My Top 5 Captive Animal Experiences From Our 50 State Road Trip Across the USA

I love to see, pet, touch, feed, and just be near animals whenever possible. If I can get a selfie? Even better!

Shae Pepper Lore: Animal selfies for me started officially in December 2017 while visiting Australia when I met Gem, the wombat, at Healsville Animal Sanctuary. It was my first official animal encounter where you could pet them and my life (and camera roll) was changed.

I’m working through a series about Animals and Wildlife from our 7 year – 50 state road trip.

1. My Top 5 Zoos & Aquariums
2. My Top 5 Captive Animal Experiences (this post)
3. My Top 5 Land Wildlife Spots
4. My Top 5 Marine Wildlife Spots

Not every animal experience I’ve had is at a traditional zoo and I wanted to highlight some different locations where animals are being cared for in captivity that were truly magical.

Sadly, we’ve also come across some experiences that we wish we hadn’t supported – we just didn’t know. We checked reviews, etc. and would still end up at a place that we wouldn’t have visited had we known better. Those are always disappointing. They usually have to do with the size of the enclosures. We want animals, even those in captivity for any number of reasons, to have the best life possible in environments that are as close to their wild existence as can be recreated. So we want to highlight the wonderful places for you.

Here’s a countdown of my top 5 captive animal encounters across the USA.

5. The Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center in Girdwood, AK

Like most of Alaska, including the Alaska SeaLife Center, the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center was somewhere I’d been looking forward to visiting for a long time.

I enjoyed my visit there. I loved our tour guide and, as I’m wont to do, I made a little friend on our tour who loved animals like I did, so we shared all kinds of fun facts while she was with her grandpa. I loved meeting Heath, one of the porcupines that lives there (all the porcupines are chocolate-themed – Twix, Heath and Kit-Kat).

I think the highlight for me was seeing the brown bears that live there. They have acres to roam, but one stayed close to the fence line in the heat (near the water and on a cozy log) and I got to spend a ton of time up close with them.

4. The Gator Chateau in Jennings, LA

We had an opportunity once to hold a baby gator in Florida. While it was very cute, it was also sad because its little mouth was all taped up. What I loved about the Gator Chateau (a rest stop along I-10 between FL and TX) was that the little gators didn’t have their mouths taped. They did have a little toenail polish, but that was only for identification rather than aesthetics.

I also loved that the location was dog-friendly since it’s hard to find rest stops that are safe to visit with your dog in the Louisiana heat. Getting to hold several tiny gators and then see the larger ones with the BIG turtles in a separate area was a really fun experience for a few minutes on a long driving day.

3. Magnolia Wilds (formerly Barn Hill Preserve) in Ethel, LA

Magnolia Wilds was an early experience on the road trip and still one that I remember with great fondness. Swimming with, and being climbed on by, otters was just incredible.

The best part? Their pool was heated – which I really appreciated – as did the otters apparently. To see them gambol about, play in and under the water, steal cameras and keys, and try to stuff toys in the filters was a delightful way to spend an hour. I was pleasantly surprised to find out my encounter included meeting a few other animals like Forrest the baby sloth. But, without a doubt, the highlight was the otters. They’ve grown a lot since I visited, but they seem to still host their otter experiences for anyone who’s interested in getting pics like these.

2. Kangaroo Creek Farm in Kelowna, BC, Canada

Ok, I know this one isn’t in the USA, and no, I don’t see Canada as a 51st state. But, Kangaroo Creek Farm was along our drive to Alaska and was such a delightful experience that it needed to be mentioned. Plus, it’s only 2 hours from Oroville, Washington, so compared to Alaska’s distance it’s *practically* a short walk into Canada from the US border!

The primary reason I was interested in visiting Kangaroo Creek Farm was to meet a porcupine. I know you’re thinking, but you did that in Alaska… Um, yes but at Kangaroo Creek Farm YOU CAN PET PRISCILLA THE AFRICAN PORCUPINE!

Similar to Magnolia Wilds, I found out there was so much more to the visit and experience than I’d expected. Which is also partly why it’s in the #2 spot. I mean, besides petting a porcupine, I also got to pet an emu, hold a sugar glider, AND feed and pet capybaras and their babies!!

As the name suggests, there are also kangaroos to pet but as I’ve spent a wonderful time with them in Australia, they were lower on my priority list for the time I had that day. If the #1 spot wasn’t taken by the most epic thing I’ve ever done with an animal, this would’ve slid into the top spot I’m sure.

And now for the #1 Captive Animal Experience I had on our 7 year, 50 state road trip. Have you guessed it yes?

1. Olympic Game Farm, Inc. in Sequim, WA

What is the one thing the National Parks always say? DON’T PET THE FLUFFY COWS.

Yes, stay clear of the bison. That’s for everyone’s safety and it’s a great rule to live by, in all respects. But, what if I told you there is a place where you can FEED bison!? That place exists my friends and it’s the Olympic Game Farm!

I, of course, took it one step farther and placed the bread in my mouth so that the bison had to take it from me – Lady and Tramp style – and I got a big ol’ slobbery bison kiss. Later one also sneezed on me, but that really just added to my fun. I also got a few other great selfies with a yak, elk and llama. But, it will go down in history as one of my top memories ever – getting licked by a bison on the face.

Honorable Mention – Wandering Llamas in TN

Wandering Llamas

Wandering Llamas actually would’ve made it higher on my list, but when I was going through my experiences and having a look for updates, I noticed that Mama Sandy will be closing down her business at the end of 2025. It doesn’t mean that it still wasn’t worth a mention as an experience that I loved, but it’s not something you can replicate with her company.

When we were in Tennessee for Christmas in 2019, we found Wandering Llamas, LLC. It was a wonderful experience walking llamas, getting to watch them, pet them and in my case… kiss them on the nose. My llama – Flash – was a little hesitant at first about our relationship, but by the end we were besties.

An edit in November 2025 – After writing this post, I realized that I left two really important places off of my list. I mean we’ve done a lot of animal experiences so it’s not surprising that I couldn’t recall them all but this post is incomplete without mentioning two other amazing experiences.

The Musk Ox Farm in Palmer, Alaska

I’d never seen a Musk Ox before going to Alaska. Learning about them and their life at the farm for their qiviut was worth the time and money.

The Leavenworth Reindeer Farm in Leavenworth, Washington

How I could’ve left off feeding reindeer and seeing only hours old baby reindeer, at the Leavenworth Reindeer Farm, from the original post is truly beyond me. I learned so many cool reindeer facts that they remain one of my favorite animals to this day.