Safari North, Brainerd

Took my kids here for the first time a few days ago. I love the set up. There is a detailed walking trail, so you don't miss anything or any of the animals, and at the end of that trail, is the petting zoo, giraffes, and food to feed the animals at the petting zoo. My kids fully enjoyed that. They also have a mini carnival set up with rides, carnival foods and snacks, a place for pretend mining, a mini park, and so many other attractions. A great place to spend the day. :) All the animals looked well taken care of, and the staff was super friendly. We had so much fun. Totally worth the almost 2 hour drive we made there. I will tell everyone reading this - before you go - the only thing that doesn't take credit cards - is the giraffe stand to get carrots to feed them. It is $5 a cup - cash only! Other than that, everything else does accept credit cards.

Decent variety of animals, however the pens/cages I think are kind of small for most of the animals. The giraffes & big cats were pretty cool to see though. You are much closer to most of the animals than you would be at other zoos I've seen. The gift shop was decent for the size and pricing was fair. There was a bit of an odor though. There is an indoor restroom if you need the extra space and rails, but otherwise you might seriously want to use the port-a-potty that are sparsely located around the trail... The facilities obviously did not get much attention here & it wasn't particularly busy. There is a small bit that is fully paved from the main building past a few larger animals and up to the petting area, but the majority of the path is loose gravel and not at all friendly to walkers, wheelchairs, etc. since the dust and small rocks get into the wheels and the ground is a little bit uneven. There is a train ride, but that is just a novelty, not a full tour. This place is completely open air. Check the local weather forecast as there aren't really any shelters if it rains, etc. Younger kids, teens, and adults enjoyed the visit. It's tiny compared to the Minnesota zoo in the twin cities, but for a small town it was a good size and took a few hours to visit everything - definitely a good value for the price.