Op-Ed

Op-Ed #1 – Lion Country Safari KOA

March 31, 2026March 30, 2026By
Op-Ed #1 – Lion Country Safari KOA
In all of these six years of writing the Westlake Wanderer, I’m more excited about this new feature than any before… Going forward, at the end of each month I hope, with the utmost hope, to be able to post an opinion piece from one of you!
 
The quick and dirty: no partisan politics; no war-mongering among our communities; no fake news. Otherwise, let’s hear it! Got something to say about the AI data center, forthcoming commercial, a complaint, nostalgia, the secret to delicious quail eggs or thoughts on Depeche Mode, please reach out! Your opinions can be anonymous if you wish. You can opt for light editing or none at all. Image or no image? It’s up to you, dear opinionator. Please email your opinions to info@westlakewanderer.com.
 
Now, I’m beyond thankful to longtime local Bill Harrison for humoring me as the first op-ed writer. Mr. Harrison wrote an “ode” of a Facebook comment about the closing of Lion Country Safari’s KOA. I hunted him down to ask for more details.
 
So for Westlake Wanderer’s first op-ed, I’m delighted to present Mr. Harrison’s priceless walk down memory lane:
 
“Back in the early to mid-90s, Lion Country Safari had a special going on with the KOA campground: $59.95 for 3 days and two nights in the KOA Campground with free access to the drive-thru Safari and the petting zoo at the end of the Safari.
 
The first time my wife and I went there we went with a small group of friends and fell in love with the place. The A-frame general store with the game room and the swimming pool, just the scenery in general was so peaceful. Hearing the lions roar in the background was a bonus. The drive-thru itself was never disappointing, always something going on with the animals. 
 
When our first born was old enough we took him with us on one of these camping trips to Lion Country, and by this time our camping group had grown to approximately 15 people. Some of our friends were starting to have kids as well and they spent their early years learning about camping, animals, and enjoying the outdoors. 
 
We made friends with Ranger Bob, one of the park security guards that would drive around in a Ford Ranger pickup truck painted like a zebra. Now keep this in mind, we were a little mischievous at times with our shenanigans and he came by and politely asked us just to turn down the volume a little bit. He always had a clipboard in his hand, and as we would always have a gimmick on each one of our camping trips we decided the next time we went we would all have clipboards. So when he pulled up one night just to say hello we all came out with our clipboards. When he saw this he could not stop laughing. 
 
Even the ladies in the general store got to know us as well and we would always have laughs. 
 
But to see the kids at the end of the Safari drive-thru go through the petting zoo, their faces light up when they put the quarter in the machine and fed the goats, that’s a memory I’ll never forget. 
 
And sitting around the camp fire at night roasting mini kielbasas and making s’mores for the kids, we still talk about that to this day. 
 
We’ve all moved on as our kids have grown and started their own lives and yet still during Thanksgiving or Christmas the topic of Lion Country Safari KOA would always come up. 
 
So yes, that place impacted our kids in a positive way. I was saddened to hear that it was going to be shut down and converted into an AI Factory of sorts. If that’s not the ultimate bitch slap to all those animals, I don’t know what is. I’m grateful that I have the memories I have there of watching my kids grow and appreciate camping and the animals being cared for.”
 
-Bill Harrison
 
 

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