Columbia, New Jersey
February 2023
My boyfriend, Avery, and I visited Lakota Wolf Preserve in Columbia, New Jersey for an Educational Wolf Watch Tour. Lakota Wolf Preserve is the largest in the Northeastern United States. Lakota Wolf Preserve is not affiliated with any Lakota Indian People. Lakota means friend or alliance of friends; the preserve name was chosen based off the meaning of the word and it was also the name of one of the owners' first and favorite wolves.
Avery and I arrived at a campsite parking lot for the tour, checked in, parked, used the restroom (which was clean and featured indoor plumbing aka not porta potties), then opted for the half mile uphill scenic nature walk to the preserve. If the scenic nature walk is not your vibe, do not sweat it, there is a free shuttle bus that transports to and from the parking lot/preserve.
The preserve is well maintained and ran by the two owners, Jim Stein and Becky Mace. Jim is the lead guide during the wolf portion of the tour and Becky is the lead guide during the bobcat, lynx, and fox portion of the tour. We began our tour with the wolf portion. We were able to view the wolves up close, behind two sets of chain link fences, while our guide Jim shared an abundance of information. The preserve features different packs of wolves: Arctic, British Columbian, and Timber. We were educated about their behaviors, eating habits, social structure, and countless of interesting facts. We watched the wolves interact with each other and listened to them howl, which was an unforgettable experience. After spending a sufficient amount of time with the wolves, we moved onto the watching and learning about the bobcat, lynx, and foxes from our guide Becky. During our time with Becky, we were interrupted a few times by a chorus of howls, which was still an unreal experience.
For our tour, we had booked a reservation. The cost was $15 per adult, plus tax. This was a fully outdoor tour so make sure to dress accordingly, keep in mind that good closed toed shoes are highly recommended. Additionally, as much as we wanted to, we were not permitted to have any direct contact with the wolves which includes feeding and petting. It is against the law in the state of New Jersey for the public to have contact with a pure-bred wolf.
We visited Lakota Wolf Preserve on a beautiful winter day which was cold but not unbearable. We had a lot of fun during our educational tour, and we would recommend the tour to anyone who has an interest in seeing these amazing animals up close and learning more from two dedicated and passionate owners.
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