I was here back in 2011 for a family trip. I loved it then, so I came back with my 4 year old daughter. She was amazed by all the bears. We picked a nice day to watch them roam around. This is legit a Bear World, but they have other cute animals for you to drive by and adore likes wolves, elk, bison, reindeer. Very neat and so North American like.

Totally awesome sight to seen while in the area. The bears are everywhere. They have an awesome drive right through the middle of the park to get up close and personal with numerous animals. I highly recommend this place and one day will revisit myself.

This was one of the funnest parks we have been through. The bears were so much fun to watch and see. I love anything animal related and this definitely makes my top 10 places I have visited.

Be prepared to wait! The line to get in was very long. We attempted to visit on Labor Day (Sunday) and gave up after waiting 1.5 hour and still having about 60 cars in front of us. We returned the day after and our wait was 40 min long, which was better but still long.The drive through is fun and entertaining and its great to see all the animals roaming free. The zoo are is nice too, very well kept and clean; it was nice to see the animals eating and being themselves.Nice souvenir store. The place would be better if it had a cafe or snack bar. We enjoyed it.

Bear country is a kind of drive-through free range open zoo for bears, elk, arctic fox, mountain lion and few other animals. Visitors cant get down for safety reasons. There was long wait before we got into bear country on a long weekend. Normal weekend must be less crowded. The wait is not worth. There is also a 18$ fee per adult for entrance as well. The animals are not kept in cages which is good. Not fun for adults, but kids may like it.

Our 4 member Mystery Trip came to Mr. Rushmore from Kansas City. We have traveled together extensively throughout the world and have had many wonderful and exciting experiences. Bear Country is one of the best we have had. Beautiful, clean, well maintained with very friendly employees. The animals are extremely well cared for and perfectly spaced in a natural setting. We met one of the owners, Michael, and he was a very intelligent and engaging person who is obviously extremely proud of the animal’s health and care. A great experience for anyone.

What a fun place! Its awesome to be able to be so close to the animals. The bears would come right up to your vehicle even! Theyve got a great selection of both big and small animals to look at. Sadly many were asleep when we went, but there were still enough awake to enjoy.

I would have given it 6 stars ️ I was skeptical going in, but at our hotel the local said it’s worth it. There was a line out into the street, but it went quickly. The enclosures were large and well maintained. So many animals and they were all right there! I was surprised how active they were! We loved the bear and wolf enclosure and watching them playfully fight each other. The big horn sheep were also a sight to see. We paid the $65 for our family to get in. Worth every penny! Do the walk around at the end. The baby bears climbing the tree were hilarious!

The kids absolutely loved this. Up close with animals, many just roaming free within the park. Only a handful in pens/cages. Highly recommended.

Im not a huge fan of zoos on the norm, and at $18/adult at the gate I wasnt the happiest driving into this one, However, the smiles and giggles coming from my wife soon made it worth every dollar! So many animals, and the baby bears are so fun to watch we stood there forever. If youre in the Mt. Rushmore area and are, or have with you, an animal lover, spend a few bucks and drive through this zoo. I guarantee youll enjoy it!

Bear Country USA was by far one of our most favorite places to visit during our trip to South Dakota. My husband and I had visited 16 years ago and loved it then, so we were hoping our kids would love it now - and they did! Its also nice to see theyve kept it well maintained and continued to grow over the years! We have a similar drive through zoo in our home town but not with bears and wolves! Seeing these beautiful creatures walk right by the car was so amazing! Plus, because youre in your car the whole time, you arent exposed to others and we felt safer during this time of COVID.We did get out to visit the gift shop and was pleased to see all workers wearing masks and Plexiglas up on the counters. Gift shop had an awesome selection. We also loved seeing the baby wolf pups and bear cubs in the walking area. So cute! Must do attraction in SD!

Bear Country USA is a great place to see wildlife up close. The naturally designed habitats provide comfortable living for the animals and allow easy viewing. Visitors drive through the first part and walk through the second area.Entry fees are reasonable. The gift shop provides a large variety of quality memorabilia.I recommend Bear Country!

Well worth the admission. Its obvious that the animals are well taken care of. Very nice gift shop with a large variety of items. Highly recommend if you are visiting the Rapid City area.

Bear country was the highlight of Saturday in South Dakota for the kids; 8, 6 and 4. They were excited to see all the animals fairly close up. Traffic inside the park can pile up quickly, otherwise was a good, fairly quick trip.

Such a fun experience! The animals were walking right by our car! Such a cool way to let the kids see them up close! Took us about two hours total.

Nice place but very short drive through. I thought it would be more open. Got some good pics. Nothing really exciting but worth the money to support.

One of our favorite places in the Black Hills. Nice large natural environment for the animals. You get some real close encounters! FYI, dont plan on taking a soft top Jeep. They have courtesy vans you can borrow though.

Seeing the wild animals up close securely in your vehicle is the best! A wolf passed right by our car, we came within feet of a caribou as well as a bison and its two babies. Then to top it off by the gift shop there is a baby enclosure section where you can walk around and see the bear cubs and wolf pups eat and play. Totally worth the $65/vehicle.

A must see if you have any animal lovers in your family/vehicle. I had no idea this was here until I passed it on my way to Rushmore, a quick Google search later revealed my plans for later in the day lol.While I would say its a bit pricey, I also can say its an experience that I have never had anywhere else. We had a heard of Reindeer walk withing inches of our car, a wolf slink away with its meal hanging in its mouth mear feet from my window and bears...so many bears all around the car.I dont know about you, shy of some Bison near the car at Yellowstone I have never had animals so close to my car that didnt end up leaving a mark.....A must see for the family! Super cute gift shop, nice people, well maintained. All over nice place!

Wow. One of the best drive through zoos I have ever been to. Very smartly arranged so that whether the animals are sleeping or active you will see them. They live up to their name. Tons of bears, about 200 there. So cool to watch them play and interact with one another. Clean, well kept facilities. Must go in the Black Hills.

Its a great place to go. Adults and kids alike can enjoy seeing lots of bears and other interesting wildlife!

BEST PLACE to get some serotonin! the animals seem well taken care of. esp for a zoo like establishment. They all have energy and none look unhappy. you will leave happy. and dont forget to see all the enclosures at the end of the drive and the gift shop

Were not from here so not sure what the direction is to get in but first and foremost, its quicker to get in if you are heading downhill so the park is on your left and you cross traffic to get in. TONS quicker. You have to keep your windows closed but it was really cool to see all the wildlife. I wish more of the baby bears were out from behind the fence but definitely really cool place. The line is always long doesnt matter the time of the day. We waited an hour and a half at opening. Worth it and the gift shop is great!

The kids and grandparents loved this place! You have to watch the Marten at feeding time. And try the white chocolate huckleberry cocoa mix from the gift shop (you will thank me for it!)

It was very cool to see so many bears! The elk and other animals are great too. Its crazy seeing them right by the car! The baby bear cubs were soooo adorable! The whole family had a blast.

Its a neat experience to have all of these animals surrounding the car. The bears and wolves were particularly cool. However, so many people were being allowed in at one time that the drive was bumper to bumper. There was a nice employee who let us follow him out of the park when one of our party members had a bathroom emergency in the middle of the tour. So, all in all, its a cool place to see, the staff is very friendly and helpful, but too many people are being admitted at once.

It was pretty cool. It was raining a lot and a couple exhibits you couldnt see any animals. I seriously kept getting that Jurassic Park vibe, sitting in the truck waiting to see the animal through the rain. I took two stars away for this but I gave one back because I didnt get eaten by a T-Rex which is pretty great.

Definately worth it. The bear and Bison roam freely and come right up to your car. Nice, huge, clean facility. Great for all ages

What a great place bring the kids bring the grandkids or just go yourself. Lots of animals. Up close. Stop for a ram to cross the road.

Oh my! How can you not love this place! Absolutely amazing. More people need to know about this place and come visit. Had to have had well over 100 bears, walked right up to the car. And many many other animals. Very safe, animals walk right next to and past cars, but there is zero feeding of animals, so they just ignore you.

Only chance to see bears, wolves and big cats in the area. Im not a fan of zoos, but the experience here seemed good with the areas being wide enough to allow animals to roam. Tons of bears. Definitely worth stopping in if you have a few hours to spend.

Pretty cool drive thru experience. Get to see animals up close and at your own pace. Check it out while visiting Mt Rushmore!

Amazing experience if you want to see large North American mammals up close. Wolves, bears, Bison, deer, big horn sheep on the drive through and the walking tour puts you up close with bear cubs, badgers, Lynx, Bobcats, wolves, Arctic and red fox, and more. Highly recommend for families and couples.

Lots of bears! The elk and big horn sheep looked really good. The baby bears were really cute!If the line is backed up onto the highway, pull into line to the far left, because it splits into two lines and moves faster.

Absolutely loved this experience. Well worth the price ($60 for a van w 5 people). When you walk at the end and see the babies... best. Ever. We stood and just watched the bear Cubs play together for half an hour. Wonderful place, clean, well kept & friendly staff. Must do if you get the chance!

We had fun! I didn’t get to see any reindeer or cougars, and it seemed there were a couple empty lots. But over all it was so much fun and we got to see some really awesome animals!

This place was way cooler than I thought it would be. My kids had a blast. Being able to drive around and see all the different animals wander relatively “free” was wild. Bears were just everywhere, and the fact they could just walk right up to the car was pretty amazing. After the drive, they have a really cool zoo-like section to get out and walk around. The bear cubs might have been the best part.

This is the 3rd time Ive been here and love it! We brought our grandson this time and he absolutely loved it (and got to see his favorites... Mountain lion, coyote, and bobcat). We loved that they had the young timber wolves there...they are amazing. Of course all of the animals were amazing, and we cant wait to go back!

I was there last summer and this summer, last year was better. It was less busy and animals were more active. One time a bear stand in my front door as I was driving. Good place to go with family or friends. 4 adults cost us $65.

Bear country was absolutely amazing. There are a mixture of diffrent animals like wolves, bears, big horn sheep, bobcats, etc. Animals are super close so pictures are amazing. The path is not super long but long enough to experience a good look at natures wonders. Kids loved it and well worth the price for the experience.

I went here as a child about 30 years ago and have now brought my children and husband. Hopefully our children will bring their kids. Wonderful place. Lots of animals and rare opportunities to see them up close. Thank you Bear Country USA.

One of the highlights of visiting WY – dare I say it but it was more impressive and fun than Mount Rushmore! It is an 11 mile nature preserve that allows you to drive through an assortment of wildlife that will include bears, wolves, mountain goats, etc. At the end you can leave the car walk through exhibits that more closely resemble a typical zoo.Definitely worth visiting!

There were tons of bears!! They get pretty close to your vehicle but they are harmless. We saw a few playing and two others that were fighting. We didnt see wolves unfortunately.

They had tons of bears in the drive thru section. Most I have even seen in one place. Baby bears are in another section are fun to watch. Fun place to visit.

Great ride through the park, the bears were active and there were a lot of them. Make sure you do the walking tour at the end thats where the bear cubs enclosure is and they are cute.

If you have kids, this is a place you do not want to miss. This is 10x better than a zoo and will suck up an hour or so of your time. There are some amazing animals that roam the grounds that would be hard to find anywhere else. Plus, once you get to the end of the driving tour, there is a small zoo-like park to walk around with your kids and experience small animals and cubs. Highly recommend.

This was a fun place. We drove around and saw elk, wolves, bear, and other assorted animals. Then we got out of the car and went to the walk-through zoo where they have mostly baby animals. The baby bears are adorable. Very nice attraction. We thoroughly enjoyed it.

Great place to see lots of animals, especially a ton of bears! Youll also see elk, reindeer, mountain goats, bears, mountain lions, buffalo, and potentially wolves. Our 3 year old and 1.5 year old LOVED seeing all the animals, they were so excited, and it was so much fun for us as parents to see their joy!

Great place to see wildlife in some what of their natural habitat. The babies are amazing too!

Little pricey for the small amount of animals in the drive through but the baby bears were very cool.

This was a great experience. The enclosures were fantastic & all the animals seemed so happy & healthy.

Okay so this was extremely exciting! They have all the bears! They have many other animals as well. My family was in shock and awe from the drive thru area to the walk through area. They have a large gift shop with all kinds of things. I would definitely recommend visiting here!

The live animals roaming around in the open were amazing. I love wolves and was thrilled that I got to see them up close.

This was a stop that may have been more fun. On a slower day. Lots of cars made it hard to enjoy the few animals that could be seen and theres not a lot of regulation of the flow of traffic so it can get very congested in some spots. The bears were cool to see and the area you can get out of the car to see the cubs was the highlight

It is really neat to do, but he prepared it is more or less like a do it yourself safari and remember if you think the entry fee is outrageous, they do have to feed the animals, pay the employees, buy the merch, rebuild the roads and structures, and make sure everything is in order.These pictures are some of the animals you could potentially see;Caribou, Elk, Dall and Bighorn Sheep, Black Bears, Bison, Artic and Gray Wolves, Pronghorns, Mt. Lions and more.

What an amazing way to see wild animals in their natural habitat from the comfort of your car. Covid proof attraction. :)

Such an amazing experience! The animals are out and about and the bears walk right by your car. The walk through experience at the end with the smaller and baby animals is an extra treat. Well worth the time and money!

Lots of cool animals to look at. One of the bear came up to my car and started standing and rubbing on the sign post next to us. It was very cute.

It was not a 45 minute drive thru, been a lot nicer had it been. For the price, Id liked to hace gone thru twice. Lots of animals to gander at.

This is NOT a big park where animals happily roam in their natural habitat. This is simply a drive-in ZOO. They mostly breed animals for this zoo and for selling (to other zoos, movie studios, and wildlife parks - see their website), it’s NOT a rescue. Had I known what I know now, I’d never give my money to this place. I feel bad after visiting and I’ll donate money to an organization that actually cares about wildlife and does not selfishly keep animals for entertainment and profit.The conditions for animals here are questionable. They might be better than a typical zoo cage, but lack other important features. While the number of animals here is growing, the acreage isnt (also according to the website). To add, I noticed some bears didnt look great in the heat.I think it is more of a tourist trap and Id rather drive to Yellowstone or Grand Tetons to enjoy wildlife in their natural habitat.

It was ok only. The highlights of this trip was the bears since they were a bit active and some of the bears were literally 3ft away from our car. The next highlight is walking through their cub zoo the bear Cubs were so active and so cute!!! There was a really naughty one that fought playfully with the zoo keeper over the shovel that she uses to scoop the poop out of their living space.

This is a really cool place, and definitely stop if you have kids (we don’t and we still loved it).We were a little hesitant about doing it because of the price, but when we were done we agreed that it was well worth it.The animals are very active (we went at about 4-5) and fun to watch.

Wish the animals were more active and not seem like they were drugged but over all it was all fun.

Firstly, the staff was very friendly and fun. We saw more animals than we were expecting. Very convenient driving through. Gift shop was really nice. Our entire family loved it.

It was amazing, so many animals in one spot, they are even coming to your car very close. We are totally satisfied with this trip. The bear cubs were amazing too, there was a lot of them, and we saw their feeding.. theyre so cute and fast.

Fun place to visit and see the animals playing in their habitats.

Happiest place ever!!! Love this place. I have brought my kids back now twice. Great price and a lot of fun. The Bears are adorable and if you get there when they are feeding the Cubs it will seriously warm your heart. Staff are friendly and seem to really enjoy their job. We will always visit this place everytime we pass threw. Great price as well.

Arrived about an hour after they opened. Had so much fun watching the bears eat their breakfast. Wolves and Bison too!Restrooms were clean and located across from the gift shop. They had foxes, porcupines and tigers (oh my) to walk around and view in fenced in pits. Wish I had my young nieces with me.

We really enjoyed our drive through Bear Country USA! We went in the morning and it wasnt too busy with other cars so we had time to stop and take pictures and observe the animals without feeling pressured to keep moving. The animals were all very active and fun to watch. This attraction was enjoyed by the whole family! The walk through zoo area was also nice although many of the enclosures were empty.

Was fun to drive through all of the animal exhibit. And then the walking area was quite cool..Children would love this place

This was one of the most incredible places I have ever been. I expected to see a bear or two, but they were everywhere. I loved that we could just pull off and watch them for awhile, we werent rushed through the park. Will definitely be going back.

Definitely to highlight of my trip animals were awesome there was so many bears. Normal coupon clippers dont waste your time looking for discounts you wont find any but its totally worth the whole $18 an adult.

A little spendy but a lot of fun! The animals are always visible and even come right up and around your vehicle. Definitely a great family stop. They do have a max price per car so load in the family! Also kids under 4 are free.

Loved seeing all the animals!! They come up close too.

A fun place for kids and adults to see wildlife up close!

Love, love, love Bear Country. Hearing the elk bugle and seeing bear walk by the car was an experience I will NEVER forget.

Come early, so you won’t deal with as much traffic in the park, and make sure your phones and cameras are full of battery, because you will take a lot of pictures. The animals will walk freely in front of you, or beside you, it’s really cool!

One of the coolest places to visit in The Black Hills!!I personally consider this a must see!! Starts with a driving tour through virtually any animal you can name over 50lbs. They come right up to your car and the experience is incredible!!At the end of the tour, go and feed some baby bears!! Great staff, great place to visit, fun will be had by all!5 stars!!

Best drive thru wildlife park we have visited. The bears were active during our 3pm visit in 90 degree heat. All the animals looked healthy and seemed amused at the attention from the drive by humans.

I was actually pleasantly surprised. I am not a big fan of caged animals but this group seemed to be very well cared for and happy

I love that you can drive by and walk to see all kinds of animals. It was an awesome experience

Brought my Sister & niece here from Colorado & we mustve stayed here for 4-5 hours in our own little worlds. Got amazing pictures & the staff was great @ waiting as we were the last ones out that day so they could go home. Amazing place as my family had never seen such a thing or been that close to any of those animals! A must do & see...

Up close encounters were fun and we enjoyed seeing the wildlife. We got there at feeding time for the wolves and baby bears. In car self guided tour was good. We really loved the walk around exhibits

Weekends are insanely busy, so plan ahead. They say it usually takes about 2 hours, we were quoted 3.5 hours on a Saturday but it actually took us about 2 hours or less. The coolest part was driving through the open bear area and we had bears all over doing different things. Many animals would walk right in front of your vehicle or be sitting right next to the road for a closeup picture. Highly recommend seeing it! Our small kids enjoyed the trip through the park as well!

This was so cool to the wolf howling to the bears and the bear cubs playing and climbing trees. The lynx were beautiful. We loved it

Amazing park to visit. Bears are everywhere and so active! Kids loved it as well as adults in our group. Really gets your heart pumping when the bears walk right in front of your vehicle.

The drive through part was super cool! Bears and other wildlife would walk right up to your car. All of the staff team were wearing full face gear regarding the covid-19 pandemic. The walking part where you saw all of the baby animals was amazing! The only thing I did not like was they had no rules about social distancing. Overall, I would definitely come back and it was a great time!

What a wonderful place. Words and pictures will not do this justice. If you are near Mt Rushmore you need to go, I 100 percent promise you will love it. I spent $100 in the gift store and wanted to spend more. The park is the beat wildlife park i ahbe ever been too. 200 acres for bears to roam. If i was a bear i would want to be there. Next time I drive cross country I will be stopping. When I have kids, I will be taking them as well. We saw around 40 adult bears and 15 baby bears, and they all seemed happy. . We watched 2 bears play in the pond for about 20 minutes. Incredible!!!! Wish I could sit there all day and watch them.Cant wait to come back.

The animals are allowed to live their lives as if they were still in the wild.... And not messed with like animals in a zoo would be.... Awesome place, definitely recommend a visit!!! Would have given more than five stars if I was able

We loved this place. So many animals. Deer, Elk, lions, bears, even cute porcupines. After you drive thru dont forget, to stop at the end for the walking part...this was my grandbabies favorite part. Would definitely recommend this place. Cant wait to go back

Awesome place to visit and enjoy the wild life

This place was packed over the Labor Day weekend, but my family had so much fun seeing the animals and the bears. Watching the bear cubs run around was great. Such a great time for everyone from kids to grandma.

We found this place by accident and am so glad we did. The wild animals were amazing. Well worth the trip.

Good place to spend a couple of hours. We were lucky and could see a lot of animals up close during the drive. The elks, wolves and bears are especially amazing!

Bear Country is a must see when in the Black Hills. It took us a couple hours to drive through and see the bears, wolves, mountain lions, big horn sheep and Mountain goats. We walked around the baby bear loop and went to the gift shop. The animals were all out and visible. We even saw the bears get a bread treat. They walked over and moved around a lot for that. The baby bear Cubs were a delight! It doesnt feel like a zoo since its all open and the animals are loved. You stay in your car and drive through except the walking loop. There are restrooms and vending machines in the gift shop walking loop area. The gift shop has some unique items. The kids got bear shaped sweeties and about $100 worth of other stuff. The admission cost was $65 for the car load- 6 of us. Go to Bear country then Keystone to get taffy from Rushmore taffy. Its a great day trip.

Great experience. An opportunity to fill in some animals you may not have seen on your black hills trip or just to get up and personal.Took about an hour to drive through and 30 minutes waiting so be prepared if you have kids who might need a bathroom break.

We were heading to Mount Rushmore and saw the sign so we decided to stop and check it out. We are so glad that we did! We were in a motor home and it was easy and plenty of room to maneuver through each area of the park. It was a great adventure. We saw white wolves, some mountain sheep, and a lot of bear. All of the animals came close to us and we got to take some great pictures! When we were through driving through, we pulled into the gift shop and walk-through area. In there we saw an otter, baby bear cubs, fox, and other animals. The gift shop was well stocked with a variety of souvenirs. Overall everything was awesome! Great job Bear Country USA!!!

So much fun, the bears especially are awesome but everything is worth it

This place was great. Lots of bears! Best part was the walk though at the end where all the babies are. They were very active cause it was sprinkling a little bit.

This was probably one if the best experiences of the trip to the Black Hills. Its great to see nature everywhere but here you see animals directly in front of your car! Hundreds of full size bears and baby bears along with elk, wolves, and bison. Unlike at a zoo where the animals might be hiding in the enclosure you are directly in the enclosure with the animals. I would definitely come back if I come to this area again! I wish we had one near home!