Lion Country Safari
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| Date opened | 1967 |
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| Location | Loxahatchee, Florida, USA |
| Coordinates | 26°42′58″N 80°19′20″W / 26.7160778°N 80.3221278°WCoordinates: 26°42′58″N 80°19′20″W / 26.7160778°N 80.3221278°W |
| Memberships | AZA |
| Website | www |
Lion Country Safari is a drive-through safari park located in Loxahatchee (near West Palm Beach), in Palm Beach County, Florida. Founded in 1967, it claims to be the first 'cageless zoo' in the United States.
In 2009, USA Travel Guide named Lion Country the 3rd best zoo in the nation. [1]
Lion Country Safari was founded in 1967 by a group of South African, American and British entrepreneurs who wished to provide a safari experience for families who would not normally be able to experience it. The park originally exhibited only lions.
In the beginning, the park had its own 2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge railroad, the Everglade Express. This attraction was eventually closed and the Crown Metal Products 4-4-0 locomotive was put on static display. Later, the locomotive was donated to the Gold Coast Railroad Museum in Miami before finally being bought and fully restored by the Veterans Memorial Railroad, located in Bristol, Florida's Veterans Memorial Park. It runs on that railroad to this day.
The original South Florida park is the only one remaining in operation. Lion Country Safari previously operated parks in Irvine, California (1970–1984); Grand Prairie, Texas (1971–1992); (1970-1984); Mason, Ohio (1974–1993) and Doswell, Virginia (1974–1993); all of them subsequently closed.
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