Aikman Wildlife Adventure
Aikman Wildlife Adventure
5
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
12:00 PM - 5:00 PM
About
Aikman Wildlife Adventure is a wildlife sanctuary located in Arcola, Illinois. Our mission is to provide the highest quality of life possible to all wildlife in need, while maintaining a family friendly environment through interaction, education, conservation and by creating an experience of a lifetime for all our guests. Come out to enjoy 200+ animals and 75 different species! Drive through our park in your own vehicle to see all of our bigger animals, then take a stroll in our Walk-Thru to visit our small animals, predators, and petting zoo. If you love animals and are ready for an adventure of a lifetime, come out and see for yourself why our place is so unique and special! Hours vary depending on weather.
Duration: 1-2 hours
Meets animal welfare guidelines
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
5.0
122 reviews
Excellent
105
Very good
10
Average
4
Poor
2
Terrible
1
Ahlden2006
4 contributions
Aug 2020
We wanted to do something different with our grandsons, this definitely was! The boys had a great day. They liked being able to see the animals up close and was able to feed them in the petting zoo. The admission was very reasonable as well.
Written August 7, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Josh S
Brookfield, IL25 contributions
Sep 2020 • Family
We took the VIP tour. Got a guided tour of
The walk thru area and feeding animals at petting zoo was included. Then took a buggy through the drive thru area while feeding the animals. Best experience!
The walk thru area and feeding animals at petting zoo was included. Then took a buggy through the drive thru area while feeding the animals. Best experience!
Written September 6, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Robbet Thomas
Hammond, IN2 contributions
Jul 2020
We had an awesome experience at Aikman! I recommend the Behind the Scenes Tour. Our guide, Brandy was fantastic! She was very knowledgeable and patient with our questions and making sure she answered them. Our ride through was amazing and my grandson can't stop taking about it! We will definitely visit again!
Written August 9, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Elizabeth S
Russellville3 contributions
Aug 2022 • Family
This was a disappointment for us after driving 4 hours to get here we were informed you cannot feed the animals when you drive through on your own or even have your windows down , that you need to purchase a special package for that and even then you can not feed the animals, the walk through area was nice but just felt that it was small compared to what we have at home for the same price. When looking online it seemed to be so much better than the reality . We wouldn’t recommend u less you live in the area , but don’t make a long drive for it .
Written August 19, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sorry for your experience! We have the windows up rule to protect our animals and our visitors. If you can email marketing@aikmanwildlife.com, we can make this right and make sure you get the chance to feed our animals!
Written September 6, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Desiree M
1 contribution
Jan 2021 • Family
We loved this place. It was extremely inexpensive. The diversity of animals was amazing. None of us had ever seen hyenas before. However feeding all the different animals at the petting zoo had to be our favorite. The drive through park was awesome too. Can't say enough good things about this place. We cant wait to go back in warmer months to take the behind the scenes tour.
Written January 4, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Katie D
6 contributions
May 2021 • Friends
Awesome place! My friend and I were down south IL to pick up a baby goat for the children’s zoo we work at and she wanted to show me this facility! She used to intern here before Covid hit and it was really cool to see the place she talks about all the time! I love how they are growing and expanding constantly. The drive through was amazing and creative, and I liked all of the enclosures a lot. Great little place! 😊
Written May 2, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Angela R
Portsmouth, VA21 contributions
Nov 2020
Our family of four (daughters ages 8 and 10) had an amazing experience taking the Behind the Scenes Adventure. We enjoyed learning more about the story of how this place came to be and of course the animals that live there. My daughters love animals, as do I, yet I am often conflicted about animals living in zoo environments. However, visiting Aikman did not fill me with conflicted feelings. Although this family-run business doesn't label themselves as an animal sanctuary because that word means different things to different people, they take animals that need a new home - because they were previously privately owned pets and/or in need of better living conditions. Their animals are those who could not survive in the wild. All animals are "fixed" before coming to live at Aikman meaning that they don't breed animals. They only take on animals if they can provide them with a better life.
We loved getting up close and personal with lots of different species of animals and of course the open air ride on a 4x4 through the drive through. The price may seem high but it's a sum that's easy to give knowing that it's going to the betterment of the lives of so many animals. As Thanksgiving approaches, I'm absolutely thankful for people like the owners of Aikman who dedicate their lives to provide a safe place for animals who can no longer live in the wild.
We loved getting up close and personal with lots of different species of animals and of course the open air ride on a 4x4 through the drive through. The price may seem high but it's a sum that's easy to give knowing that it's going to the betterment of the lives of so many animals. As Thanksgiving approaches, I'm absolutely thankful for people like the owners of Aikman who dedicate their lives to provide a safe place for animals who can no longer live in the wild.
Written November 23, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Lauren B
2 contributions
Jul 2021
We loved everything on the behind the scenes trip. From our tour guide to the ride. She knew everything about all the animals. She knew their names, how they enjoyed spending their days, even let us know why the rabbit was in time out. LOL. They were under construction in several areas but as we walked by those areas she explained their plans of what was happening so it made it kind of feel less like a construction zone and more like part of the tour. My favorite on the walking tour was the hybrid wolf dogs!! After our walk, we hopped in the ATV and drove around. They had buckets of food ready for us to feed all the animals. If there is someone who doesn't really want to touch the animals have them sit in the middle. Along the drive my favorite animals were the horses and zebras. This place was awesome. I cant wait to go back and see the place after the new construction is completed!!
Written August 4, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dacholmes
5 contributions
Sep 2022
My family and I visited on 9/10. It was so very sad for us as we love to visit zoos and wildlife habitats. For our $25 for the drivethrough only experience we saw a lot of sick and sad animals. One that looked like it was dying right alongside the road. The camel was so very sad, The horses, ox and others had so many flies covering their faces and sores on their bodies. The only water available was a small pond that was an emerald green stagant color. We chose to forgo the walk thru as we were so upset by what we had already experienced. There were just a very few trees left around the pond area. Four or so large piles of dead trees were scattered about and the trees that were still standing were dead. We say absolutely zero food available in the feeding stalls and it was apparent from the ground that it had not taken place that day and we visited around 11:30. There was little grass so what are these poor animals to eat or drink. This place needs shut down and these animals need to be saved. My heart breaks for them.
Written September 11, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
stl midwife
5 contributions
Nov 2020 • Family
We went for the full backstage experience and it was worth every single penny. Our guide was very engaging and knowledgeable and she really did get us up close and personal with the animals. My 16-20 year old kids give it an enthusiastic 5 stars!
Written November 16, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Is it open on Labor Day, 2018? If not, what days of week is it open? What are the hours? Thanks.
Dale
630-305-7265
Written September 3, 2018
Sorry for the late reply. They are open today for Labor day. A great resource to see what they are doing daily is their Facebook page. I know they are about to switch over to their fall hours. Their Facebook page says they are open Saturday 10 am - 4 pm and Sunday Noon - 4 pm.
Fall hours they do Monday - Friday by appointment only for groups of 20 people or more.
Hope that helps.
Written September 3, 2018
Hi, are you open on Labor Day, 2018? If not, what are you usual days open? What are the hours? Thanks.
Dale
630-305-7265
Written September 3, 2018
When do the summer hours begin? What day would have the least crowds that we could visit?Thank you, Peggy(looking forward to our annual visit)
Written May 12, 2018
The summer hours start on memorial day ..
Memorial Day Weekend thru Labor Day Weekend
Saturday: 10am – 5pm
Sunday: 12pm – 5pm
Monday: 10am – 5pm
Tuesday-Thursday: (By appointment only to groups of 20+ people)
Friday: 10am – 5pm hope this helps....
Written May 12, 2018
Which would you recommend more for 2 parents with a 5 & 2 year old .. the drive thru, wagon ride, or behind the scenes??
Written April 28, 2018
with a 2 yr old, definately the drive thru!, although the walk thru does have the petting zoo. the walk thru is not difficult or long but depending on the 2 yr old a stroller would definately be advised - paved paths!! the wagon wasn't running when we went. we went before the wagon season began. we did both and really enjoyed it.
Written April 29, 2018
Have never visited in the winter. Plus we like to do behind the scenes. And you have to do some walking. Also the wagon ride is better for the up close encounter for kids. So it is better and more enjoyable Spring or Summer.
Written December 4, 2017
Lots of different price options. Google Aikmans Wildlife Adventure and look under trip planning to see all the price options. I highly recommend the wagon tours because you get to feed the animals. Hope this answers your question.
Written April 5, 2017
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