Shubenacadie Wildlife Park in the Winter

**Disclosure: Our family received a pass to the wildlife park in exchange for letting more Valley families know that they are open in the winter for amazing family fun! All opinions are our own.**

Did you know that the Shubenacadie Wildlife Park is open in the winter and you can go visit the animals?
Neither did we!

My parents used to take us to the park when we were kids, and we took the boys one summer about 4 years ago.
So, when I found out that the Shubenacadie Wildlife Park was open year-round, I knew we had to visit.

We were on our way to go dog sledding with SnowPak Dog Sledding Adventures and stopped at the Wildlife Park on our way through.

Snowshoeing

When you arrive at the park, head down the hill to the Legacy Centre. This is the big Ducks Unlimited building (with a picture of a duck on it).

Every weekend, there is free snowshoeing at the park.
Here’s what the website says.

Have you ever wanted to try snowshoeing? We have the snowshoes if winter gives us the snow. This will be offered periodically on week-ends starting January 9, 2016, from 10 am to 1 pm.
We wish to encourage people of all ages to try this easy and free recreational activity. To make arrangements or get more information: email legacycentre@novascotia.ca or phone 902-758-5316.

Please call 902-758-2040 after 9:00 am on week-ends to ensure the facility is open as inclement weather or unsafe conditions may cause events to be cancelled.

Snowshoes are available for those aged 4+.

Our Snowshoe Adventure

We brought our own snowshoes with us, but still went in to check with the Legacy Centre.
Here, we were given a map, and told of a couple of routes that we could take.

It was a very cold day, so we decided to do the shortest loop of about 1km through the woods and around the ponds. This took us about 20 minutes to complete.
The scenery was beautiful!

Along the way there were interpretive signs to help us learn more.

Legacy Centre

Back inside the Legacy Centre there were so many hands-on activities for the kids to play with to learn about our wetlands.

This is free to visit.

We could have easily spent an hour looking at the displays.

Wildlife Park

After exploring the wetlands area at the Legacy Centre, we headed next door to the park entrance. We were greeted by park attendants who gave us a map of the park.

The entire park is open, however, not all enclosures may have animals because of the winter (but most do!).

The best advice: turn right. Whenever you have a decision to make of which way to go, turn right! This will make sure you see everything in the park!

Winter turns out to be an incredible time to visit the park! When our friends were there yesterday, they were the only ones in the park!

The animals were so active and many were out playing in the snow.
Watch the mink!

Or the otters!

Although cold for us, these animals, native to Atlantic Canada, were loving it! We saw wolves, foxes, coyotes, moose, deer and so much more.

It took us about 1 hour to visit all the animals in the winter.

This was a wonderful way to spend an afternoon, and we highly recommend visiting in the winter!

We cannot wait to go back in the summer!

Dogs

Dogs are not allowed in the Shubenacadie wildlife park itself.

Leashed pets are permitted in the picnic area and on the trails but NOT in the area in which our captive wildlife is housed. Please pick up after your pets.

However, the Park offers kennels at the park entrance where your dog can stay while you enjoy the park. What a great service! These are open year-round, too!

Hours and Admission

Shubenacadie Wilflife Park is located just off Highway 102, Exit 9 at Milford, about 1 hour 15mins from the Valley.
149 Creighton Road, Shubenacadie, NS.
When you take Exit 9, just follow the blue wildlife signs to the park.