A girl’s weekend to Flagstaff included a stop at Arizona’s unique Bearizona wildlife park in Williams. This wildlife park allows visitors to view bears in their natural habitat.
How to Get to Beararizona
The park is in the small town of Williams, Arizona just west of Flagstaff. From Phoenix the quickest route is 180 miles and about a three-hour drive. Take I-17 north to Flagstaff for 170 miles and then exit 340 b to merge onto Interstate 40 west. Stay on this for 30 miles ant then take exit 165 towards Williams. Make a left on 64 and look for signs to Beararizona.
Visiting Bearizona
Bearizona is divided into two parts: one you drive through and one you can walk through.
The first part is the drive through wildlife park where you are allowed to drive your car through eight different areas to view animals in their natural habitat.
We really enjoyed visiting this zoo, it was unlike any other in Arizona. The animals are within a few feet of your car, so it goes without saying keep the windows up.
Drive Through Wildlife Park
Each area is marked by a gate and a rumble like strip area you will feel as you drive over. The first enclosure area is home to the Rocky Mountain goats, followed by the burros and the bison.
The third area is home to the wolves, who were not shy when we visited. Next you will loop around to see the Dall sheep, the white bison and the bighorn sheep.
The black bears are the last area. There are several dens near the road where bears were sleeping. Later on in the day they were walking around the woods and across the road.
Tip: You can drive through the area as often as you like, so if you want to see the animals again just loop back around. When we visited at 1:00 pm the wolves were active and the bears were sleeping. By 3:30 pm the bears were awake and the wolves were sleeping.
Zoo at Bearizona Wildlife Park
After you make the two mile loop you can park and visit the second part of Bearizona. The second area of the park is a small zoo that has birds of prey, bears, petting zoo, raccoons, lynx and several other animals.
To the right of the path past the lynx there is a large open viewing area for the younger bears. When we were there we were lucky to see the babies eat.
There is also a cave you can walk through and see the bears (through the glass) sleeping inside of the cave. There were about ten bears when we visited. My daughter said we “hit the jackpot of bears.”
The petting zoo is home to chickens, ducks and goats. When we visited they had three 9 week old baby bears they were bottle feeding at the gift shop. They were so cute and fun to watch. The paths are wide and well kept. There is a gift shop, bathrooms, and area to purchase food.
Hours: 8-6 (visit Bearizona webiste- hours vary depending on season) Address: 1500 E. Route 66 Williams, AZ Phone: 928-635-2289