VACATIONS MADE EASY : DESTINATIONS : GATLINBURG AREA : EVENT CALENDAR

Opening day of the Cherokee Bear Zoo season

The Cherokee Bear Zoo in Cherokee, North Carolina is a popular family destination due to its unique petting zoo atmosphere, where adults and children can pet, feed and hold baby wild animals. Bears are the zoo's specialty - an entire family of grizzly bears including father, mother, son and daughter are in residence. When a baby grizzly is born, it is trained and socialized so that visitors to the zoo can hold and pet the animal. You can even take photos with a baby grizzly or other baby animals!

Other animals at the zoo include local Smoky Mountains species like deer, red raccoons, and albino groundhogs. Exotic species are also present - currently, a young female tiger lives at the zoo, along with several ring-tailed lemurs. These animals have also been socialized to interact with zoo visitors. There is a large population of goats at the zoo, and the baby goats are very friendly and love to interact with and be fed by young visitors. There is also an ice cream shop and a mini-golf course at the zoo. There is a small fee for admission, and the zoo is easily accessed from both the Gatlinburg, Tennessee area and the Asheville, North Carolina area.

When:

March 1, 2010 - December 31, 2010

Points of Interest

Cherokee Bear Zoo in Cherokee, NC

Located an hour Southeast from Gatlinburg, the Cherokee Bear Zoo features a variety of native and exotic animals located just outside the borders of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.