Unearth The Voyage
There is a place in southeastern Oklahoma where you can roll down your car window and hand a snack directly to a zebra. No zoo glass, no barriers, just you and a striped animal deciding whether your offered cup of feed is worth investigating.
That alone should be enough to get you in the car, but the experience goes far deeper than a single memorable moment at a window. From a white rhino named Rhonnie to sloths you can actually pet, this park packs a remarkable amount of wildlife wonder into one beautifully kept property tucked in the Beavers Bend area near Broken Bow.
Where to Find This Wild Oklahoma Adventure
The address is 589 Old Hochatown Rd, Broken Bow, OK 74728, and the drive there is already half the fun. The road winds through the thick forests of southeastern Oklahoma, giving you the sense that something genuinely special waits at the end of it.
Beavers Bend Safari Park sits near the popular Hochatown area, which means it slots perfectly into a weekend getaway packed with outdoor activities. The park is open every day of the week from 9:30 AM to 5 PM, so whether you are an early riser or more of a mid-morning person, there is a comfortable window to plan your visit.
Tickets can be purchased in advance through their website at beaversbendsafaripark.com, and the staff strongly recommends doing exactly that. Filling out your waivers ahead of time also keeps the line moving and gets you face-to-face with the animals faster.
You can reach the park by phone at 580-494-3222 if you have questions before your visit. A 4.4-star rating from over 500 reviewers tells you that the trip is well worth the detour off the main road.
The Drive-Through Safari Experience
Rolling through a safari in your own vehicle, with a cup of animal feed balanced on your lap, is a genuinely thrilling experience that never gets old no matter your age. The drive-through portion of Beavers Bend Safari Park is where the zebra window-feeding moment happens, and it is every bit as surreal and joyful as it sounds.
Black bucks dart around with impressive energy, llamas amble up with curious expressions, and ostriches make their bold personalities known by occasionally pecking at car doors when they feel territorial. The animals roam in a setting that resembles their natural habitat, which means you sometimes have to slow down and scan the tree lines to spot them, turning the drive into a relaxed game of wildlife discovery.
Plan for about 45 minutes to move through at a comfortable pace without feeling rushed. The park recommends buying at least four cups of feed so you do not run out before you have visited all your favorite animals.
Baby animals occasionally appear along the route, and spotting a tiny ostrich chick through your windshield is the kind of unexpected delight that makes the whole outing feel like a gift.
The Walk-Around Zoo and Animal Exhibits
After the drive-through wraps up, the adventure shifts to a completely different gear. The walk-around portion of the park invites you to stroll through beautifully maintained exhibits at your own pace, and the quality of the enclosures genuinely impresses from the first glance.
Hyenas, monkeys, and a rotating cast of fascinating creatures occupy spacious, clean habitats that clearly reflect a high standard of animal care. The monkey exhibit draws particular enthusiasm from visitors, especially when a baby monkey happens to be present, which has been known to stop entire groups in their tracks.
The grounds themselves are gorgeous, with the kind of landscaping that makes you want to slow down and soak in the surroundings rather than rush from one exhibit to the next. Staff members are stationed throughout and are genuinely happy to share stories and facts about the animals in their care.
The walk-around section was still expanding during some earlier visits, with new construction visible, but even in its growing stages, the experience left guests thoroughly satisfied. As the park continues to develop, each return visit promises something new to discover around the next corner.
Meeting Rhonnie the White Rhino
Few wildlife encounters match the sheer scale and personality of coming face-to-face with a white rhino, and Rhonnie has become the undisputed star of Beavers Bend Safari Park. He is enormous, he is hungry, and he has a fan base that spans every age group.
The rhino experience is part of the Ultimate Safari Adventure package, which pairs guests with knowledgeable guides who walk you through the encounter with confidence and care. Guides like Christian and Miranda bring the experience to life with detailed stories about Rhonnie’s background, habits, and personality, making the feeding feel like more than just a novelty.
Visitors consistently describe the moment of handing food to Rhonnie as one of the most awe-inspiring things they have ever done. His sheer size puts everything into perspective, and yet the gentleness of the interaction leaves people smiling long after they have left the park.
The Ultimate package also includes kangaroo and tortoise encounters, so the rhino feeding is just the headline act in a lineup of remarkable close-up animal moments. For anyone who has ever wanted to say they personally fed a white rhino, this is the place to make that happen.
The Sloth, Capybara, and Otter Encounters
There is something quietly magical about being in the same space as a sloth. Maple, Jimmy Dean, and Honey are the resident sloths at Beavers Bend Safari Park, and their calm, deliberate energy makes the encounter feel almost meditative compared to the excitement of the rhino or the drive-through feeding.
Guests who book the sloth experience describe it as a dream come true, and it is easy to understand why. Petting a sloth, seeing its slow blink up close, and realizing just how soft and unhurried these animals are creates a memory that sticks with you.
The capybara and otter encounters add a completely different energy to the mix. Capybaras are the world’s largest rodents, and their relaxed, sociable nature makes them surprisingly easy to warm up to.
The otters, meanwhile, are pure entertainment, with their playful movements and inquisitive personalities drawing genuine laughter from every group.
These add-on experiences are available separately or bundled with other packages, and the general consensus from guests is that they are well worth the additional cost. Booking in advance is the smartest move, as these popular encounters tend to fill up quickly during busy weekends.
Kangaroos, Tortoises, and the Ultimate Package
Kangaroos have an unfair reputation for being intimidating, but the ones at Beavers Bend Safari Park will completely change your mind. Their fur is remarkably soft, and they eat from your hand with a gentleness that surprises nearly every first-time visitor who expected something a little wilder.
The Ultimate Safari Adventure bundles the kangaroo feeding with tortoise and rhino encounters, creating a guided experience that feels more like a private wildlife tour than a standard zoo visit. Guides provide generous portions of food so guests never feel like they have to ration their time with the animals, and the pace is relaxed enough that no one feels rushed through the highlights.
Tortoises bring their own quiet charm to the package. Watching a child carefully offer food to one of these ancient-looking creatures and then look up with absolute wonder on their face is the kind of scene that makes the whole trip worthwhile for parents and grandparents alike.
The Ultimate package consistently earns the highest praise from guests who tried it, with many saying they initially hesitated over the price and then immediately agreed it was worth every cent once the experience was underway.
Animal Care and Park Cleanliness
One of the first things that strikes you when you arrive at this park is how clean everything is, from the parking lot all the way through to the animal habitats. That level of consistency does not happen by accident, and it reflects a genuine commitment from the ownership and staff to maintaining high standards throughout the property.
The animals themselves look healthy and content, which is something that experienced wildlife enthusiasts pick up on immediately. Enclosures are spacious and thoughtfully designed, giving each species room to move, rest, and behave in ways that feel natural rather than confined.
Staff members are clearly passionate about the animals in their care, and that enthusiasm comes through in every interaction. Whether they are explaining an animal’s diet, sharing a fun behavioral quirk, or simply answering a curious kid’s questions, the team brings real knowledge and warmth to every conversation.
A park that looks this good and feels this well-run earns a certain level of trust from its visitors before the first animal even approaches the car window. The attention to detail here sets Beavers Bend Safari Park apart from many other wildlife attractions in the region and keeps guests coming back year after year.
The Coffee Corner and Gift Shop
Not every wildlife park has a coffee shop worth mentioning, but the Coffee Corner at Beavers Bend Safari Park has earned its own loyal following. The iced vanilla latte in particular has become a word-of-mouth favorite, with guests recommending it almost as enthusiastically as the animal encounters themselves.
The gift shop sits between the parking area and the walk-around zoo, making it a natural stopping point both on the way in and on the way out. The space is described as gorgeous by multiple visitors, and it carries the kind of animal-themed merchandise that appeals to kids and adults equally without feeling generic or mass-produced.
Picking up a souvenir here feels like a fitting way to close out the experience, whether it is a small token for yourself or something to bring back for a friend who could not make the trip. The shop also gives you a moment to decompress after the sensory richness of the safari before heading back to the real world.
Skipping the coffee stop would be a genuine oversight, so factor in a few extra minutes at the end of your visit to sit down, sip something cold, and replay your favorite moments from the day.
Visiting With Kids and Groups of All Ages
One of the most telling things about a great family attraction is whether it can genuinely hold the attention of an 11-year-old and a 65-year-old at the same time. Beavers Bend Safari Park manages exactly that, with groups spanning multiple generations consistently reporting that every single person had a great time.
Young children are particularly captivated by the feeding stations, where deer, llamas, and emus approach with zero hesitation and take food directly from small hands. That direct contact with an animal, even one as familiar as a deer, creates a sense of wonder in kids that is hard to replicate with any other kind of attraction.
Toddlers, school-age children, teenagers, and grandparents all find something that speaks to them here, which is a rarer quality than it might seem. The park’s layout is also manageable enough that families do not spend their energy navigating a confusing or exhausting property.
Groups of 13 have visited and left satisfied, which says something meaningful about the park’s capacity to deliver a consistent experience regardless of group size or age range. A visit here has the kind of broad appeal that makes it easy to suggest to just about anyone.
Planning Your Visit and Practical Tips
A little preparation goes a long way toward making your visit to Beavers Bend Safari Park as smooth and enjoyable as possible. The single most repeated piece of advice from experienced guests is to buy your tickets online in advance and fill out any required waivers before you arrive.
The park is open seven days a week from 9:30 AM to 5 PM, which gives you solid flexibility to plan around your travel schedule. Arriving earlier in the day tends to mean shorter waits and more relaxed interactions with the animals before the midday crowds arrive.
Budget for more animal feed cups than you think you will need during the drive-through portion, because running out before you reach your favorite animals is a minor but avoidable disappointment. Four cups is the commonly suggested minimum, and generous is always better than not enough when you are surrounded by hungry zebras and llamas.
For those who want to extend the experience beyond a day visit, the park has been developing overnight accommodation options, including a Rhino Suite cabin that offers a genuinely one-of-a-kind stay. You can reach the team at 580-494-3222 or visit beaversbendsafaripark.com to plan every detail of your Oklahoma safari adventure.
