Wisconsin has one commercial drive-thru safari, near Lake Geneva, and it closes for the season October 31. Up north, two free drives hit their peak right now: tens of thousands of sandhill cranes at a vast wildlife area near the Minnesota border, and the state’s reintroduced wild elk herd in the Chequamegon National Forest.
- Safari Lake Geneva (Lake Geneva)
- Crex Meadows Wildlife Area (Grantsburg)
- Clam Lake Elk Range (Clam Lake)
SAFARI LAKE GENEVA
Type: Family-owned self-drive animal preserve, founded by Wisconsin exotic-animal expert “Jungle” Jay Christie
Location: W1612 Litchfield Rd, Lake Geneva, WI 53147 (5 miles from downtown Lake Geneva, about 1.5 hours from Chicago and 1 hour from Milwaukee)
Email: info@safarilakegeneva.com
Website: safarilakegeneva.com · General Admission · Encounters & Experiences · Private VIP Tours · FAQ · Directions
Social Media: Tripadvisor
Animals: Animals from around the world, roaming in herds, including giraffes (you can feed them), bison, camels, zebras, yaks, ostriches, llamas, and goats
Admission:
- General admission: $19.95–$26.95 per person (varies by age and date)
- Online reservations are required. You won’t get in without booking ahead.
- Grain cups are sold on site. Drive through as many times as you like.
- Encounters, private VIP tours, and nonprofit group tours are available.
Season:
- Open May 1 – October 31. About three weeks remain in the 2026 season.
- Pick a date and time slot when you book online.
Tips:
- Save some feed for the end. The route loops back around so you can feed again.
- About 2 cups of feed per child is plenty.
- The llamas are gentle, but expect sneezes and slobber on your car.
CREX MEADOWS WILDLIFE AREA
Type: State wildlife area with a free self-guided auto tour through marsh and brush prairie, managed by the Wisconsin DNR with the Friends of Crex
Location: Crex Meadows Visitor Center, 102 E Crex Ave, Grantsburg, WI 54840 (northwest Wisconsin, about 1.5 hours north of Minneapolis–St. Paul). It’s at the corner of County Roads D and F.
Phone: Visitor Center (715) 463-2896
Website: Friends of Crex · Wildlife Updates · WI DNR – Crex Meadows
Social Media: Tripadvisor
Size: About 30,000 acres. The auto tour covers about 24 miles of gravel roads, at 15 mph or less, and takes about 2 hours.
Animals:
- Up to about 10,000 sandhill cranes staging in October
- Trumpeter swans, ducks, geese, bald eagles, white-tailed deer, black bears, and shorebirds
Admission: FREE
Hours:
- Auto tour roads: Open daily
- Fall Visitor Center hours: Weekdays 9 AM – 5:30 PM, weekends 10 AM – 4 PM. Pick up the auto tour map outside the front door.
Best Time:
- Crane numbers build all October and peak in late October or early November.
- Arrive about 30 minutes before sunset to watch cranes fly in to roost. Dawn is good too.
- Top crane spots: Main Dike Road, Phantom Lake Road, and Grettum Dike Road (Fish Lake Wildlife Area)
Rules & Tips:
- Stay in or right beside your car near the cranes so you don’t flush them.
- Hunting seasons (waterfowl and bear) are open in fall, so wear blaze orange if you walk.
- Check the Friends of Crex weekly wildlife updates for current crane counts.
- The Friends group often runs guided crane tours in October. Check their site.
CLAM LAKE ELK RANGE
Type: Free self-drive elk viewing on highways and forest roads in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, where Wisconsin reintroduced elk in 1995
Location: Elk Information Kiosk, junction of WI-77 & County GG, Clam Lake, WI (Great Divide District, far northern Wisconsin, about 1 hour east of Hayward)
Website: WI DNR – Elk in Wisconsin · Clam Lake Elk Info · Elk Range Map (PDF)
Size: The elk range covers about 1,221 square miles of national forest
Animals: Wild elk (the herd has grown from 25 reintroduced animals to more than 150), plus white-tailed deer, black bears, wolves, and bald eagles
Admission: FREE
Where to Look:
- WI-77 southwest of Clam Lake and County GG south toward Loretta
- Forest openings and the old ELF line corridors, which are grassy wildlife openings
- Start at the interactive touchscreen elk kiosk at WI-77 & GG for herd history and info.
Best Time:
- September – October rut, when bulls bugle in forest openings.
- Dawn and dusk.
Rules & Tips:
- Stay in your vehicle and pull completely off the highway, with flashers on.
- Drive slowly. Vehicle collisions are a leading cause of elk deaths here.
- Don’t call or bugle at elk from the road, since it can draw them into traffic.
- Watch for logging trucks on side roads.
- Try more than once, because elk are unpredictable.
- Guided elk tours are available locally from Clam Lake Guide Service ($450 for up to 4 adults).
Explore Drive-Thru Wildlife Parks in Neighboring States:
Minnesota · Iowa · Illinois · Michigan