The Best Place to Stay When Visiting The Wilds

Why Visitors Choose The Inns at 8th and Main

The Inns at 8th and Main in McConnelsville, Ohio — 30 minutes south of The Wilds. Historic boutique inn, homemade breakfast, and a story that connects directly to the land you just explored.

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The Land Has a Story

Before The Wilds was home to giraffes, rhinos, and painted dogs, it was something else entirely.

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From the 1940s through the 1980s, nearly 10,000 acres of southeast Ohio were strip-mined for coal by the Big Muskie — the largest dragline excavator ever built. At 22 stories tall, with a bucket that could swallow two Greyhound buses in a single scoop, the Big Muskie spent 22 years moving more than 483 million cubic yards of material through what is now The Wilds.

When mining ended, the land was donated to conservation. The hills were contoured, topsoil was added, and animals were introduced. In 1994, The Wilds opened to the public — one of the largest wildlife conservation centers in the world, built on land torn apart and put back together.

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Before you leave the area, stop at Miners Memorial Park near Caldwell and stand next to the Big Muskie bucket. It weighs 460,000 pounds empty and could hold twelve car garages inside. It is the only piece left of a machine that made The Wilds possible.

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That's the story of this land. And it starts and ends about 30 minutes from your room at The Inns at 8th and Main.

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What's Waiting When You Arrive

Two beautifully restored 19th-century properties on Main Street in McConnelsville — the Stone House, built in 1835, and the Morris House, built in 1844. Together, they have been welcoming guests for 190 years.

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Every morning, Dan is up before you are, cooking a scratch-made breakfast served on vintage china in our historic dining room. It's the kind of breakfast that makes you linger over coffee longer than you planned.

Amy will know your name before you arrive and remember how you take your coffee before you ask.

Plan Your Wilds Visit

The Wilds is open year-round, with full safari tours running from May through October and specialty tours available from November through April. Options include the Open-Air Safari, the Wildside Safari, the Carnivore Conservation Tour, and overnight glamping accommodations on the property.

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Book your Wilds tour at TheWilds.org before you book your room with us — popular tours sell out weeks in advance, especially in summer and fall.

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While You're in the Area

McConnelsville is worth a morning of its own. The 1892 Twin City Opera House, the Muskingum River, unique shops, local coffee, and some of the best small-town wandering in southeast Ohio — all within walking distance of your room.

And the Route 60 River Run to Zanesville or Marietta makes a perfect day trip while you're here.

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