The Expansion of Bearizona! “The Grizzly Encounter”

Bearizona is Expanding with their 40,00 sq foot Grizzly Encounter!

The Grizzly Encounter

Last month (July 2020), Bearizona broke ground on what they call the “Grizzly Encounter.” The Grizzly Encounter will be 40,000 square foot habitat expansion to the already 160 acres that make up Bearizona and will incorporate multilevel spaces for their young rescued bears to enjoy and guests to experience. The Grizzly encounter will also have a 200-foot by 24-foot cliff, two waterfalls, underwater viewing sections, and a rock ridge from where people can look down, into the habitat, or up into the grizzly ponds. Sounds AWESOME!

Visitors will be able to safely view the bears due to the construction of moats, railings, and some glass paneling. Once complete, The Grizzly Encounter will be one of the largest and most impressive grizzly bear habitats in the United States!

The Bearizona Grizzly Encounter expansion is projected to be complete in March of 2021!

What is Bearizona?

Bearizona is a drive- and walk-through wildlife park/zoo in Williams, AZ.

The park’s mission is to rescue wild animals in need of new homes and promote conservation by fostering memorable and educational encounters with North American wildlife in natural environments.

Bearizona is a 158-acre facility accredited by the Zoological Association of America and is currently home to 39 black bears and many other species of North American wildlife.

The drive-and walk-through park’s mission is to rescue wild animals in need of new homes and promote conservation. Since it was founded in 2010, Bearizona has fast-become a must-see attraction when visiting the Grand Canyon’s South Rim or driving through Northern Arizona. It was voted among the top three wildlife parks by the annual USA Today Readers’ Choice Awards twice in the past three years!

Our Bearizona Experience

Below are some pictures of our experience from August 2019 (pre-COVID). We loved Bearizona, it was definitely worth the 3 hour trip from Surprise, Arizona (Phoenix West Valley), and we look forward to visiting the Grizzly Encounter next year!

My sister-in-law visited Bearizona in June of 2020 (during a pandemic), and she said it was a blast! Her kids thoroughly enjoyed it, and because it’s an outdoor facility, they felt safe. During the COVID restrictions, you can still do the drive-thru tour of the facility, but they are not doing the bus tour, you simply take the tour in your car, which is just as neat of an experience. The petting zoo is closed, and their bird shows were closed too. The facility itself is vast, and there is still a lot to see, despite those restrictions. If you want to read more about the Bearizona COVID restrictions you can click >>here<<

You’re able to get so close to the animals while they’re in a wide-open atmosphere, it’s fantastic!

Here is also a fun video I found of the drive-thru experience, in the winter months. <<

Current Grizzly Experience (2020)