Wilderness Trails Zoo

Address:	11721 Gera Rd, Birch Run, MI 48415, USA
Phone:	+1 989-624-6177
Site:	wildernesstrailszoo.org
Rating:	4
Working:	10AM–6PM 10AM–6PM 10AM–6PM 10AM–6PM 10AM–6PM 10AM–6PM 11AM–6PM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 6

Beth Fairweather

My kids and I visited this zoo in July of 2014. I did like some things about it, its small size for one, you can walk around it in very little time (under an hour) and that is nice when you have small children. But unfortunately there was more I disliked than liked. The pricing is very high for the size of the zoo, its over $10 for adults and $7.50 for children. Thats what you would pay at bigger places like Potters Park. There are no food places other than vending machines, there is a huge picnic pavilion but only one small picnic area inside the zoo itself. The playground is tiny, my home playground is larger. The zoo staff was very unfriendly, everyone looked miserable to be there and did not crack a smile once, even one lady who I assumed from her bearing was one of the managers/owners. The animal enclosures were tiny, tiny, tiny, covered in wire, 2 layers thick. The zoo boasts on their web page how unique their viewing is, that you can see the animals better there than at traditional zoos. I found this to be patently untrue. Its very difficult to see many of the animals, the animals, especially the bears, big cats and monkeys seem horribly bored and restless. On two sides of the long road around the zoo, or trail that you walk you can see absolutely nothing. There are big trees or bushes that completely block your view of the cattle and deer, antelope, why??? You have to walk like 1/2 a mile or more just to be able to see them. This is trying for small children and the elderly. The butterfly house was not open when we were there either, they do have a nice reptile exhibit but I wonder where they got all the little alligators from? There are about 20 of them in 2 enclosures, all the same size which makes me think they got them from a farm down south. I felt sorry for them. I dont think well be back, like other posters have said I think these animals would be much better off in a decent zoo that can take proper care of them. I think this is a disaster waiting to happen.

Rebecca Rodriguez

DO NOT GO TO THIS "ZOO". I recently visited this park and was horrified at the conditions of the animal enclosures. They are horrifying. They boast of 200+ exotic animals but they dont tell you that they are all crammed on a 56 acre lot. This animal park currently houses bears, wolves, and several big cats in metal cages no larger than 500 sq.ft. Most of them are in cages with concrete floors! The sight that brought me to tears was the baboon enclosure. The baboon was in a concrete floored cage, (roughly 8x10 ft) and obviously depressed. He was crouched in the back corner of his cage staring at the ground. He stayed there all day. It was heart-breaking. Please do not support this "zoo" and the animal abuse that takes place there. These animals are severely depressed, anxious, and uncomfortable. It breaks my heart to think that these majestic, wild creatures spend their days sitting in tiny concrete cells, miserable and helpless, day after day. Wilderness Trails operates as a non-profit, I am assuming that how they seem to get away with such cruelty. I am currently in contact with animal rights and regulation agencies to get this awful place shut down. If you decide to visit, I hope that you too, voice your concerns for these animals. Visited May 2014

Rose Mary

the review from below was from 2 years ago. I just went yesterday and my opinion hasnt changed. To all those extremists who say "tiny cage" i say -hey, its a zoo! Lets be real. Some cages were enormous as we walked all the way around them. we took my 97 yr. old mom who fed every animal she could and petting as many as she could reach. The staff seeing her even brought out the little 2 month old lynx kitten for her to pet. Again even the other people are friendly its a wonderful atmosphere! this is the BEST zoo i have ever been to. Much better than the Detroit Zoo. Ever since I went 2 years ago I have been singing its praises to whoever will listen. There is such a laid back family atmosphere. The animals are great & they seem to be treated well. The staff was cordial & helpful. Very clean. The only change I would make & it is the same in many places are the handicapped toilets could be higher. I never thought much about this myself until i started pushing someone in a w/c and helping them on & off. DEFINATELY A 5 STAR!!

Jessica Elkins

I saw a post on here today about washing cages with bleach and the owner replying that they do not harm the animals or use bleach when the animals are close by. I was actually at this zoo a couple months back and witnessed the same incident. The cage may need to be cleaned with bleach to get rid of the bacteria but when me and my fiancé went the animals were clearly in the cages in short distance from the bleached water used to clean and disinfect the cage. That can harm their lungs as well as their habitat because it did look like some of the bleach water was dripping in the the exhibits not directed a way as specified. And it was very close proximity to the animals. I personally am glad someone posted about this because I was hesitant to do so. All the animals did seem rather depressed and didnt seem to have adequate cages to reflect the size of the animal. So I would agree with most of the posts regarding animal cruelty. Someone should call animals services to question this zoo and if it is indeed up to code.

allison michael

I absolutely hated my expierience at the zoo, almost EVERY SINGLE animal was underfed and depressed, the only animal I seen that was happy/well fed were the goats. My girlfriend literally cried when she seen the reindeer, you could see his spine and rib cage from a quarter mile away, he was hairless on one side of his body, and he had an extremely rough time trying to stand up. it took him about 5 minutes to just get on his feet. The wolves just pace back and fourth constantly because their obviously extremely stressed. ALL OF THE CAGES ARE WAY WAY WAY TOO SMALL FOR THE ANIMALS. I personally believe that all of these animals should be shipped to the Detroit Zoo, or put back in the wild, I would even go as far to say some animals would even be better dead. DO NOT SUPPORT THIS ZOO. IT IS ANIMAL ABUSE!!!!!

Sandra Valla

I have no idea what these ignorant people in previous reviews are talking about, but our family has been coming here since my kids were small and to this day is still one of our favorite zoos to visit. We revisited yesterday, the 4th of July, bringing my sons girlfriend also and she loved it too. The cages and grounds are clean (love the new fountains) , the animals very content and the hilarious cockatoo is one of our favorites. We have been to all of the zoos and animal parks in MI and Ohio and this one remains one of our favorite. I hope the personnel and perspective customers do not take any of these negative comments seriously, and my children will certainly be bringing their little ones to this zoo some day too. Nice job to the owners and staff. Also, the Groupon was awesome!