Texas has always been land rich! Given the size of our great state I guess it was inevitable that we would be on the lookout for unique ways to use the land that we have. In the past few months I’ve investigated and written on a number of people’s imaginative uses of our area’s rolling hills and sprawling country side. I’ve read about balloon races, zip-line tours, water parks, big game preserves, and drive-through wild life parks. Among the latter is the Cherokee Trace Drive thru Safari Park. My impression of this park was very positive, but little did I realize that there is another such refuge in Grapeland.
The Grapeland Drive thru Safari boasts three hundred fifty animals including: zebras, buffalo, llamas, axis deer, fallow deer, camel, kangaroo, and many other species. They are located a mile to the north of the City of Grapeland, on fifty nine acres of natural habitat. So how do the two area safaris compare? Well based on the reading that I have done, much smaller and the animals and exotic species less numerous. They do have a barrel train that visitors can ride around the park for only ten dollars a seat (or barrel). The train is pulled slowly around park by a mower or a four wheeler. This is great option for those bringing a group of The Grapeland Safari is actually quite a bit cheaper. Although it seems the park is school children or other youngsters. They also offer a bounce house to young visitors at the rate of a dollar for five minutes.
From what I can tell, Cherokee Trace is definitely a larger, more developed site. Visitors pay more but the experience seems more centered on the park itself as well as the animals. Either stop would probably be memorable and enjoyable for the kids, but I suggest paying a bit more for what appears to me to be a more educational experience. For those interested in Grapeland, or if readers want to compare the two parks the websites are as follows: www.grapelanddrivethrusafari.com, and www.cherokeetrace.org. Readers can also search this site for my original article on Cherokee Trace entitled simply Cherokee Trace Drive Through.
After revisiting my original article I found a reader wrote about a rather negative experience he’d had at Cherokee Trace. I’d be interested in the experiences of other visitors to either park. Is his experience unique or common? Hopefully others had better experiences than that of this particular reader.