Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary (WSWS) offers guests an eye-opening, educational experience centered on their rescue pack of wolf dogs. I was visiting New Mexico in January and was bummed to see that WSWS was closed online; however, after reaching out in advance, Brittany was kind enough to accommodate our visit. I'm so glad that she did since it was one of the highlights of my trip! When we arrived, we met Stephanie at the visitor center. We had to knock several times to get a response, and when she opened the door, customer service was nonexistent. There was a scheduling mishap with our tour, and she made my friend and I feel unwelcome from the moment we arrived. She told us that we could walk around, but nobody would be available to give us a tour. My friend and I went outside, and fortunately, one of the staff passed by then turned around to guide us through the sanctuary. August was a fantastic guide and completely made up for the poor experience that we initially had. He was extremely knowledgeable, and it was awesome to hear about each dog's story, their care, and the community's support for WSWS. I decided to sponsor Atlas, a 12-year old wolf dog, and look forward to staying up to date on his well being. read more

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I wanted to start out by saying this is an excellent place to go, but it's not clear that the best times to go are noon and three when they do guided tours I think that added a lot to the visit Katie did a fabulous job. Don't miss this if you're anywhere nearby. Doing the route 66 through New Mexico it's not that long a drive from Gallup. There aren't too many places to stay down here but right next-door (by local standards) is the El Morro RV camp and cabins, which also has an excellent restaurant. Another travel tip - if you're coming down here come on Wednesday or Thursday and stay over the weekend. Things are closed at the beginning of the week, including the not to be missed El Morro National Monument. read more

This sanctuary is absolutely wonderful. I have wanted to come here for years and I finely did this year. I would love to go back again. Paul our guide was very knowledgeable. I cannot speak highly enough about this place. This was the final thing on my bucket List. I loved it. I would recommend this sancuary to anyone who loves wolves. read more

Positive mission. Wonderful the wolves are being cared for and loved. Definitely plan on visiting.

The staff is very friendly! They answer all your questions. A few years back, they actually had the wolves that were used in the GAME OF THRONES PREMIER. I don't know if they still have them. There are a lot of wolves here. If you pay a little extra, you can pet wolves and go into their enclosure. I highly recommend this place. It's not too far from the grand canyon, about 2 and a half hours. read more

Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary - Interactions with wolves. - Zoos Near Me - Ramah, New Mexico

What an outstanding place. We arrived right at opening (11:00am) so we could be on the 12:00 tour. They are pretty informal, but our guide, Katie, was ready to go right at noon. Right off the bat we could tell that she was passionate about the wolves. She gave us a great tour of the grounds and the background of the sanctuary and every one of the wolves that we could see. We asked a ton of questions and she was able to answer them all and added so much more great information. Katie went above and beyond for us. The animals are so well taken care of. They have huge enclosures, giving them plenty of room. This is NOT a zoo. The animals come first here!! Everything they do is for the care and comfort of the animals. Many have had tough lives, requiring rescue, so the staff always does what they can for them. What they lack in "touristy" attractions, they make up for in love and compassion. The road leading to the sanctuary from the east (via 53/Indian 120/Indian 125) is partially dirt. Thankfully when we went it was fairly dry. If there was rain or snow recently, you may want to check with them to see about road conditions. We don't suggest approaching from the west via 36 and Candy Kitchen Rd/Indian 33 - MUCH longer dirt road to travel in worse condition. Hopefully the road situation can be addressed by the governing bodies in the very near future. Most likely you will not get a cell signal there, but there is good signage directing you from 53. read more

It is a very calming place and not very large so you can see the lower enclosures quickly. Or you can sit on the various benches to take a little more time to take it in. They have several wolf/wolf dogs (with various wolf content), singing new guinea dogs, dingos, foxes and coyotes (the coyotes are shy). Note that they may be camera shy or not be active/interactive as you want them to be, please do not be upset. They are lovely and sensitive animals, please respect them. I think that it being cold made it comfortable for them to be out and about, lounging, sunbathing etc so I was able to see most of the ones in the lower enclosures :) If you're lucky, you might get a group chorus from the children of the night! I went near the end of the day so they could really be singing for their supper! They have clean and WARM bathrooms :) Wear shoes that are good for outdoors. The ground could be snowy/muddy etc. Note that while GPS will get you there, you may not have any cell service when you are on site. It is a fairly simple route to backtrack thankfully. Before you head to them, you can text for directions, then use that to backtrack. There are lots of things you can buy in the shop and the lady in the gift shop was very nice! The Gift Shop is the short building that looks like it sank into the ground :) You must start and end here. Check out their website for the different tours, pricing and current hours. read more

I've wrestled my approach to penning this review, and decided to begin with this maxim: wolves are our friends. I'm astonished that, in 2019, myths and mistruths about wolves abound, most propelled by popular culture. My kid has grown up on Disney, and two of their more recent celebrated films -- Frozen, and later, the updated Beauty & the Beast -- depicted bloodthirsty wolf packs on the hunt for human protein. This is utter bulls*it, and they know better, yet they continue to perpetuate this lie about this majestic species. Wolves not only pose no threat to human kind, they're an integral link to the wild, at large, and if you spend a few minutes with them, an ancient, perhaps tribal connection can be established. Because we've all known a damn good dog. The Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary was established for one humanitarian/canine-arian objective, to salvage. 28 years later, the sanctuary has grown from a few fenced lots to a property housing foxes, dingoes, wild wolves and wolf-hybrids encompassing an immense acreage of Candy Kitchen, New Mexico (about a two hour drive from Albuquerque, in the center of exactly nowhere, New Mexico). Let me assure you, the Howl of this place, it's heart-pounding. The first time I heard these guys shout at the moon, man, I shivered, and it rattled my bones in a way I've never known, powerful and strong, better than a packed football stadium. Have I convinced you to visit? Here are some notes: + The sanctuary is generally operated via volunteers who, at a minimum, pledge six months of wolf care for minimal lodging (pit toilets and abandoned hogans) and daily meals. That's it. + Most if not all monetary support come from cabin rentals (affordable, we stayed at the Wolf Den Lodge, a double-wide right next to the sanctuary) and tours. The website offers extensive "encounters" with the animals at elevated prices, but drop-in visitors can tour the site, as we did, $10 adults, adjusted for seniors/kids/students. Totally recommended. + This part of the world, man, it's desolate. If you visit in the winter, go 4x4. Well maintained dirt roads offer decent rides during dry weather, but snow and rain make the well-reputed dirt a serious hazard for stupid city folk who drive lesser vehicles. Call before you book. + Moreover, call before you leave. We booked a Wild Spirit cabin on Air B&B, they responded as expected, but instructions landed in my spam folder. Get all the instructions on how to access your cabin, and don't drive the roads like a city slicker like we did. + This place, oh my goodness, this place. Years ago I read that this exact spot of New Mexico was once considered a perfect center to plant a huge telescope, due to the dark, light-less dank of the sky; eventually NASA picked Hawaii. This place is magic, and potentially tragic. Very few people live out here, there's very little, if any mobile reception. The upside? The best view of the Milky Way you've ever encountered. And all the rest. Shooting stars. Howls. Solitude. If you're staying in the cabins, bring supplies. And howl at the moon. read more

Nice place. Very knowledgeable and kind staff. The animals are well and healthy. No complaints! read more

Cool Little Spot With Friendly Staff A collection of Arctic, Timber and various mixed dog/wolf rescue animals... even a red fox, some dingos and some singing wolves from Papua New Gunia... About a 45 minute walk around the grounds hearing about wolves. Worth a stop... This place lives on donations so if you are a fan of wolves and rescue animals.... This place can surely use the support: My only real recommendation to make the tour more cool would be at the end to have the ability to get close to a wolf and even pet one... Even if it is a mixed breed... Pictures are tricky as all animals are inside chainlink fences at a distance. read more

I'll always remember my first time at a wolf sanctuary! The wolves and other animals are definitely loved and well cared for. There's also an adorable senior fox named Romeo! Our guide (sad I forgot her name) was friendly and knowledgeable as was every other employee at the sanctuary. Although I would have loved to participate in a more wolf-interactive activity, no one else in my group wanted to. The gift shop is also very cleverly placed; I couldn't resist buying a couple stuffed animals for myself, especially since proceeds go towards the animals. I enjoyed every second of my experience here and highly recommend a visit if you're even the slightest animal-lover! read more

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Our visit here was a once in a lifetime experience! We took our granddaughter who is 8 to spend a few days there at Christmas, 2016. We stayed in the Lodge house which was a huge 3 bedroom home with 2 baths. It was beautiful! We took the informative tour and we booked a doorstep encounter with Forest, an ambassador wolf. It was the highlight of our trip! My granddaughter will remember her visit a lifetime! It is off the beaten path but it is so worth the drive! read more

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WOW! I absolutely love this place! My husband and I booked the Alpha package which included a Wolf Walk (we did ours with the adorable puppies), Feeding tour, and the Canine Encounter. For our encounter tour we had the opportunity to meet Jaeger, Dakota, Forest, and the dingoes. We had a blast with every tour! Not only do you get to see these beautiful creatures but everyone is very knowledgeable so we learned a lot. I HIGHLY recommend the Canine Encounter and to hire the photographer. Steve took tons of pictures and it took away my worry about capturing this once in a lifetime moment. If you want a trip to make your friends jealous this is the place. read more

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Im from the area but this was our First visit and we all loved it!! Perfect day for a tour that lasted about 30 or so minutes. They need volunteers, donations and supplies so if anyone can help then please do!! read more

This wolf sanctuary is very educational and necessary because there are still lots of misconceptions about wolves and wolf hybrids (bred with dogs). There are various guides who know the animals well and share their personal experiences, including some interesting stories about particular wolves. Tours are led outside huge fenced-in pens that each hold a pack of wolves. Each pack is picked so they balance as a group. In some tours they bring a docile wolf hybrid outside of the pen to interact with people on the tour who would like to make that part of their experience. Strongly recommended! Exit through the gift shop... read more

Great people saving the poor innocent wolves and wolf dogs everyday from needless slaughter and cruelty. They do great work saving these magnificent animals by giving them a safe environment so they can live out their life in dignity! read more

My husband and I absolutely love going to Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary. For our most recent trip, we spent Christmas in the cabin that you can rent near the campgrounds. It was beautiful. The cabin is two stories with a kitchen and bathroom which was nice if one doesn't feel like roughing it in the wilderness. And nothing is more magical than lying in bed listening to the wolves howl in the distance. The sanctuary itself is immaculate. The people who work and volunteer there are knowledgeable on the history of the sanctuary and the animals that reside there and they take the greatest care in providing for each animals needs. read more

It's about 50 miles off the interstate but well well worth the drive. If you want to interact with some amazing creatures, both wolf & human, stop by the sanctuary and take a tour. read more

Visited WSWS with my 10 yr old daughter who is a wolf enthusiast. We got the standard tour but would have liked to do the educational encounter. Note... schedule a few weeks in advance to do specialty tours. We have visited wolf sanctuaries in CO also. WSWS was a clean visitor friendly place with lots of animals to see. The tour guide was very smart and able to answer all questions. Next visit we hope to stay in a cabin or camp site. I highly recommend a visit and tour at WSWS. read more

Great place to visit to see and learn about wolves up close. the staff is all about rescuing and saving wolves from bad situations and really cares about the animals as opposed to some of the "touristy" wild animal "drive thru" park where their main concern is $$$ and most of the animals simply look miserable and a lot of them WAY over fed. BTW you can tell the differences in the two types of attractions really easily...the COST to get in. If the fee is less than $10 that's probably a good place and if the fee is more than $20, that is going to PROFIT as opposed to animal care. The other place to visit in NM I know is really goor is the Rattlesnake Museum in "Old Town" area of Albuquerque. You can visit both this wolf sanctuary and the rattlesnake museum for less than $15 TOTAL per person. SKIP "Bearizona" in Williams AZ as they charge $25 per person to drive thru the park and look at (fat) bears laying around eating what looks like dog food. read more

I recently spent quite a bit of time at the Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary taking both their guided tour throughout the facilities and meeting all the wolves, dingoes, singing dogs and the red fox, and I also participated in the photo tour that they offer as I am a professional photographer in Hawaii and jump at the chance to photograph wildlife in just about any setting. The facilities themselves were immaculate and the staff and volunteers very professional and helpful, making you immediately feel at home. It's obvious that the animals are both loved and well-cared for and it was a treat to learn as much as I could about them in my time at the sanctuary. I rented their cabin on-site which was much more comfy and roomy than expected, and made for a great escape. There were also plenty of spacious campsites available for rent as well. I would highly recommend a visit to anyone planning to visit the area and their entrance fees are very reasonable and it's nice to see that being a non-profit, all of the money is put towards a very worthy cause. read more

This past Friday we went on our second tour at the sanctuary, and it's amazing! Holly was our guide both times and she is super great! She's very knowledgeable and absolutely loves all of the animals there and it shows! My grandparents have lived in Candy Kitchen for over 20 years. I've been coming here for 20 years and it sure has grown. Leyton has done an amazing job with the sanctuary. I remember when it was a field with a few cages and one building. Long story short, the message about the wolves is there and it's great, it's well worth the drive, and these guys and gals need all the support they can get! Keep it up Leyton and family! You're doing great! Holly you're amazing! :) read more

I camped at the WSWS last year in June with my four young grand daughters. We took the wolf tour and had a marvelous time there. Since then it was a dream of mine to come back by myself and camp so I could find peace and serenity amid the frequent choruses of the wolves and other canines howling and singing. I did come back like I wanted this month and spent 9 days in the campground. It was renewing, peaceful, serene, quiet and relaxing. And I could never get enough of the howling. Even a wild pack of coyotes came close and joined in. The campground is so safe and clean and well taken care of. The Sanctuary is filled with the love of the people for the animals. I would recommend to anyone to go to WSWS for a memorable retreat. read more