chestatee wildlife preserve & zoo

This place is not a traditional zoo but for the value, its not bad. We go to other zoos, where you pay money on top of the entrance fee to feed the giraffe or elephants and only during certain hours...here, you can feed Zebras, Emus, Elk, Turkeys, Guineas, Peacocks, Deer, and a few more for the $10 entrance fee plus a few quarters. The preserve has the feel of a very large farm with open large open pens for most of the animals that you can feed and interact with. Dispensers are located throughout the preserve and dispense a small handful of corn for a quarter. There is no ticket counter, staff will find you and can provide change. There are other exotic animals such as lions, tigers, and bears, but their cages are located a distance away from the fence and are hard to see. They didn't look very active as their enclosures were small, so that was a bit disappointing. There also appear to be no food for sale and just portapotties for bathrooms.As long as you realize what you are getting for the price and that it is not a traditional zoo, Chestatee can still be a really fun experience. Animals come right up to you and will eat out of your hand and you can pet many and get great close up photos. We also learned that a lot of these animals are rescue animals which supports a good cause. You can easily kill an hour to an hour and a half feeding and interacting with the animals. We were able to watch a peacock courting a peahen and learned that the friendly elks were used for the shooting of a scene of one of the Hunger Games movies!

We had a great "close encounter" with the animals at Chestatee. It was both entertaining and educational. We learned about the animals, their traits and habitats, threats to their survival, regulations that must be followed and the enormous amount of effort that goes into their upkeep. The family and volunteers really have the heart for this work. All of the animals are "rescues" that would not be alive were it not for their efforts.

We took our 3 year old to this place and she really enjoyed herself. The animal experience I would consider good but the staff were wonderful. They really helped us enjoy our experience by being so kind. We got to pet a zebra, deer, and horse. They have quarter machines to get corn to feed the animals that will come and eat right out of your hands. It was $10 per adult and $5 per child. It was a fun hour and a half activity which was just what we were looking for.

We live quite close and have been several times. The animals are kept in tight quarters and there's just not much to see. It's way over priced for what you get and don't plan on bringing a picnic lunch! We were told we couldn't sit and eat at the huge EMPTY pavilion unless we reserved it. Not so nice!

My husband and I took our daughter and 3 grandchildren (1, 6 & 10) and we all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. It was large enough to see a nice variety of animals/reptiles and yet small enough to not wear everyone out. We observed lions, bears, deer, moose, fox, emu, white tiger, leopard, zebras, snakes, birds, monkeys, etc. In fact the turtles put on quite a show for us. :-)There are plenty of picnic tables scattered throughout the area for those desiring to bring their lunch. The restroom are porta potties but they were very clean and actually smelled good. Price is $10 for adults n and $5 for children. That might seem a little steep for this place but it does help feed and care for the animals.

why in the world would put animals in cages inside a fence????? Will not be returning, took me about 20 mins to walk the entire zoo and only saw 5 animals not in cages in a fence. it just does not make sense, why not let them out of the cage? THEY ARE ALREADY IN A FENCE! literally if you want to see lions,, bears ect. watch nat geo, you will at least get a better view. btw all the animals looked sad and tired probably had something to do with not getting to move about freely. My hamster has more room than most of those animals.sad for them and the 20 bucks I blew, at least that money will go to food for them.

What an amazing experience. Well worth every penny. My wife and I did this for our anniversary. Cw was awesome tour guide. I never dreamt of getting so close to these amazing animals. The animals are truly fortunate. Big gem in small location

If you need a nice afternoon or early morning trip with your toddler or pres-school age children, the price is for the welfare of the animals so at $10 over 11 years, and $5 for young children and the gas its a 50$ day, please rememeber the fees support this park and the animals. But they have a picnic area for packed lunch and picnicking. The white tiger wasn't there but the babies had a great time petting the Zebra Donks and they had some various reptiles, monkeys, and birds to name a few. Good exercise and fun exploring for the toddlers. There is no fee acceptance area , that was weird but they will drive up and find you to collect the park fee. Only port-o-poddys but surprisingly clean ones . Cute little park , nice afternoon, I would recommend.

I'm giving this 4 stars because I think these guys work really hard and have their hearts in the right place. No problem with the price though there's not a wide variety of animals, and yes it's hot, but hey it's hot in July in Georgia! The highlight for us was petting the Zebras and Zonkeys and by luck got to pet a Chinchilla. The down side, was sad to see the big cats in such small enclosures also the monkeys with so little entertainment available. It would be nice to see this improved. Little Bear was a delight to see and I do so much hope that the fundraising goes well to give this guy a decent enclosure. Good luck to you all! ps no food available and drinks machine not working, bring water.

Great facility and it's a rescue shelter and zoo. We couldn't believe the diversity of the animals, especially the lions. Delightful staff too!

The details: $10 for adults $5 for children. It might be hard in some spots to get a stroller around and the trail to all of the animal enclosures is a bit sunny in spots so sunscreen is probably a good idea. At the time of my visit the snack bar was closed so it was strictly b.y.o.b. Make sure you have some quarters with you, as there is food available to feed the animals at some enclosures. For additional fees live animal encounters are also possible although if you’re looking for a petting zoo this is not the best option. That being said I really enjoyed my visit. The trail to visit the animals was clearly marked, although a bit muddy at the time of my visit, and interesting informational signs were at all of the enclosures. They were in the process of building some new enclosures at the time of my visit and some areas were in a bit of disarray. I would love to visit again in the future to see the end result. The animals all looked healthy and well cared for.

We have lived in Dahlonega for 6 years and decided to take our 3 1/2 year old to the zoo. Price was good. There are quite a few animals there. Some are hard to see because they are set back from the fence in large cages. The zebras you can feed and pet because they come right to the fence. It's a one time visit thing..

$10 Adults $5.00 for kids. This is a walking tour in the sun. Brutal hot. Only bathrooms were 3 very hot porta potty. One of them was out of toilet paper. I hated the way the zoo was designed. They would have the animal in a small cage far far away then they fenced more distance. There was no interaction and they maybe had 10 animals total. If you wanted a photograph you will definitely have fencing in your shot. I would recommend North Georgia Petting Zoo ILO this place you will have more fun and they are cheaper.

I am an animal person. I have been involved with exotic animal care and wildlife rehabilitation in the past. There isn't anything visibly "BAD" about Chestatee. The animals are in good health and condition, and the grounds are clean, but I am upset at the enclosures for animals such as the large cats. Concrete and bars? For a location that prides itself as an exotic animal rescue and rehabilitation, I see that as a big strike against them. It's a good place for kids, I suppose, since the animals are in good condition, but that's about it.

We visited this rescue today for the first time. My 4-year-old son has been asking lots of questions about big cats, but we do not feel comfortable supporting big zoos and feel strongly about animals remaining in their natural habitat unless human intervention is necessary. We researched a few rescues around the Atlanta area and were pleased to find this one with so many large animals. We were a little disappointed in the cats' enclosures, as they didn't seem to have a lot of space. But we did not see any of them nervously pacing, which is what we ALWAYS found at mainstream zoos. I certainly did not leave feeling sorry for them, which we have, unfortunately, experienced at other zoos. The pathways were easy to walk, but the stroller was a little difficult to push. Many walkways are in bright sun, so wear sunscreen on a sunny day! There were plenty of shady spots, however, to have a picnic or just cool off. We paid extra for the animal encounter ($100 for the whole family), which included a visit with a ball python, a bearded dragon, a chinchilla, the Savannnah Cat, and a baby alligator. The animals in the encounter can vary so you don't know what to expect. Because this was a special trip for my son's birthday, we didn't mind paying the extra. I think he learned a lot and enjoyed touching the animals. My husband and I certainly enjoyed holding them!We got to see some of every type of animal that we expected. The zebra were not out much, and the exotic birds were housed for the winter. He turkeys were more fun than we expected, following us (from inside the fence, of course) and cacalling quite loudly! We happened to be around when the monkeys were fed and enjoyed watching the fallow deer greedily follow the caregiver around! We did me lap around the park, played on the playground, did the animal encounter, had a picnic lunch, and then did another abreviated lap (and saw new things this time!) in about 3 1/2 hours. The weather was perfect. The park was not crowded (Monday). It was a perfect day for us. If you are expecting something comparable to a big-city zoo, you'll be disappointed. If you are just looking for a simple way to see wild animals that are obviously well-cared for and content, you'll love it!