Chestatee Wildlife Preserve

Guys! Please don’t come here!
Watch this video on how they were treating Iris. They are awful people! Shut this place down, and get proper care for these animals! No animal should ever be treated this way.

Please do the appropriate research before visiting unaccredited animal roadside zoos.

I find it interesting people who have an issue with «caged» animals go out of their way to visit zoos and rescue preserves such as this one just to complain and bash the establishments. Probably someone who has never lifted a finger or donated a dime to save any animal but yet somehow has lots of opinions. Makes no sense. My family visited here as we were staying at the nearby state park. Some of the rescued animals are in smaller housing pending completion of larger housing areas. We payed the extra $ 100 to have a private animal handling experience and our kids loved it.
We didn’t pay the money expecting anything spectacular or over the top, it was mainly to support the organization and contribute to their cause of saving these animals and housing them.
Our boys thought the world of getting to hold large snake, the biggest chinchilla we have ever seen, and especially the baby alligator. We appreciate what this establishments mission is and the effort the volunteers put in for these animals. CW and his crew were very friendly and knowledgable and I’m sad to see that ignorant people with no idea of what it takes to save these creatures come on here and say ridiculous things.
The animals here are kept in immaculate conditions and it is one of the cleanest and safest preserves I have ever visited!
THE ZEBRAS ARE SUPER FRIENDLY! You can pet them and feed them corn.

It was at a bar — of all places — that a friend suggest we visit a zoo one weekend for a more family friendly outing. I thought she was referring to Zoo Atlanta, but she then said it was located in North Georgia — Dahlonega to be precise. Though I was initially hesitant about the distance, after visiting this weekend, I’d say it’s worth the trek.
We arrived around noon and it wasn’t yet too busy. There were only two other families the entire duration of our visit. The entrance fee is $ 10 for adults and $ 5 for children and while they do accept debit/​credit cards — they use one of those portable card swipers — it seems a bit unreliable, as it couldn’t even read the strip on my new-​ish debit card, bring cash to save yourself the trouble, it’s a lot easier for them as well.
While Chestatee is not as extensive as Zoo Atlanta, it’s a lot more intimate. The habitats for the animals are set-​up along a walking trail, and a lot of the animals come up to the fences to be fed my hand. The more naturally dangerous animals’ (lions, bears, wolves, etc) habitats are set much further back from the trail and are not reachable — of course. There are vending machines set up all along the trail to buy corn to feed the animals, so bring a roll of quarters at least — the kids love it and I’ll admit I was endlessly amused by it as well.
All together we saw bison, zebras, lions, monkeys, white tigers, wolves, bears, turkeys, an emu (my favorite!), and a collection of various tropical birds and reptiles, including some very large boas — yikes. I’d heard there were some tiger cubs, but unfortunately they weren’t out on this particular visit,. Overall, it’s a nice place to spend the weekend with the family — especially in good weather!

I asked to feed the baby white tigers and the date I was signed up for I got sick. C.W.Wathen said it would cost me $ 250 to feed them b/​c he had to build a new bldg. to house them. This is outrageous! From the reviews I’ve read, I don’t want to even GO there. I asked him for a new date and he assigned me ⁹⁄₁₆. He didn’t ASK me. I told him I need to be at church but I can come the 17^th. He wrote me that «I was wasting his time and if I want to come the 16^th, prepay the $ 250 with paypal and NO REFUNDS»…VERY HATEFUL MAN… I pitty the animals b/​c they are the ones who suffer and I don’t want to see them in tiny cages like you folks say they are in.

This is a small wildlife preserve that is non profit — if you remember that context during your visit it will give you a great appreciation for what this family run business is doing. Many of the animals have been rescued and the entrance fee goes toward their food and care. The animals all look happy and well fed, the staff is freindly and informative. For $ 10 for an hour or 2 — you’d be hard pressed to find a better deal for your entertainment dollar.

I visited the Chestatee Wildlife Preserve last weekend on a scouting mission. My in-​laws have a couple of large parrots that need a home and CWP is going to take them. The sign out front says ZOO, but you shouldn’t think of it as a true zoo. Unfortunately, they do not have rich benefactors building multi-​million dollar habitats for their animals. This place is really more a wildlife sanctuary. A lot of their animals have been rescued from theme parks and private owners (think of all those people buying baby boas for their kids). Most of the animals look very happy romping around. There is a sad looking chimp but CWP is a 501©3 charity and they are ready to accept your donation to help build their chimp a better place to live. The panthers could use an upgrade too.
All that being said, this is a great place for kids. They can really see the animals. There are vending machine with corn and you can feed everything you can reach (big cats, bear and alligators are not reachable, of course). My 2 year old loved seeing the emu peck corn from my hand. The place is small so it is very walkable for the littlest kids. The amenities are spartan. Port-​a-​potties for bathrooms and a poorly stocked vending machine for snacks. I recommend bringing whatever provisions you may need and not drinking too much so you can ‘go’ somewhere else. They take credit cards for the entry fee ($ 10 for adults and $ 5 for kids) but I am sure cash is better for them (why make them pay credit card processing fees?). Bring plenty of quarters for the corn; it was a big hit with my kid. You can do the whole place in under 2 hours so I recommend a morning visit and then lunch in Dahlonega. An extra pair of shoes in the car isn’t a bad idea either.

I’ve been here couple of times, remember don’t forget to bring «$ 10» Cash to enter this place, the don’t take credit cards, and bring ton’s of change for food for the animals from the dispenser, It’s not a big zoo, I was taking a photograph of a wolf playing around with a toy, and suddenly I felt someone sniffing me, there was another wolf sniffing me, but they are like large dogs, very friendly. Lots of fun monkeys, reptile section, and lots of white tigers. I got to pet a young white tiger in a cage. Found escaped rabbit eating grass by the playground, I was very impressed with a large field area, with Camel, ostrich, Deer, Billy Goat and zebra, all hanging out together, all friends, Billy goat came over so I gave him a long rub down and he was falling a sleep, kept licking my hand thanking me, the other animals were starting to head to where we were… but just in a nick of time, family with kids, started throwing food, so all the animals headed to the food except the billy goat. Gorilla was a show off, he kept bringing his food and showing it to us, brought pizza, muffins, apples, bananas, he was so proud of his food and love to share it with the audience. It’s a fun place for families and photographers.