Washington – Olympic Game Farm: Feed Llamas from Your Car
Probably the silliest and most spontaneous activity while on our Olympic Peninsula road trip was going to the Olympic Game Farm in Sequim. At the Olympic Game Farm, you can buy a loaf of whole wheat bread and drive through a series of large gated areas with various animals. Some animals you can feed right out of your window; others will poke their heads into your car to find the bread for themselves. It was silly, smelly, and overwhelming at times. In this post, I will discuss the experience itself and some of the ethics of going to this destination to decide if it’s something you want to do.
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The Olympic Game Farm Experience
Maybe you’ve seen the waving bears in a viral Instagram or Facebook video? That’s at the Olympic Game Farm! And if you haven’t, the Olympic Game Farm is a zoo-like experience, except that you can drive through large pins and feed animals like llamas out of your car window with wheat bread that you buy at the entrance. One of their website headers is “Experience Wildlife Up Close and Personal,” and it was personal indeed! Especially during the pandemic, you stay in your car for the duration of your visit and drive a slow, curvy route through a series of large animal pens. There are signs before each area that indicate whether you can feed the animals with the bread or not.
The driving route’s main sections include heading uphill to see prairie dogs in a pen and a few deer in a fenced-off area and then heading downhill to the yaks, llamas, and zebras. Around the corner are all the separate yards for the Kodiak bears. There are rows of smaller pens for various carnivores and a separate petting zoo with typical farm animals back to the central entrance area. The carnivores I am referring to include animals like wolves, a tiger, and other wild cats. You are not able to feed these animals. After the entrance area, you have the option to drive around one more open field with deer, elk, and bison.
At a Glance:
- Rating: 2 (out of 4) stars, although I had fun, I am not sure I need to go back to do this again
- Intensity: Casual clothes
- Location: The Olympic Game Farm in Sequim, Washington
- Cost: $17/per adult to enter, $3 per loaf of bread
- Restrooms: At the entrance
- Timing: about 1 hour
Highlights:
- Throwing a piece of bread to a bear and watching it snatch the bread out of the air
- Seeing a zebra super up close!
- Laughing at the llamas who wouldn’t eat the crusts
Lowlights:
- Concern about these animals’ health (is this much bread good? Do they get their feet ran over? Do they have enough space?)
Feeding the Animals
Our first encounter feeding an animal was the large black yaks. These slow-moving guys were sweet and very interested in our bread. They stuck their heads inside the car to gently take the bread, which was a little shocking with the saliva and animal breath now inside the vehicle. Moving onto the llamas and zebras, many of whom were not at all interested in bread. We noticed the llamas only wanted the bread’s interior and would leave the crusts on the ground – hilarious. It was pretty incredible to see the zebra’s stripes so closely as one took a few of the crusts from our car.
It was time to see the Kodiak Bears. The bears are adorably rotund. Seemingly slow-moving, one of the bears snatched a piece of bread right out of the air when I threw it to him! We squealed in surprise and delight. The other bears were not interested in bread and were either sleeping or getting a shower from one worker.
There were multiple instructions for the final feeding area with more deer, elk, and bison. First, you are not supposed to stop the car because it can become a threat to the bison, who will ram your car. You are also not supposed to feed the elk at the entrance to the field. As soon as we did start feeding the elk, I found out why there were all these rules – they are EAGER for your bread. The elk will put their entire head in the car in search of the bread! They will also walk along with the vehicle when moving at a slow pace. It was a bit overwhelming, in addition to being worried about the bison. We rolled up the windows strategically and gave away the rest of our bread to the deer and elk.
How much bread to buy?
The whole wheat bread is available to buy at the main entrance and costs $3 per loaf of bread as of fall 2020. We had three adults in the car and opted to go with three loaves of bread. Three loaves might have been a bit much, but it allowed us to give freely, and each control where we wanted to give our bread out.
Bread tip: we realized with the llamas that we could offer partial bread pieces by tearing the bread in half. You don’t want to go too small due to the possibility to bite. However, a full slice of bread is better to frisbee-throw at the bears.
Discussion of Ethics of the Olympic Game Farm
The Olympic Game Farm is the third time I’ve gone to an animal experience and wondered if the animals are okay. The first two were in Thailand – at an Elephant Sanctuary and a Cat Cafe. Again, my same concerns came up – was this healthy or natural for the animals? And specifically for the Olympic Game Farm — was this much bread okay? Did they ever get their hooves run over or otherwise injured from the cars as they try to get bread? And the carnivores in the smaller pens that we could not feed were most concerning. Are those pens big enough?
I felt uneasy when beginning to write about the Olympic Game Farm and discovered this extensive news article in the Seattle Times from 2019. The article lists violations and concerns that the Olympic Game Farm has faced over multiple decades of operation. Although not nearly as bad as something like the Tiger King “zoo,” there is a bit of a run-down vibe to the whole place. The website defensively states that they give the animals a well-rounded diet and areas to hide/not be on display.
While visiting, I noticed that trucks monitor the visitors and enforce the rules. One truck was with the llamas to ensure that visitors did not get out of their vehicles. The other truck was with the elk/bison, where they told visitors to keep driving. The petting zoo, walking around carnivore’s pens, and the reptile area were all closed due to the pandemic.
Should You Go/Support the Olympic Game Farm?
It’s a tough call whether or not to visit the Olympic Game Farm. On the one hand, it is an incredibly unique environment where you can feed animals from your vehicle. Kids would be blown away by the experience. I’ve never been so close to a zebra, elk, yaks, and deer. I’ve also never frisbee’d a piece of bread to a Kodiak bear. On the other hand, there is no way this is a natural environment for the animals. Is it the worst life for these animals, no. But is it the best life for these animals, also no. It’s somewhere in between.
The Seattle Times article explains where the animals come from: “The roughly 80-acre Olympic Game Farm was originally a home for animals who appeared on TV shows and movies. Now, most of the animals aren’t former actors. They come from zoos, from owners who can no longer care for them or were born there.” (Steve Ringman/Seattle Times). The waving bears were likely actors or performers. It is also worth noting that some of the animals come from places that can no longer care for them, and the Olympic Game Farm provides care.
The Seattle Times article briefly discusses how the transition to becoming an animal sanctuary would significantly reduce visitors and income. Although I understand this sentiment, I wonder if the farm can do something in the more immediate future about the carnivores in the small pens. I assume most people visit due to the bread feeding for their vehicle, not to see a tiger in a small enclosure. If that element were removed and limited the visitors/vehicles per day, I would feel better about the experience. They might already be doing this, but it is not apparent on their website.
Getting to the Olympic Game Farm
The Olympic Game Farm is located in Sequim. I recommend searching for it on Google Maps or Apple maps for proper directions as it is a good 5 minutes or so from the main highway 101. As you start to get closer, there will be signs at practically every turn. There is no reservation system at the moment, and entrance is on a first-come, first-serve basis. We ended going on a Friday afternoon and did not have to wait in line. However, their website mentions that the weekends are much busier, and there could be a wait on weekends.
Olympic Peninsula Adventures
In addition to visiting the Olympic Game Farm, I made a multi-day road trip to discover the Olympic Peninsula’s unique climate zones. The three areas that I discovered on this road trip: rainforest, beach, and alpine. Check out these posts for more details on each activity:
- Backpacking Royal Basin, Olympic National Park (alpine)
- Things to do at Lake Quinault, Olympic Peninsula (rainforest)
- Backpacking Hole-in-the-Wall Beach, Olympic National Park (beach)
- Discovering the Hall of Mosses in the Hoh Rainforest (rainforest)
- Hiking Hurricane Hill, Olympic National Park (alpine)
Overall Thoughts: Olympic Game Farm
As you might be able to tell, I feel conflicted about the experience. I had a good/great time but also worried about the health and safety of the animals. There are plenty of other drive-through zoo experiences in the United States. I suppose what feels different is that you are driving your vehicle – it is not a professional driving the car and controlling the situation. Everyone we saw respected the animals’ space, but I wonder how many accidents happen. Without being an animal or ethics expert, I feel that you should decide about visiting the Olympic Game Farm.
Have you been to the Olympic Game Farm? If so, I’d love to hear about your experience and if you had some of the same feelings. Let me know in the comments!
Happy Travels,
Hanna
