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    Wilderness Trails Animal Park

    3.3 (67 reviews)
    Closed 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
    Updated 2 months ago

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    Lion

    Took about 2 hours at a stroll. But enjoyed it. Affordable and not super crowed. Lots of animals.

    Cougar

    The zoo had many different animals, but I left feeling extremely sad for many of the animals. Many of the enclosures are way too small for the animals, and I saw several animals pacing due to boredom and anxiety in their small spaces. A cougar and two bears were pacing in a single line back and forth the entire time. They seemed sad and bored. Also, there was one capybara with a sign put up by the zoo saying how social capybaras are. Then why is this animal left alone?! Similarly, an otter was in a small pool by itself. I feel like if the zoo can't properly take care of these animals and care about their well-being, they should be released into a sanctuary.

    Stephanie K.

    I will start by saying that the staff was super friendly! There were many employees on the premises fulfilling their duties and all were courteous to my family. I'm not sure why such nice people could work at such a sad establishment. A family member purchased a Groupon for this place and I honestly had never heard of it. With two toddlers in tow, it took us about an hour to see all the animals, with the exception of the reptiles because it was too cold outside. (But a certain preschooler was more excited about the playground.) The elk had a few acres to roam, whereas the two large lions' enclosure was the size of my living room. I would not recommend visiting. I would be happy to donate to the relocation of the exotic animals. My kids were happy enough with feeding the goats.

    Beautiful Macaw
    Laurie H.

    Lions and tigers and zebras, oh my! Although we've passed this animal park numerous times on our way to Frankenmuth, we recently learned about it when I received a Groupon notification with special pricing. Curiosity got the best of us and we decided why not see what it's about. Upon arrival, we noticed all of the parking spots were taken. The parking lot is on the smaller side for the amount of visitors so we ended up parking on the grass. Walking in, you'll enter into the gift shop much to the excitement of the kiddos. It's not a huge gift shop, but it's just big enough. From T-Shirts for both adults and kids, to stuffed animals and little toys, it's easy to find a souvenir. The ticket counter is off to the side in the gift shop and after you purchase your tickets, you step outside and into the park. There's a big play structure for the children to play on along with a shaded picnic area if you choose to bring your lunch. No food is available on the premises, so bring your snacks, drinks and or food if you want to sit down afterwards. Small wagons are available for rent for the small price of $5. They hold two small kids and come in handy if you have little ones and don't have a stroller. The walking trail is easy to traverse and there are shady areas, so you're not in the direct sun at all times. Keep in mind that the trail is dirt and dirt gets muddy after a rain. Also, shoes are recommended but if you're a sandal person and don't mind the dirt, they'll be okay. We wore shoes though just to be safe because we didn't know what to expect. Walking along, you'll notice it's not a huge and lengthy walk like our Detroit Zoo is, but for an hour or two adventure at reasonable prices, this place foots the bill. All in all, it's a nice park with lots of wild animals to see up close. Besides the lions, tigers and zebras, there are birds, reptiles coyotes, bears and so much more that the whole family will enjoy seeing. The kids can even feed the goats and other animals. They have dispensing machines that cost a mere 25 cents for a handful of feed. The kids loved having the animals eat out of their hands. Don't forget to bring some wet wipes, as their hands get a little slurped up afterwards. If you want something fun to do with the kids, check this place out. It's a fun and easy day for parents, grandparents, big kids and little ones.... an adventure for all. The best part is it doesn't break the pocketbook and it isn't the type of walk that will last all day or wear you out. Have fun!

    Erin S.

    What an awesome experience! I agree with previous posters that the staff is great! We walked into the trail house to redeem our Groupon and buy the ticket for our son. The cashier tipped us off that we might want to add some quarters for the 8 feeding stations along the trail. Do it and add $1 for the parakeet experience. The zoo has a nice Aviary area, a small primate section, some tigers, lions, zebras, fox, large cats, and Elk/Reindeer. They have a large reptile area that ends with some very large Tortoise. There is a petting area, a play area, and a small gift shop. The trail is well covered in foliage and the enclosures are very close to the trail. The Parakeet Experience includes taking a stick with seeds on it into the parakeet enclosure. As you might guess, the birds really enjoy this! Check this out next time you are in Frankenmuth or visiting Birch Run.

    Shelby L.

    Zero Stars. We should treat all beings the way we would simply liked to be treated. At the wilderness trails zoo in Birch Run, MI exotic and large animals are kept in chain linked fenced cages that are extremely small causing them to pace back and forth due to boredom and anxiety. They have no room to run and predators and prey are all placed near each other. The zoo needs to drastically improve the facilities or find a new home that can care for them properly. What may have started off as an animal sanctuary has turned into a sad site of animal cruelty. Please sign the petition below! http://chng.it/YXNrTwMQ

    Deanna D.

    This place is a nice clean trail of sweet but lonely animals. I feel like they looked sad and alone. Some of them barely had any room to roam. We used a Groupon for a good deal. I doubt I'd go back again but glad we went.

    Corey H.

    So I found out about this zoo from Groupon. I had no clue that we had any other zoos in Michigan besides the Detroit zoo so I decided to give it shot and make a trip up to frankenmuth. The zoo is small you could probably walk through the entire thing in 2 hours but it might be my the best zoo I've ever been to. I've never been so close to the animals at any other zoo. I was literally 7 feet from 2 lions. There are signs up to not run with the animals but I read that sign after the fact. This lion literally ran side to side with my wife like he was a family dog or something. He looked us in the eye and ran side to side and mimicking her side to side movement. We were able to pet and hand feed several animals. This is definitely an awesome hands on zoo. I love the intimate size of it and the amount of trees. It's like being in the wild instead most commercial zoos We had a blast. Hands down the most fun I've ever had at a zoo. I've been to Detroit and Toledo and some others but this one although much smaller gets you very close and is so hands on. Would love to return one day

    Lemur, he was a trip as he would dance for us.

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    10 months ago

    Animals looked malnourished, too small of enclosures, smelled like weed, no staff acknolegdment. My family was dissapointed

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    Definitely my favorite zoo to take my kids to they absolutely love the parakeet aviary!

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    Page 1 of 2

    Ask the Community - Wilderness Trails Animal Park

    Review Highlights - Wilderness Trails Animal Park

    I've been to the Detroit zoo quite a few times and never got to see the Lions awake let alone moving.

    Mentioned in 5 reviews

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    Detroit Zoo - Griffen red ale

    Detroit Zoo

    3.7(476 reviews)
    61.3 mi

    The Detroit Zoo's penguinarium and butterfly exhibits are exceptional, beautiful, worthy, heavenly…read more The train was highly restored and a treat to ride again! However, we were surprised when visiting after having the opportunity to travel and visit other community's zoos. When returning to our own zoo and comparing it to others and our recollection of the Detroit Zoo during its peak years, we wondered what's going on. Care and gardening quality of the property is significantly enhanced. Yet, there are far fewer animals. Isn't this a zoo's primary role. Distance to view animals is further than other zoos. We had to apologize to our out of town guests and remind them that the Detroit Zoo used to be better! Perhaps declining financial support from the City of Detroit over decades negatively impacted upkeep and care of the infrastructure and opportunity to support and care for large animal populations. Detroit Crain's reported that in 2008 and 2010, State of Michigan legislation was enacted to assist the state in preserving the Detroit Zoo and the Detroit Institute of Arts by creating new county taxing authorities with the power to levy taxes in support of the institutions. (Resident taxpayer visitor fees are still required.) Either even after 17 years current funding hasn't replaced what the zoo previously received in its glory days. Or, current leaders have different views regarding the purpose of the Detroit Zoo, animal populations and opportunities for guests to easily see them.

    Love our zoo!…read more Historically it has always been a zoo doing the right things for the animals, the visitors, and the community. Consistently through my life this behavior has remained the same. We are passholders since the kids were born and have always felt we got our money's worth. The modern penguin and polar bear facilities are so great to experience and should not be missed. New things are popping up all the time so repeat visits never get stale. The after hour cash grab events are really all over the place and can be a little bit of a nuisance but this isn't uncommon for zoos or equivalent facilities in the modern era. Only once did we arrive on a spontaneous trip to the zoo to discover it was closed for a private event (this was at like 1:00 PM on a Saturday? Not sure what was up with that?). I do have to comment on our last visit to the Zoo Lights where there were two operational changes that made the visitor experience worse in what seemed like unnecessary ways. First, the trail (where they do the extra cost animatronic animals during the year but is decorated for Zoo lights) was being run in reverse direction from normal. My only guess was this was to attract people's attention through creating an artificial line by forcing people to enter through the small door exit instead of the standard wide open area. Maybe just better signage or lighting? Team member on the main path to guide people in? If it wasn't for this reason..I'm not sure what to think. The other was a forced path to direct you into the Events Pavilion where there was entertainment and other activities. Again, I assume this was to 'force' people to these attractions to make sure they didn't bypass. However, the path that was blockaded goes directly next to the Pavilion and we have never failed to notice it. This created a weird bottleneck and rattled our party by having to go directly into the loud and flashy environment at the end of a long trip. Once more..if this wasn't for my above guess..what are we doing? These are minor grievances compared to the years of fun and education the zoo has provided myself and my family. Oh yeah, and the water tower!

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    The train station at the main entrance

    Porter's Orchard Farm Market & Cider Mill - Multi different pumpkins available at Porter's Orchard.

    Porter's Orchard Farm Market & Cider Mill

    4.2(22 reviews)
    26.6 mi

    I was here about a year ago and i didn't rate it then, because i didn't have help so let me explain…read morewhat happened. So we got apple cider and donuts, the apple cider was great and the donut was good. The play area has a train, and zip lines! My favorite part about porters is the zip line. The issue that happened was on the hayride... in the middle of the hayride, THE STEP PIECE FELL OF MID RIDE! My family and i, alerted the driver but he couldn't hear us and then he finally heard us! We finished off the ride. We were the last ride for the day due to that incident. Ps. If you want to go to a good hayride, don't go to this cheap one!

    We love this place. The donuts are cider are always spot on. We do the "take out tuesdays" during…read morethe winter sometimes and like it. The amount of food given for $10 a person is a decent value. You just need to call at least a day before to get it and it always included a dessert too. I especially like this option for things that I am not sure if the kids will like but to cook it from scratch would cost me a lot if no one eats it (like their st Paddy's dinner). During the summer and Fall we come here at least a handful of times for different weekends. They have a garage type weekend, blueberry weekend, etc. I heard they are even adding in a ceramic painting/crafting nights. They have a cooler full of fresh apples (all types) and veggies all at a decent price. Owners and staff are always nice and helpful.

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    Porter's Orchard Farm Market & Cider Mill - DAV Adjutant & his K9 partner Deacon at Porter's Orchard assisting our fundraising.

    DAV Adjutant & his K9 partner Deacon at Porter's Orchard assisting our fundraising.

    Porter's Orchard Farm Market & Cider Mill - DAV members at Porter's Orchard through the Fall, with military hats for sale as fundraisers.

    DAV members at Porter's Orchard through the Fall, with military hats for sale as fundraisers.

    Porter's Orchard Farm Market & Cider Mill - DAV Members at Porter's Orchard during the Fall.

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    DAV Members at Porter's Orchard during the Fall.

    Wilderness Trails Animal Park - zoos - Updated May 2026

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