Lion Country Safari

America's first cageless drive-through safari park, half an hour west of downtown

Lion Country Safari is a 320-acre wildlife park 30 minutes west of central West Palm Beach where you drive your own car through fenced sections holding lions, white rhinos, zebras, giraffes, ostriches, and a small herd of African elephants. The drive takes about 90 minutes if you take your time. A walk-through "Safari World" section adds a small zoo and several enclosures of monkeys and reptiles.

It is one of the better roadside attractions in central Florida and the closest thing to an African game-drive available east of the Mississippi. Audio tour through your car radio. Plan to spend a half-day. Convertibles and pet-carrying vehicles are not allowed.

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A story
Lion Country Safari opened in 1967 as the first drive-through safari park in the United States, modelled on Longleat in England. The original lions came from an MGM studio reserve in Africa, and the park's stunt was that you drove your own car through enclosures full of free-roaming animals — terms of insurance later required visitors to stay inside their vehicles, but the format has not changed in nearly sixty years.