safari park zoo virginia

Virginia Safari Park – 180 Acre Drive-Thru Adventure

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I-81 Exit 180 or 180 B

Safari Village features 10 acres of walk-thru exhibits including Tiger Territory and cheetahs, Giraffe Feeding Station, petting area, Kangaroo Walk-About, free flight bird aviary, reptile house, monkeys & more!

Gift shop, picnic shelter, wheelchair accessible. Credit cards accepted. Adult, senior, child and group rates. Active military discount with ID. No pets allowed; non-smoking facility.

SAFARI DRIVE-THRU

Drive along 3 miles of road in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley. With the Blue Ridge Mountains as your backdrop, animals of all sizes, shapes and colors approach your vehicle in search of a tasty bucket of feed!

• Llamas, camels, antelope, deer, bison, ostrich, elk, zebra and many more animals!

SAFARI VILLAGE WALK-THRU AREA & PETTING ZOO

Stroll along the pathways where you will find a wide variety of exhibits everyone can enjoy!

• Feed goats, potbelly-piglets and baby llamas in the petting area.
• Feed giraffes directly out of your hand!
• Enter select habitats for an interactive experience you will never forget!

540-291-3205

august, 2024

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Getting To the Valley – Train

Amtrak  – You can reach the Valley directly by train by traveling to the Amtrak station in Staunton, or indirectly by traveling to stations in short driving distance in Charlottesville, Lynchburg, the Washington, D.C. area, and in Harpers Ferry and Martinsburg, West Virginia.  Also see  Amtrak Virginia .

Getting To the Valley – Plane

Airports within the Shenandoah Valley

If you are travelling by air, you can skip the rental car and schedule a private car service with Shenandoah Shores Management Group (SSMG). Our experienced drivers will pick you up from the airport and drop you off at your destination. And they can safely drive you to any other locations in the area.

Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport  Weyer’s Cave, VA (SHD) Roanoke Regional Airport   Roanoke, VA (ROA)

Airports a short driving distance from the Shenandoah Valley Baltimore Washington International Airport  (take I-70 west to I-81, then go south) Ronald Reagan National Airport  (Arlington) (take US-50, Va-7, or I-66 west to the Valley) Washington Dulles Airport  (take US-50, Va-7, or I-66 west to the Valley) Richmond International Airport  (take I-64 west to the Valley) Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport  (take I-64 west to the Valley) Blue Ridge Regional Airport  (Martinsville, Virginia)

Getting To the Valley – Car

Interstate 81 is the main north-south route to and through the Shenandoah Valley.

From the Northeast take Interstate 76 or Interstate 78 west to Interstate 81 south.

From the Northwest take Interstate 76 east to Interstate 70. At Hagerstown, MD take Interstate 81 south into the Shenandoah Valley.

To reach the Valley from the east, the main highways are Interstate 66, which brings you directly from the Washington, D.C. area and connects with I-81 near Strasburg, VA.

Interstate 64, which brings you directly from Richmond and connects with I-81 near Staunton. From the west, I-64 is again the most direct route, coming from West Virginia and linking to I-81 near Lexington, VA.

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Virginia Safari Park

229 Safari Lane, Natural Bridge, VA 24578 Phone: (540) 291-3205

www.virginiasafaripark.com

180 Acre Drive-Thru Adventure featuring over 1,000 free roaming animals from around the world. Come feed, pet, and enjoy!

Drive through or take a public tractor-driven wagon.

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Virginia Safari Park

180 Acre Drive-Thru Adventure featuring over 1,000 free roaming animals from around the world. Come feed, pet, and enjoy! Active military receives a FREE bucket of animal feed! Check website for admission rates and seasonal hours of operation.

229 Safari Lane Natural Bridge, VA 24578

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Drive-Thru Safari Park is Open and a Fun Day Trip!

Drive-thru virginia safari park.

Looking for a fun day or weekend trip for the family? Virginia Safari Park in Natural Bridge, VA is a drive-through safari with free-roaming animals. In fact the 180-acre park is home to over 1,000 exotic animals from 6 continents including elk, gazelle, zebra & other exotic fauna. The park is approximately 200 miles from Williamsburg.

You drive through the park observing the animals and you can purchase specialty grain to feed them. We took our family recently and had a wonderful time.

I highly recommend the trip and purchasing the buckets of food. The animals will approach your vehicle in search of a tasty treat! You will laugh, squeal, and perhaps find food bits in your car for weeks.

I don’t recommend feeding animals through the sunroof unless you want it to “rain” feed all in your vehicle…

Not one but two elk peeking through the windows.

There is also a walk-thru area with giraffe feeding, petting area and even African penguins!

The great thing about the park is everyone enjoys it from the young to the old. Some are braver than others, so if you choose to just ride through the park or hold your bucket of feed for the animals to come up to the vehicle, you’re guaranteed a day of memories!

Virginia Safari Park 229 Safari Lane Natural Bridge, VA 24578 (540) 291-3205

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There is so much to do when you visit Natural Bridge, including exploring the Virginia Safari Park ! This Natural Bridge zoon is drive -thru a zoo with hundreds of free-roaming animals.   This unique experience gives you the opportunity to  get up close and personal with the animals and feed the m  right from your car.  From a farm petting zoo to penguins to rhinos,  this safari park packs a lot into a day at the zoo .  

You can easily spend an entire day at the safari, but you’ll need to fi ll  the rest of your trip to  the Blue Ridge  Mountains . Get our complimentary Vacation Guide to start planning your wildest getaway yet!

GET THE VACATION GUIDE TODAY!  

Everything  Y ou  N eed to  K now  About   Virginia Safari Park  

What to  expect.

The  park  is 180 acres with the main attraction being the  3+ mile  S afari  D rive-thru.   There is also the Safari V illage which is more like a traditional zoo where you walk around and view the animals.  

What Can You  Do?  

When you first enter the park, buy some animal feed  and hit  the  Safari Drive-thru. Feed the free-roaming animals like camels ,  elk , and  ostriches.   This can take a while because the animals are known to lay in the middle of the road for as long as they like.  Once you make it through, park  your  car  and enter the S afari Village. You’ll have the chance  to feed gira ffes and budgie s, observe the tiger territory, pet farm animals, visit the penguins, and walk among kangaroos! For an extra fee, you can also have an up-close encounter with rhinos, sloths, or penguins. If you get hungry, there is a café with concession stand food.

How Much Is It?  

Adults are $29.95, while seniors 65 and older sa ve two dollars on their tickets. Kids between the age s of two and 12 are $21.95, and k ids under two are free. Prices can vary by the season, so be sure to check their website for any changes to their tickets.

When Can You Go?  

Virginia Safari Park is open seven days a week from March t hrough  November.  Hours vary based on the season, but the park always opens at 9 a.m. and closes anytime between 4:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. The last car is typically admitted an hour and a half before closing.   C heck  the hours  and get details before your visit .  

What Else Do You Need to Know?  

Your  ticket is  g ood all day, so you can leave the park for lunch and come back.  For  the Safari Drive-thru, a ll cars must have doors, and doors must remain closed. You can’t bring in your own animal feed or any pets.  

Relax at the Natural  Bridge Hotel

After you take a walk on the wild side, you’ll want a place to rest. Natural Bridge H otel is perfect because we’re just five miles from Virginia Safari Park! To make the most out of your adventure with the family , we recommend our Family Fun Outdoor Package . This package includes overnight accommodations, breakfast each morning , and two adult and two  child   tickets to the Natural Bridge State Park and the Caverns at Natural Bridge. If it’s just you and that special someone, we have several   other packages available.

We offer comfortable  Main Inn Rooms ,  Premium Second-Floor Balcony Rooms ,  Guest Rooms on Cottage Hill , and Veranda Rooms . With more than 150 rooms to choose from, you’re sure to find  the  one  for you !

Check our availability to start planning your adventure in Natural Bridge!

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Virginia Safari Park

Unlike any zoo you’ve ever been to, this is 180 acres of drive-through Safari adventure, featuring 1000 free-roaming animals. Llamas, camels, antelope, deer, bison, ostrich, elk, zebra, and more might approach your vehicle looking for a bucket of feed. Safari Village also includes 10 acres of walk-thru exhibits.

virginiasafaripark.com 229 Safari LN, Natural Bridge, VA 24578 540-291-3205

Pets and Animals | Virginia Zoo announces ‘one of a kind’ overhead…

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Pets and animals, pets and animals | virginia zoo announces ‘one of a kind’ overhead animal tunnel, rhino valley and more.

The Macon and Joan Brock EdVenture and Exploration Campus will feature two classrooms, two outdoor amphitheaters and animal trails. Greg Bockheim, the Norfolk zoo’s executive director, said the center will serve as a base camp for professional educators and volunteers. It will offer virtual reality safari adventures and underwater programming. Animal trails will allow smaller zoo residents like red pandas to walk right above guests through a tunnel.

“It should be a one of a kind in this region,” Bockheim said Wednesday.

In addition to the facilities, Bockheim said the zoo will make investments in connectivity and Wi-Fi at the zoo. He said this would allow classrooms and students at home to view the animals, such as through a livestream.

“I remember coming here as a child with my mother and father on Sundays and bringing a picnic (to) Lafayette Park,” Joan Brock, namesake of the new development, said. “It was 53 acres, right here in the middle of Norfolk, and it’s been a beautiful area and been a special place all these years. I just want to thank all the people that made (the announcement) happen.

“It’s been a pleasure for me to be involved in this situation. The zoo — it’s a gem. It’s a real asset to our community, and it’s something that we all need to take care of and be respectful of.”

The Perry Family Rhino Valley, will use about five acres of undeveloped space on zoo property to build a habitat for one-horned rhinos. A boardwalk will connect the habitat to Asia: Trail of the Tiger, where three treehouse classrooms will be built to give guests a better view.

The greater one-horned rhino, or “Indian rhino,” is the largest of the Asian rhino species. Once widespread across the entire northern part of India and Nepal, rhino populations plummeted as they were hunted for sport or killed as agricultural pests. Now, there are about 4,000 left.

In addition to the rhino exhibit, the zoo’s turtle oasis will have a second phase of development. The oasis, which officially added its turtles in May, will be extended within the Edventure and Exploration Campus. Greenhouses and pollinator gardens will be upgraded, as well, and the zoo will improve greenhouse growing centers and install the only public facing compost learning center in Hampton Roads. According to the zoo, 100 pounds of food waste thrown away at the zoo will become 20-30 pounds of compost that will be used on the grounds.

Mayor Kenny Alexander said the project’s energy and environmental efficiency is what he looks forward to most.

“Norfolk is 90% developed,” he said. “So what you see in Norfolk is not only conservation, but it’s preservation as well as new development. There’s a lot of mixed-use in being creative and innovative as we rethink, as we retool and provide the latest iteration of our city. We’re doing it in a smart way, using data — using evidence — to drive our change, (and) to drive our transformation.

“It’s important that we take in consideration all of those factors so that we are sustainable.”

Eliza Noe, [email protected]

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Southern White Rhino

King cheetah, two-toed sloth, giant anteater, reticulated giraffe, quick facts, featured animals.

Learn more about some of our most popular resident animals – including king cheetahs and rhinos. Discover their diet, their native habitats and what you can do to help them thrive in the wild.

We LOVE Virginia Safari Park. There are so many animals to see and feed,”

Other Animals

In addition to our featured animals above, the Virginia Safari Park is home to 80 other species. You’ll have a chance to observe pythons, monkeys, owls, tortoises and other animals on our grounds.

Our Mission

Children of all ages love to learn about our animals. Print coloring pages and find out about educational group visits. Learn more

Conservation

At Virginia Safari Park, we have continuing partnerships with international organizations that help endangered animals in the wild. Read about these conservation efforts. Learn more