Day Trips: Snake Farm, New Braunfels
Snake Farm, just sounds nasty, but is a lot of fun
By Gerald E. McLeod, Fri., Aug. 31, 2018
The Snake Farm in New Braunfels has grown up. More than just a herpetarium, the iconic attraction on I-35 has expanded to become Animal World and Snake Farm Zoo.
Opened in 1967, the roadside stand housed an impressive collection of reptiles. Since 2007, it has grown to include more warm and fuzzy animals with legs. The park is a fully accredited zoo with more than 500 species of animals, some exotic and some of the barnyard variety.
There are still lots of snakes. I have to agree with Ray Wylie Hubbard in his song "Snake Farm" that the idea of a place where they raise more snakes sounds kind of disgusting. The reality is much more sedate and less creepy.
It might influence your decision to stomp through tall grass when you see how many kinds of snakes there are in the Texas section of the reptile house. You many never go outdoors again when you discover how many kinds of rattlesnakes there are.
The park takes the edge off the fear factor with our slithering friends by staging interactive shows throughout the day where guests get to meet the residents. All in all it's a lot of fun playing with the goats in the petting zoo, watching the big cats play in their swimming pool, and laughing at the primates swinging in their cages. You can't say you're a local until you've visited the Snake Farm at least once.
Animal World and Snake Farm Zoo is on the southern edge of New Braunfels on the I-35 frontage road, at exit 183. It's open daily from 10am to 6pm most of the year and until 7pm during the summer.
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