrounding area. Also, a lot of their animals are rescued animals that can't be released back into the wild. All the exhibits were well maintained and had wonderful information signage. The wellness center had great signage and was easy to get around. It took us about 2 hours to do the entire center. It looks like the nature center will be expanding / updating their exhibits. This is a great place to educate yourself and kids about the types of wildlife in the western Carolina area and things you can do to help keep nature wild / conserve nature. I also loved their pollinator garden! We need more awareness about the importance of pollinators! They also had interactive playgrounds sprinkled throughout the center for kids to play on. All the walking paths were shaded. It felt nice and cool walking underneath the trees here. If we lived in the area we would definitely come back.

We've visited Western North Carolina many times but never came to the WNC Nature Center. On a…read morerecent stay in the area, we noticed it was open on Sunday so we finally went. Although relatively small, the center is well planned and presented. It's technically a zoo, albeit a small one focusing mostly on native animals. We got to see otters (one of our favorites) along with wolves, bears, birds, reptiles and even a red panda. The cost is not exorbitant and you could do the whole park in 1-2 hours. There are also interactive exhibits and a play area to keep your kids occupied. Glad we went.

I went for a social after hours event for adults, a fundraiser. There was a live band, plenty of…read morewine/beer and food samples and got to walk around the zoo exploring. It was a a lot of fun. The actual zoo itself isn't huge so don't expect to go and spend a whole day there during regular hrs but it's still nice regardless.

I loved it! Of course it's not the San Diego zoo, it's a local zoo. There were plenty of animals,…read moreit wasn't terribly expensive, and it's located right next to one of the coolest parks in North America! Lots of amusement park type foods, gift shops, plenty of parking, and the animals look well taken care of. This is probably a one and done thing for me, but I really enjoyed it! *Military discount thumbs up