My son is absolutely obsessed with bears and asked me if they were real...so of course, we had to take him! The experience overall was memorable for the kids. They loved feeding apples to the bears (it's $4 per bag) and were thrilled to do the penny souvenir machine! Bring quarters and pennies for that! One of the highlights was getting a photo with a bear cub, where one person in your group holds a spoon of food to get the bear's attention. The photo is $10 per group (I believe up to 9 people), and they use your phone or camera, which I appreciated. Yes, you get to pet the cub! A few helpful tips: * It's cash-only to get in ($30 per car), though the gift shop accepts cards with a 4% fee. * There is an ATM on-site, despite what the website says. * Wear bug spray and good shoes! It's in the woods and parts are sandy. Unfortunately, not all of the staff were friendly. The women we interacted with were very kind, but the men we encountered weren't. We overheard one male worker speaking rudely and using inappropriate language about a guest (and guests in general) after she asked a simple question about the cub schedule. Not okay...especially with children around. It made it a bit awkward. All that said, my kids had a great time, and if you come prepared, it's a unique experience for little animal lovers! read more

Leading with the positives, seeing the black bears so up close felt good. There were no kids in our group but I enjoyed seeing the kids so thrilled to watch and feed bears. The refuge area ( separate for adult males, adult females and cubs) seems large and natural enough to provide a comfortable refuge to the bears. There is a beautiful serene lake on the property and felt very peaceful spending some time there. Though we enjoyed watching the bears, the experience seemed overpriced and a little unfriendly. We paid $30 for the car( only cash allowed) and then there was additional $4 for the bag of apples and $10 for the photoshoot with the cub.for the area the ranch covers and average time spent there , I feel at-least one pic or the bag of apples could be included in the $30 ticket price. The instructions at the photo-booth about the cost of recapturing a pic seemed borderline rude to me. I understand that people can get particular about their pics but I am sure there are friendlier ways to get your point across: Most of the trails around the bears enclosures do not have any signs, and we only found text about the ranch and the bears at the very end. All in all, can be a good spot for kids and bear enthusiasts. Nor for people who are looking for a safari kind of experience. read more

Oswald's Bear Ranch - Zoos Near Me - Newberry, Michigan

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During our road trip around the Great Lakes, we stopped at Oswald Bear Ranch and I'm glad we did. It's a cute little place with a very friendly staff that makes you feel welcome right away. We got to learn a little about bears, which was both fun and educational, and of course couldn't resist doing the photo op where you actually get to pet a bear. It's a unique experience you don't come across every day, and definitely worth a visit if you're in the area. Highly recommend for families, animal lovers, or anyone looking for a memorable stop along their trip. read more

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Really nice location with lots of bears and experience to get up close. Habitats look like great location for bears and experience bears. read more

Oswald's Bear Ranch - Bear posing - Zoos Near Me - Newberry, Michigan

This was an interesting attraction to take the family to. There are a lot of bears, which was very cool to see up close. The enclosures/habitat areas were very large. I wish there was a map or something that they gave the people. I feel like we could have walked around the enclosures more but we were uncertain where the path led. We got our picture taken with the bear cub which was an experience. It was a quick in and out. Like most attractions things just cost $$$. If you like bears this can be a fun trip. You can buy apples and toss them into the enclosures to feed them, which is fun. It can also feel kinda sad to see how the bears cluster together and wait for the apples when they see humans. read more

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Bear ranch featuring a chance to see a baby bear up close. Make sure you wear walking shoes, many paths to see a bear. Check out the gift store. read more

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This is a worthwhile stop if you want to see Michigan black and brown bears UP CLOSE. Their habitats are natural and huge (much better than any zoo habitat). There are two fences between you and the bears, so it's safe. For $4 you can buy a bag of apples to feed them. The cubs are separate and very cute. We stayed about 45 minutes. Don't forget bug spray as it's a wooded environment. Also, it's a cash business, but there's an ATM onsite. read more

We were camping with friends about an hour away on an overcast drizzly day so decided to check this place out. We were afraid it might be too kitschy but we learned quite a bit about bears we didn't previously know. For example, black bears can be black, brown, cinnamon, blonde, gray-blue, or white. $30 for a carload or priced for individuals. You can buy a bag of apples to feed the bears for $4 and $10 to have your photo taken feeding a bear cub (we took advantage of all). Clean restrooms. Worth the visit! read more

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What a wonderful place! Family owned and operated based on donations and local help. This place helps and preserves bear life. They have a great gift shop tons to explore, and you can also purchase apples to feed the bears. The best part picture with a baby bears! Worse the drive, be ready no cell connection until you get to main road. read more

Oswald's Bear Ranch - Zoos Near Me - Newberry, Michigan

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I've been to Oswald's a couple of times. It's a solid place. Costs $25/car as of the time we visited. They have 4 separate enclosures (newborns, yearlings, adult males, adult females) with trails that you could do the entire thing in about 1/2 mile - or see more of the grounds and cover up to about 2 miles. For a small price ($3), you can get cutup apples to feed them. We went early afternoon on a busy summer day, and many of the bears had already had enough. You can also get a photo op with the baby bears. What could make it better is to educate on why they were all there. The bears looked healthy. Many sleeping in the shade of the trees. They have a big gift shop with a wide variety; on my first trip - we got a stuffed bear for my daughter. All-in-all, nice way to spend 45 minutes. read more

Oswald's Bear Ranch - Bears up close - next to the fence - Zoos Near Me - Newberry, Michigan

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Oswald's is a fun stop with tons of bears to look at ! You can also get your picture taken with a baby cub if you'd like . Would have been 5 stars but the place is a bit overpriced read more

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The staff here is very friendly and helpful. There is ample parking and they have an excellent gift shop that you go through to enter the compound. I opted to take a picture with the cub. It is very quick. They use your phone to take a couple of pictures of you petting the bear cub. It may not seem worth it a first glance. But it is a once in a lifetime experience and the money goes to a good place, supporting the bears. You can also buy a bag of apples to feed the bears for $3/bag. They have some good viewing stands where you can see the bears and feed them apples, if you bought them. The bears are split up into 3 different areas: males, females, and cubs, all with viewing stands. One of the female bear enclosures has a couple of holes cut in the fence where you can get some good ground level pictures. I would not reccomend feeding them through the hole though. The male enclosure is uber large. I am glad I was able to take advantage of this unique experience. The bears seemed happy and are well taken care of. Like I said their enclosures are huge, they have lots of room to roam. read more

Second summer in a row we visited the bear ranch and loved it! Guy taking money at the gate was friendly as was the guy selling apples. My husband went and talked briefly to Dean (didn't want to bother him, but thank him for a great rescue). Would highly recommend it! read more

Oswald's Bear Ranch - Female taking a swim - Zoos Near Me - Newberry, Michigan

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It was an awesome experience to see all the bears. Kids totally loved it too. The visits are arranged on the feeding times of bears so they are not harassed to make an appearance for the humans . They allow u to take pic with one baby near and take care that he is not traumatized . Give them rest and comfort before calling the visitors to click. read more

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Zero complaints about the bear ranch. All staff was friendly and knowledgeable. The employee giving instructions for the photo with a bear cub to the group in front of us said something along the lines of "and when he's done eating, run as fast as you can out of the cage!" to like, a 7 year old boy. They totally admitted they were joking but it was hilarious! I read other reviews about people complaining about the cost. Honestly, they're TAKING CARE OF BEARS. I'm sure it's a hefty price tag to feed them. There are a lot of bears, and their enclosures are HUGE, which is reassuring. Much better than a zoo. There are some educational signs, too, so maybe they read the past review that said there wasn't any information. Granted, it's not A LOT of info, but hey, progress. I definitely plan to return when my kids are older. read more

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An incredible experience that I'll never forget for the rest of my life. Make sure you stop by Oswald's when you visit the UP. You will be blown away. First off, let's talk politics. I had a lot of reservations about going here. I almost did not go. I felt terrible supporting a place that PETA blasted. The sad videos of the cubs made me feel awful about having this on my itinerary. The PETA videos are misleading. These bears are clearly happy to be here. Their enclosures are huge, they eat very well, and they have friends. The infamous PETA video shows cubs being sad - moving back and forth in a cage with nowhere to go. The reason for this is because cubs are restless. They constantly climb, touch, and lick every single thing in that large cage. And that is normal cub behavior. The only time the cubs seemed sad was when the other cubs were unhappy that we fed one cub honey. They were jealous. The cubs move out of that cage in less than a year, when the risk of them escaping the other enclosures is gone. The cubs are adorable. They have so much energy. They cannot stop licking everything and they kept trying to break things. One pulled back part of the fence, and when an employee brought a ladder to fix it, another cub stuck its tongue through the bottom of the fence in an effort to lick the ladder. We saw one cub take a bath in a small tin tub, and another cub swung itself on a tire connected to a rope. It was amazing. Petting one was unreal. The big bears were also amazing. I watched one bear climb super fast up an extremely tall tree and then get down in no time at all. I saw another bear that was huge, he reminded me of John Goodman. I fed some bears apples. That was really fun. They like apples. What an amazing experience. A highlight of my time in Michigan. Thank you, Oswald's! read more

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This was an interesting place to visit while we were on vacation. The people were nice, veterans got to park in free, and the bears were seemingly happy. People gave them apples (available for purchase). The babies available to take photos with was a big daunting. I felt that it was exploiting these animals that have been "resuced". Not sure, but for me it made me a bit sad. Our family insisted we all go. The baby bears seemed okay, but the handlers seemed very weary and that made me curious as to what would make them weary. There wasn't much of an education going on for the public as well. I didn't understand why they have so many bears in these enclosures. I would have liked to know more about why they were all there. The bears looked healthy. Many sleeping in the shade of the trees. Some were scratching themselves on the trees they seemed to have best placed. The female kennel area seemed to have many bears close to the fence, but maybe it was the only cool spot (I went on a hot day). They also had a lot of wares for sale, so I supposed they make a lot of money, but they also have to have insurance and bear food, so I'm sure they needed a lot of money to keep it running. I wondered where the bears hibranated though, but I didn't see any area. Not sure, maybe I need to learn more. Also there was not social distancing in the store, people weren't all wearing masks. read more

This place says it's a bear rescue sanctuary but we didn't get that feeling at all. We showed up with the bear cub pacing back and force along the fence and climbing the fence until it was used for pictures with guests by giving it a spoonful of something sweet to keep it still. We walked around to some of the enclosures and I felt so very sad. Some of the enclosures had trees some were out in the open. It was hot and they looked troubled. Fur seemed very thin. Another female one was walking back and forth, I don't know if maybe it was her cubs being used for pictures. The story posted said the owner was interested in bears and bought his first one. We weren't even there for 15 min and just left. If you're an animal lover it may be hard for you to see. read more

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It's fun for the whole family! Definitely check it out if you're in the Upper Peninsula!

Went here with my family on vacation. I was very impressed by how short wait times were for pictures and how clean it was. The bears were extremely cute and very happy to get apples as a treat. Some of them even sat up and waved for apples! You can get a picture with a baby bear and pet it. They were super soft and adorable! The owners are very friendly and very helpful when asked about the bears. Overall great time. read more

The only issue that I saw was how the very young bears that they use to take $10/family with were stressed! There were three of them in a fenced in 20x30 pen with cement floor ALL DAY!!! You could easily tell that they did not like this! The one that they were using for pictures that day was scratching profusely maybe due to what they were feeding him for him to sit still on a wooden box. When he was sitting in the corner of the fencing on the cement floor, he was biting at the sheet metal that was on the inside of the enclosure, which clearly meant that he was trying to get out! The other two were fighting a bit and pacing back and forth along the fence line. THIS NEEDS TO BE REPORTED AND STOPPED! I think that a separate party should come in unannounced at least once per Summer to check everything! read more

Oswald's Bear Ranch - Zoos Near Me - Newberry, Michigan

My family and I loved this place! Feeding the bears apples was so fun. Being able to see the bears up close and watching some of them try to catch the apples was awesome. Petting the baby bear and getting a picture was truly memorable. We will definitely visit Oswald's Bear Ranch whenever in the area! read more

Oswald's Bear Ranch - Female bears trying to catch apples. - Zoos Near Me - Newberry, Michigan

Absolutely amazing place Staff was extremely friendly and helpful Bears were amazing to see I would highly recommend stopping by to visit them We traveled 350 miles to visit and would do it again!!!!! Great place great people read more

AMAZING experience. Free for military, $20 per car or $10 for an individual. If you are in the area, this is a MUST SEE. Initially I was wary; I did not have any interest in seeing it as I thought it would be sad...I was worried the animals were being neglected or abused in some way. NOTHING COULD BE FARTHER FROM REALITY. We were happy to pay the $10 to have our picture taken with a cub since we know the proceeds all go directly back into the bear ranch and taking care of the animals. We also bought a $3 bag of apples to feed the bears with. Some of them would come right up to the fence as we walked the perimeter of the enclosure and "walk" alongside us until we gave up some of the goods. I would like to be able to know more about the individual bears stories (i.e. how the arrived, personality, etc) but overall I felt like this was an amazing experience and a good value. Souvenirs in the shop are fairly priced and good quality; my partner bought a warm, fuzzy sweatshirt with a cool classic design for only $20 and again, all proceeds go directly back into keeping the ranch running. Animals had plenty of room to roam and be bears, staff was attentive and engaged. HIGHLY RECOMMEND. Truly, I cannot say enough nice things about Oswald's Bear Ranch! read more

Oswald's Bear Ranch - Zoos Near Me - Newberry, Michigan

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LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE Bears!!!! They are cute, they are fuzzy and when you are at Oswald's you can actually interact with the real bear cubs. I'm so glad I saved one of my favorite places to write about for my 400th Yelp Review! Blackbelt of Yelping...here I come! Back to my review...pardon the commercial break... Don't be discouraged based on the look of the front of the place....there is a beautiful "zoo" of sorts beyond the parking lot. This is not a place to come if you are not up for the walking on paths and perhaps a little dirt on your shoes. You can basically roam free (like the bears do) amongst the bear's habitats at your own pace. These folks run the largest bear ranch entire U.S. and have close to 30 roaming black bears in 4 separate habitats. The scenery is beautiful. These babies really are living the life. If you bring with you or purchase apples there, you can feed the bears apples and they absolutely LOVE them. They will then sit in front of you and eat the apples while you photograph them. Totally worth the investment. That and they are really cute when they eat. Guests can take a (supervised) photo with their own camera with the bear cubs. We have been here several times while vacationing the in Upper Peninsula and we always pay the 5 or so dollars to take a picture with the cutie-pie bears! On our first visit, I remember Josie was the cub we got to take a photo with and she put both of her paws on each of my now husband's shoulders and licked his neck like crazy. She obviously knows a good guy when she sees one! ;) We captured some great photos with Josie and other cubs on subsequent years that we will treasure for life. Truly a memory to be had at Oswald's. They have these platforms you can climb up to view of the bears without a fence separating you from the bears. A great way to get a photo of the beautiful animals without a fence clouding your photos. There is not a whole lot to do in the U.P., so this is an excellent place to bring the family and kill an afternoon while on vacation. I can also see locals turning this attraction into an annual family outing and see how the bears grow over the years. Looking forward to our next trip to the U.P. to see if Josie is still around causing trouble! read more

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My friend and I were on a trip to the UP and thought maybe we'd stop by Oswald's Bear Ranch. First thing is that they don't take credit cards for admission. The man at the gate took my license & told us to pay at the gift shop, which we intended to do. But as soon as my friend got out of the car, she started feeling a bit dizzy and ill. We debated about whether or not she could handle going in & decided she'd be better off going back to the car. So, we went back to the man at the gate and said we'd changed our minds. He basically interrogated us as to why. My friend said she wasn't feeling well, and he reluctantly gave me back my license. Then, he shouted to us, "Did you see any bears?" We answered that we hadn't, but we felt like he was going to chase after us & continue to badger us. Obviously, I can't speak to the attraction itself as we didn't actually see it, but I can say that it was not a welcoming feeling at all. And I overheard people saying that if you want a picture with the bears, they take away your cameras/phones and then charge $10 for pictures on top of the $20 you've paid to get in. I also saw signs about additional charges to feed animals with the food that they sell. That does not sound like the primary purpose of this ranch is to save and care for bears; it sounds more like a money-making proposition where some good happens to occur. read more

It was great! Been here about 5 times now. Finally with the kids along side. They have been expanding over the last decade. The gift store has been growing as well. Fun atmosphere and the bears seem happy and healthy. read more

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Overpriced for what you get. Terrible customer service. I was looking forward to this place for over a year and when I got there I pulled up to a stop sign, stopped, and proceeded to try and park the car to be yelled at by the ticket guy. I had missed the ticket booth which is my mistake however when I rolled down my window the ticket guy yelled at me and when I apologized and tried to explain I didn't see him and I thought we paid for tickets at the brown house straight ahead he said "yeah I'm sure" and gave a really rude attitude and continued to berate me even though I paid him and apologized. I was going to turn around and leave and ask for my money back but I didn't want any more confrontation. All in all he bears are cute but the whole experience made me incredibly unhappy and ruined it for me. This guy was unnecessarily rude and I did not feel welcomed at all. Go to a zoo instead. read more

Great little gem! Definitely worth the stop when in the area...which doesn't want to pet a bear cub?!?!

I see a lot of the reviews on this place are discussing the fact that the bears are distressed, or hinting that they are not taken care of. As a pretty big animal advocate, I'm the first person to say something if it seems fishy. Sure, the bears would certainly have more freedom in the wild, but this is a sanctuary, that protects these astonishing creatures from hunters. During my time here, I saw nothing but care for the animals, and a bunch of healthy happy bears. I just wanted to get that out of the way before I continued with my review. As stated, it is $20 per car. You could have as many people you could fit in the car and it would still be $20. My issue is that once you get inside the compound, you still have to pay to do other things. It's an addition $10 to go in and take pictures with the cubs. Of course everyone does it, hello it's a bear cub. My problem with it is that everyone in our group of 6 went in as groups of two and took photos with our significant others. We then all wanted a photo together as a group, and we were charged another $10. They have now made a quick $80 off our group alone. (We took two cars). After that, they charge $3 for apples to feed the other bears, and naturally most people want to feed them. That's another $10 from our group. After you factor in that some of us bought items in the gift shop, as well as drinks (as it was a hot day) they made over $100 off of us. I totally get that you got to make money where you can, and this is a very touristy attraction, but maybe throw in free apples with purchase at the gift shop, or let us take a group photo for free?? Maybe?? Cost aside, we had a great time here at Oswald's. We enjoyed watched the cubs wrestle each other and climb. We also loved walking around the rather big compound and feeding the bears. It's quite cute watching them come out of their dens when they hear an apple hitting the ground. Something that I thought was quite interesting was the bear cemetery. They didn't have that many headstones but I noticed some of the bears lived to be quite old. I think it's worth noting because they don't try to cover up the fact that yes, at some point these beautiful creatures will pass away. They care enough to give them a proper burial, unlike a zoo. For the most part, you are allowed to wander around at free will. With your entry, your allowed to stay at the compound until close. There really aren't too many workers hanging around to ask any questions. I was sort of hoping we would have someone showing us around, and explaining stuff about the bears, but that's not the case. They don't have any markers on the outside of the cage that teach you anything either, just what the bears name is. I think they make enough money to possibly consider hiring a guide, or investing in some informational maps. Overall, we defiantly enjoyed our trip to Oswald's. I just wish we could have gotten a little more bang for our buck, as well as a little more info about the bears! read more

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I can't wait to see the bears!!! Great to have such a wonderful place to see them ! Awesome getaway from the big city , looking forward to my vacation to the ranch. read more

UPdate: For the Debbie Downers "give it a rest" Dean has spent his ENTIRE life caring for bears AND how have you actually "SAVED" a bear???? Rhetoric is getting old!! WORTHY !! LOVED !! YOU DON'T EXPERIENCE this EVERYDAY!! The bears are soooo adorable and MOREOVER loved like crazy!! Dean Oswald has spent practically his WHOLE life caring for bears. Don't allow poster "Mommy M.'s" review to persuade you not to check out these gorgeous bears. Unfortunately the reviewer is ignorant to the fact that the staff ushers you IN & OUT of the cub picture containment area DUE to GOVERNMENT regulations!! Most know these days what that equates too ...I will leave that for another day! She is also CLUELESS that it takes MAJOR money to feed and maintain all these bears ...we found that $20 dollars per car was fair as well as $10 for a picture being that they NOW need to have 2 employees inside the contained area at ALL times. (rewind) A few years back the owner spent tons of time giving us the backstory on the bears while we played (hugged, held, fed and took OUR own pic's of the cubs) AGAIN the gov't came in & changed the way they originally allowed the public at large to connect with the bears :/ Take notice when visiting how clean their place is...the bears are energized and happy :) IF "you" want to know MORE about the bears and the proprietors READ their newspaper articles in their gift store. I do AGREE their could be a better way to communicate about the bears personalities and their OWN personal stories on when they arrived, age and so on BUT hardly a reason to bash this place. :( Dean Oswald has under gone enough b.s. with bureaucracy IF you prefer animals in the WILD injured or euthanized then STAY AWAY!! Sen. Joe Hune (R-Hamburg), chair of the agriculture committee, said "In this region or in the Upper Peninsula, Oswald's may be the only facility of this type available," Hune said. "I have a feeling that without it, it would probably be euthanasia for these cubs. #PROPRIETORSLOVETHESEBEARS #LIFECOMMITMENT #COSTLYTOMAINTAIN #CLEAN HABITATS #COMMENDABLE My family and I LOVED watching the bears swim & play by the falls in their pond ...refer to my videos. It's MUCH more enjoyable if you purchase a few bags of apples in their gift store as the bears will interact with you as you make your way around the different habitats. It's pretty cool! *Point of attn: Make sure to go to their waterfall habitat area as one can take pic's or videos without the fence being in the way. The BEST place to WATCH the bears interact is from that ledge as you are up high. They ONLY take cash or checks! ENJOY!!! :) read more

I thought this place was a fun stop, but honestly it doesn't even come close to the Garlyn Zoo in Naubinway when it comes to U.P. animal experiences. I can appreciate the fact that they rescued all these bears and gave them a place to live, but at the end of the day all of the animals here are bears, obviously, lol. The babies were adorable, and it was cool to feed them, but I prefer a zoo where I can see lots of types of animals, not just one. It's hard to see this as a place where you can really spend enough time to get your money's worth. read more

After hearing about this place through a coworker of my husband's, we knew we had to make the trip up and check it out. Any place that offers you the opportunity to interact with bear cubs gets an automatic "YES" from me! Oswald's is located in Newberry, MI. The Upper Peninsula provides a beautiful setting for the ranch. The ranch itself is very spacious for the bears. There are 4 huge enclosures for the adult bears that have viewing platforms to provide you with a better view. Make no mistake, these bears know that people are here to see them, and are more than happy to entertain you. I swear, when we were taking pictures of them, they would pose for the camera! My husband captured some video of one bear splashing around in a pond, having a blast. We got to see the adults climb trees and interact with each other. They seemed genuinely happy, and are well cared for. The bear cubs are kept in a separate area until they are old enough to move into the adult enclosures. It is so amazing to see the cubs up close. They love to climb and explore their surroundings, and are so darn cute. For a $10 fee, you can actually come into one of the enclosures and have your picture taken with a bear cub. Of course, we had to do it. It was such a thrilling experience to pet a bear cub. The cub was more interested in the big helping of jam that they had us feed him than in us, but it was still the highlight of our trip there. For $3, you can purchase a bag of quartered apples to feed the adult bears. We purchased a few bags and had fun tossing them into the enclosures. And the bears certainly enjoyed eating them. Bottom line: if you are looking for a fun and unique experience, check out Oswald's Bear Ranch. read more

Where do I even start? This place was absolutely amazing and well maintained. The bears here have ample area to roam around and all seemed happy and healthy. They love being fed the apples you can purchase and being able to take a picture with a bear cub was so cool. This is probably one of the best animal sanctuaries I have ever seen. PETA can go suck a fat one if they really think this place is bad. read more

Oswald's Bear Ranch - Zoos Near Me - Newberry, Michigan

It disappoints me to have to write this review. I love this bear ranch and have visited every year. However, this year left a sour taste. Of course with the Governor's orders masks are required indoors and when in crowds. Ok sure no problem, I'll follow that. However, after walking around the female enclosure with my family and not near any other people we had our masks off ( nearest group of other people were 20-30 feet away) we heard a loud yell from the the owners home PUT YOUR MASKS on. Now here's the thing, he wasn't wearing one, and the group we were near wasn't wearing any, and most of the staff weren't! The only staff I saw wearing a mask had them under their chin. If you want people to wear a mask, then make your staff wear them, and why yell at the group of 3 people not wearing masks when they're 20-30 feet away from anyone else while outdoors? Consistency is key. I just want to reiterate I am not anti mask, we just weren't wearing ours at the moment while outside, 20-30 feet away from others. read more

This place is awesome! If you are wondering if it's worth the drive up here, it is. The closest town is Newberry, which offers minimal services: a couple of fast food restaurants, a hotel, and a couple if has stations. We drove in from Wilderness State Park, and this was the most significant town we drive through on the way. They only take cash, FYI. Entrance fee is $20, and it is $10 to get your photo taken with a cub. Totally worth it! They lure the cub onto a platform with a large spoon full of fruit loops, and hand you the spoon. You can pet the cubs while you feed them. The staff uses your camera, and they take multiple photos (we got about 8!). There are four separate habitats for the older bears, and you can buy bags of apple slices to feed them ($3/bag). Most people were doing this, especially families with kids. The bears seem pretty docile, and they obviously love the apples. Overall, totally recommend Oswald Bear Ranch as a fun stop, especially for a family or for adults who like cute animals. read more

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Da bears, da bears, da bears, da bears.... Bears everywhere! We discovered Oswald's Bear Ranch by finding a flyer for it while visiting other UP attractions. We were all amped up to hold some baby bears as advertised in the flyer, but upon arrival, we learned that visitors are no longer allowed to make contact with any of the bears, even the cubs. We were bummed about that, but still loved getting up close to the 29 bears on-site. $20/car gains you access to all the bear habitats (males, females, cubs and yearlings) and walking trails. Habitats are fenced in and are a good size (1/4, 1/3 + 1/2 mile) with lots of trees, ponds, shade, etc. There are a few high lookouts where you get an aerial view of the bears sitting down below (yowza!) just feet from you. Visitors are protected, but this is definitely an up-close-and-personal kind of experience you can't get at a zoo. We were lucky enough to chat with Mr. Oswald himself during our visit. He explained that he gets 'rescue' bears from all over and then provides them a safe place to live on the ranch. There's not that much info about the history or current rescue program on their site. I'd like to know more about where the bears actually come from. It would be nice to try to prevent people from owning bears in the first place so that they can stay in the wild where they belong. read more

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It is now $20 a car. Still $5 for pictures with the bear cub. Single person in car or on motorcycle is $10. They are open 9:30-5pm 7 days a week. You cant drive through, you walk around. Really cute place, its fun! At the time we went, there were 29 bears. read more

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This place is great! Staff is friendly. Bars are fun to look at. Even got to see one sleeping in a tree today! $20 is totally worth is every time we are in the UP! read more

Oswald's Bear Ranch - Zoos Near Me - Newberry, Michigan