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!
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!!!
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!
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.
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.
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.
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'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.
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.
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.