Global Wildlife Center
4.7(3.3K)google
4.6(151)yelp
WildlifeFamilyOutdoor
Overview
The Global Wildlife Center is a free-roaming wildlife preserve in Folsom, Louisiana. It is situated on a 900 acres (360 ha) preserve and hosts about 1000 animals. Visitors tour the facility in covered safari wagons or private 4x4 vehicles accompanied by a tour guide who teaches about animal facts and behaviors, habitat, conservation, and more.
Practical Info
Suggested Duration3-5 hours
Best TimeAutumn (October to November) or spring (March to May) during the earliest morning tour slot (9:30 AM) is highly recommended. Spanning 900 acres as one of the largest free-roaming wildlife preserves in the country, morning is peak feeding time for over a thousand free-roaming giraffes, camels, and zebras. Cooler weather prevents them from resting.
Getting ThereLocated deep in rural Folsom north of the lake at 26389 LA-40. This expansive out-of-town preserve requires a personal car: drive north from New Orleans across the 24-mile Lake Pontchartrain Causeway to Mandeville, merge onto LA-25 N driving north for 18 miles to Folsom, and turn left onto LA-40 W. After 5 miles, the main gates open to a huge free lot.
Travel Tips
- Located in remote Folsom on the Northshore, a 1-hour drive from NOLA; local rural segments lack refueling hubs, so top off fuel cells pre-departure.
- The open-air safari wagons fill up days in advance on weekends; online advanced booking is critical to secure seat allocation matrices.
- Aggressive bison and giraffes crowd wagons for pellet feed; never point fingers or selfie poles at animal faces, and tours halt during lightning alarms.
Reviews
Positive
- A massive 900-acre free-roaming wildlife paradise! Riding the giant open-air safari wagon lets hundreds of giraffes, zebras, and eland pop their heads inside to eat out of your hands; unmatched interaction.
- All wild herds gallop freely across expansive grasslands, completely avoiding the cold iron bars and concrete grids of traditional zoos; seeing animal babies run with their mothers is highly heartwarming.
- Safety management runs with high professional efficiency; the witty safari guides know every single giraffe's name and temperament, patiently teaching toddlers how to feed herds safely.
- The welcome center building is modern and pristine, offering an expansive free lot; its custom gifts are high-quality, rendering it Louisiana's ultimate unmissable family road trip destination.
Heads up
- The primary pain point is that admission and custom feed buckets carry very steep price tags; standard wagon entry is expensive, and upgrading to a private 4WD vehicle tour gets brutally pricey.
- Because of high demand and limited seat capacity, failing to book tickets online weeks in advance results in waiting 2–3 hours on-site, or being turned away due to sold-out weekend slots.
- The open-air wagons kick up massive clouds of gritty yellow dust as they rumble across unpaved dirt fields; breezy or dry summer days leave your hair, skin, and camera lenses coated thick in dust.
- The location is highly remote, tucked in the rural countryside far north of Lake Pontchartrain; the drive takes you over long toll bridges and wild backroads, with zero proper dining alternatives nearby.