A zebra is an excellent reason to take the long way.

Usually, the pleasure of a scenic drive lies somewhere beyond the road: a ridgeline, an old house, a stretch of water you keep trying to glimpse between trees. At a drive-through wildlife park, the view might walk across it.

You stay in your vehicle and follow a designated route through animal habitats. Which animals, how close they can come and what you’re allowed to do depend on the park. But the basic proposition is wonderfully odd: the car that takes you to the grocery store can also take you past an ostrich.

Same seat. Better window.

Give the drive your attention

The attraction begins with the change in what you’re looking for. Instead of scanning for a turn or an available parking space, you’re studying the landscape for movement.

An animal standing still can take a moment to separate itself from the background. Once you’ve noticed it, your eye starts working differently. You look farther across the grass, inspect the shade, pay attention to the shape beside the fence. A head comes up somewhere you thought there was nothing to see.

That makes this a drive worth being awake for, even when the route is slow. The view has business of its own.

Virginia Safari Park lists bison, antelopes, elk, emus and other animals along its self-drive route. Wildlife Safari in Oregon offers a drive through habitats with animals including zebras and Watusi cattle. At Bearizona, the setting is ponderosa pine forest. “Safari” on a sign doesn’t tell you what the landscape or animal collection will be.

Look at the park map and species information before choosing. You may be drawn to open terrain and herds, or prefer the prospect of a wooded route. That difference matters more than which place has the most exuberant photograph of a face at a car window.

The window question is consequential

Some parks make feeding part of the visit. Virginia Safari Park permits feeding designated animals from your vehicle using its feed. At Bearizona, feeding and touching animals are prohibited, and windows must stay up.

Those are very different outings. Neither park’s rules travel with you to the next one.

If the close encounter is the appeal, find out exactly how that park runs it. If you’d rather look through closed glass, choose a format that suits you. You can enjoy animals without wanting a large nose beside your upholstery.

Vehicle requirements deserve the same attention. Check whether your car is permitted, what the park says about possible vehicle damage, and whether any sections have additional restrictions. An open-top weekend car might be perfect for a coastal road and entirely wrong for this entrance.

And check that you are buying the experience you meant to buy. A self-drive route, a guided vehicle tour and a wagon ride may appear on the same website. They put you in different seats and give you different responsibilities.

You are still the driver

On a solo drive, you’re the one watching the route, following signs and keeping an eye on the vehicles and animals around you.

Put the phone away while driving. Photograph only when the park permits a safe stop; some parks restrict stopping near animals. If the thought of steering and looking at the same time sounds more irritating than enjoyable, a guided vehicle experience may be a better purchase.

There’s no prize for insisting on the driver’s seat.

For a self-drive visit, read the route length, last admission time and expected visit duration before setting off. Check current weather and operating notices. Allow time to reach the park and use the facilities before entering the drive. The route itself is an experience, and it deserves more than the remaining gap before closing.

A reason to look beyond the city

These parks can be destinations in their own right or a useful discovery while you’re travelling. Official self-drive offerings exist in places including Georgia, Virginia, Oregon and Arizona. That doesn’t put one around every corner. It does make the category worth remembering when you’re looking at a map.

Choose the operator as carefully as the outing: read its animal-care information and visitor rules, and look into the standards behind any accreditation it names. A close-up photograph tells you how close the camera got.

Then give the animals room to be animals. You may see movement, feeding or a great deal of standing about. No species owes you a dramatic entrance because you’ve arrived.

If a zebra does cross your path, however, you can appreciate the stripes.

They look particularly good against a road.

The Library of Congress, Carol M. Highsmith Archive.