east texas gators and wildlife park

We found this park and had to go. It was perfect for small ones! The employees were very helpful and welcoming. I would recommend anyone in the area to check it out.

The staff is awesome and very friendly, if it is slow (go early) then you'll be able to get a little extra time holding some animals (lemars, snakes, crocodiles) awesome, but not a lot of wildlife, took maybe 45 minutes to see everything

Both my 9 year old and my 1 year old had a blast playing and petting the animals (not the gators of course). There are a variety of animals to pet, pigs, goats, turtles, a camel and more. The alligators are cool too. One even made a loud yell for all of us! We had lunch at their cafe. It was good with homemade french fries. Didn't have enough nerve to try the Gator Stick though. Maybe next time. We plan on going back when the grand parents are here. I recommend everyone visit. It's inexpensive fun in East Texas, only $6 pp for adults.

We had fun there today. Wish the bounce house was up and some of the pens looked like they needed to be cleaned up badly (lots of poop). Also the "playground" left a lot to be desired. Overall it was a great visit and we enjoyed all the different animals. They have cute lemurs and the birds were so much fun. They chatted with us and loved repeating everything when we talked to them. The owner was also extremely nice and made us feel so welcome and was great with our 2 yr old. We got to hold a small snake, a ferret, and a baby gator. They also had a couple of friendly dogs that followed us on our adventure which we loved. Neat place for animal lovers and definitely can't beat the price. We live an hour away but will be back!

The park is an interesting blend. Inside the entry are a wide variety of animals in enclosures. They range from baby alligators to full grown snakes, spiders and chinchillas. In other words, you have the creepy, the cute, the furry, the scaly and even the feathery. What is really fun about this part, though, is that you can hold any of these animals. Just speak to one of the employees and they will instruct you on the safe handling of the animal and then bring one out for you to hold. You'll be AMAZED by how soft alligator skin really is. Outside is an even wider assortment of animals in various enclosures. There are small signs next to each one to give you some information about each animal. They have a nice cafe with alligator meat and several tables near the larger enclosures. You may, also, have a closer encounter than expected. When we went, there was a young camel wandering free in the area. While we were eating lunch, the camel decided to join us and helped herself to some iced tea. During feeding time for the gators, the employees teach the visitors about the gators. It's really interesting especially as they talk about how some of the gators came to the park. This is a no kill park and almost all of the alligators were brought here after being judged to be problems in the wild by moving into people's backyards. I didn't get to go to an even they advertised every fall, though I plan to go back next fall. In the fall, they raid the gator nests. They do this to put the eggs into an incubator and increase the chances that the eggs will hatch. They advertise the times that they do this. It is a dangerous process and I'm very interested how they keep the females distracted enough to get to the nests.Any way you look at it, though, it's fun, interesting and has something for all ages.

My husband and I spent several hours here. I did something I said I'd never ever do. I held a snake! The proprietor was very friendly and knowledgeable. He encouraged me to hold the snake. I can now say I did that. I also got to hold a small alligator. The place is very clean and doesn't smell. They have snakes, birds, small mammals, goats, a donkey, a steer and other animals besides the alligators. I'd love to go back and take my grandkids.

We had a great time at the gator farm! It was a fun and family friendly place. I took my 1 1/5 year old and she had a great time! We will definitely be going back.

Even though the Texas heat was scorching, the experience was amazing. Loved the knowledgeable staff, they were patient with kids asking questions and let them hold different animals.

My only real complaint. The smell. Saw the sign & decided to stop. Our own pet ferret had just died. So holding this one helped. I love to look at gators. Just don't eat them. Well not that often. Wife had a field day watching the prairie dogs. Will go back probably during some of the festivals in the fall. Did not try the food.

Hmmm. I have mixed feelings about this place to be honest. We stopped based on other reviews which indicated that this was a wonderful place for kids. It is true that the employees are quite friendly and willing to share information. It is true that you can hold reptiles - no mammals during our visit. So there are good intentions at work. Having said that in my opinion, the place was not particularly clean, some of the animals quarters could have been/should have been in better condition, and the smell was REALLY something - stagnant water, rotting meat, waste - my best guess. My 8 year old offered no feedback - positive or negative and our older child said she felt "bad for the animals". We were done in under an hour. It is not something that we would do again. However, if you love reptiles and photo ops with reptiles this might be the place for you.

To be fair can only comment on the weekend steak special.Heard about it so wanted to try for ourselves. Were told they were "kinda full" in this only 7 table space. Shared the end of a wall bench table with a couple who said they came there every Fri. nite, so we were looking forward to a great dinner. Only 1 waitress so service was slow. Had to ask for menu. Ordered the 12 oz. ribeye that on the website says comes with salad, loaded baked potato, and drink for $17. Wrong!.Now it $20 and the salad and drink are extra. Glass of water is $1. Steak was paper thin so it was over cooked. Couple next to us were surprised when they got their bill. We asked about the website price and were told they hadn't had time to change it.Food came in the door from outside.Never again.

We live in Wills Point and were looking for something to do on a Saturday for our 10 year old daughter. We had never even hear of this place although Grand Saline isn't far. It was really clean and all the animals were fun to look at. My daughter held a snake but refused to hold a baby alligator. She did touch it's tail, reluctantly. LOL Overall, it was a nice little outing. And not real pricy either. Only around $6 per person. They even have birthday parties there. We would definately go again.

My wife, my granddaughter, and I visited East Texas Gators on a chilly Saturday. Once you enter the gift shop/inside animal displays, friendly staff invites you (especially kids) to touch and hold a variety of animals. This makes for great photo opportunities. I actually held an alligator for the first time! The admission price is $6 for adults and $5 for children. Outside of the gift shop, there are a number of animals that can be viewed. There are a few animals in the petting barn. This is a fun place for kids, but will occupy their time between 1-2 hours.We stayed and ate the Saturday evening meal. I had the gator ettouffee with Cajun bread and salad. My wife had the filet mignon with loaded potato. My granddaughter had a cheeseburger and fries. The cheeseburger and steak was grilled outside. I liked the taste of the ettouffee, so I took some to go. After we left, we didn’t make it far down the road before I blew up a restroom at a Burger King on I-30. My gut was making sounds like the giant terminator machine on the movie “Terminator: Salvation”. I tried my carryout portion of the ettouffee after we returned home the next evening – it cleaned me out again. I DO NOT recommend the gator ettouffee unless you have a colonoscopy scheduled in the near future. There is one person that waits the tables, thus the service is slow. From the time we ordered our food until the food arrived, it was 65 minutes. All together, the food plus coffee was $34.00 even.

This place is great! The family that runs it was very welcoming and made our kids so happy and accommodated. The grounds looked great and are well kept. Very happy family!

The owner and his wife spent time teaching my kids how to properly hold the snakes and ferret. My husband and I both got to hold the small alligators. Wow! The kids played on the bounce house and the rope swings and feed the geese/ducks. The alligator whisperer (owner) showed us where the alligators were "hiding" and we didn't get to see a feeding, as it was a very cold day. We would go back. It was better than the local crocodile place we have here b/c it was much more hands on. The place could use better upkeep, it was dirty/smelly in the small bird/turtle building, but the owner said that it had been too cold to let the animals roam and the building air out. Bathrooms and snack area were clean and there was hand sanitizer everywhere for those that touched reptiles.