Visit The Grand Canyon Deer Farm in Williams, Arizona!

 

I love animals of all shapes & sizes so when we have a chance to visit a new zoo, animal experience or new area to go hiking/exploring, I am all for it. I live in Arizona & as long as you have the paperwork for it the state has a large list of animals you are allowed to legally own which means there are several animal experiences & interactive ranches/farms that have unique animals for you to see. I have written reviews for a few locations here in Arizona in the past & today I will be sharing a spot called the Grand Canyon Deer Farm which is located in Williams, Arizona. If you are interested in what the other animal spots I've reviewed are, I will include them at the end of this post. This is a spot we paid to visit, it is not a sponsored post. The Deer Farm is easy to reach, it is just off of Interstate 40, so even if you aren't planning on staying in the area it is a fun spot to stop on a road trip through the area or during a day trip like we did. 

As the name suggests the Grand Canyon Deer farm is home to dozen of deer, however they also have a few other farm animals & a couple exotic animals as well that you get to see up close. The farm has a few species of deer including reindeer along with peacocks, a cockatoo, wallabies, a camel, a marmoset monkey, coatis, Zonkeys & more. You will be able to see & pet a few of the animals up close, the others are just for viewing. How much does it cost to get in? It is $16 per adult and $9 per child, the cost does not include food for the deer. Based off of our experiences at other animals experiences like this I would say the price is moderate in comparison. They also have encounter opportunities that can be purchased separate for example you would pay $30 per person to interact with the wallabies. I would recommend booking that part ahead of time to make sure you can get in. We had stopped by on a trip & had wanted to do the animal experiences but there wasn't enough staff on hand that day to do it so they were not letting anyone buy the extras. 

In total I would say we stayed for about an hour and a half, some of the spots we stayed at just a little bit longer than others. Wear close toed shoes as you will be walking through dirt & possibly mud depending on the weather and of course some animal poop. They didn't put any holes into our clothing, but just in case I wouldn't wear your favorite top while visiting. Some of the deer started nibbling onto our shirts if they weren't being fed fast enough. Most of the deer were very sweet while we were walking around feeding & petting them, a couple were slightly pushy but that is any animal when they want a snack. Depending on what time of the year you go, you might get lucky & get to see some baby animals while you are there. 

The farm is set up in a way that it is easy to do a self guided tour without assistance, the paths are easy to follow & all of the animals pens are set up along the trail so you can see them as you walk. One of our favorite animals to see was the mini Zebu cow! She was so sweet and soft. Another stop that was a favorite of mine was over at the Coati cage! I love how cute those little critters are, they are like a cross between a lemur and a raccoon & they are actually native to Arizona. I hope to one day be able to spot them out in the wild while hiking & exploring. 

It was a nice spot to stop, we enjoyed the bit of time we spent there viewing the animals & interacting with some of them. They also have a huge gift shop & indoor bathrooms available & they also have outdoor sinks so you can wash your hands after touching the animals. If you want to make your trip more of an adventure the deer farm is right up the road from the Grand Canyon Go-Karts (click the name to be taken to the review). It is also located just up the road from Bearizona which is a walkthrough & drive thru animal park. 

If you want to check out other animal experiences in Arizona here are some of our favorites! Click on the name of the attraction & you will be brought to the review I wrote for it.

★ Bearizona which is mentioned above is wonder it has bears, wolves, otters & more that you can see up close. 

★ Ghost Ranch Exotics out near Tucson offers up close encounters with a Kangaroo, Capybaras & more. 

★ The Arizona Sonora Desert Museum is a mini zoo, aquarium, hiking zone and more where you get see a number of amazing animals + you can pay to feed a sting ray. 

★ The Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Ranch near Tucson offers you a chance to feed & touch a number of animals including Donkeys, Rainbow Lorikeets, Deer, Goats, Ducks & More. 

★ The Phoenix Herpetological Society in Scottsdale gives you a chance to see gators, monitor lizards, otters, raccoons, snakes & more up-close. 

★ Odysea Aquarium in Scottsdale is home to hundreds of fish, but they also offer the chance to have unique encounters with a Sloth & with Penguins!

🌵 If you live in Arizona check out the "Things to do in Arizona" (Click or locate it on the right-hand side of my page) section of my blog to find entertainment, restaurants, vacation spots & more. 

Grand Canyon Go-Karts in Williams, Az!

 

The weather will slowly be starting to cool down here in Arizona, which means it will be time to start many outdoor adventures again without worrying about melting in the heat. I will be starting to share some great outdoor activities again to enjoy while the weather is nice & today I have a short and sweet review on spot for you. We recently visited the Grand Canyon Go-Kart track located in Williams, Arizona on a day trip we spent together. Earlier this month we decided to beat the warmer weather in Phoenix by heading up north to check out a few family friendly spots. This was the second stop of our day & everyone had a great time. 

It is easy to locate directly off of the freeway & is located a short distance away from lodging, food and other tourist attractions to visit. It is located at 1000 Circle Pines Rd. Williams, AZ 86046 they are open Thursday to Sunday. Rides are $15 for single riders or $17 if you will have a child in the kart with you. It is slightly more expensive than other kart spots we've been to, but I chalk that up to it being in a high tourist area. They will provide you with the gear you'll need to ride & they have both indoor and outdoor seating areas for those who would prefer to watch. Inside there is also a few arcade games, ice cream for sale and a bathroom. During our visit there were only two maybe three other families visiting so getting into the helmets and out onto the track didn't take long. You'll be able to be on the track for a decent amount of time before having to head back in. The staff was friendly/helpful and the property was well taken care of. They have punch cards so you can get points for each ride you purchase then after ten rides you'll get a free one. 

With a few of the other attractions in the area, you can make a fantastic day out with the family or your can book a hotel stay to make a weekend out of it. We've been to Williams several times & always enjoy visiting. In the past I have written a review of the one of the KOA's up there along with Bearizona, plus I will have some new spots soon! This was not a sponsored post, we paid for our experience ourselves, I just like sharing spots like this with fellow Arizona residents & fellow travelers looking for new areas to explore. 

🌵 If you live in Arizona check out the "Things to do in Arizona" section of my blog to find entertainment, restaurants, vacation spots & more. 

Bearizona in the Winter!

During the winter month's we love going on a family trip up north near the Flagstaff area to enjoy a day playing in the snow. This year we also decided to visit Bearizona again while we were up in the area because we've never been there during the winter. The park was absolutely gorgeous covered in snow, granted we were practically freezing when we were doing the walk through part but it turned out alright. If you are unfamiliar with Bearizona it is a drive and walkthrough animal sancturary located in Williams, Arizona they have a range of wildlife from small critters to big bears.

I wanted to share some of the photos I took from our trip, we didn't have four wheel drive on the van we took out so they let us know we'd have to wait about an hour and a half before we could do the drive through part that way they could let all the all terrain and four wheel drives in to make the roads more drivable for the vehicles that would have a harder time. So we did the walk through part first.

It was just after they opened so some of the animals were still a bit sleepy especially because it was only about 18 degrees out, but it was really cute seeing how the animals were sleeping or playing in the snow. The foxes were right up at the from of their enclosure getting some shut eye, the raccoons were tucked away in a log staying warm, the bobcats were out pacing their area and the otters were digging around in the snow for food. We went back to see the jaguar as well but he wasn't out at the time, we were freezing so we went to get some hot coco. We found out though that even though the park opens at 9am, the coffee stand and restaurants don't open until 10:30-11am  so we had to wait for them to open and then were bounced around between the coffee shop and one of the cafes both telling us they didn't have coco so go back to the other one. We did eventually get our coco! A bit pricey but worth it to help warm us up. Once we grabbed our coco they let those in the walk about area know the drive through part was open for all vehicles, so we loaded back up into the van.

There were a bunch of people at the park so the line through the drive in part was pretty long and a person or two got stuck so it was a slow moving line, but it was nice because it allowed you to enjoy the animals longer. Many of the animals are close to the road way so you can see them and take photos, the park is great at letting you know which areas you need to keep your doors locked and windows up (bears, wolves) and to stay off the grates when it is snowing. 

We decided to drive through a second time (you are allowed to drive through as many times as you'd like and visit the walk in part as much as you want with your pass), and we are so glad we did because the animals were much more active the second time. I think part of it was because they went through and feed some of them and they let the wolves out the second time we went through so we got to see more of the animals. We also had a good laugh as there was a bear that seemed like it was messing with people trying to get their cars stuck on one of the grated sections when you first enter the bear exhibit. He kept walking across the road in from of the cars, then would whip around and go back the other way, he looked like he was having a blast. There were also a few deer up close to the cars trying to lick the snow off of people's cars. All three of the kids and all of us adults had a blast. I've been to the park both during winter, and the summer and I think I prefer the winter time. Now we will just need to visit in the spring when it is in between the two weather extremes. 

I will put some other photos up on my Instagram pages (@Burningmoonprod + @Lunas_Enchanting_Adventures), and I will try to get a video or two up as well. 

* This is not a sponsored post, my family and I enjoy Bearizona so we decided to visit while we were enjoying a snow day in Williams/Flagstaff, But maybe Bearizona will reach out and we will get to work with them to visit again in the spring.