San Diego Wild Animal Park

San Diego Wild Animal Park is a zoo and safari park in California, United States, located in the San Pasqual Valley. The main area consists of open grassland enclosures surrounded by walking trails, viewing platforms, and feeding stations spread across several hundred acres.

The park opened in 1964 as an extension of the San Diego Zoo to provide breeding space for endangered species. The facility evolved from a purely breeding ground to a public attraction with themed African and Asian landscapes during the following decades.

Visitors today watch animals move freely across recreated habitats while traveling on foot or in open safari trucks through the grounds. The experience resembles an East African landscape with herds of ungulates and predators roaming within large enclosures.

Access is via Interstate 15 with designated parking for different vehicle sizes around 30 miles (50 km) northeast of downtown. Arriving early offers more shade and more active animal behavior during cooler morning hours.

The grounds house a veterinary hospital with its own surgery room for large animals and a specialized nursery for newborns. The other half of the land remains undeveloped to protect native California plants and wildlife that roam freely.

Location: California

Inception: 1972

Website: https://sdzsafaripark.org

GPS coordinates: 33.09970,-117.00153

Latest update: December 4, 2025 23:06