Amberations is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to supporting mental health through…read moreinteraction with the natural environment. With almost 50 acres, they are located on the western edge of Onondaga county in Marietta, New York. At their barn site they offer opportunities to mingle with their goats, donkey, birds and barn cats. There is easy access to a small stream, teaming with frogs, minnows, and salamanders. A lovely deck adorns one end of their barn. It's a nice place to enjoy the sounds of nature and occasionally be visited by a Great Blue Heron. This is a wheelchair friendly area. The entrance to this area is a driveway shared with 2231 Amber Road, next to the Otisco Lake Community Center. Look for the small silhouette of Big Joe the donkey! In their upper fields they have built wheelchair paths surrounding a gazebo and are always working on developing gardens. There are also very nice trails through woods as well as through their songbird habitat. This is the best area for taking dogs and walking trails. The entrance to this area is at 2345 Amber Road, up a long gravel driveway. Go left at the top to find the small parking area in the fields. There is also a large pasture with two beautiful horses to visit. Their goal is to nurture relationships with the community they seek to serve. Opportunities abound for getting involved in many capacities. If you like nature, the outdoors, gardening, animals, or helping others, please consider giving them a call and volunteering. I'm a volunteer for Amberations so I can tell you, it's an amazing organization. It was started by two families who wanted to be able to bring nature to people of all abilities. It has grown so much in its 10 years of existence. They've hosted weddings, hold two big fundraisers during the year - their Otisco Lake Bike Race and Mothers Day Brunch in the spring and Fall Festival in autumn - as well as offering glamping, a new pond full of frogs, and their wonderful animals to visit. Definitely a place for everyone to check out, whether you like animals, nature, hiking - whatever you're into, Amberations has something for you.

Such a quaint spot. The Yelp event was very interactive and welcoming. But, the founder and…read morevolunteers at Amberations and the stories they shared really set the tone. The barn animals were adorable. Big Joe even tried to nibble on my big hair. They had beautiful horses and a hiking trail to die for. This place is certainly a diamond in the rough with so much love and history. If you have Thea chance definitely visit.

We had a bus trip to visit in the morning during the week so it was not that busy. This was my…read morefirst time here but I'd heard good things about it. We walked through the gift shop to board a little train ride. The train ride was kinda lame in that you just went in a circle around a pond and didn't see anything other than some llamas. We were then free to roam around the grounds. I especially liked feeding the giraffes the carrots! I felt like the bigger animals should have had bigger spaces to roam around (it seemed cramped and big cats were pacing back and forth in an agitated mood). The bear cubs were very playful and cute rolling around with each other. It was fun to experience this but I think the Syracuse zoo is better with more space for the animals and more variety.

Kids were happy. Seemed disorganized + not so great communication between staff. Most staff were…read morefriendly. Safari was really good too, lots to see. Best part is all of the animals seem to be well taken care of. Food was OK, the only place that had food required CASH ONLY; beware. Note it's 2026, not 2006. Credit/Debt is standard practice for most merchants in 2026. Everything was fairly priced i.e., food, admission, food for animals, etc.

We really enjoyed our visit to Wolf Mountain. The grounds were a perfect place to stroll and relax…read more We opted for the tour(which is included in admission) and I am glad we did. The staff were very knowledgeable and gave a ton of information not found on the signs. In addition, the wolves seem to be more comfortable when the staff are around, so they come near the edge of the enclosure more often. My favorite part of our visit was when one of the wolves started howling and then all of the others did too. It can't be put in to words how cool it was to here15+ wolves howling from different parts of the park. In addition to the wolves, there were other animals there too and they were equally cool. Another thing worth mentioning is their use of solar and other green tech to have a smaller footprint, a nice touch.

If you like nature this is a Must see Be prepared to walk…read more Bring the kids but leave pets at home

We did the guided tour and the sloth encounter and it was amazing! My son got to pet and feed so…read moremany animals, including a bearded dragon! The highlight was definitely the sloth encounter though. We were with three adult sloths and a baby for at least half an hour! We got to feed two of the adults and the baby and pet them! They eat strawberries and pumpkin and other vegetables. They were also definitely not as slow as I imagined. If you are thinking of doing the sloth encounter, DO IT! This is seriously one of the best animal encounters I have ever had and it blew my expectations away!

We had a fun time at Little Ray's Nature Center (located next to the Sky Bridge inside Destiny USA…read moreon the 2nd floor)! We went here for a birthday party - a fun and unique experience for the kids. We had access to a private room (cake/pizza) and a presentation/show room which made it feel extra special before we explored the zoo area. The presentation was super engaging. Not sure if this is a thing outside a private birthday party but KUDOS to the friendly staff. They managed a large group of 2nd graders which isn't easy to do. The kids sat in a circle & got up close to a snake, rabbit, and armadillo while learning all kinds of cool facts. Even got the chance to pet each but I opted out lol. The real star of the show? Onyx, the Egyptian Uromastyx! This little guy stole the spotlight with his playful nature. He popped up each time a new kid came by. A highlight for sure! We spent 2-3 hours here

It's really fun to go here for events outside of the Fall pumpkin season. Today's event was "Baby…read moreAnimal Day" Lots of stations with baby animals and areas with the adult animals too. Pony rides, apple cannons, wagon ride and lots of fun food items. A few nice play areas for the kids. In the main building homemade cookies and donuts, special drinks. The weather was perfect. They have a very cute gift shop with all kinds of souvenirs and jams and other food items.

I'm writing another review specifically for baby animal day. If you love Tim's in the fall, you'll…read morelove it just as much or maybe even more in the Spring for baby animal day! It was a limited ticketed event so it was not even close to as crowded as it gets in the fall. There were adorable kittens, baby goats, piglets, ducklings, puppies, bunnies, cows, ponies, and other animals! We got to shoot the Apple cannon and jump on the new jumping pad. My kids had an absolutely amazing time and so did I!

I really enjoy taking my daughter to this zoo. It's very clean and organized and there's always…read moreplenty of parking! My daughter absolutely loves seeing all the animals. They have multiple exhibits here such as the barn animals, aquatic life, elephants, tigers and seasonally, leopards too! This zoo is very stroller friendly and it's easy to spend about an hour or two walking around and taking the time to look at each animal. The gift shop is well organized and fun to browse. I do wish they would update the cafe and have more food options and allergen friendly options, that would be my main critique.

It wasn't a bad experience, but there was lack of food. many empty animal cages... it was the…read morepositivity that I was around other positive people that kept the experience from not being horrible

The Fort Rickey Discovery Zoo is fucking AWESOME…read more We needed a place for a stopover with the kids to break up a long drive. We looked into activities in Utica and area, and someone suggested this place. We had no idea what to expect and pulling into the parking lot, were prepared to be underwhelmed. We were so wrong. Think your typical, big city zoo, and take away all the stuff you don't like, and add in more of the stuff that you do like. For example, make the size of the zoo manageable for kids to walk around. Instead of having 11,000 species of animals that most people don't care that much about, have a smaller place where you really get to be up close. Then add in more interaction - literally every 30 minutes there is something on the schedule for kids to go play with goats, or touch a porcupine. And then throw in a kids play area, and clean bathrooms! Skip the Utica Zoo and come here. 10/10 would recommend for families looking for a fun way to spend 3 or more hours of their day.

We love this place. It's a small/toned down version of the wild, but it's the perfect size and much…read morecheaper. Lots for the kids to see, and the baby goat area where you can go in and hold them is adorable. The play area at the end is a perfect way to end the visit and to have a snack or lunch. We really adore this little place!

My wife saw an advertisement on Facebook for a lavender and llama event here, so it sparked our…read moreinterest. The event was already fully booked, but I easily found tickets available for the next scheduled tour at 10 AM. We were fortunate enough to have Kate as our tour guide. She is awesome! We all loved the tour and the animals. This is a place with purpose and we look forward to telling our friends and family all about it. Kate told us about the plans for the future and expansion etc. We will also look forward to coming back again.

From the owner: Sweet Farm is the world’s first nonprofit sanctuary addressing the devastating impact that factory…read morefarming has on climate change — from the perspective of animals, plants, and the planet. By joining climate education, regenerative agriculture, farm animal rescue, and innovative technology, Sweet Farm is redefining sanctuary. Sweet Farm offers public tours, private tours, special events, and more! Visit our website to book your visit and learn more about our world-saving work.

Every animal in this place looks miserable. They were all sleeping the entire time, almost as if…read morethey were drugged. All the animals, especially the more exotic ones, were balding and extremely skinny. The tiger/lion enclosures were slightly larger than the average human bedroom. A lot of the animals showed physical signs of abuse and neglect. Never again.

We had such a fun time - definitely with the 3.5 hours drive from NYC. We fed giraffes and lots of…read moreother animals. We also did the drive through safari which was a blast as well! highly recommend!

Tanglewood Riding Center is an outstanding example of great people, working hard to make a…read morewonderful atmosphere and living space for horses and their riders. There is an array of options for lessons, leasing, and boarding, as well as beautiful trails for Tanglewoods riders. Ellen Stanton is a great lady and an excellent horse person, and all of the people at Tanglewood are friendly and helpful. Great options and conditions for boarders; 12x12 box stalls and turnout, as well as a 200 foot indoor ring, smaller indoor ring for boarders, and 2 outdoor rings, one with fence and observation deck. A really good place for young riders as well. Great and friendly trainers that will guide you to success and teach horsemanship skills. Wonderful and well-suited to the individual school horses. Private lessons available to those pursuing high levels of dressage or competitive dressage. A great place, with great people, and amazing horses. The best place I have ever been to for riding, with years of expertise.

From the owner: We offer a broad range of horseback riding lessons for all skill levels and ages. From basic…read morehorsemanship to advanced dressage training, you may attend our group lessons or schedule private one on one instruction with a trainer. Tanglewood Riding Center is also a full service horse boarding facility. With 5 turnout pastures, two indoor rings, two outdoor rings and a hundred acres of trails we're sure to make both you and your horse happy.