We have had numerous wonderful experiences at Shalom Wildlife Sanctuary over the years! Taking our grandchildren, Madison and Owen, around in the golf cart has become one of those special family memories we always look forward to. There is excitement around every turn -- seeing the animals up close, hearing "Look, Grammie!" and watching everything through the eyes of kids is such a joy. We love that we can take our time, enjoy the beautiful setting, and experience it at our own pace. Every visit feels a little different and gives us new memories to take home. If you're looking for a fun family outing, especially with grandchildren, this is a wonderful place to spend the day.... and many return are in the future. read more

I can't believe we waited so long to visit this place!!! What a wonderful Sanctuary. The enclosures are large with great viewing opportunities. Lots of wildlife. The Christmas decorations were so cute!!! So many nice signs with nature themes and reminders to take care of over environment. We will definitely be back!!! read more

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This is an awesome little zoo with so many animals to keep both children and adults amused. There ar gravel and dirt trails to walk or hike along, or just for fun, you can rent a golf cart and buzz your way around the same trails. There is a wide array of animals and many are native here in Wisconsin. I've uploaded some pics of the animals we saw today, and as a little bonus you get a free ice cream when you leave. The sanctuary seems to be caught up in some kind of legal battle to save their zoo. Some of the neighbors drew up a complaint and you see the "We support Shalom" signs all through the area and we made sure to pick up our Save Shalom T-shirts in the gift shop. On another note, we had some old freezer burned meat in our freezer, I called ahead and they do take raw meat donations read more

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I have been to a lot of zoos. Not sure zoo is rhe right term for Shalom. When you get to Shalom there is a different energy. The animals are so well taken care. They seem content and Happy. Thank you Shalom for taking such good care of these beautiful animals. Can't wait to get there again. read more

HORRIBLE. They had just allowed two people before us to get in without an issue and without a warning, but we were next in line and they first said we weren't allowed entry then said they would let us in but we had to pay $45 to use the golf cart for one hour. We told them we drove 2.5 hours and they didn't care. We were in line by 4 and they said their cut off is 4. That "rule" is not listed anywhere on their website. Never coming back. read more

Absolutely love this place!! The golf cart is so nice to use and explore both the wonderful sounds of nature and the animals. We love coming here in the spring and end of summer to see the animals! Great for all ages from babies to grannies. read more

Shalom Wildlife Sanctuary - Parks Near Me - West Bend, Wisconsin

I have been going to shalom every year for 30 years, way back David used to dress as Santa and pull all the people with a tractor and trailer, it was absolutely amazing. I was a chaperone every time my kids went there on a field trip and I now take my granddaughter there its a great place for a family outing and always a wonderful time ! The place is very well taken care of and David & Lana absolutely love those animals! David even calls them all by name. read more

Shalom Wildlife Sanctuary - Feeding a baby albino deer - Parks Near Me - West Bend, Wisconsin

Shalom is a small zoo that houses most of their animals in large, natural habitats. Shalom isn't huge like most zoos, which may disappoint a lot of people. Because of their natural habitat, you may or may not see some of the animals when you visit. That's the beauty of Shalom. I love the sounds and sights of Shalom. Don't visit with the intention of seeing zoo animals trapped in small enclosures for the public to see. Go for the experience. Stop, look, and listen, and allow your visit to melt your cares away for the day. read more

Warning! Warning! Warning! You are no longer allowed to feed the animals, which is contrary to what their website states. It was very disappointing. The children were ready to feed the animals and had brought the extra food that was described on the website as being OK. Not cool. read more

What an amazing place, we were in Cederberg for the day and happened to see this was not too far so we took a ride up in the next morning. First off, it's a nice rural drive, very pretty especially in early fall when we went. We knew nothing about it going in, I got our tickets and bought my wife a bucket of feed not having a clue what it was for. They have a nice gift store that leads you into the park. It's set up really well, it's a long winding-like trail with animals very much in nature on both sides, it's like a zoo but more natural and open. They have an amazing variety of animals, at one point we were hand feeding huge elk...what an experience. The big cats were one of the highlights as well. Along the trail they have little huts with information and artifacts, and the signs with the native american tidbits were incredibly moving and inspirational. It is a special place, one of the workers by the big cats took the time to tell my wife all about them and cared that she was there. I have never enjoyed something like it more. We will be more regular visitors now that we know about it. it was a special day read more

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Great place to go. We travelled from Louisiana to see the animals we follow on Facebook. Staff were amazing. We could not have had a better experience! All that and free icecream. read more

This place is absolutely amazing and fun for the whole family! I highly recommend it to anyone! read more

Shalom Wildlife Sanctuary is simply amazing! See animals, many of them exotic, in a natural environment while walking a path through nice woods? Sign me up! This place is unique and worth the price of admission. Grab a map to see what's coming up! Buy a bucket of feed for the kids to feed the animals, and have guaranteed interaction. Naturally, the animals respond to being fed! Enter through the gift shop of very cool antlers and see your very own white deer Patronus! The variety of deer and antlered animals here is amazing. We enjoyed the Emus and Ostriches, the bears were very active in the water, the cougar and tiger- and the list of cool animals goes on. We had never heard of a Fisher before and chuckled that they put a Fisher's favorite food- a porcupine- in sight of his cage. The informational signage about each animal was nice, as were the nature poems, throughout. We opted to walk, as it's an easy stroll, and good exercise. You could opt to spend $30 to rent a golf cart, but we found the exhaust and carts rolling right up behind walkers on the paths to be a negative part of the whole being in nature experience that is unique to Shalom. While Shalom had sanitizer everywhere, upgrading the outhouses could be a good improvement, too. One modern flush bathroom in the middle would do wonders. This place is awesome, and it's worth a visit! read more

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Rent the golf cart, get at least 2 buckets of feed and save at least 2 hours for majestic and sweet animal feedings and discoveries. With the golf carts, the animals really perk up and come up close in their enclosures because I think they might've thought we were the keepers that are coming to feed them. So awesome. It was scary at first feeding by hand, think they'd bite your finger off, but they feed with their wet lips out of a cupped hand. There is liquid hand sterilizer bottles at every stop. Of course, don't feed the ones that say "I bite"! So much to discover and see. Animals look healthy and very active. read more

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Shalom turned up on an extended search for zoo's and or animal sanctuary's so we made the nearly 3-hour drive up to visit. It was well worth the drive. Shalom sits in the unsuspecting outskirts of a small town and isn't readily noticeable to anyone save the locals I suspect. The layout of this zoo is a large sector of privately owned land. The grounds are excessively large in comparison to any other private zoo or animal sanctuary that I've been to, and larger than most public zoo's that you find in large cities. They have a large selection of animals here including rare breeds that tend to be "white" or albino. Each are rarely seen in nature and a real treat to see in person. The path itself can be walked or driven by golf carts. Due to the length of the path I somewhat understand the golf carts for those in physical need. Unfortunately, most of the people we saw using them were lazy sob's that sped through with careless regard. I highly recommend legging it out. I can't emphasize enough how much more rewarding the walk is, the exhibits should be seen this way. I like to see animal habitats that offer spacious environments and superior living conditions. Shalom is second to none in that regard. Some of the enclosures are sizable for several of the species contained, yet many only contain one animal. It's nice to see that the larger quarters allow them to roam more freely. The animals here are also very well taken care of. All of them seem to be in the best of physical condition and structures have been built to protect them in inclement conditions. There were many favorites here but I particularly liked the brown bears and albino animals (there are many). Animals ranged from local to the area to worldwide specimens. When you visit be sure to give yourself 2-3 hours minimum. Aside from the animals, there are several small informational buildings, as well as many native American sites of symbolism. These are great additions in Shalom. Top notch, I couldn't recommend a zoo or animal sanctuary with any higher regard. Cheers! read more

Shalom Wildlife Sanctuary - Parks Near Me - West Bend, Wisconsin

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Just a sad place, animals. I nearly cried for the animals, in tiny cages with green putrid water, no shade for animals in July. And you get to pay for this read more

While we enjoyed renting a golf cart thru the zoo it was sad at times as we saw some less than well cared for animals. Feeding the animals was a big hit for my grandson and me. But I am mixed about going back because the place really needs help to improve the grounds and care. Do I go again to help pay for updates or do I not return and feel like they may shut down which may be the right answer? I am mixed. read more

My favorite place to go. Me and my family go multiple times a year. My only complaint is that their merch sizing only goes up to a large. read more

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This is our second visit to the Shalom Wildlife Sanctuary. We went last year and was pleasantly surprised at how much we enjoyed it. You have the opportunity to get up close with many of the animals and feed / pet them. You receive a small ice cream with the purchase of each ticket that you redeem before you exit. You can rent a golf cart which is very helpful for navigating through the sanctuary. This was very helpful so we could bring my 80+ yr old MIL. The only draw back was the time limit on the cart rentals. We felt rushed. read more

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We really enjoyed this zoo. More casual and natural feeling than larger conventional zoos, but still with a nice selection of animals. I appreciated being in the woods and not being surrounded by circus like decorations and distractions everywhere. I personally prefer it to the much larger Brookfield zoo in Chicago. Of course it has a much smaller selection, so others may disagree. Don't over buy with the animal food, we arrived mid day and had to walk about halfway before finding hungry animals, as the first ones had clearly already been fed to their liking. It was still a very pleasant experience and the price was quite reasonable. read more

Fun for the family We had intended to go a few weeks back and walk the park but things didn't work out. We took a drive out for their holiday drive-thru. The weather was fantastic and we spent over an hour checking out the animals and decorations. All the animals are super cool - but the wolves and bears were our favorite. Can't wait to go back in the summer for a stroll! It's totally worth the drive and park fee. read more

Shalom Wildlife Sanctuary - Parks Near Me - West Bend, Wisconsin

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I had never heard of this place before. But thanks to a friend's post on Facebook we decided to check it out. The zoo was accessible via your own personal vehicle. This isn't always the case but with fears of a virus things are a bit different. When they are running as normal you can get out and explore some. They have some animals you don't normally see in a zoo such as Buffalo. My wife and I had a great time and would recommend others check it out. If you have young children they would really enjoy this zoo. read more

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I lived in Wisconsin for several years before I became aware of the Shalom Wildlife Sanctuary. In central Illinois we visited Wildlife Prairie Park many times, and it's fairly similar in concept to Shalom, although probably a bit more modern. We were here with an older friend as our guest, and a plus was that we could rent a golf cart for $25 to tour the park. The golf cart could seat four adults, and the front two seats were covered with a canopy. The back bench seat was open to the elements, and I brought an umbrella along because it was sprinkling a bit. The young man who sold us our tickets ($10.50 each for adults) told us that it would take about an hour and 15 minutes on a golf cart to see everything. We arrived a bit late in the afternoon, and I feel like we were rushed by about 15 minutes trying to get the golf cart back in time, but otherwise everything went well. We saw: goats; deer; sheep; opossum; squirrels; deer; coyotes; wolves; fox; deer; a brown bear; ducks; pigeons; rabbits; deer; ground squirrels; woodchucks; ostrich; porcupine; skunk; deer; elk; bobcat; turkey; rabbit; deer; peacock; mules; zebras; swans; deer; llamas; some big rabbit looking rodent that I don't recall the name of, and more. We saw A LOT of deer, including many albino deer. Some of the animals seemed to have large areas to roam and some were in more enclosed areas, but it seemed that some might be able to leave an enclosed area to visit a more open area. There were several outhouses or port-a-potties along the route and hand sanitizer in case you were petting/feeding animals. In the winter it sounds like they have a holiday drive through where you can go through in your car. I would recommend this for families with kids who love to see animals as well as those who may have a harder time getting around who still love to see animals read more

Shalom Wildlife Sanctuary - Parks Near Me - West Bend, Wisconsin

We Visited the Shalom Wildlife Sanctuary today. The kids LOVED it. My 3 year old nephew is constantly saying he wanted to go on a bear hunt. So for him to see the bear at the end of the tour. That was awesomeWe were able to see some really cool animals. We did the drive thru and the kids were able to take pictures of all the animals. We will most definitely come back when all of the Covid 19 pandemic is over. read more

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Best wildlife zoo around. Walk at your own pace, with plenty to keep the kids interested.

It was fun and I am glad we went. It appeared that kids loved the golf carts and certainly those with physical limitations would also. We walked and it was difficult to keep out of the way of the golf carts. That part was not fun. Their maps are a joke. They have some very nice yellow signs on some enclosures that tell you what animals and their habitat etc, which was very nice, unfortunately I would guess that is only about 50% of the enclosures. They could so easily make this even better read more

This was such a great time, we will definitely be back, and will check it out year round. We went during the Christmas decoration drive through, with kids ages 4, 2, and 1. We loved being warm in the car and the variety of animals and decorations and little treats by stockings for the kiddos, lunch room with got chocolate, cookies, and games. Going past all the walking areas and signs, I can tell it's something we'll all love to do when the weather is warmer also. The animals looked content and well fed, the enclosures looked clean and safe, the facilities were clean. The decorations, signs, all the benches etc were thoughtfully placed all seemed really well kept, that may sound silly but we've been to some places that feel kind of run down and it makes me worry about the quality of care of the animals, I didn't feel that at all here. This was just our first time through, I'll update if we visit again, but for now it's 5 stars for sure :) read more

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Super cute! Been here twice in the last year after moving to the area; once during the warmer months, and once around Christmas, and both times were enjoyable. The first time we went, we rented a golf cart to get around bc it was way too big to walk through with a tiny toddler and the dirt paths was difficult to push our cheapy stroller through. The second time we went, during the month of December, we got to drive our own vehicle through. All of the animals look healthy and happy, and my daughter loved every bit of our visits. Definitely a place to bring your own families. read more

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This is the neatest place! Have been there several times, and never get tired of it. Sometimes I bring cut up carrots for the animals, but always show the people at the desk before I feed any animals. You can buy feed at the desk and the animals gobble it up! LOVE it there. read more

Wonderful place to visit for families and friends! It's fairly priced for the size of the facility, and there are so many different animals to see. Removing 2 stars specifically due to employees not wearing any masks read more

Please, please, please avoid during the covid-19 weekend crowd. Prepare to be stuck in your car for 2+ hours crawling inches at a time, all the while seeing the occasional animal lying on the ground looking sad. Park seems like a nice place, but this is absolutely not the time to visit, despite the desperation of finding something to do during the pandemic. read more

Great place to take the family! You can even rent a cart. We enjoyed it. Will go back every year, more than once.

I came here with my daughter and grandson on a very hot day! I regret we did not bring lots and lots of water. The pathway is well maintained but is gravel. We debated as to walk it or rent a golf cart. Our decision was to walk. Omg, what a walk-It was a winding path with animals in many places. Some were sleeping or hiding but other were out meeting and greeting their public. It's wonderful to see the animals out and about. Lots of land to roam! We looped around in the wrong direction and had to overlap our steps so definitely put in more than the 4 miles. Would be a great place to go in fall with the leaves changing and cooler weather. Rarely if ever saw Zebras and bears that close up. Would definitely go again! Btw the staff was great! Thanks to all! read more

Love this place! Very family friendly. Great for an outing with grandkids. Walk or ride in golf carts, plenty of room for both.

Poor animal care for many species. Very disappointed. They have pretty poor care for their reptiles. They're keeping 4 ballpythons in a dry tank, an obese boa, numerous turtles and tortoises being kept in extremely small enclosures with no heat and uvb and only lettuce to eat without any supplements on it. There's a lizard labeled as a green iguana that pretty clearly isn't a green iguana too. Besides just the reptiles if the animals aren't obese they're being kept in large numbers in ridiculously small enclosures for their species. Many animals are kept in outdoor enclosures in harsh WI weather despite being from tropical or desert climates. Many animals don't have appropriate places to hide either. Really really disappointing and sad zoo. read more

We LOVE Shalom Wildlife during normal times. My kids love to see the animals up close and feed them. We went today expecting a nice safe outdoor family activity. There was absolutely not one employee wearing a mask or any social distancing instruction for going through the sanctuary. We had to enter the store to get into the sanctuary and go back in to leave. There is a gate they could open to allow people not to go into an indoor building and crowd through a narrow door way. People were not respecting social distancing at all and seemed confused when we asked for a bit of space. One family even said to me that I shouldn't be there if I wanted social distancing. In an outdoor space that big, social distancing SHOULD NOT be a problem. They did not sanitize the golf carts between families. All in all we did not feel it was a safe activity today and I am so incredibly disappointed. read more

We took my 2 year old and 7 month old grand babies, so we used the golf carts (highly recommend) The day was quite warm so I'm glad we used that option ($20) We also bought a pale of food to feed, recommend that also ($5) The animals are fun to interact with. They had many playground/picnic areas, so pack a lunch or snacks. I highly recommend this place and will definitely go back! Great for grandparents to take their grandkids to! read more

I loved it because there were golf carts it was fun.I like how you made it so you can get close up to the animals

If you're looking for a safe outdoor activity during COVID-19, look somewhere else. The parking lot was full to the brim, and the parking and registration area was full of people (on a Tuesday, so I can only imagine the weekend experience). Did not see a single mask, including on employees at checkin, and groups were standing together in the parking/registration area without social distancing. We drove straight back out of the parking lot after seeing the lack of effort by the park and attendees to enforce social distancing. read more

I am rating this only on the drive through experience during Covid-19. Very little to look at and very long due to all the vehicles (which they cannot control). Kids get bored until the very end where the tigers are. Other than that it seems like everything is away from any viewing area. read more