Lion Country Safari, Loxahatchee

Lion Country Safari gives you the opportunity to see animals such as zebras, giraffes, rhinoceroses, buffalo, and antelope very close up, like you never usually can! Although expensive (it was $115 for our family of four), it is well worth the money. After your safari drive, you enjoy a tropical zoo with free rides such as a carousel, ferris wheel, and dumbo the elephant ride.It's a drive inland to get to the safari. Once there, you pay at the gate and then drive your own car (if it's a convertible you must use one of their cars) for an hour through the "South African veldt." The road is wide enough so that visitors can go at any pace without getting stuck behind or inconveniencing others. When you see a wonderful animal, you can stop and observe for a while. They give you a CD that tells you about the animals. We left it off at first so we could just marvel at the scenes around us and enjoy it together. We were thrilled! Ostriches- so tall you wouldn't believe- walked right by our car! Huge buffalo, and all types of antelope with twirly horns walked in herds beside us. When we got to the lions, we felt deflated for a while- after all, the preserve is named after them, but they were behind cages and not allowed to roam free by our car. We soon cheered up when we reached the rhinoceroses who were lazing together right by our car. We could see their funny wrinkles in super-close-up detail! Zebras, too, came so close we could see the little hairs on their striped bodies. The chimpanzees seemed to be hiding away and we only saw a few of them. They had a fun habitat though, with tire swings and plenty of horizontal poles to monkey around on. Giraffes walked right up to us- how incredibly tall they are!Afterwards, we went to the amusement park area, where you can walk around under the shade of a lush tropical paradise! Here you can see flamingos, gigantic alligators that look at you from behind glass that doesn't seem thick enough!, porcupines that are so spiky and silly-looking, and rainbow-colored birds. There is so much to do. The free things to do include a ferris wheel, glittery paddle boats, carousel, tiny train for small kids only, dumbo the elephant ride that older kids can ride too, animal show that is entertaining, and mini-golf which is just flat and doesn't have the ball rolling to the next section, and big splash pad where buckets and mushrooms of water fall on you.

Nearby, there are other fun things to do with kids! In Wellington, check out Tiger Shark Cove playground, an ocean-themed wooden playground where kids can let their imagination run free. Scott's Place Playground is another really nice one, with a wagon kids can shake back and forth, and horse sculptures to climb.
In Wellington there is also a popular park for jogging with a nature center called Okeeheelee Park, Mall at Wellington Green with an indoor kid's play area.
Enjoy Calypso Bay Waterpark in Royal Palm Beach on hot days.

Directions

Lion Country Safari is located at 2003 Lion Country Safari Rd, Loxahatchee, FL 33470, call (561) 793-1084. Admission is $27.50 per adult, $24.50 for seniors, $20.50 for kids 3-9 yrs old, and free for kids under 3. Open daily 9:30-5:30. Last cars can enter at 4:30. From Highway 95 or the Florida Turnpike, take the Southern Blvd exit and head inland. After 10-15 miles, turn right on Lion Country Safari Rd.

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