Fossil Rim located in Glen Rose, Texas is just 2 hours drive from Dallas. Fossil Rim wildlife center is home to giraffe, ostrich, zebra, rhino, kudu, cheetah, addax, and other exotic residents. It is one of the best drive through zoos and wildlife preserve in the US – a great safari experience right here in Texas! On this 9½ mile Scenic Drive you can feed the animals from your car window. Or you take one of their Guided Tours.
Kids love feeding the animals with the feed that you can buy at the entrance. We have a giraffe fan in our family, he grew up with Jeffery the Giraffe by his bed and frequent visits to Toys-r-us to catch a glimpse of Geoffrey in action there. If you are not from the US and don’t know who Geoffrey is, check him out here.
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A Safari in Glen Rose Texas at Fossil Rim
Once you buy the tickets at the entrance at Fossil Rim in Glen Rose and start your driving on the loop around the park you will see all the animals out and about in action. We saw rhinos sloshing around, ostrich having a race with each other, kudus nibbling on the grass. We even had some come to the car anxiously looking for food while others with bellies full from previous encounters with park visitors didn’t care for more of the feed. We had a giraffe with a droopy tongue following us around for a while! We even had a staring contest with a zebra!!
Fossil Rim has a couple of lodging options – A rustic ranch house lodge and Safari Tents. Foothills Safari Camp are tents that are made to look like safari tents in Africa. A two-acre fenced enclosure overlooking one of Fossil Rim’s most popular wildlife watering holes, where an ever-changing variety of animals, from elegant sand hill cranes to families of waterbuck, can be viewed.
We did the Fossil Rim Safari as a day trip from Dallas, staying at the Foothills Safari Camp is on our bucket list! It would be a wonderful experience to see how the kids do before planning a big Safari trip to Africa.
Dinosaur Valley State Park
Not too far from Fossil Rim is a special Texas State Park! At the Dinosaur Valley State Park you can trace the footprints left by dinosaurs in the bed of the Paluxy River in what is believed to be the edge of an ancient ocean million of years ago. The foot print areas are roped off for people to view and to preserve them. You can see more details about the Texas State Park here.
Additional Information for visiting Fossil Rim in Glen Rose, TX
Fossil Rim Wildlife Center works to aid in the conservation of animal species under the threat of extinction in the wild. Fossil Rim use these three key strategies to help fulfill their mission – conservation breeding, research and education. Fossil Rim’s large and open spaces provide the ideal situation for successful conservation breeding programs of some of the species that are in peril. They have also been successful in breeding cheetahs, Attwater’s prairie chickens, black rhinos, white rhinos, Grevy’s zebras and several wolf species. While some animals born in Fossil Rim are reintroduced to the wild, some animals leave the safari park to populate zoos or other conservation centers in the US and abroad.
Fossil Rim is located one hour southwest of Fort Worth and two hours from Dallas via US 67. Approximately three miles west of Glen Rose, turn left onto County Road 2008. In addition to the regular scenic drive, you can also offer other fun programs like the Discovery After Dark, Sunset Safari and dinner, Feed Run, Behind the scenes tour etc. The feed is about $8 per car.
Weekday Admission prices:
Adults: $20.95 per person
Child (3-11): $14.95 per person
2 and Under: FREE per person
Weekend Admission price
Adults: $24.95 per person
Child (3-11): $18.95 per person
2 and Under: FREE per person
Where to stay in Glen Rose, TX
While we visited Fossil Rim as a day trip from Dallas, you can easily spend a weekend basing yourself in Glen Rose, TX. Glen Rose is also home to some excellent golf courses, good bluegrass music, and Dinosaur Valley State Park where you can hike and bike on scenic trails and see the dinosaur footprints.
Located in a peaceful corner of the Fossil Rim park with incredible views, The Lodge has spacious rooms and the stay includes hot breakfast and a scenic wildlife drive. Exclusively available to the Lodge and Foothills Safari Camp overnight guests, there is also the option to experience a Morning Safari Tour or a Behind-the-Scenes Morning Safari Tour – both at a discount from standard rates. The guests are picked up right after breakfast, so there is no need to drive anywhere and will be dropped back off at their automobiles. Staying inside the park gives you a preview of what an African Safari might be like.
Inn on the River is another option, a meticulously restored Inn that offers nice dining, personalized service for family and romantic getaways in Glen Rose, TX.
The foothills Safari Camp is perfect for two people who want to experience an overnight stay at the Park. For families, you would need to rent more than one Camp.
I hope you plan a Fossil Rim to enjoy a safari experience at this drive-through zoo and wildlife preserve in Texas.
You might also like: Other Day trips from Dallas
If you want some safari inspiration, see A Safari in Florida, What to Pack for a Family Safari, Photos from the Masai Mara Great Migration, Soaring about the Savannah in a Hot air balloon Safari in Serengeti and 6 things to do in Nairobi and other posts from Africa.
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Wow, looks like such an amazing time!
This looks like a lot of fun. I have seen these in a few states and would love to try. Love the fact that your kid loved Geoffrey too!
This is so fun! We have one here in Nebraska with less exotic but equally interesting animals. I love being able to get so close!!
That is so cool! How fun!
When I was in South Africa I was able to do a safari and it was a great experience! Very cool and educational! I had no idea these existed in the USA but this looks like a blast thanks for sharing!
How fun – we want to go visit South Africa someday, till then it is visits to the Fossil rim to satiate our safari dreams.