elephant nature park in chiang mai - seeking advice
 

My wife and I are going to Thailand in Feb. '14 for a few weeks. We will be in CM for a few days and want to see the wildlife. I have found that ENP is one of the parks that treats elephants properly and respectfully. Is one day enough time to see the park or would an overnight stay be better? Also, what are the accommodations like? We don't mind roughing it, but we're in our mid-50s and don't want to wake up with bad backs!
Thanks in advance

We stayed in Mae Rim (Ruen Ariya resort) and visited the Maesa elephant camp:
http://www.molon.de/travelogues/Thai...art2.html#0810

The camp was a few km from the hotel (we went there with the hotel shuttle). This camp seemed to be treating the elephants properly.

One day was plenty for me. My kids would have liked a week but I did not feel the need to spend the night. I did enjoy it a lot and would highly recommend going.

most have reported the cabins to be basic, but comfortable and clean...

you could stay at the anantara in chiang saen further noth and take part in their elephant program..

I recently visited Patara elephant farm and believe they are primarily interested in the welfare of the elephants, with the tourism being a funding mechanism for that. I'm not aware of an overnight option but they do have full-day and unadvertised half-day options. It was a wonderful experience! They introduced us to a couple of babies (~3 months old), who tried to play with us like a puppy would. Very nice staff and great overall experience. Pick up from/drop off at CM hotel (~45 minute drive).

http://www.pataraelephantfarm.com/

Thanks to everyone for your replies, comments and recommendations. Much appreciated.

We spent two nights at the Thai Elephant Conservation Center in the "mahout training program". One of the best things we have done on any trip anywhere. www.changmaithai.com. The accomodations were basic, in small wooden houses with just a couple of indoor bedrooms and open outdoors deck. But it was very comfortable, good mattresses, good modern private bathroom. Very good homemade food.

Sorry. Link is wrong. www.changthai.com ("chang" is "elephant" in Thai language). We learned the "chang, chang, chang" song as part of our mahout training. ;)

Here is our recent review (Nov., '12) of Thai Elephant Home. After struggling with our decision as whether or not to have an experience with elephants in Thailand, studying all the options, and having many ethical and philosophical discussions, we found TEH and were totally pleased with our day there and our experience. They even accommodated us with a last minute decision to go, finding a driver to take us out there. We agree with all the other positive reviews on Tripadvisor. We had varying levels of comfort with the animals and our needs were all met, including getting a car to bring one of us back at the end of the day. The staff was patient and encouraging, but mindful of our needs. Lunch and snacks were provided and were good.

My husband and I stayed for one week at the elephant Nature Par, and will remember it forever, very inspiring. A week wasn't enough time for us, but that's us. A day will give you a snapshot, and it's still very worth doing, I think. I can't imagine a more wonderful place to experience elephants, besides the wild.

Accommodations seem to be luck of the draw. Couples seemed to get the better rooms. We were given a motel-like large room with even a private bathroom, much more than we were expecting. Comfortable bed too!