Big Joel's Safari Petting Zoo & Educational Park

Big Joel's Safari Petting Zoo & Educational Park Big Joel's Safari Petting Zoo and Educational Park is more than just your average petting zoo. Come experience the "Zoo made for you"!

Welcome to Big Joel's Safari Petting Zoo & Educational Park page. Our family owned and operated zoo is home to well over 500 animals covering over 70 species of domestic and exotic animals. Our facility operates from spring and through the holiday season. You can pet and feed some of our animal residents while many are just for viewing! Big Joel's Safari Petting Zoo & Educational offers b

irthday parties, educational field trips, Rent the Zoo, and more during most of our regular season. Join us in the fall for Big Joel's Spooky Safari where the the park is decorated for the fall & Halloween season. Don't forget to join us for The Holidays at Big Joel's Safari! This is our evening walk thru experience where the main attraction is the animals. You will see many animals especially our more winter ready species, Christmas lights, decorations, fire pits, snack shack, and more. For more information and more about us in great detail visit www.bigjoelsafari.com! Come visit the "zoo made for you" for some family fun for everyone you won't soon forget!

We are booking Field Trips for the 2025 Season. For all information regarding educational field trips at our zoo please ...
01/20/2025

We are booking Field Trips for the 2025 Season. For all information regarding educational field trips at our zoo please click on https://www.bigjoelsafari.com/educational-field-trips , which can answer most general questions we receive about them. We highly recommend checking our website before booking,

All field trips are booked over the phone by calling the park office at 636-745-3031 and if no answer please leave us a message. In your message please leave us the following information listed below to help make booking faster and easier.
-Your name and Organizations name (Ex: School name)
-Phone number (organizers phone number makes booking faster)
-Number of participants
-Desired time and date for field trip (please do not ask for available dates/times as they change daily)

Spring and early Summer dates are beginning to fill up so do not hesitate to give us a call. We look forward to seeing you soon!!!

HelloSorry we haven’t posted in a while! We’ve been busy here keeping dry and staying warm. So far we are doing well! Th...
01/10/2025

Hello
Sorry we haven’t posted in a while! We’ve been busy here keeping dry and staying warm. So far we are doing well! This little lady doesn’t know what the big deal is. She’s loving it outside!
(Reminder we are closed until April)

Today is our last day open for the 2024 Season and hours are from 5-9pm (last admission at 8:30). We open back up for 20...
12/30/2024

Today is our last day open for the 2024 Season and hours are from 5-9pm (last admission at 8:30). We open back up for 2025 Season in April, so stay tuned for updates and details!

Only six more days left to visit us for Big Joel’s Holiday Safari thru December 30th including tonight! Just a reminder ...
12/23/2024

Only six more days left to visit us for Big Joel’s Holiday Safari thru December 30th including tonight! Just a reminder that we are closed on Christmas Eve & Christmas Day (Dec 24th & 25th). Hours are from 5-9:00pm on all open days and click on www.bigjoelsafari.com under our events page for more detailed info.

Happy Holidays!

Big Joel’s Holiday Safari is now open daily from 5-9:00pm until December 30th, except we are closed on Dec. 24th and 25t...
12/19/2024

Big Joel’s Holiday Safari is now open daily from 5-9:00pm until December 30th, except we are closed on Dec. 24th and 25th for Christmas Eve & Christmas. We do not sell online tickets or require reservations for our holiday safari.

After December 30th the park closes for the remainder of winter and reopens sometime in April 2025. For more about our holiday season at the park go to www.bigjoelsafari.com and click on the events tab for more information.

We will be open tonight so if you decide to visit make sure to wear your boots! It has rained here most of the day and t...
12/14/2024

We will be open tonight so if you decide to visit make sure to wear your boots! It has rained here most of the day and there may be possibilities of rain during our open hours tonight so pathways will be wet.

(Photo: To clarify our sloths for just viewing from the outside of our gift shop building)

Only 14 more operating days left to visit Big Joel’s Holiday Safari for the 2024 season. Thru December 17th we are open ...
12/13/2024

Only 14 more operating days left to visit Big Joel’s Holiday Safari for the 2024 season. Thru December 17th we are open Wednesday thru Sunday and from December 18th -30th we are open everyday (except closed on Christmas Eve & Christmas). Hours are from 5-9pm on all days we are open. The park closes after Dec 30th for the rest of winter and reopens in April 2025. Click on www.bigjoelsafari.com and then on our events section for more information right now.

We do have one announcement for everyone which is this season will be the last time for our Holiday Safari in the evening. So if have been wanting to come out to see the animals and lights at night this is the time. Plans are currently being made for the 2025 Holiday Season, however it will be during daytime hours.

See you soon and Happy Holidays! ⛄️

Cocoa and s’mores that won’t break the bank!$2.00 cocoa and $6.00 s’more kits!Fire pits that are included in admission-n...
12/08/2024

Cocoa and s’mores that won’t break the bank!
$2.00 cocoa and $6.00 s’more kits!
Fire pits that are included in admission-no reservations needed!
For more information go to
www.bigjoelsafari.com and click on our events section on the menu bar

Open from 5-9pm tonight and if you want to know more about Big Joel’s Holiday Safari click on www.bigjoelsafari.com unde...
12/06/2024

Open from 5-9pm tonight and if you want to know more about Big Joel’s Holiday Safari click on www.bigjoelsafari.com under the events section for more information!

Reminder: Big Joel’s Safari has some pretty unique items perfect for gifts! Axolotl throw blankets, capybara bags, and e...
12/06/2024

Reminder: Big Joel’s Safari has some pretty unique items perfect for gifts! Axolotl throw blankets, capybara bags, and even giant alligator stuffies. Best of all our 2025 Season Passes, good for this years Holiday Safari and next season!
Open Wednesdays thru Sundays 5pm-9pm.🎅

Big Joel’s Holiday Safari will be open today Wednesday, Dec 4th from 5-9:00pm. However tomorrow Thursday, Dec 5th will b...
12/04/2024

Big Joel’s Holiday Safari will be open today Wednesday, Dec 4th from 5-9:00pm.
However tomorrow Thursday, Dec 5th will be CLOSED due to weather. With the low temps on Thursday and all the melting snow from today will likely refreeze many of our walkways. We will resume normal days and hours of operation on Friday.

Thanks and happy holidays!

FYI if you are visiting the zoo tonight just know that the parking lot and pathways are snow covered. We received around...
12/01/2024

FYI if you are visiting the zoo tonight just know that the parking lot and pathways are snow covered. We received around 3-4” of snow so dress accordingly.⛄️

Just a reminder the park will be closed on Thanksgiving and we open back up Friday from 5-9:00pm for our Holiday Safari....
11/28/2024

Just a reminder the park will be closed on Thanksgiving and we open back up Friday from 5-9:00pm for our Holiday Safari.

See you soon!

11/24/2024

We are open from 5-9:00pm tonight and the fire pits are going! You can get hot cocoa, s’more kits, coffee, and more at Rudy’s Refreshments.

The screenshots below are from our event page at www.bigjoelsafari.com regarding Big Joel’s Holiday Safari. We simply do...
11/23/2024

The screenshots below are from our event page at www.bigjoelsafari.com regarding Big Joel’s Holiday Safari. We simply do not have enough time to answer everyone’s questions on our comments section.

To clarify we are NOT selling online tickets to the Holiday Safari, so ignore the “Book Now” icon. We are working to get this option off, but we have to wait on the booking company to get back to us. Admission can be purchased upon arrival, so no reservations are needed. However if you want to purchase 2025 season passes or gift certificates online click on the “Book Now”.

Our seasonal animal display can change throughout the winter season and not all species at the zoo are available for viewing at this time. This is either because it is too cold (an example is our primates) or they are not active at night time (an example is our bison)

You generally will see all of our domestic farm animals, camels, zebra (display only), eland, nilgai, fallow deer, llamas, and more. You can see the sloths, tamandua, fennec fox, and more thru some of our display windows.

Big Joel’s Holiday Safari begins tonight! We are open from 5-9:00pm and we have the fire pits roaring. More info on our ...
11/22/2024

Big Joel’s Holiday Safari begins tonight! We are open from 5-9:00pm and we have the fire pits roaring. More info on our event can be found at www.bigjoelsafari.com under events.

FYI, Online ticket sales are not being offered for our holiday season. No reservations are needed and general admission can be paid at the entrance gate.

See you soon!

Just reminder “Big Joel’s Holiday Safari” begins Friday November 22nd! 5-9 pmCome celebrate the holidays with the animal...
11/22/2024

Just reminder “Big Joel’s Holiday Safari” begins Friday November 22nd! 5-9 pm
Come celebrate the holidays with the animals, some lights and decor, cocoa and s’mores!

Also online ticket sales are not being offered for this event, so no reservations are needed to come out for a visit.

Address

13187 State Highway M
Wright City, MO
63390

Opening Hours

Monday 5pm - 9pm

Telephone

(636) 745-3031

Website

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Videos

We are open from 5-9:00pm tonight and the fire pits are going! You can get hot cocoa, s’more kits, coffee, and more at Rudy’s Refreshments.

Hello This is Sandy one of the mountain coatimundis at Big Joel’s Safari. She enjoys hard boiled eggs, bananas and bread-but only after dipping it in water first. Mountain coatimundis are related to raccoons.

Happy Father’s Day! Not to be corny, but it’s your day to really pig out! 😂

In the bird world, to attract females, most males are the more brightly colored bird. But I believe these two are mostly showing off for each other. Kind of reminds me of high school. But instead of a fancy truck, it’s fancy feathers. Lol

Happy Mother’s Day! Big Joel’s Safari is open regular hours today (Sunday, 4/12) from 10-5pm. Have a great day!

Itching for something fun to do? Big Joel’s Safari is open Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. 🐐

Thank you all for a great opening weekend! We hope you enjoyed the improvements. There are more yet to come. Thank you to the new guests too!

At least the chickens are helping to spread the mulch. Of course one is kicking it out into the walkway. 🤦‍♀️

Everyone is getting ready for opening day! April 13th! Some of us are working hard, while others are going for a swim.

Goats! Goats! And more Goats! Look closely. Which Momma Goat do you think has the most patience? Jungle Gym Momma or Milk Momma?

NOW HIRING!!! Sniffing out a great opportunity? Hanging on all winter for the time to apply? We are now hiring here at Big Joel’s Safari! Please go to our website-www.bigjoelsafari.com Tap on Employment Opportunities for more information and to apply!

We almost forgot to say “Hoppy” New Year!

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Our Story

Welcome to Big Joel's Safari Petting Zoo & Educational Park page. Our family owned and operated park is home to well over 500 animals covering over 60 species of domestic and exotic animals. You can get up close and personal with many of our animal residents here at our park. You can pet and feed many of our animal residents from little goats to our gigantic camels and some of our animal friends are just for up close viewing.

Our 2020 Season is from April 4th thru November 1st and will be our eighth season open to the public. We have big plans for this season throughout the year, so come on out to visit and keep posted for updates on this page. During our regular season we offer birthday parties, educational field trips for schools, camel rides (weekends Spring/Fall and everyday in the summer), pony rides, parakeet shack, and several events throughout our season such as our Spooky Safari. For more information and more about us in great detail visit www.bigjoelsafari.com! Come visit the "zoo made for you" for some family fun for everyone you won't soon forget!