Visit – Tours

Animal Place is open for private tours dependent on availability!

*At this time the sanctuary is still closed for self-guided and public tours. We are monitoring the Delta varient of Covid-19 closely, and tours are subject to change at any time to ensure the safety of our staff and guests.

Over the past year, the sanctuary has felt a quiet presence without you! The animals have a restlessness about them, looking for people to get pets and extra love from. Our museum has collected dust, and spiders have found a home within it. The parking lot has been empty, besides the cars of our dedicated animal care team members. But change is in the air… 

We are excited to announce that after a long year, Animal Place will be welcoming guests back to the sanctuary for private tours! Tours are 1.5 hours and will be available for booking depending on availability for parties of up to 6. At this time, all tour guests must be 12 years old or older. 

Out of an abundance of caution and concern for our staff, for the month of June, all private tour visitors must be fully vaccinated against Covid-19. All Animal Place staff are fully vaccinated against Covid-19. Epidemiologists generally agree masks are not necessary in an outdoor environment amongst fully vaccinated people. Masks are not required during the private tour for fully vaccinated guests. If a member of your private tour group cannot be vaccinated due to a medical or religious exemption, a face covering must be worn during the entirety of the tour. 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, Zeke the chicken, and everyone else! Tours can be booked by emailing kelcie@animalplace.org. We look forward to seeing you!

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:

• Guided Tours – Closed until further notice
• Self-Guided Tours  – Closed until further notice
• School Tours – Closed until further notice
• College & University Tours – Closed until further notice
• Private Tours

Guided 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 virulent Newcastle Disease outbreak in southern California, 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 two hours and entail a lot of walking on flat ground. The facility is wheelchair accessible, although there are some rocky portions of the property.

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 or more (tour groups with more than 10 people will be higher). 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.

Self-Guided Tours

Animal Place welcomes drop-in visitors every day 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:
Every Day: 10:00 AM -4:00 PM

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 two 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 of $3-5/child and require a chaperone:child 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.

To request further information about school tours, please email Kelcie Leach, Program Director.

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 of $5/student.

To request further information about school tours, please email Kelcie Leach, Program Director.

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 to6.  Private tours last 1.5 hours.

Private Tour pricing:

Tours up to 6 people: $150

At this time, all tour guests must be 12 years old or older.