The Piedmont Farm Tour is a favorite family event of the year for CFSA staff, and ALL farms are great to tour with your gang. But, after a few years of touring with little ones, from babies to middle schoolers, we’ve collected a few tips to help maximize the experience for your family!
For those that don’t know, the tour is happening from 2 – 6 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, April 20- 21. Check out the tour brochure for details on each farm, including timing on particular happenings, such as hayrides and animal feedings, as well as features like snack stops and bathrooms. You can get tickets and the tour brochure online or at any Weaver Street Market in the Triangle.
Now on to some tips!:
Find a Hayride
- Sunset Ridge Buffalo Farm (Roxboro): Enjoy a narrated covered wagon ride through pastures to see a herd of 35 bison, including cows, calves, and bulls.
- Little Way Farm (Siler City): Experience a small-farm safari while spotting chickens, cows and pigs from a tractor-led, open wagon ride.
Take a Hike
- Elodie Farms (Rougemont): Go for a stroll through the woods or around the lake amidst the resident goats.
- WildSide Farm (Chapel Hill): With several trails, a pond, and plenty of wide open spaces, WildSide is a great place to enjoy a hike and have a picnic.
- Catawba Trail Farm (Durham): Discover pieces of history as you walk along a section of the Great Native American Trading Path and observe the oldest marked gravesite in Durham County at this reclaimed historic farmstead.
Snacks (& Ice Cream!)
There are 12 snack or meal stops on the tour, so chances are good that you’ll find one along the way. Here’s a list of the more strategic stops if you’re bringing a sweet tooth…
- Stoney Mountain Farm (Burlington): Enjoy a lemonade while you watch the lambs, silly chickens, and a llama or two.
- Haw River Mushrooms (Saxapahaw): Cool off with homemade ice cream provided by Ran-Lew Dairy after a tour of the fun(gi) grow rooms.
- Bull City Farm (Rougemont): Grab an ice cream or snack off the tasting menu, including unique sausages.
- Elodie Farms (Rougemont): Add this to your route for an ice cream stop that is inclusive of dairy-free options (perfect for lactose-intolerant kiddos!)
- Chatham Oaks Farm (Pittsboro): For a low-sugar option, head for some fresh-picked strawberries.
Bring Friends
Did you know that your tour pass is good for a whole carload for both days of the tour?
For $30 ($25 if you’re a CFSA Member), you can load up your kids and their friends for a big day out.
Plenty of farms have ample room to run, play and picnic–so it allows your carload the opportunity to get fresh air, connect with where food really comes from, and to spend quality time with one another away from screens.
Moooooo, Oink Oink
Farms with barnyard friends are always a hit! Several farms have unique inhabitants – from bison to guard llamas and donkeys.
- Stoney Mountain Farm (Burlington): sheep and llamas
- Sunset Ridge Buffalo Farm (Roxboro): bison
- Minka Farm (Efland): goats, chickens, donkeys, pigs, horses, cows, dogs and cats
- Fickle Creek Farm (Efland): chickens, sheep, lamb, cows, pigs, duck, and dogs
- Bull City Farm (Rougemont): pigs, sheep, cows, chickens, horses, and turkeys
- Little Way Farm: chickens, cows, and pigs
- Full Plate Farm: chickens
- Boxcarr Farms: goats, ducks, and chickens
- Benor Farm: cows, chickens
- Rocky Run Farm: chickens, ducks, turkeys, and sheep
- Bountiful Acre: chickens
- Elodie Farms: goats and a donkey
- In Good Heart Farm: chickens
- Chatham Oaks Farm: goats and chickens
Plan Logistics
- Bathroom breaks: All of the farms will have a portable toilet and handwashing station on site for the weekend. Take a pit stop before visiting the farms if you’ll need facilities with more extensive accommodations, such as changing areas.
- Nap time conflicts?: If you’ve got an afternoon napper, you can catch 16 Kick-Off Farms opening at noon both days of the tour. You can buy a single-farm pass on the day of the tour, at any farm, for $10 if you think your little ones will run out of steam visiting more than 2 or 3 farms.
- Farm directions: Print your itinerary and directions as wireless service isn’t available in all farm locations. You can temporarily download large sections of Google Maps so turn-by-turn directions are available offline. Check out our interactive tour map.
- Things to pack: Snacks or a picnic, plenty of water, sunscreen, hats, comfortable shoes that can get muddy, a camera, and a cooler. The tour is rain or shine, so raincoats and umbrellas may be necessary.
Plan a weekend of fresh air and farm adventures for your kids and family!
Buy a farm tour button pass now and help connect your kids to the source of their food! Button passes are also available at any Weaver Street Market in the Triangle or at the first farm you visit during tour weekend.