I've never been to Rexburg, ID. We heard about this place when we visited Pocatello on Valentine's Day but they were closed at the time. On Mother's Day weekend , my wife wanted to check out this place since we were all off. We also heard that you can pay to feed the bear cubs. Who doesn't want to feed a bear cub??? Unfortunately, bear cub feedings starts on Memorial Day weekend. This place is a drive thru experience where you will see beavers, deer, elk, and bison before you see the bears. There was a couple really cool whiteboard elk! The second half of the park you will go the through the bear exhibit. If you haven't seen a bear up close, this is the place to see one! Thank goodness for windows! We went around 10am and ALL the bears were active! They were charging one another and you suddenly have this sense of FEAR come over you as you see them charging your way! You can go around as many times as you like if you "bearly" saw anything. There are other exhibits such as a dinosaur area where they have life-sized models and one even had animatronics. We didn't go to this display this time around. The gift shop is conveniently placed in the middle of the park to lure you into purchasing your bear paraphernalia since you still have your emotions of experiencing a bear up close running high. It worked! We bought a bunch of cool bear souvenirs The petting zoo had a bunch of goats that will come running to you as you turn the crank on the pebble food dispenser and will steal all the pellets from your hand if you're not careful. Lol. Overall, this was one of the best experiences I've had at a "zoo!" We're coming back to feed a bear cub!!! read more

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Cool spot for family's with little kids/ handicap, drive through zoo, feels a little rushed but you're allowed to go through multiple times. Dog kennels suck! They're in direct sun after 12 into the heat of the day! feels they didn't even try. It was just a small chain link kennel we could have moved easy but staff said they couldn't? Lazy. read more

Yellowstone Bear World - Dog kennels - Zoos Near Me - Rexburg, Idaho

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We spent two days in Idaho Falls, and on day two, we decided to explore some local attractions, including the Potato Museum and Yellowstone Bear World! We arrived without any expectations. The entrance fee was around $20 something per person, and we received two receipts: one for the staff at the bear habitat gates and one for our records. As we drove along the initial route, we spotted some harmless animals like bison and deer. Little did we know, a park ranger was observing us from a distance with binoculars! We were waved forward to the gate thought she caught me rolling down windows. Before entering, we were instructed not to open our windows under any circumstances, even if it seemed safe. Once inside the habitats, we saw a couple of bears, including one that walked right down the middle of the road! We followed him for quite a while, and it was thrilling to be so close to the bear. You can re-enter and drive through as many times as you want, but we felt that twice was more than enough for us. As for the gift shop, I didn't pay much attention since you have to walk through it to reach the restroom, which is located at the back near the petting zoo and the area where you can pay to bottle feed the cubs. The petting zoo didn't look particularly exciting, so we skipped that. Tips for Future Visitors: Clean Your Windshield: This will significantly improve your photos! Seasonal Closure: Keep in mind that they are already closed for the season. Best Time to Visit: We went in the afternoon, and most of the bears were sleeping. it was hot !I'm not sure what the best hours would be for seeing active bears. Overall Experience: I probably won't do it again, but it was nice to experience it once! read more

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Had this on our list as we ventured towards Yellowstone west, I must say this is a must stop see. Especially if you have children. One of the bears on the drive through did attempt to rip our wipers off the RV, yes you can drive your RV through !! After the drive through with all the animals you are led into some rides and a great gift shop. All in all the park is a nice break from the drive and a must see read more

Yellowstone Bear World - Zoos Near Me - Rexburg, Idaho

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When I told the folks at work that I was going to Yellowstone to get a selfie with a buffalo, someone suggested that I make sure other staff members have a key to the building before I leave. Ha! What little faith they have in me-I know better than to get close enough to the wildlife for a good selfie. Instead of putting myself, and others, in danger, I drove through the Bear World exhibit that had plenty of bears, buffalo, antelope and other animals to snap pictures of. You don't get out of your car (Heaven help you if you do)-or even roll down the window. But as you're driving by at a snail's pace, you can get a quick shot-and if you've got a good angle, even a selfie with the animals. I think it was a bit pricey for the entrance fee-it was a little over $60 for two adults and lasted maybe 30 minutes. So it was a one-and-done experience for me, but I'm glad I went. read more

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There are 3 or 4 parts to Yellowstone Bear World. Part 1 is where you start. It consists of two drive-through sections - one with deer, elk, bison, a mountain goat, and marmots - the other with grizzly bears and black bears. You can do the drive twice. We did. You go slowly, obviously. Good-sized "loop" Part 2 has baby bears (you can feed at selected times), a petting/feeding zoo, and duck/fish feeding. The fish were quite happy that we fed them! Part 3 has a Jurassic Park walk-through with dinosaur models. This is relatively new. Part 4 has kiddie rides. We didn't have kids. Including the big gift shop, we spent 2.5 hours here! Well worth an afternoon. read more

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Bear world is always a fun experience. My favorite is driving through the animal enclosures. I love how close you can get to the bears and animals. You can pay $11 per person to go on a tour bus and feed the bears. Highly worth it! $75 a person to feed baby bears however is not. The free petting zoo was great and the homemade fudge is delicious. The rides are hysterically horrible. So glad you don't need to pay for those. And the new dinosaur addition was pretty fun! None of the rides in there worked but my kids liked the moving dinosaurs read more

Yellowstone Bear World - Petting zoo - Zoos Near Me - Rexburg, Idaho

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The thing about this place is that it was not packed, the food was affordable and the rides are free. There's the drive in at the entrance to see all bears and reindeer before the official park. Restroom didn't have toilet paper and two were out of service. Also, two of the rides were out of order as well so maybe not good. read more

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We loved it! Seeing all the bears along the drive-through path was pretty neat. We also enjoyed the petting zoo, mini amusement park and Jurassic Creek. There is a lot to keep the kiddos entertained for a few hours at least. The gift shop was nicely stocked with a variety of souvenirs. Bathrooms could be better. Overall recommend! read more

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So hear me out- is this place an expensive tourist trap? Absolutely. Is it also kind of cool? Also absolutely. Is it the kind of place where you sort of feel sorry for the animals, but also see that they seem to enjoy it? Absolutely. Should you come here and see the bears/ do the drive thru? 100% if you are in Idaho Falls or going through to Yellowstone and need a break. Would I advise an annual pass? Probably not. It says "dog friendly" since they have kennels- but for the love of Parvo- leave the pets at home or in the car and do shifts if needed. It's a private zoo, with a decent farm animal Selection and again- good stop if you have restless kiddos on the way to the national parks. Guaranteed to see bears- and the bear cubs wrestling in the petting zoo area was a highlight. Bathrooms- however ATROCIOUS. The kids working had neglected them to the point that the goats smelled better. read more

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Yellowstone Bear World has really stepped up their game since our last visit. The family fun spot has been working on several expansion projects over the last few years and it definitely makes the whole experience feel more complete. Jurassic Creek opened earlier this year (I believe) and it's really fun to walk alongside the life-size dinosaur replicas. We kept thinking about how cool it would've been to have an experience like this as kids! Even as full grown adults, we enjoyed strolling through and learning some new dino-facts. The drive-thru wildlife park is always fun. We drove through right before the animals were gearing up to find a nice shady spot to rest in. It's such an exhilarating experience to have bears right outside of the car, completely unbothered. What we appreciate most is the education Yellowstone Bear World provides about how to decrease your chances of harmful encounters in the wild. As avid campers, we enjoy learning about the animals, their natural habitats, and how we can learn to peacefully coexist. Onsite you'll also find a few amusement rides, a cute gift shop, a petting zoo, and some easy lunch meals. If you plan to visit, I recommend visiting before 1pm. It seems like the animals start getting a little lazy after lunch so it's harder to spot them while they're napping under trees or the far corners of their makeshift homes. Bring your whole family or make it a date - either way, it's a fun time! read more

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It's enjoyable for kids, but I don't enjoy seeing animals in captivity. There are 68 bears in a fenced enclosure and they continue to breed them. The bears were really hot and panting, and the far end of the enclosure has no ponds or water for them to get in. Some smaller bears were in a small electric fenced enclosure and they were panting. I didn't see any water for them to get in. Bottom line is, I just don't support it. They're probably not abusing them, but there's just too many bears and not enough water for them all in the heat. I love animals and don't like to see them used for profit. I loved the bears but they need to stop breeding them and add more water and shade for them. Almost every person I saw working there was in high school. The petting zoo was fun for the kids with goats and pigs and deer, ducks, guineas. read more

Yellowstone Bear World is located in Rexburg, Idaho. I purchased an adult admission ticket online ahead of time. It was $26.95. They are open daily 9am - 6pm. The unquestioned highlight is paying an additional $75 per person to bottle feed bear cubs. When I read bottle feed bear cubs? I thought to myself...YES PLEASE! I'll gladly pay $75. Feeding times are 11am, 2pm and 5pm. Here's the problem...when I went to book a date and time online, every reservation was SOLD OUT. Feedings were sold out a week in advance. Grrrr. It wasn't aligned in the stars for me I guess. Once you get past the entrance gate, you have a choice of either doing the Drive-Thru Safari or heading towards the Visitor Center/Gift Shop where they have the cub bottle feedings, petting zoo and Jurassic Creek. You must enter the Gift Store to gain access to anything else. Exiting through the rear of the store is where you'll find the playpens of the bear cubs. These are the most adorable adolescent cubs. You get close to them without much interference and they're a joy to watch. The cubs are the best part about the experience. There are two playpens and 3 cubs per playpen sitting side by side to each other. I was surprised how energetic they were. They're as playful as it gets and their personalities shined. They interact with each other and you could stand and stare at them being content as a visitor. They have a signup station for the cub feedings (sold out), and for an additional $11.95, you can do the Wildlife Excursion. The Wildlife Excursion is a narrated tour through the Drive-Thru Safari in the park's high rise jeep. So, you can either do the Drive-Thru Safari on your own with the entrance fee ($26.95), or they can "twist your arm" for an extra $11.95 for a 30 minute tour. The jeep is standing only. The tour guide hands you a plate of bread including rolls and buns which you break into pieces and toss out the jeep when they make stops in front of the bears. The bears are familiar with the process. They can be lying down and sleeping but when the white jeep passes around, they know what's coming. They perk up and approach the jeep. But the jeep is so high off the ground you don't come close to actually handing them the bread. It's more like tossing a homerun baseball from the stands back onto the field. The bears could care less who's throwing the bread. They just look down on the ground and start eating. The guide narrates along the way. The whole 30 minute excursion is underwhelming. It's useless to take any pictures because you can simply return to the cub's playpen where the cubs are situated a few feet from you. That leads me to the Drive-Thru Safari on your own. It takes 20 minutes, max. WASTE OF TIME. They specifically review the rules with you before entering. No stopping at any point. But why? I want to get close to the bears! Windows must be up at all points. No feeding. They have patrol cars driving and monitoring you. Speed limit is 3 - 5 miles per hour. I had a car behind me hugging my bumper. There was nowhere to pull off to the side. The bears don't come near your car. They only care about the white tour jeep driving around because they know food's guaranteed. So, the jeep is really a deterrent! The Petting Zoo is beside the bear cub's pen. This had to be the poorest excuse of a petting zoo I have witnessed. There were barely any animals. They had a few goats, 2 pigs, a deer, a baby fawn (that wasn't approachable) and some ducks. And, there's no feeding allowed! So then how are you supposed to encourage them to greet you? Petting Zoo = HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT. Bottle feeding is the main event. You feed all 6 cubs. They start with the first 3 cubs and move to the next pen and the other 3 cubs. You sit and wait on a bench till you're called. Then you stand there holding the bottle like a human statue or mannequin while the attendant babysits you. You can only pet the cub's head while they're drinking milk. Included in the $75 is one complimentary picture taken by the staff. Being an outside observer, it's as if you're a zombie standing and holding the bottle. There's no genuine connection happening. I was relieved the feeding was sold out. Didn't miss much. Lastly, Jurassic Creek is a walk through section featuring life size dinosaurs. And...they have 3 amusement park rides, a concession stand with picnic tables on the grounds as well. In the end, Yellowstone Bear World missed the mark on many levels. Watching the cubs play in their pens is the only redeeming aspect. Every other detail is like being at an average ole zoo. read more

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Great environment for your children, rides available. Awesome place to see wildlife as an adult! Auri was real informative before we entered the bear section in our truck! Way to go! Can't leave without trying the fudge! The two gals in there had great customer service as well! Bear drool fudge!! -Carlos Melecio read more

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We just did the VIP cub experience. Getting to spend an hour with 2 bear cubs was a once in a lifetime time. Stacy was so great! She is so good with the cubs and made the experience even better. We can't wait to do it again. read more

Bear World is so much fun! We were able to see baby bears, large bears, as well as walk around and pet some goats, ducks, and even a pig. The shop was enormous, and had so many fun things! I couldn't decide between so many things! My son and my niece ended up making a stuffed animal, similar to build a bear! Other members of my group had some food and I ended up getting a shake. I loved walking through the animatronic dinosaurs, but unfortunately ended up with heat stroke near the end of our time here. I got pretty sick, but I enjoyed the time I had prior to that! There was even a goat that once you put a quarter in the feed machine, he spun it on his own with his nose and got the food out! He was so smart! What a fun place to visit! read more

Ok my husband and I just left this place and my honest opinion is ....it was amazing! I did not see any staff members mistreat the animals in anyway they were nothing but caring , respectful and loving towards the animals. My husband LOVES bears and when we found out we could feed baby cubs ...he was all in. The staff with the bear feedings were sweet and loving and very informative with fun facts and answered any questions if anyone had any. The drive through portion had beautiful wildlife there were elk, deer, and bison oh and tons of beautiful bears!! The gift shop was very nice had a lot of souvenirs and some goodies!! If your a fudge person your in for a treat it was GOOD!!! Last but least they have a new awesome attraction about Dinosaurs they just recently opened about 3 weeks ago! It's super cool if your a Dino person. Again, I know everyone's reviews are mixed reviews about this place however, my husband and I had an amazing experience thank you bear world we are happy customers! We will be back :) read more

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Got the best pictures there. Really fun time and you can go more than once which I loved. Make sure you head inside and go to the petting zoo or take fun pictures with their mini-exhibits. Worth the stop. Try to get there before opening time. If you want to book to feed the baby bears you will have to book in advance, as it was sold out for the times we would be there. read more

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A cool place, but sad to see that now you can't just visit their gift shop without paying an entance fee into the whole park. Probably won't visit again!!!!!! I would likely have soent close to 100.00 bit not going tp pay almost 60 to just walk in the dooe. No thank you!! read more

Great place to visit regardless of your age but also fantastic for family's. Not just a place to see fun bears but also other animals as well and they even have a cute petting zoo. The Jurassic area is extremely educational and fun for all. Looks like next season they will open another shop and a restaurant in the Dino area. Place is extremely clean and the employees are very friendly. Highly recommend a visit. read more

Yellowstone Bear World - Baby bears! - Zoos Near Me - Rexburg, Idaho

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Had a great time here. Nice selection of animals but the bears were amazing. If you have time pay a little extra and feed and pet the cubs. read more

This was an amazing place to take the grandkids. Everything about our day was fabulous. Driving through looking at the bears, bison, deer... very cool. The ohhh and ahhhs made us smile. The Jurassic park was way cool and they are still working on part of it. The kids got to ride on some park rides which was all included in the entrance price. Also saw some baby bears. Went to the petting zoo and then did some shopping in the gift store. Highly recommend especially if you have kids. read more

Yellowstone Bear World - Baby bears playing - Zoos Near Me - Rexburg, Idaho

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Visited during Labor day weekend. We came in a bus and the tour guide joined us for the ride. The tour starts off by driving through the open area where animals just roamed around. I did not expect to see this many bears and thought it would be more like a zoo but they did not kid around when they named this place Bear World!!! You will see plenty of them!! Even if you don't like animals or the smell of them, you would probably enjoy as you will see them from the comfort of your own car. The animals didn't really approach the car and you must keep your windows up the whole time. You cannot feed the animals while driving through the course (like the other drive-thru safari in TX) but you will get to touch and feed some animals in their petting zoo which was free/included in the fee (animal food are not free). That was nice that they didn't have extra fees for everything. They did have some kiddie ride area too but we did not check out that area of the park. They have a bathroom next to the petting zoo area which were nice and clean (we were the first group of customers for the day though). Their gift shop was a pretty good size and sold delicious fudge (ask for samples!) This place was a pleasant surprise as it was more than I expected. read more

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The kids liked it. I however was disheartened by the lack supervision over the animals. A bunch of teens working there. I noticed a duck in an enclosure with no water. I asked the worker and he said "it will be fine." It was panting and I don't think any animal should be contained without water in the middle of summer. He called and some lady brought out a cup of water and the worker put it in the enclosure. Not sure when ducks learned to drink from cups, but I guess it's better than nothing! 3 baby bears with no mommas. A baby deer in the petting zoo area, with spots.. no mom? Deer are not appropriate for petting zoos. Getting harassed by little kids all day, not cool. Not sure where they are getting the animals from since there was no education provided. I believe they are breeding them and separating them from their moms. I wish I wouldn't have supported such lack of concern for animals. Skip it! Go see the wild animals who have access to water. I regret this stop. The dinosaur park was dated and the rides didn't work. The amusement park had 5 rides, 2 broken, and one had to limit kids and was smoking! Tenders and fries$19 each. Don't waste your money. read more

Yellowstone Bear World - Panting duck, no water. - Zoos Near Me - Rexburg, Idaho

Hands down one of the most memorable "road trip" experiences of my life. We had a Yellowstone & Grand Teton road-trip, but didn't get to see any bears in the wild. Rexburg was on our way home, so we stopped here and made a day of it. They have everything here to keep your family occupied. I could've stared at the baby bears for eternity. You can drive through the park as many times as you want, but the line piles up and it takes a while to drive through. My daughter loved the rides, and throughly enjoyed the petting zoo. The deer were her favorite, because instead of paying for the food, we discovered them eating foliage in the park, and just helped them with it. They do have food here if you're inclined to have lunch, but we decided to go elsewhere. The gift shop pricing wasn't outrageous, so we got some goodies, as well. Highly recommend! read more

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Wasn't expecting too much because of poor reviews left online, so had a low bar when entering. Ended up being a SUPER cool once in a life time experience that I will share with all friends and family. There was unlimited rounds of going in the main bear loop which featured many animals but most importantly the bears which were able to roam free and enjoy their lives. Inside the park there were 5 main rides, really fun and enjoyable for all ages. There was also a dinosaur exhibit that included many life sized figures. Overall an amazing experience! read more

Yellowstone Bear World - Bear happy - Zoos Near Me - Rexburg, Idaho

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Cute place But disappointed. Only 3 rides working, no toilet paper in any stalls, all out of food for the petting zoo and the dinosaur park out of order, and the website shows little dino puppet things woth staff waking around and that's false. Very disappointed for the amount of money you spend . read more

If you like bears this is a fun place! We stopped on our way to Yellowstone NP. Definitely agree with other yelpers that you should try to get there within first two hours of opening because they get fed around 9 and then all disappear for a nap . The amusement park looked like fun for kids and the baby cubs were SO cute to look at. Cute little morning stop. We didn't spend money on the other stuff read more

Yellowstone Bear World - Brown Bear on the safari drive - Zoos Near Me - Rexburg, Idaho

Impressed! Not a tourist gimmick. After spending 2 days in Yellowstone, stopping at Bear World was an amazing addition. We saw 2 bears in Yellowstone, we saw 20+ bear in Bear World - Brown, Black and Grizzlies. Bear World is not a Yellowstone replacement, but if you want to see Bear up-close and get some amazing photos, then stop and drive through Bear World. There were also bear cubs, Elk, Ground hogs, Chipmunks, Ducks, Geese, Deer, trout and other amazing animals. read more

Bear World is really fun. It's so fun driving thru and seeing the animals especially the bears. They have a fun gift shop that is pretty big. They have a new dinosaur area that is fun. They have an awesome petting zoo. My only complaint is when we were there, there were 3 rides that were closed. Super disappointing to pay and they close 3 rides at once. read more

Looking for something to do close to our campsite we saw an advertisement for Yellowstone Bear World, and thought it would be fun for the grandkids to get up close to some bears that weren't in a zoo setting. However, this is just like a drive thru zoo. You don't get close to the bears as they are behind fences. For obvious reasons you can't stop your car, or roll down your windows down. The loop around the property is very small, and you will be done before you know it. Bumper to bumper cars. We saw two moose right at the start of the loop. They didn't look real until we were on the other side of the road, and saw them move. I wanted to take a picture, but the rules wouldn't let us stop the car, or roll down the windows. So no picture of the moose. :( About the bears... None of the animals have been taken directly from the wild. First up were the grizzlies. Not a good first impression. First off, they are behind barbed wire, and are not that close to the cars. We could only see a couple of the grizzlies, and the ones we saw were pacing back and forth. Like they were a caged animal, which they are. Second came the black bears. There were more of these, lounging around, and again were behind fences. Before you knew it your ride through the preserve was over, and the drive ended at the amusement ride section of the park. Of course, the young grandson wanted to ride the rides. Because the drive through the park was uneventful, we let him ride a couple of rides. There were some baby bears around this area you could watch playing. You can feed the baby bears at a scheduled time. $55 per person for Bottle Feeding. *Bottle-feeding experience does not include admission, must be purchased separately. We didn't want to wait around for this so we headed out when we saw the Butterfly Haven. It's free with your paid admission to Bear World. At Noon and 3PM every day they release more butterflies into the haven. (Were do the other butterflies go) We must have missed this because there wasn't that many butterflies in the haven. The younger grandson was getting frustrated because none of the butterflies were landing on him like they were other people, and he wanted to hold one. The butterfly haven, and the large gift shop were the most enjoyable for me. The Preserve is right off the freeway. You can't miss it with the large brightly colored signs advertising it. I would feel better coming here if this was a rescue or reserve for wild bears, but that is not the case here. One visit is enough for us. You can get up and personal with a bear at your local zoo just as easy as here. $23.95 for Individual Adults (Ages 11-64) $22.95 for Individual Seniors (Ages 65 and over) $11.95 for Individual Children (Ages 3-10) FREE for Individual Toddlers (Ages 2 & Under) $98.95 for a Carload (Up to 7 People) read more

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We just drove through twice with our three year-old grandson. We saw elk, mountain goats, grizzly and black bears, buffalo, deer, ducks and chickens. We didn't go to the petting zoo or gift store. The rides were closed. It was $66 for unlimited drives through the park on same day as purchase. I wish there were spots to park and watch the animals for several minutes instead of having to keep driving. read more

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My family and I love coming here! We always say that there's never a dull moment at Yellowstone Bear World. You can literally spend the entire day here and not get bored, as there's something for everyone (of all ages) to do. They have mini carnival rides, a petting zoo, a "bottle feed the bear cubs" station (which costs $55 extra), and a small drive-thru wild life park. We came with a group of people (the youngest being 4, and the oldest being 55), and everyone loved it. We'll definitely be back (the next time we're in Idaho). (Watching the cubs play is the most precious thing you'll ever see, btw.) read more

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The whole family loved Bear world! Seeing the animals so close was a cool experience and the rest of the park was fun also. I got to ride roller coasters with my kids and the new dinosaur world was pretty neat. This place is a must! read more

Feeding the bear cubs was amazing and since we were there early, not many people! The dinosaur was chi it was neat but the real draw was the bears! read more

Yellowstone Bear World - Mondo the bear cub. - Zoos Near Me - Rexburg, Idaho

I was on vacation in Idaho and found this place on yelp. Seems like a great experience so drove 4 hours. There was two adults and a 4 year old i think it was $60. There was a lot of bears. Some were eating , others napping,and others resting. The bears seemed happy. My son loved watching the bears. You can go as many times as you want to the drive thru safari. Then you can park they have a huge gift shop. Then there's a petting animal area. There's a place where you can see and the animals skins. You can see baby cubs playing. . Then there's a ride section for little kids. There was about 5 rides they were all included in the price. My son had so much fun. There's nowhere to eat so make sure you eat in the car. I had a lot of fun and definitely thought it was worth every cent. I did some of the reviews and I'm not going to lie I was concerned about the cubs not being with their mom. Only 6 people per day can bottle feed the cubs and it's $75. It's definitely once in a life time experience. Overall highly recommend especially for kids. read more

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Such a wonderful experience I had with my family. Payment includes everything they have to offer such as the animal drive thru, cubs viewing, petting zoo, rides, and dinosaur exhibit. There is also a gift shop and they have a stand where they sell burgers and ice cream. read more

Yellowstone Bear World - Zoos Near Me - Rexburg, Idaho

Highly recommended, open late May to late October, or basically baseball season. Freeway close, the admission price (about $20, a dollar less online) includes as many passes through the drive-through bear enclosure you'd like, plus a great petting zoo and free kiddy carnival rides, with plenty of free parking. For additional costs you can do a curated open-air tour or baby bear bottle feeding. I know you can see bears in the wild just 3 hours away in the national park, so Yellowstone visitors might feel like it's going to a zoo after going on safari, but it's not. We didn't see bears in Yellowstone- we only saw traffic jams from people stopping their cars to hunt them down like paparazzi. These bears know what's up. I think they're even smiling. I swear one of them shot me a piece sign and did duckface. If you want to drive through the wildlife park, you have to keep your windows up and promise not to stop. The elk, bison, deer, goats, and moose are in the first half, and not as boring as you might think, given that our guide warned us that a pissed off animal will charge. The American black bears and grizzlies are in another spot, and most of them are big and lazy, like they'd be playing washboard for the Country Bear Jamboree. One came up to our car door, but mostly they're 3-20 feet from the single paved path, which must be hot because they are bear foot. For an additional cost ($12), you can do the Wildlife Excursion. It claims you get up close and personal, but *technically* you are further away, as you are in a raised vehicle, so it's more UP than CLOSE and PERSONAL, but this option give you a guide, better photo ops (the vehicle stops), and you get to feed the bears! [This option is first-come, first-serve] Another option I had hoped to do was the Bottle Feeding (search for it on video). What I didn't realize is that RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED, and the 11am, 2pm & 5pm spots fill up quick. So I did not get to bottle feed a bear. Grr. The petting zoo is more than an acre of goats, 2 pigs, ducks/geese and deer, including a baby deer! The baby deer wouldn't get up. Do'h! There's a huge gift shop and basic fast food that wasn't cheap but looked pretty good. You also get free carnival rides (one hour after opening and one hour before closing). The Circus Train, Bear Affair, Baja Buggy seemed only for little kids, but the Huckleberry Bounce and surprisingly fun but mellow Log Roller Coaster were for adults, too. The best part is at least getting to see the baby bears up close as they have their own pen near the petting zoo. They're super cute. When they stand up they look like the Roloffs. read more

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There were about 40 adult bears when we last visited in late 2018. It was manageable and not too crowded. The number is up to 70 now. Doubling population every four years in the same tiny space is cruel. The over-breeding of cubs for photos and feeding is no different than Tiger King's zoo. Don't support the cub feeding! read more

Yellowstone Bear World - Cubs wrestling - Zoos Near Me - Rexburg, Idaho

$28 adult, $15 child a great little spot. Small rides, dinosaur area, and a petting area...kids definitely enjoyed (more for the little ones). Definitely do the feed the bears tour. ($45 per family up to 7) The bears come right up to the open top tour bus to get treats. Fun for the whole family. Hint: you can go around the loop as many times as you want. read more