- National Bison Range- Charlo, Montana
It costs $20 to enter the CSKT Bison Range. Founded in 1908, the conservation is home to about 350 bison. Dogs are allowed at the visitor center and then in your car as you drive through the conservation. Max enjoyed sticking his head out the window and watching the bison lounging in the fields. There are also opportunities to see elk, deer, and antelope.
2. Bear Country USA- Rapid City, South Dakota
This was our favorite safari of them all and also the most diverse. Bear Country is both a drive through and walk through park. The park consists of over 200 acres of black bears, elk, reindeer, mountain lions, bighorn sheep, pronghorn, and bison. Car windows are required to be closed for this drive through safari and I understood why when we drove through. Black bears were walking in front of, beside, and behind the car! It was really cool how close up we got to see them. Max was going nuts in the car and loving every minute of watching them eat, argue, sleep, and walk around. There were so many different types of wildlife to see so we really got a good variety. There is an option at the end of the drive through safari to park and do a walk through, but I opted out as I would have had to leave Max in the car. He had so much fun. If I lived nearby I would take him here all the time. Admission costs $24 per person.
3. Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center- Anchorage, Alaska
The Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center was another drive through safari we experienced. The animals are all behind fences, so there is an option to walk the entire park, but dogs are only allowed in cars. You can drive and park at each enclosure, so you could leave your dog in the car and walk up closer to the enclosure if you wanted a better view of the animals. We went on a rainy day, so I opted to just drive through the park with the windows down. Max had a great time. Max got to see moose, deer, elk, reindeer and bison. This is a great rainy-day activity for you and your dog. Admission costs $27 per person.
4. The Alaska Highway- Birith Columbia and Yukon, Alaska
The Alaska Highway is not a wildlife park, but we saw so much wildlife along the side of the highway that this actually became one of Max and my favorite wildlife viewing experiences. The best part is it’s free! We drove the Alaska Highway twice- both up to Alaska and then back down. Both times, we saw SO much wildlife and would pull over every time we saw something. It actually became a game. Max had his head on a swivel looking for animals and if I saw one before him I would yell and point and he would run to the window and stick his head out and we would pull over. It kept us both so entertained. We saw a black bear, elk, moose, bison, deer, a fox, and a porcupine.
