Image Credit: Curtis Goodrum / CFJC Today

By Curtis Goodrum

SUMMER UPDATE

BC Wildlife Park finishing the summer strong with attendance spike

Aug 21, 2025 | 4:41 PM

KAMLOOPS – It’s been a successful summer so far for the BC Wildlife Park, with attendance already exceeding 12,000 people this August. A multitude of factors, including limited wildfire smoke and stretches of summer when the weather isn’t as hot, have helped the park.

Park officials are also looking to expand some areas with facility upgrades.

“Attendance has been great. We’re seeing an awful lot of visitors coming in from Alberta. Saskatchewan, the Lower Mainland. With folks not wanting to travel south of the border, they’re doing a lot more staycations,” said Glenn Grant, executive director and general manager.

The park has activities that go on throughout the day, ranging from exclusive feedings to family entertainment.

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“We do a variety of different animal feed talks throughout the day. Those activities are all posted in the lobby,” said Grant.

Future plans for the Kamloops institution include a new playground, with construction expected to begin in the fall of this year.

“We’re looking at fundraising approximately $900,000 to $1 million. We’re currently sitting around $200,000, so we’ve got a long way to go but we’ve had some great support from the community,” said Grant

Solar panels have been donated and installed by Riverside Energy Systems this year to help improve park sustainability.

“Right now, there are ten solar panels on the Discovery Center. We’ll monitor that, see how much energy it is producing and saving us. It has a ton of potential for expansion. We can put 20, 30, 40 panels up on that roof and we probably will in the future as we move forward,” said Grant.

The wildlife park is looking forward to ending the month off strong and to planning its 60th anniversary in the fall.