Some Place New–Bearizona

In July we had the chance to go to some place new.  My parents were visiting from Phoenix, and so we were looking for something to do.  My wife had seen a billboard for this new place – Bearizona.  I on

the other hand had missed the sign every time.  We looked it up and found out when it was open, and they said the best time to see the animals was in the afternoon.  Bearizona is located in Williams, which is about 38 miles west of Flagstaff on I-40.  So, we all piled into the truck and drove to Williams.  We had lunch at diner on historic route 66, and then we went through Bearizona.  It is a newly opened drive through animal park.  They are still in the process of building it,  but it is still pretty well done and you don’t see a bunch of construction equipment.  The staff was great and getting to see the  animals from with in your own vehicle was an interesting experience.

An American Burro (Donkey)

 Here we have a couple of examples of American Bison, commonly known as buffaloes.  I have to give credit for these pictures to my father, James.

It was raining off and on as we drove through the  park, but we were able to see most of the animals that were in the park to be seen.

Everything from wolves to big horn sheep.

In the area where the bears are, you must keep your windows up.  There was a game keeper at the entrance gate, he gave a few instructions for driving through the bear enclosure, and was friendly.  Driving through we saw some bears just lying around, others were up and moving and there were close to 14 or 15 bears in the area.  Upon leaving the  bear area there was another game keeper and he asked how we had enjoyed the park.  He also answered some questions, most of the bears at the park are rescued bears, as are most of the other  animals there.



There is a walk through area that you can go through after the main park.  Aiden was having a pretty good time.  He was excited about all the animals we had seen while driving through.

They had a petting area that we went through.  While we were there we heard more and more thunder and soon we were waiting out the down poor in the double gated entrance to the petting area.  The staff was so nice that they brought a golf cart and picked us up, and drove us to our vehicle so we didn’t have to walk in the rain and risk getting our cameras wet.

All in all, we had a great time.  I would highly recommend taking a drive through the park if you are  in the area.  It is growing and expanding and we look forward to visiting the park again and seeing all the new editions and changes.  It is worth the drive and the experience.


Hope you enjoyed – Dave