The Wilds is officially open for its 2026 summer season in Cumberland, Ohio, bringing visitors back to nearly 10,000 acres of rolling pastures and wildlife habitat that is home to more than 30 rare and endangered species from around the world.
The conservation center also said it recently welcomed two southern white rhino calves, a birth that adds to one of its biggest seasonal draws. Dr. Joe Greathouse said, “Each season at The Wilds brings something new,” adding that with new calves and the expanded Hellbender RV Campground, the site is creating more ways for guests to connect with wildlife and experience conservation in action.
The opening matters now because summer is the busiest window for the property’s tour schedule and overnight stays, and The Wilds is using the start of the season to push both. Visitors can book the Open-Air Safari Tour, presented by G&J Pepsi, the Wildside Tour led by an Animal Management team member, and the Restoring Nature at The Wilds Ecology Tour, which highlights native prairie restoration, eastern hellbenders and American burying beetles. Other options include Sunset Safari, Zipline Safari, Fishing Safaris, Horseback Safaris and Birding tours.
The Wilds sits on reclaimed surface mining land and has built its identity around wildlife conservation and public access. Its pastures are home to animals including greater one-horned rhinos, southern white rhinos, Masai giraffes, takin and Père David’s deer, while overnight stays range from Nomad Ridge yurts, Cabins at Straker Lake, the Lodge and WildNights at the Outpost to WildeCamp, an adults-only experience, and the Hellbender RV Campground, a 75-acre site now entering its second full season.
The combination of newborn rhinos, a full tour calendar and an expanded campground shows what The Wilds is trying to be in 2026: not just a place to see animals, but a conservation destination built to keep people coming back. That is the story of this season, and it starts with the calves.
