This wild animal park, southwest of Zug in the shadow of Mt. Rigi, has has a very natural setting, so it feels more like a walk in the woods than a zoo. Deer and rams roam freely in most areas, which is fun and a little scary as shown the above photo. Vending machines throughout the park sell boxes of animal food so you can feed the animals. The bear exhibit is a big draw, though they aren’t always active. We had a good time and will probably go back.
| Location: | Central Switzerland |
| Address: | Parkstrasse 40 6410 Goldau CH |
| Car: | ~40 mins from Zurich |
| Train: | ~45 mins Zurich to Goldau, Tierpark bus stop |
| Open: | year round |
| Tickets (2020): | Adult CHF 20, Child CHF 10, under 6 free Family ticket CHF 55 for 2 parents and all children |
| More info: |
Getting There
By car: Drive to Parkstrasse 40 6410 Goldau CH. There is a small metered parking lot at the entrance to the park. Info about other parking options on their website.
By public transport: The express train takes about 40 mins and the tierpark is only a five minute walk from the Goldau train station. SBB Railaway usually has a Combo offer for train ticket to Goldau and tierpark.
You’ll pass a Coop and Migros if you need to pick up some picnic food before entering the park. If you drive, there’s plenty of parking right in front of the park.
Impressions
Here is the park map, click through to their website for a larger version.
Some of the deer are very aggressive so be careful with your little ones. One deer tried to eat my jacket and another ripped the whole food box out of my hand and I had to fight to get it back. I recommend bringing a ziploc bag to store the food box in and dole out a little at a time for your child to feed the animals.
Bear feeding time was really fun because the bears are quite close (not free-roaming!) and there’s a window at toddler level so they can see all the fun.
There’s a grill station with wood, if you want to bring sausages for lunch. We had a good time and I definitely recommend it.
The natural setting of the tierpark, with Mt. Rigi in the background.
Deer-proof swinging platform, from which you can “safely” feed the deer or eat your lunch.
“Wild” playground, with long slides and climbing structures, built in the trees near the cafe.
One Response
Hi Tanya,
We really enjoyed this animal park and went based on your write-up! Thanks for sharing.
Have you been to Affenberg Salem in Germany? We just went on May Day and had a wonderful time with our two young children. The highlight of this park is being able to hand-feed Barbary apes popcorn.