Animal Ark
A 38-acre wildlife sanctuary in the foothills north of Reno, giving permanent homes to animals that cannot be returned to the wild. Open March to November only.
Animal Ark is a non-profit sanctuary rather than a zoo: the residents are animals — big cats, wolves, birds of prey — that were injured, orphaned or kept illegally and cannot survive on their own. That framing is the point of the place, and it is the reason the enclosures are large and the animal count is small.
It is out in the high desert foothills north of the city, and the drive is part of the visit.
It is a seasonal operation, open roughly March to November, and the sanctuary is explicit that its opening dates move with the weather at that elevation.
Good for
- Families with a car and half a day
- Seeing predators at close range
- A reason to drive out of the basin
Worth knowing first
- Seasonal. Closed for the winter, and the shoulder dates move with the weather — the sanctuary says so itself.
- Well outside the city, up an unpaved approach. Not a spontaneous trip, and not one to make without checking first.
- Where
- 1265 Deerlodge Rd, Reno, NV
- On site
- Wildlife sanctuary · 38 acres · Seasonal · Outdoors