Off of highway 78 not far from Stone Mountain Park in Georgia, you'll find a wonderful place for orphaned animals as well ones who cannot be released into the wild. Yellow River Wildlife Sanctuary sits along the Yellow River and was once know as the Yellow River Game Ranch from 1962 – 2013. Col. Art Rilling opened the YRGR to give injured and orphaned animals a home and to offer people a chance to interact with deer, goats, rabbits, and more. He sold the ranch to employees in 2013. They ran it until they eventually closed their doors. Along came the Ordway family who have a passion for animals and worked to turn the ranch into a sanctuary as well as a means to educate the public about the residents. The sanctuary kept some of the former animals and added new ones. Tom, Jack, and I visited the venue earlier this summer.
The sanctuary is only open Thursday to Sunday with hours of 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM. They are practicing social distancing by requiring you to purchase a timed ticket. Once you enter the venue, there's 10 minutes before the next visitor can enter. Sanitizer is at the entrance. The day we were there members of other groups – mainly children – ran near us. There's enough space at the outdoor sanctuary that you can easily move 6 ft or more away. We wore our masks if around other people. It was a fun outing and we weren't worried.
When we originally went to the ranch almost 17 years ago, the deer would walk right up to you. We were swarmed due to our Graham cracker snacks! Today, the animals, except for the yard animals and bunnies, are not available for petting. That's okay since you can view them in their natural habitats peacefully roaming. You're close enough to the fences to see the raccoons and various residents and enjoy their antics. We'll definitely return soon. Memberships for the sanctuary will be available in the future but not yet with the pandemic still on. You can find links to their memberships here.
Yellow River Wildlife Sanctuary site
