Catoctin Wildlife Preserve

My mom got annual passes for my nieces, so she got me a pass as well so I could take them. I enjoy going myself and the kids always have fun seeing the animals. (They are 1.8 and 3 years old, so they sometimes need help and encouragement while feeding the animals, but it is good to start socializing them at a younger age.) It is best to time your visit around hot days, as there is a lot of walking. But there is shade on a good portion of the paths and water at the snack shack. For strollers, unless you have a jogger with bigger wheels, don't bother bringing it. Besides the main path, most everywhere else is gravel or dirt and hard to push the smaller sized wheels over. They do have wagons and some other tools of convenience for rent. We enjoy seeing most all of the animals, but my favorites are the Japanese section, the Lynx, and the Wolves. (The new enclosure for the wolves finished recently) My 9 year old nephew recently enjoyed the alligator presentation and loved getting to pet the baby (more like the alligator equivalent of a toddler.) Every staff member I have met over our 7+ visits have been at least polite and helpful, to enthusiastic and knowledgeable. Even when they are dealing with difficult customers or a busy crowd on a hot day. Ever since we went on the safari, my 3 y/o niece keeps asking to go again. Love this place, will definitely return.

Lovely outing for the kids and parents. They have a great collection of wildlife here and the setup is pretty good. Unlike many zoos where you stare at empty habitats wondering where the animals are, there was only one no-show in the whole park. I would definitely go again. Now, the price is rather high, so I recommend looking for a coupon in those little ad packets that come in the mail. The concessions however were rather inexpensive for the type of venue this is. That said, if they really wanted to increase the dollar value of the ticket, I would recommend that they include at least a small safari ride. There was no way I was going to pay ANOTHER 17 bucks for a safari ride on top of the almost 30 bucks for the entry.

Overall we enjoyed the day at the wildlife preserve. Pros: Close to home Good amount of parking No line to get in A good bit of animals to see Facilities were clean Gift shop prices were decent for what we looked at. Lots of areas to sit and have lunch. Food to feed at the petting area ($5 per cup) plus there are small food dispensers at some sites with food (.50) Porter potty throughout as well as hand washing stations Cons: Entry price a little on the high side. Navigation throughout the site was complicated if you wanted to see everything. When we arrived there were no maps available, very limited amount of signs throughout the site. No footprints to follow so we ended up using the map on the website to navigate, which helped but could have been better with more visual signs. The safari animals ( camels, zebras, biason, deer) and I think a few other animals are tucked away in an area where they can only be seen on the safari ride unless you find the out in the field by the wolfe enclosure. This was a huge disappointment because we couldn't even pay to ride because my son was maybe 3 inches to short of 3ft. Yep you have to be a certain height. Only saw 3 employees the 4hrs we were there ( the person at the gate, one person cleaning an enclosure and one working the Gift shop) There were some signs on some exhibits indicating someone would be talking about the animal at a certain time. However there was no way to know that unless you happened to be there while they were there. No food options but there are drink vending machines.

I took my grandson here for some fun. We both love animals and he had a blast. There is a good variety of animals. The paths are well kept, and all the animals were able to be seen. He loved the safari ride and all of the opportunities to feed animals. The staff were all very friendly. Even had free water and snacks while waiting to ride the safari.

Arrival: The earlier, the better. We arrived around 10am on a Saturday, and it wasn't super crowded. We had options to take the 12pm and other rides after. Parking: We found parking to be pretty easy. There was street parking as well as some parking lots (one that was even marked as overflow parking). Tickets: We ordered tickets online. That process was fairly easy. When we got to the entrance, they just asked for your name to pull up your tickets. You would then purchase your safari tickets there as well. The Tour: It was self-guided. I read plenty of reviews saying it's a lot of walking. Eh....yes and no. You are walking the whole time, but for me, it was no different than walking the zoo. The only difference is that this place wasn't as big and had benches that weren't all occupied. Then, you got a walking break during the safari. What made this experience much better than the zoo was that it wasn't super crowded and you got to interact with the animals. We got to feed and touch animals (emu, kangaroo, cow, bison, koi fish, crocodiles, and more). It was an experience that we'll never forget. Safari: The Safari ride was AMAZING!!! Our instructors were nice and awesome and kept us laughing and entertained. ***Make sure to bring animal food on the ride. The safari ride does indeed give you (1) complimentary cup, but you have (3) stops to feed and touch animals on the ride. Trust me when I say it's hard not to interact and run out of your first cup on the first stop. If you have wooden tokens, you can trade them in for food on the ride. Animal Food: The food at the front is $5.00 or throughout the Preserve, and you'll find areas where you can pay 50 cent for a handful. We opted for the 50 cent food. Food: There was no actual food for us to eat, but we packed sandwiches, snacks, and drinks and ate after the safari ride. They do have sanitizer throughout the venue, but we still brought our own. Wipes are a good investment as well if sanitizer doesn't make your hands feel really clean. The Smell: I saw plenty of reviews complaining about the smell. For one, I didn't smell anything out of the ordinary. Animals smell, so I was so confused as to why it was even mentioned. Also, there was no repulsive smell throughout our visit. Please ignore those reviews. Bathrooms: We actually didn't see any actual restrooms, but there were plenty of porta potty's. We had children, so we used them. They were clean. I'm not sure if it's because they are really sticklers about cleaning, or we went earlier enough where there was no room for people to dirty it up. Anywho, it worked out for us. Overall: We are already planning to go back! This was a great experience.