Gilcrease Nature Sanctuary

While utilizing the search function for «things to do with kids» on the Unilocal app, the Gilcrease Nature Sanctuary popped up. I ended up taking my kid brother here on a Monday afternoon. For two adults and a 7 year old, admission came to $ 10. The Gilcrease Nature Sanctuary could definitely use some TLC, but overall my group had a lot of fun here. It’s an escape from the typical «Vegas» scenery and the grounds are actually pretty large. We spent about an hour here.
The highlight of our trip was when we walked past a fenced in area filled with goats, and a very motivated goat jumped up on a wood balance and out of the fenced area, walking towards us. At first I was unsure if goats were allowed out of their cage, but a volunteer walking by gave no notice, so I assumed this was business as usual. The goats are super friendly and love to be pet. Another goat hopped out of the enclosed area and begged for our attention in no time. Even more hilarious was that these two goats followed us around the park for almost our entire visit (until they got distracted by eating piles of leaves).
Another memorable part of the trip was when we entered the cockatoo house, and a bird with the assigned label on his cage that simply read #2 talked back to us. He said «hello», «bye», and mimicked my laugh. We were all genuinely impressed with this little guy’s talent. Unfortunately, the cockatoo area seemed ill-​kept and some of the birds had bald patches. :(
Roosters, chickens, ducks, goats and geese freely roam the sanctuary. There was a pig enclosure and the gate was open, so I’m sure the pigs can walk where they please as well. It is true that there is an abundant amount of animal feces in some areas, but what do you expect? The goat and pony areas both had hand sanitizer dispensers next to them, and they were filled. Other animals on the sanctuary included ostriches, llamas, bulls, donkeys, and one deer.
The Gilcrease Nature Sanctuary is a nonprofit ran by volunteers — come support them by visiting! I think this a great family-​friendly attraction that’s totally affordable.
Unilocal 100 CHALLENGE 2015: #269

Absolutely my favorite spot here in Vegas. They take amazing care of the animals they keep. Beautiful space, and at night it’s ideal for star gazing. The outdoor amphitheater is choice!

Looking at previous reviews, it seems this place used to be nice. But right now I cannot believe the way some of these animals are living. Actually, they’re not living, they’re just surviving.
At the entrance there is a small cloudy koi pond that needs a serious cleaning.
Further ahead there are bird cages with most birds that have signs of serious depression and anxiety. Their feathers are not smooth and colorful like a normal healthy birds would be. Most of them have bald spots which means the birds are plucking them off due to depression/​anxiety which is extremely painful for them. Some of the bigger species like the Macaws are kept in small cages designed for temporary living like at a pet store, and not to be kept in for a lifetime. I know the purpose of this place is to shelter unwanted pets, but they need to seriously remodel the living spaces of most of these animals. And if they can’t afford it, they need to send these poor animals off to a better, bigger, cleaner shelter. This makes me so sad as I am an owner of 3 exotic birds. I let them freely roam around my home and only get put in cage for eating, napping and sleeping. They receive a lot of love and attention the way it should be if they are going to be held in captivity. I hope to see improvements for this place for the sake of the animals.

Wow!!! This place is horrible! They eat the goats and don’t take care of any of the animals that they have. They keep their animals in small cages and feed them horrible diets. You took over and are ruining the lives of the animals that you keep captive in your care. You should be embarrassed!!!

Favorite place to spend a nice day outdoors. So many beautiful animals to see and you can get so close and interact with them. All the birds are so full or personality and it’s only costs a couple bucks to get in so you can afford to take the whole family.

A truly sad place to visit. This «sanctuary» has cockatoos in cages where they can barely spread their wings and the burrow and llama area is filled with feces. The pig area with four large potbelly pigs is very tiny as well. The goats in the petting zoo are constantly having babies (it’s a sanctuary; why are they breeding??) and then they magically disappear…
The horses are also in tiny areas without proper shelters.
They also waste water by running the hose into nothing. The smphitheater is pretty but overall the aesthetics of the place is very very run down!

This place is being dragged into the ground. It finally had a group of people taking over that had good ideas for the sanctuaries future and now it has been taken back over by those that were driving it toward despair from the beginning. They are horrible people who don’t care for the animals and have ruined everything for the other employees. All of those who had ideas for the sanctuaries bright future because the newly re-​appointed owners have forced them out. No one is there who has proper animal care skills and it is sad that this place won’t have the bright future it could have. Don’t ever go here.

The previous reviewers had to be paid to write a good review. Because this place is the terrible. Don’t believe the photos they show of this place. Visiting Las Vegas and I went to this sanctuary with my son and granddaughter. This was filthy. I couldn’t believe how animals could be treated like that. We should had known when we first saw the cloudy pond that fish were living in. All the animals looked sad and dirty. Didn’t find one hand sanitizer that had anything in them. Animal shit everywhere. Las Vegas should be ashamed that this facility is still open. Where are the animal activist for this place? LAS VEGAS close this down. If you visit, you’ll need a shower afterwards.

Should be shut down or majorly renovated. Animals look sad. No hand sanitizer. Time to give up on this piece of property and set the animals free.

This place is so cute! Living in Vegas I am so used to just going to the movies or shopping or whatever, but this place is a nice change of pace. The goats are so friggin cute! Bring quarters so you can feed them too. Perfect place for kids or just going with friends.

I seriously do not understand the positive reviews of this place. We’ve lived near here for 3 years and finally decided to check it out. Sad, dilapidated buildings and cages holding depressed animals.
Maybe it’s because I know what real farms look like, but this is NOT how animals should live.
Not sure what the admission price goes towards, obviously not the grounds or the animals.

It’s a perfect place to take the kids and at 2 dollars a kid 4 dollars an adult it’s a great place to spend an hour or 2 the birds actually talk the cockatoos
especially say hi hello and pretty bird make sure u bring some quarters for feeding the goats and sheep my 4 and 5 year old had an awesome time and we can’t wait to go again and the workers there were very nice and helpful when my kids asked them questions

This is an awesome time. It can fill an afternoon on a boring day. This is our new spot to go.

This place is very good! There are lots of fun birdies to see and some farm animals too! The duckies are the best part because some of them will eat right out if your hand and all of them are fun! The staff is friendly and the animals seem well taken care of. I would highly recommend this place to anyone looking to find some fun animals in this desolate wasteland!

This place is awesome in what they do. Gilcrease really is a sanctuary as they take in pets that are no longer wanted by their owners and gives these pets a decent place to live. They have lots of cockatoos, parrots and even a Tucan. Some of these birds live 50 – 70 years and I’m afraid people might not have thought that through before getting them. The cockatoo room is pretty noisy, and you’ll hear the birds chirping whatever sayings were taught to them. It’s sad in way but I’m glad Gilcrease gives them a place to live. They also have a large duck pond with some rather tame ducks that will eat right out of your hand. (See photo.) They have lots of ducks, geese, chickens and a few swans. At Gilcrease, they also have burros, goats and a deer.
It’s worth going to Gilcrease because you get to see some of these animals close up and you get to help support their care. Good job folks! Will I be back? Heck yeah I will.

Everytime I go here, I leave so much more relaxed then when I went in. The cockatoos, emus, ostriches, swans, ducks, pot-​bellied pigs, turkey, roosters, macaws, toucan — its a great way to get away from the Vegas scene, if only for an hour. The staff is knowledgeable and friendly and if you’re lucky, a rooster or too will follow you around…

This is a really nice day trip to take with kids. Its only a few bucks to get in, I believe it was $ 7 total for me & my three kids.
They have a lot of birds like chickens & peacocks wandering the grounds. There are also a few other animals such as ostriches, ponies, burros, a couple of pot bellied pigs, and a tortoise.
They have a small petting zoo with goats you can feed. Bring lots of quarters for the animal pellets, and have fun !
Sidenote: no people food available here so plan to eat elsewhere.

I have driven past it many times. So I talked my wife and the boys to go. Not disappointed! It could been better. But it was still fun. I love parrots! They had only a few molters but considering the season I was expecting more! The boys had fun, and no bitten fingers! But if there was I would blame my child not the owner! Lots of chickens! I should of asked for eggs! Had a fun. Time and we will probably go again! Thanx!
Btw the prices are 5.00 adult, 1.00 for out 12 yr old, and free for my 4yr old.

What an awesome place this is.
We (adults) were charged $ 5 per person for admission and we didn’t mind at all. What a cheap price to help such a neat place.
There were tons and tons of ducks. The pond was so cool! They had exotic birds, they had turtles and burros. Near the pond we saw tons and tons of eggs just lying there it was a cool scenery to see.
I loved feeling like I was out of the «city» for a bit.
The people there were very friendly. They have a wish list of things they need on a constant basis. We brought empty toilet paper and paper towel rolls I mean come on we all use those things so why not save the empty rolls and drop them off even if you don’t plan to go inside. They also need real pine cones so next time you are up at Mt. Charleston why not pick some up and collect them in a bag to donate to them.
I recommend everyone experience this place at least once and try and donate what you can!

You get 5 stars for serving your purpose and not trying to do more than you need to (like Jack-​in-​the Box’s menu off 2000 items)
I appreciate that they ownership specifies that the animals are taken care of.
The reason why I give this place 5 stars is because it is great for kids and it allows them to get personal interaction with animals for a very good price. I didn’t know this place existed but I’m glad that its here.

It only takes one visit to fall in love with this place. The sanctuary is open from 9am to 4pm 7 days a week. $ 5 for adults, $ 4 for seniors, $ 1 for kids.
They have a large number birds, goats you can feed, miniature horses, a deer, emus, ostriches and other animals as well.
I could spend hours talking, singing, and playing with these birds.
Definitely a hidden gem in vegas, and worth supporting.