Spring Break 2016: We spent a long weekend travelling to three different cities in Ohio finding unique & interesting places to explore and visit. We stayed in some awesome hotels, ate some great food and saw so many cool things! I’ll share our trip with you in a series of installments in the coming weeks to help inspire your own Ohio Road Trip!
The Wilds ~
The Wilds, located in Southeastern Ohio is a wildlife conservation area like no other. Comprised of roughly 10,000 of acres, the Wilds used to be a mining area and is now home to a large collection of wildlife creatures, some of which are even extinct in the wild. The animals who live at the Wilds live on about 2,000 of the acres while the remaining land is being restored to natural Ohio prairie land by a team of ecological experts. The Wilds is not only a place where animals near extinction are bred and raised, it’s also a safari park open to tourists that offers a multitude of ways for visitors to get up close and personal with the inhabitants of the park. And it’s not just animals that are fun to watch at The Wilds. This is also a hot spot for bird watching in Ohio! According to my cousin, there are “thousands of migratory birds coming through and establishing temporary residence here, including TONS of trumpeter swans, golden eagles, bald eagles, osprey, Henslow sparrows, grasshopper sparrows, numerous different waterfowl and tons of different songbirds.” Bring your binoculars when you visit The Wilds!
The mission statement of The Wilds is “To advance conservation through science, education and personal experience“.
The Wilds is open from May until October but they do offer some Wildside tours during the winter months if you book your visit in advance. There are several tour options to choose from, camp opportunities for children, overnight experiences in a Lodge or Yurts, a restaurant that overlooks the Wilds, zip-lining and much more.
We first heard of The Wilds when my cousin started working their as a Veterinarian. I had no idea this cool place was just a few hours from where we live! When we visited I felt like we were in Africa instead of Ohio. On our visit we were given a private tour that was much like the “Wildside Tours” offered by The Wilds, where you ride out into the fields with the animals and may even get to feed them. Our tour was slightly less conventional than their tours that offered to the public because we had a personal tour guide who we know so well and we drove around in his work SUV. We found the whole experience to not only be fun but also incredibly educational. We were blown away by the stories of the conservation efforts at The Wilds and how committed they are to saving and protecting endangered species.
Our friend the Ostrich: 
The Bactrian Camel:
Up Close and Personal with the Rhinos:
The Giraffes: This was their first day outside in the fields for the season and so we couldn’t get too close to them as they were getting acclimated to their newer surroundings.
Cheetah: We kept way back from this wild one. My cousin snapped the picture for me since I forgot my zoom lens that day.
Scimitar Horned Oryx ~ Here’s another majestic creature that is extinct in the wild, but thanks to programs such as this one they may soon be released into wildlife habitats!
Nomad Ridge: Off in the distance in this picture you can see Nomad Ridge, a collection of Yurts available for overnight visits. The Yurts overlook the fields of the Wilds so you can wake up and do some epic animal watching! Someday I’d love to come back to The Wilds and spend an evening in one of their deluxe Yurts. These are for adults only, so it would make for a great getaway experience! This picture does not do the Yurts justice, visit The Wilds website to see more pix from inside the Yurts.
The Wilds is located at 14000 International Road in Cumberland, Ohio. Visit The Wilds website for all the information you need for planning your own trip and to find out more about the animals I’ve pictured in this post. If you can’t make it to The Wilds for a visit but would still like to support their conservation efforts you can adopt an animal via the website or make a donation. This nonprofit is doing amazing work and appreciates support from the community.
Disclaimer: My youngest Henry “knows a guy” at The Wilds, so our family was given a complimentary Wildside tour. All thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.
