outdoor safari montgomery al

Explore 350 Acres of Drive-thru Safari

Drive-thru adventure, experience animals up close, we are open daily, unforgettable adventures await at the alabama safari park. learn more, attractions.

Interact with our animals safely from your vehicle while exploring our 350-acre drive-thru safari, on foot walking through our village walk-about, up close when feeding the giraffes on the giraffe tower, or during a special, behind-the-scenes encounter.

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Animal Feeding

Giraffe Tower

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Meet our residents and learn about our featured animals’ diet, where they live in the wild and other facts about them.

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“One of the coolest and wonderful experiences we’ve had. We made memories we will have for a lifetime.”

- Shannon C.

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Our Mission

Alabama Safari Park is devoted to wildlife conservation. We fulfill this mission by educating our visitors, caring for our resident animals and supporting conservation organizations. Learn more

Our Zoofari Parks Conservation Grants program helps fund wildlife and habitat programs in the U.S. and abroad. Learn about the latest recipients and how to apply for a grant. Learn more

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Alabama Safari Park

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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Alabama Safari Park - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024) - Tripadvisor

• Sun - Sat 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
• (1.03 km) Montgomery South RV Park & Cabins
• (7.42 km) Holiday Inn Montgomery Airport South, an IHG Hotel
• (7.51 km) Hampton Inn Montgomery-South-Airport
• (7.65 km) Fairfield Inn & Suites Montgomery Airport South
• (7.31 km) Comfort Suites Airport South
• (7.28 km) El Amigo Mexican Restaurant
• (2.42 km) Dairy Queen Grill & Chill
• (12.49 km) Stockyard Grill
• (7.24 km) Parrilla Loca
• (7.42 km) Magnolia's Bar And Grill

• Harmony Park Safari
• Audubon Bird Sanctuary- Dauphin Island

Alabama Zoos

• Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo-Gulf Shores
• Alligator Alley
• Tigers for Tomorrow at Untamed Mountain
• Birmingham Zoo
• Montgomery Zoo-Alabama
• Dauphin Island Sea Lab
• The Mobile Zoo

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Alabama Safari Park

Alabama safari park offers an extraordinary drive-through adventure, inviting visitors to witness wild animals in their natural habitats from the comfort of their vehicles. alabama safari park is one of the three best rated® places to see in montgomery, al..

1664 Venable Road, Hope Hull, Montgomery, AL 36043

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This was a wonderful experience! We went with our daughter and son in law And our 5 year old and 2 1/2 Year old grandchildren. We all had a great time! We rode in the back of my son in law’s pick up, while he drove through the park. We were able to feed the animals and we went around. It was so cool to get so close to the animals. Beware of the llamas! They do think that they should be fed first!. Ration the food so you will have some for all the animals. We bought several buckets (hang on to them tightly, they will try to steal the bucket) and then dumped them into a bag. That way we could put a handful into the bucket at a time. They do eat it fast.the grandkids absolutely loved it!

Get ready to get up front and personal with these gentle giants! By far the best drive thru safari around!! Grab 2 or three bowls of food because you're gonna want to feed them all! We went through twice and wanted to go through again just for the heck of it lol! The staff at the shoppe are so sweet and friendly and absolutely the sunshine of the park! Smiles all around you know they love their job! Hands down the best day spent there!

Awesome safari park. So much fun as all the animals are friendly and you can ride through as many times as you want.

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General Admission: Adult (ages 13-64): $24.95 Senior (ages 65+): $22.95 Children (ages 2-12): $17.95 Animal Feed Sat-Sun: Feed Bucket: $5 Budgie Stick: $2 Romaine Cup: $5

10% discount on animal feed and gifts 10% discount on food and beverages for members

Location / Contact:

•    1664 Venable Road, Hope Hull, Montgomery, AL 36043
• Phone : (334) 288-2105
• Website : alabamasafaripark.com

Working Hours:

Jan 1-Feb 28: Mon-Sun: 9am - 4pm Mar 1-Oct 31: Mon-Sun: 9am - 5pm Nov 1-Dec 31: Mon-Sun: 9am - 4pm

TBR® Inspection Report:

Nearby places to see in montgomery:.

• MONTGOMERY ZOO 2301 Coliseum Parkway, AL 36110
• THE LEGACY MUSEUM 400 North. Court Street, AL 36104

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Take a wild ride at the Alabama Safari Park

Story and photos by Nick Thomas

Visitors to the Alabama Safari Park this summer can expect many of the animal residents to personally greet their human guests. In fact, you’ll have many eating out of the palm of your hand – literally.

Home to more than 800 animals, visitors to the 350-acre wildlife park just south of Montgomery in Hope Hull drive the facility’s 3-mile winding gravel road while pausing periodically to hand-feed the free-roaming zebras, llamas, ostriches, and many other species from food buckets through car windows.

“It’s very safe, but there are rules that should be followed,” says park founder and CEO Eric Mogensen. “For example, you must always remain in your vehicle. You can ride in the bed of a pickup truck, but you absolutely cannot exit your vehicle. We have staff constantly monitoring the park, ensuring everyone follows the rules.”

In addition to catering to the daily stream of curious tourists, the park is dedicated to wildlife conservation as part of the Zoofari Parks group, which operates similar facilities in other states.

“We work closely with other zoos and private breeders around the country on captive breeding programs to build a healthy population of animals,” Mogensen says. This includes their sister parks, Virginia Safari Park, Gulf Breeze Zoo in Florida, and their newest Texas Safari Park, which is opening soon. “Our collection (of animals) depends upon availability, and proper management depends upon facilities and staffing.”

The park also supports conservation projects both nationally and globally, as well as native Alabama wildlife programs, by offering grants ranging from $100 to $5,000. Supported projects include the Siaga Conservation Alliance, Pygmy Hippo Research, tortoise population research at the University of West Florida, the International Crane Foundation, and the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund.

“We budget a certain percentage of our income to be used towards our conservation programs,” Mogensen says. “We believe that there are habitats and species around the world that need additional funding for their programs, and we are able to assist. Our guests can enjoy the fact that while they are enjoying our park, they are actually helping our conservation efforts.”

Mogensen says the park is entirely self-funding, accepting neither donations nor state or federal money. “Because we have been doing this for a long time, we have developed a successful business model that allows us to be self-sufficient. We operate on income generated by admissions, feed sales, our gift shop, and animal encounters.”

Feeding some new friends

In addition to the self-driving tour, animal encounters include hand-feeding giraffes with lettuce (available on-site). From the raised viewing platform, visitors can stand eye-to-eye with the tallest terrestrial animal in the world which, on average, towers some 16 feet over fellow inhabitants in their native African savannahs and woodlands.

For an additional cost, visitors can also feed vegetable sticks to the newest park residents – the slow-moving but gentle two-toed sloths. And in a separate exhibit, Madagascar’s most famous mammals – lemurs – are on display. The park’s ring-tailed and black-and-white ruffed lemurs represent two of the 100 lemur species that are only native to the west African island nation.

There’s also a petting area with goats, potbellied pigs, chickens, and baby llamas, and at the Kangaroo Walk-About area, the famous bouncing Aussie marsupials could be leaping effortlessly across the grassland, lazing in the Southern sun, or tending to baby joeys in their pouches. Barnaby and Armstid, a pair of Giant Anteaters, are also recent additions to the park’s menagerie.

While Alabama is home to several traditional zoos, Mogensen doesn’t view the park attraction as a commercial rival.

Different from a zoo

“Before we built this park we were in close contact with the management of the Montgomery Zoo and have been careful to be an asset rather than competition,” he says. “We offer a very different experience than the Montgomery or Birmingham Zoos because our park is a drive-thru safari park. Guests can interact more with the animals and have closer encounters with various animals. It’s worth noting that our organizations are very supportive of one another.”

The region just south of Montgomery was selected for the Alabama park site due to the abundant grazing fields. And with Interstate 65 just minutes away, there’s easy access for travelers passing through the area looking for an interesting detour.

For the animals’ safety, visitors cannot provide outside food of any kind, but buckets of suitable feed are available for $5 at the gift shop. But with a constant mobile human food delivery service throughout the day, could the animals overeat?

“Our animals tend to self-regulate when being fed,” Mogensen says. “That is why every trip through is a different experience. When an animal eats and gets full, it will tend to move off and settle down for a nice rest.”

In addition to daily park passes, annual memberships are also available offering unlimited visits.

“We are constantly adding new animals and exhibits and are always planning for the future,” says Mogensen. “A guest should always notice something new with each visit.”

The Alabama Safari Park is open daily (except Thanksgiving and Christmas days), with summer hours from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; last admission is 4 p.m. Adults are $22.95, with discounts for children, seniors, and the military. Admission grants access to the Safari Drive-Thru and Walk-Thru areas for the entire day (receipts allow re-entry to the park). Wagon rides are also available for $10 per person.

The park is located off I-65 at Exit 158 at 1664 Venable Road, Hope Hull.  Phone 334-288-2105 or go to www.alabamasafaripark.com for more information.

Nick Thomas teaches at Auburn University at Montgomery (AUM) and has written features, columns, and interviews for numerous magazines and newspapers.  

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Alabama Safari Park

Top ways to experience nearby attractions

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Alabama Safari Park - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

• Sun - Sat 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
• (1.03 km) Montgomery South RV Park & Cabins
• (7.42 km) Holiday Inn Montgomery Airport South, an IHG Hotel
• (7.51 km) Hampton Inn Montgomery-South-Airport
• (7.65 km) Fairfield Inn & Suites Montgomery Airport South
• (7.31 km) Comfort Suites Airport South
• (7.28 km) El Amigo Mexican Restaurant
• (2.42 km) Dairy Queen Grill & Chill
• (12.49 km) Stockyard Grill
• (7.24 km) Parrilla Loca
• (7.42 km) Magnolia's Bar And Grill

Adventure Awaits At This Drive-Thru Safari Park In Alabama

Jennifer Young

More by this Author

Alabama Safari Park is one of the most exciting attractions in Alabama just waiting to be discovered. This unique space is a dynamic animal adventure that makes for the perfect day trip. The staff participates in breeding programs and educates visitors about the importance of protecting animals and their native habitats. It also offers support to other organizations working to ensure that animals thrive in the wild. For information about this fantastic animal park, take a look below.

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Alabama Safari Park is an interactive experience that you may have already visited. If so, please share your adventure with us in the comments below! Discover more about this cool place on the Alabama Safari Park website.

Make it a weekend event and reserve a Vrbo . While you’re in Montgomery, check out the past at the Old Alabama Town .

The Unique Village In Alabama That Shows What Life Was Like Long Ago

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Outdoor fun in alabama.

What are some other outdoor adventures in Alabama?

• Monte Sano State Park (Huntsville): This pretty land sits on 2,140 acres offering a number of recreational activities on the 20 miles of scenic hiking trails and 14 miles of biking trails. Historians will appreciate that in the late 1800s, visitors came to the "Mountain of Health" for the fresh air, mineral springs, and extraordinary mountaintop views, especially in autumn with the leaves changing hues. The spring brings color too with the wildflowers and native azaleas blooming. Reserve a campsite, including one of the 14 rustic cabins that also have a history with the Civilian Conservation Corps. The park also offers campsites, a primitive campground, and a camp store.
• Magnolia Branch Wildlife Reserve (Atmore):  With 50 lakes, 6,000 acres of rich timberland, and a gorgeous waterfront on Big Escambia Creek, this place might just have it all. With all of the water, activities abound, such as tubing, canoeing, and kayaking. Hit the trails on foot, horseback, or bicycle. Or enjoy the sun on one of the sandy beaches. Reserve a campsite and make this a weeklong adventure, from 47 full-amenity RV sites to 15 tent sites, and even primitive camping for those people with a little more ambition.
• Little River Canyon National Preserve (Fort Payne): This serene property offers an unforgettable day away in nature. Pack a cooler and take advantage of the lovely picnic areas, walk the forested trails, and photograph the pretty waterfalls and breathtaking overlooks. One of the most interesting aspects of this preserve is that Little River flows for most of its length on top of Lookout Mountain. The rich, wooded scenery provides an attractive habitat for all kinds of wildlife and several rare and threatened plant and animal species. It is comprised of 15,288 acres, 11,042 acres of which are federally owned and managed.

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Posted on July 1, 2018 by: Beth 7 Comments

Must-See Montgomery: Alabama Safari Park

Filed Under: Fun Things for Kids , My Home's In Alabama , Southern Three Day Weekend Ideas 7 Comments

Updated: I wrote this post in June 2018 but we visited Alabama Safari Park for the second time on July 6th, 2018 and got to experience it all again with my mom and Caroline. I’ve added pics from our second trip since they were so much fun!

Have you ever been up-close to the spiral horns of gazelle or petted a pack of zebras on their heads? Have you ever had to stop and wait for a flock of baby emus to cross the road?

You don’t have to go to Africa to experience these majestic animals in person. We did all that and more a few weeks back, and we never left the state of Alabama.

About 20 minutes south of Montgomery just off I-65 at the Hope Hull exit #158 sits one of the best adventures that Alabama has to offer.

The Alabama Safari Park recently opened to the public, and if you are anywhere within an easy drive it is totally worth the trip. Garrett and I visited on a whim after we took a trip to Old Alabama Town in Montgomery a few weeks back. And honestly, after our trip through the Safari park, we almost totally forgot about the Old Alabama Town experience when we got home. It was that much fun!

Driving through the entrance gate reminded me of a certain movie that didn’t end well for some of the main characters. And the emus totally reminded me of velociraptors, so brace yourselves for an adventure.

We stopped at the store and bought two buckets of animal feed, then proceeded to get attacked by animals of every variety as soon as we crossed through the front gate. Ok, not literally attacked, but a camel did try to chew my rear-view mirror off at one point. And there was an angry ostrich who I refused to roll down the window for. I’ve seen that episode of Dirty Jobs where Mike Rowe gets attacked by the ostrich. No thanks. 🙂

Luckily there was nobody waiting in line to get inside behind us so we were able to take it all in without feeling rushed. It was AWESOME!!

We laughed our heads off at these crazy animal antics. Like, literally SCREAMED with laughter. I have never heard Caroline belly laugh this hard in her entire life!  THIS is what it’s all about, right here:

That is the sweetest giggle on Earth.

There were more “common” animals like llamas and camels and emus, but there were also exotic animals like zebras and gazelles and watusi cattle. There were African animals I have never even heard of until this trip.

Here are the Watusi- check out the horns on this guy!

There are lots of animals that hang out in the shade and don’t come to your car no matter how much coaxing you offer them.  The water buffalo were way more interested in the grass than my bucket of processed pellets.

But the ZEBRAS?!?!! OH MY GOODNESS THEY ARE AMAZING!!

They are so sweet and just beautiful animals. Their stripes are a sight to behold. I have never been this close to a zebra before but it was a crazy awesome experience. Caroline LOVED them.

They even have Scottish Highlander coos! Unfortunately, the coos were hiding somewhere in the shade when we visited the first time so I don’t have pics to share inside my Outlander fan groups.

(But on our second visit we got up close and personal with this snuggly Scottish sweetie!!! I was so excited to see this wee beastie headed toward our car! )

Since words don’t quite do justice to just HOW much we laughed on this trip, I made a little video highlighting all the best animal encounters that we had in the park. I have seriously not laughed this hard in a long time.

Check out our adventure from start to finish here. I apologize in advance for all the screaming and crazy country-accented cackling:

If you are ever headed to the beach down I-65 and need a place to stop and let the kids have some fun, this is THE place to go. You can literally see it off the interstate between Hope Hull/ Pintlala if you know where to look. And if you live anywhere in the state of Alabama, it’s worth the trip.

Here’s my advice to anyone planning to visit.

10 Things to Know Before you Visit Alabama Safari Park

• Go to the potty before you arrive. There are Love’s and Flying J truck stops right at the interstate exit about a mile from the park. I seriously almost peed my pants laughing at one point, and there were not working restrooms at the park yet. Just a Port-a-potty trailer. So yeah. Pee first.
• Read the back of the brochure they hand you when you buy your food. There are rules you’re supposed to follow that we broke quite a bit- like rolling up the window when an animal is running toward you at full speed. That is a no-no, but we didn’t read that until after we got home, so my apologies to the angry ostrich who tried to break the glass to get to our food inside.
• Read the inside of the brochure. All the animals that live in the park are listed alphabetically, so you can pretend to be the expert on African animals by telling your kids the names of each animal instead of just screaming “What the heck is that!?!” the whole time like I did.
• Buy a spare bucket of food (or two).  If an animal snatches an entire bucket of food out of your kid’s hands right at the entrance gate they are gonna be super sad and it’s a one-way ride so there’s no turning back. So just buy more food to start with. Trust me.
• As long as it’s not too crowded there is not a limit on how many times you can circle through. We actually made two loops through the park because one time was just not enough. We bought more food for the second trip and made it last longer since we were older and wiser.
• It was more crowded on our second loop, so I learned that I was supposed to pull over to the side and let other cars pass me instead of stopping right in the middle and blocking the flow of traffic. Please pull over out of the way if you want to stop for 5 minutes and enjoy petting each animal.
• There are giraffes but they are over by the petting zoo, not out in the open area that you drive through. There’s also a budgie aviary where you can feed them popsicle sticks covered in bird seed as well as a petting zoo with goats and pigs. So don’t miss all that if you want the full experience. You get to feed him one nice green leaf, like the very hungry caterpillar.
• If you are a germophobe or have a fear of being eye-to-eye with large beasts, this is probably not the place for you.
• Take hand sanitizer and baby wipes. Remember that whole “no restroom” thing?
• You WILL  have to vacuum and wash your car afterward to get all the food pellets out of your floorboards and llama-slobber off your windows. Just roll with it. It’s fun.

And my last piece of advice:

If you see a camel walking around with a bucket of food on his head, avoid him at all costs.

July 1, 2018 at 1:12 pm

I’ve watched these so many times now- just love hearing y’all laugh like that. When are you taking me? Mom

July 1, 2018 at 2:49 pm

I have watched it over and over and I laugh every time. Let’s go next week!

July 8, 2018 at 7:46 am

I have got to take C to this soon! Looks like something we’d enjoy! Thanks for sharing!

July 9, 2018 at 10:26 pm

Oh my, looks so scary, and fun at the same time. Thanks for sharing this wonderful post

July 10, 2018 at 3:33 pm

Yes that is the perfect way to describe it, Ivory! 🙂

July 13, 2018 at 12:39 pm

We love your tips! Thanks for writing about us!

July 25, 2018 at 11:13 am

I had so much fun visiting your park with Beth and the kids! Oh the laughter! Bringing my other granddaughter down there soon!

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Alabama Safari Park

Top ways to experience nearby attractions

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Alabama Safari Park - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

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Animal Feeding

At Alabama Safari Park, you can not only observe and feed our animals from your vehicle, but you can also have some of them eating out of the palm of your hand while exploring the village walk-thru! From extremely tall giraffes to tiny parrots, we offer opportunities to interact closely with many of our animals!

Giraffe Feeding

The giraffe feeding is a highlight of any zoo trip!

A wheelchair-accessible ramp leads to the covered platform, bringing you to eye level with the giraffe. Guests can feed the giraffes out of their hands with romaine lettuce available at the gift shop .

Budgie Feeding

Surround yourself with tiny parrots in the Budgie Adventure Aviary. The colorful birds will perch on your hand, especially if you have a feed stick for them to munch on. Get your budgie feed sticks for $2.00 each at the Safari Gift Shop .

Farm Animal Feeding

The petting area gives the kids the chance to touch and feed cute and friendly farm animals like potbellied pigs, baby llamas and goats.

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Safari Drive-Thru

Giraffe Tower

Village Walk-Thru

Animal Encounters