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Rolling Hills Wildlife Refuge

A July 2000 trip to Salina by Casual Tourist Best of IgoUgo

Rolling Hills RefugeMore Photos

You've got to check this place out. What a great facility and what beautiful animals. Step into my journal and get a peek at some of the exotic creatures who call this place home.

  • 7 reviews
  • 7 stories/tips
  • 48 photos

Rolling Hills Wildlife RefugeBest of IgoUgo

Overview

Rolling Hills Refuge
Lions and tigers and bears -- oh my!! Seeing live wildlife is always such a joy and Rolling Hills provided an up-close view of some exotic and nearly extinct species. The animals were not hidden away from view as they are in some zoos, but up close and personal. Come along with me and get personal with these marvelous creatures of the earth.

Quick Tips:

Come prepared to enjoy a leisurely day of total pleasure.

Best Way To Get Around:

Walking is the best way to navigate through Rolling Hills Refuge. A tram, which provides a guided tour, is available, but this does not leave you at your leisure to really take in the marvelous animals.

Hong Kong BuffetBest of IgoUgo

Restaurant

Dining in Salina
The Hong Kong Buffet is one of the best Chinese buffets I've found in Salina. They specialize in Cantonese, Szechuan and Hunan Cuisine and have a great selection of items on their buffet tables, including shrimp and crab legs. The restaurant is clean and bright and the service in bringing drinks and clearing used plates from the tables is superb. The price for lunch is $4.95 and for Dinner $6.95, which is extremely reasonable. Lunch is served Monday through Sunday between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. and dinner on Monday through Thursday at 4 p.m. until 9:30 p.m.; on Friday and Saturday from 4 p.m. until 10 p.m. and on Sunday from 4 p.m. until 9 p.m.
  • Member Rating 4 out of 5 by Casual Tourist on March 14, 2001

Hong Kong Buffet
2445 S 9th Street Salina, Kansas 67401
(785) 820-8683

Red Lobster RestaurantBest of IgoUgo

Restaurant

Dining in Salina
What can you say about Red Lobster? Great seafood, good service, exquisite surroundings. The Salina Red Lobster lives up to the traditional excellence this national restaurant chain is known for. The staff is friendly, courteous and attentive, serving piping hot food in a timely manner. Both inside and outside of the building are well kept. As far as location is concerned, the restaurant is located on a main thoroughfare with access via a service road and adequate parking is available.
  • Member Rating 4 out of 5 by Casual Tourist on March 14, 2001

Red Lobster Restaurant
2925 S 9th Street Salina, Kansas
(785) 825-0837

Overlook RestaurantBest of IgoUgo

Restaurant

Overlook Restaurant
This is a little eatery on the refuge grounds. Fast food is served in a clean, well-lit facility. There are seats for dining inside or outside. The atmosphere is pleasant and the outside seating allows you to look out over the refuge grounds as you enjoy a quick bite to eat.
  • Member Rating 3 out of 5 by Casual Tourist on May 21, 2001

Overlook Restaurant
Rolling Hills Refuge Salina, Kansas

Rolling Hills ZooBest of IgoUgo

Attraction | "Revisiting Rolling Hills Refuge"

Rolling Hills Refuge
The Rolling Hills Wildlife Refuge has expanded the displays since my first visit by adding African lions and opening the Kids Korner. The grounds were just as well kept as they had been when the park first opened. My brother-in-law from Denver accompained us on this visit and he was quite impressed by the way the grounds were landscaped, as well as by the refuge in general. There were many people strolling through the park, but it was far from being crowded.
  • Member Rating 4 out of 5 by Casual Tourist on May 15, 2001

Rolling Hills Zoo
625 N Hedville Road Salina, Kansas 67401
(785) 827-9488

Rolling Hills ZooBest of IgoUgo

Attraction | "African Lions"

Rolling Hills Wildlife Refuge
Rolling Hills has added a couple of African lions to it's menagerie of animals. In evidence on the day we visited were two large and very lazy males. The lion's pen is located near Kid's Korner, and if you have navigated the refuge from right to left along the paths, this is near the end of your trek. Most welcome was the covered benches for resting one's feet and taking a break before finishing the excursion.
  • Member Rating 3 out of 5 by Casual Tourist on May 22, 2001

Rolling Hills Zoo
625 N Hedville Road Salina, Kansas 67401
(785) 827-9488

Kid's KornerBest of IgoUgo

Attraction

Rolling Hills Refuge
Kid's Korner recently opened at Rolling Hills Wildlife Refuge. This is an area where the animals are small enough to appeal to kids and not frighten them. There were several goats and small donkeys to be fed and petted. The animals and kids do not share the same space but the fences are low enough for the kids to reach over to touch the animals. We saw lots of happy young faces in Kid's Korner.
  • Member Rating 4 out of 5 by Casual Tourist on May 22, 2001

Kid's Korner
Rolling Hills Refuge Salina, Kansas

Rolling Hills Wildlife RefugeBest of IgoUgo

Story/Tip

Rolling Hills Refuge
The Refuge exceeded all of our expectations. Landscaped with plants, ponds and fountains, the grounds were exceptionally well-kept. Paved paths were wide and smooth, with benches set at comfortable distances. Lattice-covered viewing areas provided a well-shaded place to sit and enjoy the wildlife.

Dining was available at 'The Overlook,' and bottled drink machines were placed throughout the park. Restrooms were clean and air conditioned. The Safari Station gift shop had a wide range of nicely priced items to satisfy both the budget shopper and the big spender.

Most of all, the animals were magnificent. Most of the enclosures could be viewed from all sides and were of an adequate size for the wildlife but small enough to allow visitors to really 'see' the animals. We did not pass a single display where the animals were 'somewhere' out of sight.

Rolling Hills Wildlife Refuge -- Great ApesBest of IgoUgo

Story/Tip

Rolling Hills Refuge
One of the most fascinating exhibits for me was the Great Apes. I think that I could spend hours just watching the chimpanzees and orangutans interact with one another. It must have been snack time when we visited as the chimpanzees each had a tube with some sort of treat stuffed inside and the orangutan had a plastic bottle with what appeared to be seeds inside. The facial expressions of these primates were simply spellbinding. The chimps seemed quite content and eager in their pursuit of relieving the hidden treat from the tubes. However, the orangutan seemed not to be hungry and to simply be eating and playing with his bottle out of boredom. Two orangutans were advertised, but I only saw one.

Rolling Hills Wildlife Refuge -- CamelsBest of IgoUgo

Story/Tip

Rolling Hills Refuge
Another area of interest for me was the camels. The two dromedary camels remained right next to the viewing area the entire time we were by their enclosure. Though one of the camels simply stood around with a very composed look on its face, the other seemed to think that it was time for 'Fun With Lips.' I almost couldn't get my husband to move along because he was getting such a kick out of this animals 'exploration of the various postures available to camel lips.'

The pen area was relatively clean. It was a warm day when we visited and though there was the usual animal odor of feces and urine it was not overwhelming nor terribly offensive.

The bactian camels were rather difficult to view due to the construction of the enclosure. They must be powerful animals and rather adverse to being penned up as the bars of their enclosure were quite thick.

We enjoyed the camels tremendously.

Rolling Hills Refuge - BongosBest of IgoUgo

Story/Tip

Rolling Hills Refuge
I think the most unusual animals that we saw were the Bongos. It has always been my understanding that bongos were little drums played by beatniks. I never knew that they were also animals. As you can see from the photos, they have quite unusual markings. These animals are nearly extinct and I am glad that I had the opportunity to see them in the flesh.

Rolling Hills Refuge - BearsBest of IgoUgo

Story/Tip

Rolling Hills Refuge
Bears are another animal I really like seeing. At Rolling Hills Refuge they have both Sloth Bears and Black Bears. Neither pair of bears was very active on the day we went, probably due to the temperature -- a little warm for any animal with such a thick coat. I found the sloth bears to be the most interesting. Their face is so different, at one moment resembling that of a dog, at another moment looking somewhat like a panda.

Rolling Hills Refuge - African Hunting DogsBest of IgoUgo

Story/Tip

Rolling Hills Refuge
The African Hunting Dogs were extremely obliging the day of our visit. When we arrived at their enclosure they were sleeping, but after a few seconds, both of them woke up, stretched and interacted with one another. After I was able to take several photos, they lay back down and went to sleep. The dogs have beautiful markings and behaved in a manner similar to any house dog, though I am sure they are quite wild by nature. They were a pleasure to see.

Rolling Hills Refuge - CougarsBest of IgoUgo

Story/Tip

Rolling Hills Refuge
The Refuge is home to two beautiful cougars. They were quite affectionate with one another while we were viewing them. I certainly wouldn't want to meet one of these cats in the woods unexpectedly, but they were magnificent to watch.

About the Writer

Casual Tourist
Casual Tourist
Enterprise, Kansas

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