Visitors to a North Georgia drive-through attraction can now stroll shoulder to shoulder with kangaroos, after Atlanta Safari Park opened a walk-through exhibit where the marsupials move, graze, and rest freely alongside guests. The 150-acre park, located off Highway 326 in the Commerce/Franklin County area, says the new habitat is the first of its kind in Georgia.
According to Main Street News, park staff lead tours through the exhibit and offer educational information about the animals while monitoring visitor safety. The new setup gives guests a rare chance to see kangaroos up close as the animals interact with their surroundings inside a shared space rather than behind a single fence line.
Atlanta Safari Park first opened to the public in March 2023 along Highway 326, spanning roughly 156 acres in the Appalachian foothills between Atlanta and Greenville, South Carolina, according to AtlantaFi.com. The park houses more than 400 animals from around the world and combines a two-mile drive-through safari loop with walk-through areas, opening daily at 9 a.m. with last admission at 4 p.m.
How the Shared Kangaroo Habitat Is Built
The walk-through kangaroo habitat relies on a dual-barrier system, according to the park. An outer perimeter containment fence surrounds the exhibit, while a shorter interior pathway fence keeps visitors on marked paths as the kangaroos roam freely around them, with zookeepers stationed inside the shared space to supervise interactions and educate guests.
That layered containment approach isn't just a design choice. Under Georgia law, kangaroos and all marsupials in the genus Macropus are classified as inherently dangerous to human beings, according to the Animal Legal & Historical Center, which means facility operators must hold a wild animal license and carry mandatory liability insurance to exhibit them. Federal rules enforced by the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service under the Animal Welfare Act also require regulated exhibitors to maintain physical barriers and trained staff during public contact and walk-through exhibits, with unannounced inspections used to verify compliance.
A Growing Piece of North Georgia's Agritourism Boom
Atlanta Safari Park has leaned into its local roots since opening. The Franklin County Chamber of Commerce formally inducted the park into its business network in August 2025, citing its role in driving tourism, jobs, and economic growth across Northeast Georgia.
The park says it puts a portion of general admission sales toward wildlife conservation programs managed through the Zoological Association of America, supporting efforts that include habitat preservation, captive breeding, public education, and other conservation initiatives. As of 2023, general admission ran $15.99 for adults ages 13 to 64, $14.99 for seniors, and $12.99 for children ages 3 to 12, with kids under 2 admitted free, per AtlantaFi.com's earlier reporting. The park directs visitors to atlantasafaripark.com for current hours, updates, and events.
Part of a Wider Trend Toward Walk-In Habitats
Atlanta Safari Park's new exhibit fits into a broader pattern of Georgia's expanding safari-style agritourism scene, which already includes Wild Animal Safari in Pine Mountain, North Georgia Wildlife Park in Cleveland, Wild Georgia Safari Park in Metter, and Lake Hartwell Wildlife Safari in Hartwell, according to background compiled on Wikipedia. It's a different operation from Georgia Safari Conservation Park in Madison, a 530-acre venue that opened in June 2024 with luxury overnight glamping tents and guided savanna tours and later landed on TIME's World's Greatest Places list for 2025, as Hoodline detailed in its report on Madison's safari expansion.
Nationally, zoos and wildlife parks have been investing in more immersive, close-contact habitats. Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo launched its multi-acre Forest Trailhead canopy walk featuring tree kangaroos in May 2026, reintroducing public tree kangaroo exhibits there for the first time in over a decade, as Hoodline previously reported. Just this week, Hoodline also covered a rare tree kangaroo joey making its public debut at the San Antonio Zoo, part of the same wave of kangaroo-focused exhibit additions spreading across American zoological facilities.
