Visit – Tours

Animal Place is open for self-guided visits, private tours, and public tours!

Guests are invited to visit the sanctuary for self-guided tours every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 10am-4pm. Please check in at the education center (white building) to collect your visitor badge and sanctuary map.

Private tours are 1.5 hours and will be available for booking depending on availability for parties of up to 6. Public tours are 1.5 hours long and available on select Saturdays and Sundays every month.

Out of an abundance of caution and concern for our staff, all tour guests are highly encouraged to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. During the winter flu season, masks are required for all tour guests.  Animal Place will have one-time-use face masks available to guests.

The animal residents and staff at Animal Place are looking forward to your visit. Come spend time with Belle the goat, Maxwell the pig, and everyone else!

Private Tours can be booked by emailing Cathy Lee, Director of Programs, at cathy@animalplace.org. 

Public Tours can be booked here.

We offer a variety of tours at the 600-acre sanctuary in Grass Valley, California. Our 12-acre Rescue & Adoption Center, A Project of Animal Place facility in Petaluma, California is not yet open to the public.

Types of Tours:

• Public Guided Tours
• Private Tours
• Self-Guided Tours 
• School Tours
• College & University Tours

Guided Public Tours

Upcoming tours

Visit with some of the 375 rescued farmed animals who call Animal Place home and learn about their history. Due to the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza our chickens, turkeys, and guinea fowl are quarantined for their safety and will not be accessible to the public. You will be able to spend time with goats, sheep, bunnies, and pigs.

Tours last 1.5 hours and entail a lot of walking on flat ground. The facility is wheelchair accessible, although there are some rocky portions of the property. Public tours have a minimum of six guests and a maximum of ten guests for each tour. Tours are weather dependent and will be cancelled or rescheduled due to rain or snow.

There are picnic spots available for after the tour. All food must be vegan: Please respect the animals at the sanctuary by not bringing meat (including chicken and fish), dairy (milk, cheese, etc), eggs or honey onto the property. Peanut butter sandwiches, hummus, beans, green salads, fruits and veggies are a few suitable alternatives.

You must wear long pants and boots (which we will provide). Socks are not provided, please bring your own. We share the property with wildlife, including rattlesnakes. Boots provide added protection when interacting directly with the large animals.

We do private tours with a donation of $150 for groups of up to 10. Whenever possible, please consider signing up for a scheduled guided tour.

Visitor dogs are not permitted. This is for their safety and that of the animals. Please leave companion dogs at home.

Please email Cathy Lee, Programs Director, at cathy@animalplace.org with questions.

Private Tours

We offer private tours year-round. There is no minimum number of people required to attend a private tour, however a minimum donation of $150 is required for a tour up to 6 people. Additional guests are $15 per person. Private tours last 1.5 hours.

Private Tour pricing: $150

Book your tour by emailing Cathy Lee, Programs Director, at cathy@animalplace.org.

Self-Guided Tours

Animal Place welcomes drop-in visitors every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 10:00-4:00 pm. Year-round.

Check-in at the education center (the white house) for a map of the property and picnic spots. You will not have direct contact with the animals. You might see the animals grazing or lounging about, but for safety and liability reasons, you cannot enter their pastures (for a more intimate tour, please see Guided Tours above).

All food must be vegan: Please respect the animals at the sanctuary by not bringing meat, dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt), eggs or honey onto the property. Peanut butter sandwiches, hummus, beans, green salads, fruits and veggies are a few suitable alternatives.

Visitor dogs are not permitted. This is for their safety and that of the animals. Please leave companion dogs at home.

Clothing Recommendation: We share the property with native predators, including rattlesnakes. Our recommendation is to wear closed-toed shoes. You should remain on the designated paths and not wander into tall grasses or rocky areas.

Sanctuary Hours of Operation:
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 10:00 AM -4:00 PM

Please email Cathy Lee, Programs Director, at cathy@animalplace.org with questions.

School Tours

We encourage the promotion of humane education, and to facilitate that we offer school groups the opportunity to visit our sanctuary.

Tours are generally 1.5 hours long. Currently, we are offering tours for ages 12 and older but as we expand our program, that will certainly change.

We ask for a donation on a sliding scale of $5-15/student and require a chaperone:student ratio of 1:5.

Children get the opportunity to interact directly with the animals at the sanctuary, learn how they are housed, fed and cared for and also from where they came. We do promote veganism in a gentle, compassionate manner.

Picnic spots are available. All food brought on sanctuary grounds must be vegan. This includes no meat, dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt), eggs and honey. Peanut butter sandwiches, hummus, beans, green salads, fruits and veggies are a few suitable alternatives. This is out of respect for the animals at the sanctuary, most of whom would have been killed for consumption if Animal Place had not been there for them.

Please email Cathy Lee, Programs Director, at cathy@animalplace.org with questions and to book your tour.

College & University Tours

Learning about farmed animals in a sanctuary setting is a unique opportunity for students studying agriculture or environmental sciences. The life of sanctuary animals is far different than animals raised on most farms in the country. Offering another perspective is an integral aspect of learning and critical thinking.

Students get an opportunity to interact directly with many of the animals at the sanctuary. They will learn the animals’ histories along with current housing, medical treatment and care for the animals.

There are picnic spots available for after the tour. All food brought on sanctuary grounds must be vegan. This includes no meat, dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt), eggs and honey. Peanut butter sandwiches, hummus, beans, green salads, fruits and veggies are a few suitable alternatives. This is out of respect for the animals at the sanctuary, most of whom would have been killed for consumption if Animal Place did not exist.

Tours last two hours. We ask for a donation on a sliding scale of $5-15/student.

Please email Cathy Lee, Programs Director, at cathy@animalplace.org with questions and to book your tour.