prairie dog town

While traveling down the Interstate during a long road trip with two kids, my wife and I saw the signs to this self proclaimed "zoo". The signs of a 5 legged cow and the world's largest prairie dog sucked us in. We could not say no, we had to stop. While many of the "exhibits" were underwhelming the bizarre nature of this stop as well as the break in the highway monotony made it well worth the price of admission. We saw dozens of live rattlesnakes, prairie dogs, pigeons, and much, much more (including the 5 and 6 legged cows, bison, peacocks...).

I have been here a few times. When traveling between Colorado and Kansas it is a cool place to stop and stretch your legs. The animals are really cool to look at too! the Donkey likes to follow my daughter around! lol But they have some really cool and unusual things to see! And the gift shop is full of hoots and giggles! I love this place!

We were traveling out west and came upon this in Oakley, Kansas on August 1st, 2014. I've been reading the reviews and the people who have written terrible reviews need to lighten up! This place was not advertising a spectacular event! It reminded me of road side shows when people traveled years ago! The worlds largest Prairie Dog is made of wood I believe. It's pricey to get in, however, it was kind of nostalgic and fun, in wierd way! I wouldn't base a trip around it, but it broke up the monotony of a long boring drive through western Kansas! I liked talking to the owner. He wasn't creepy. Just an old country boy! If you don't like stuff like this, then don't go in! Simple! Alaina1024 said it best, "Just one of those places you've got to visit!" Don't forget the Rattlesnake box before you enter the yard!

Horrid. The older gentleman at the counter was nice enough and loved to tell stories, but I don't even know where to begin on this place. PRICEY: 2 adults and 2 kids= almost $33. I should have known what we were getting in to when we were first told to "look in that brown box"-- at least 20 rattle snakes, all crowded together with nothing for them to climb on or hide in. Then we were told to go outside to feed the animals with 3 small snack baggies of dog biscuits. The prairie dogs were fine and cute and able to go all over (probably too much for the neighbors.) But the rest...ghastly. Wire cages (clean with water, but no food or natural-like habitat) held wild and domestic animals: cows, fox, coyotes, bobcat, pigs, fowl of many kinds... The fox and coyotes looked sickly and one coyote was pacing as if he had gone crazy in the small, round enclosure. The bobcat did have a hiding place but, of course, wouldn't eat any dog biscuits thrown in his cage. The birds were all in small wire enclosures with no food, no greens, no perches or hiding places. Luckily we came on a cool, overcast day. I can't imagine on a hot, sunny Kansas summer day. Torture for all. Oh, and the "world's giant prairie dog" is as you imagine--fiberglass. My kids were so ashamed at being at this place, they wouldn't get their picture in front of it. We saw no 5-legged cows among the few standing cows, but several were lying down in their small, muddy pen. At least the giant pig had a mud hole and a house in it's small pen. This place needs to be shut down. We all felt heavy with shame at having given money to see it. Made for a quiet, sour car ride afterwards.

Prairie Dog Town has been around forever. I remember going there as a child. The kids loved it. The prairie dogs run loose around the grounds, and are quite a sight to see. There's a 6 legged cow. They have a great rattlesnake pit, and numerous other animals in the yard. It's quite inexpensive to go, but do not expect a lot. It's a small venue, and seems to be in the middle of nowhere. But, it's worth a visit.

I am literally sitting outside PDT right this second wiring this review from our vehicle. My boyfriend and I didn't even realize where we were stopping, we just wanted a potty break for our dog and we stumbled upon PDT. We drove around the parking lot and the owner, elderly man, stood in the doorway staring at us all but vocally warding us off. Very unpleasant vibe even from the gas station next door. As soon as I walked in to the gas station three older men immediately stopped their conversation and watched my every move- CLOSELY. It was terrifying, gross, and upsetting. This whole place is horrying.

The pens for some of the animals look less than comfortable, and they certainly don't have much of a life, but it's the same in a lot of zoos. At $8 the price was reasonable for an hour or so of walking around this place. We fed the donkeys, goats and sheep, rabbits and birds - and prairie dogs, of course. The baby goats were the cutest, and the donkeys were very friendly. The cow and steer were actually fascinating - perfectly healthy animals with a couple of extra body parts. You just don't see that every day. The folks running the place care about the animals. All of the cages were very clean and everyone had fresh water. The pigs were even provided a nice mud hole for the hot summer days. If you're traveling along I-70 and your're looking for a place to stretch your legs and give the kids a break from the road, go ahead and stop in.

On our way back from colorado we saw the signs all over the place on 70. Ok so we had been driving forever. Needed a break from driving. We stopped here. First of all everything that I saw online said $8 per person. I paid 50$ for 5 of us. And when I told the lady that the price online was different she said it needs to be updated. So reluctantly I paid for it just to take a break from the drive. Its not a horrible place to but it made me sad to see such 'wild' animals not caged very well. The smell was horrible but what do you expect for animals being contained. The price wasn't that expensive but I thought that I would be more thrilled...

Very sad and the end of an era. I visited PDT several times when I was a child heading across Kansas to visit relatives and have my picture taken in front of the worlds largest prairie dog. I was always fascinated by the chance to see a cow with 6 legs and animals up close that we don't always get to see. Several years ago we stopped there with my adult children because we had seen the signs and I told them about visits when I was young. We found the entrance fee was way more than we wanted to pay and decided to pass on going in. From other reviews, I am glad we did not. On a recent trip to this week to Oklahoma, we stopped in Oakley, KS to get dinner and gas and noticed that the Prairie Dog Town is now closed and for sale. I guess it's better that it is closed than to hold on to and cage animals that are clearly not meant to be kept in cement enclosures and unhappy. It is truly the end of one more of the "roadside attraction" era stops along roadways. Very sad indeed but also a very necessary change in how we treat animals that are supposed to be wild. Take photos of the signs and feel some nostalgia but be OK with the demise of Prairie Dog Town.

We'd always seen these signs from the highway so when we decided to roadtrip and go to Oakley this was a place we wanted to stop at...but when we got there it was clearly closed down and had been there was a for sale sign. ..information I wish I would have known sooner.

There are a lot of signs, especially on I-70, that resemble circus side show kind of wording. Animals conditions are absolutely horrible, filthy and poorly kept. As an animal of all kinds lover, this place needs to be totally re-done or torn down. If you have time, drive 30 miles south to Scott County Lake and Park and see nature at its' best.

My Aunt and I stopped on our way home from a long vacation. If any family loves this place, they have serious problems. The animals are caged without proper food/water. Nothing resembling natural habitat for any of them. Cows live in mud, insect infested small fenced yards. The lone coyote walks in circles in small cement enclosure, as do the foxes. We were given dog biscuits to feed the goats. The one raccoon is fed dog good. The animals look so sad. Upon leaving I confronted the owner regarding the conditions and he insisted he had just passed inspection. I think not. This is pure animal abuse and this place should be shut down. Stop going there!

We visited this place at the insistence of our 11 year old son, who missed it the first time our family visited 15 years ago. My boys LOVED it. The reason is because of the 5 and 6 legged cows. You don't get to see that - anywhere else that I know of. As the mother, I find the 5 and 6 legged cows, honestly, kind of interesting. Most places would destroy an animal like that - this place clearly uses that as their tourist trap gimmick - along with the many rattlesnakes in the glass case. That being said, I do find the place sad for most of the other animals. Many of the animals are in cages with a concrete bottom. No nesting material, no "toys", no "friends". I didn't see filth, feces, matted or missing hair as some of the other reviewers mentioned. What I did see though,was nothing even remotely resembling a natural or desirable habitat for about half of the animals. The prairie dogs, and turkeys however, have the run of the place. Another reviewer mentioned the "take home" smell. Totally agree, and it is not good. This was our first stop on a 9 day trip. Occasionally, someone would say, "What IS that smell???!!!" The smell hopped in the car with us at Prairie Dog Town and never, ever left. I sincerely hope the owners read the reviews and make some changes for the caged, lonely, bored animals, but the experience was overall interesting, and quite enjoyable for my boys.

This is an fun place to take a pit-stop, especially after you've been driving though Missouri and Kansas for what seems like days. They sell a bunch of gross taxidermy chimeras and all sorts of other strange things. It fun to feed the prairie dogs and take stupid photos with the giant prairie dog statue. Young kids will really like this place.

While we fully expected the cheesy cement "world's largest prairie dog", we were not ready for the very sad caged animals and birds. The saddest were the fox and the bobcat housed in small cement cages. The only animals who seemed to be in any sort of natural habitat were the turkeys who were running loose. We would certainly not recommend taking children there to see animals caged in such sad circumstances. And...$10 to see this sad display and a concrete prairie dog...a rip off!!!