What are the opening hours?

Monday 10am - 4pm Thursday 10am - 4pm Friday 10am - 4pm Saturday 10am - 4pm Sunday 10am - 4pm

Big Joel's Safari Petting Zoo & Educational Park

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Wright City, MO
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!

10/31/2025

Two things!!!!
Number One: Happy Halloween everyone! We hope that you enjoyed our Spooky Safari this fall and have already come up with new ideas for next season.

Number Two: We want to remind everyone that we switch to our November & December days and hours of operation effective tomorrow.

Nov./ Dec. Days & Hours:
Open Thursday - Monday from 10:00 - 4:00pm
Closed Tuesday & Wednesday
Closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, & Christmas
Last day of the 2025 Season is Dec. 29th

10/28/2025

Hello all! Just as a reminder we will continue to be open everyday 9am-4pm with front gates closing at 3:30pm until October 31st! Attached are our hours starting November 1st! Please take note as hours and dates will change! Also, Holiday Safari will now be open during the day and not at nighttime. Much like Spooky Safari there will be decor and of course animals! We are trying something new by having it during the day. Thank you!

10/13/2025

A little video of the capybaras we have here at Big Joel’s Safari. Big rodents with big personalities! Come on out to see them before it’s too late, as they will be moved to their warm housing when the weather cools.
Reminder: Our capybaras are for viewing only, no petting. These photos were taken by one of our zoo keepers.

10/07/2025

Don’t be a chicken! Try the Corn Maze at our friend Pumpkins Galore! The Corn Maze has a
Big Joel’s Safari bison theme this year.
Big Joel’s Safari + Pumpkins Galore= Best Day Ever
2 family owned local businesses
Reminder: the corn maze is at Pumpkins Galore,
2 miles from Big Joel’s Safari, corn maze cost is $5, plenty of pumpkins and other cool stuff there too!

09/30/2025

NOW OPEN EVERY DAY!
Monday-Friday: 9am-4pm
Saturday: 9am-5pm
Sunday: 10am-5pm
Front gates shut a half hour before close.

09/24/2025

Big Joel’s Spooky Safari Starts Tomorrow Thursday September 25th!
Big Joel’s Safari will be open daily! Weekdays 9-4pm, Sat. 9-5pm, & Sun. 10-5pm, it’s fall y’all!

09/19/2025

Reminder:
Big Joel’s Spooky Safari Starts
Thursday September 25th!
Your favorite animal buddies+spooky decor=
Great Fun!
Open everyday September 25th-October 31st for Spooky Safari! Weekdays 9-4pm, Sat. 9-5pm, & Sun. 10-5pm.

08/18/2025

Kids are back in school and that means Big Joel’s Safari is back to our school schedule too. We are now CLOSED ON TUESDAYS AND WEDNESDAYS! We are still open Saturday 9-5, Sunday 10-5, Monday 9-4, Thursday 9-4, and Friday 9-4.

08/12/2025

A short video of our swinging prairie dog. Not sure how he figured out to jump on the watering station and wiggle his little hips, but he sure does like to swing!

08/08/2025

In search of 1-2 hardworking weekend team members. This would be weekends only. 85% of the position is customer service, you will have to talk to people, be present, and be friendly, but also assist customers with following guidelines. The rest of the position would be cleaning animal areas, checking on animals, and light housekeeping. Earbuds/cell phones not allowed while “on the clock”. Great for high school students. Must be 16 years old or older. Please apply online at:
https://www.bigjoelsafari.com under employment opportunities.

08/05/2025

Yak attack! Normally we have the moms care for their own babies. However sometimes we have to step in, like when you’re a yak born on the hottest day of the year in the blazing sun. Hope you all enjoy Elmer as much as we do!

07/28/2025

Stay cool out there folks! Enjoy the video and have a great day!

Address

13187 State Highway M
Wright City, MO
63390

Opening Hours

Monday	10am - 4pm
Thursday	10am - 4pm
Friday	10am - 4pm
Saturday	10am - 4pm
Sunday	10am - 4pm

Telephone

(636) 745-3031

Website

http://www.bigjoelsafari.com/

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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!