When I was little my grandparents had a farm in Indiana. Although I lived in suburbia, I got a little farm animal time when I would see the cows and pigs and collect the eggs from the hen house. Living in Charlotte, we live most of our life traveling around SouthPark, Ballantyne, University etc talking about “what does a cow say”, “what does a pig say?”, and not much time with real farm animals.
On Saturday, my 2-year-old and I took a trip down to Hunter Farms to visit Santa and the animals. Many of you have probably been there at Halloween time to get a pumpkin and take a hayride to the barn. Well, most people do not realize they also do this at Christmas.
Hunter Farms is located past 485 on Providence Road, technically in Weddington. It’s about 4 to 5 minutes past 485, I would say (past Providence Country Club, past High Gate)- on the right just before the Harris Teeter on the left. It is one of one only 2 working dairy farms in all of Union County and has been in operation since 1868 (yes, 1868!).
Hunter Farms does not have a website [update: a reader said the DO have a website, click here, thanks!] and it’s hard to find info on them (there is a phone: 704-846-7975). But one of my favorite things is how “homemade” they are. They do not have a slick operation going, they are a real farm doing something fun. It’s all very sweet and almost amateur, which is why it is so great.
So what can you do there? Well, we arrived and parked on Saturday, it was a beautiful day and almost no one was there. They sell Christmas trees and have hayrides to see Santa and animals in the barn. We went to the ticket window and purchased one adult and one child ticket (total was $12.50, see more on prices below). The wagon had just left so we needed to wait about 15 minutes. Claire ran around the Christmas trees, then the wagon came and we hopped on. You sit on hay bails and the horses that pull the wagon are beautiful. I do not know much about horses but they look like Clydesdales, the drive said they weigh 1,900 lbs each! The hayride takes only about 5 minutes or less. You arrive at the barn where Santa and an elf are waiting. Santa cracked me up, he had the girth and the right outfit and the fake beard but had sunglasses too. Priceless! Claire has been excited about Santa but clammed up again and refused to go anywhere near him. He was sitting in his sleigh and kids can go talk to him or sit on his lap. You bring your own camera, it’s very low-tech (in a good way!). While you are there you get to see the animals: goats, sheep, bunnies, chickens, pigs, horses and more. You can pay 25 cents at the ticket window for a little cup so you can feed the goats and sheep. Claire fed them right out of her hand. They let you stay for about 20 minutes which was plenty and you get back on the wagon and back to the main area. When you arrive back they have a stationary wagon that has hot chocolate (included in your ticket price). They even have hot and cold water so you can mix your child’s hot chocolate to the right temperature (genius!). When you are done you can even get a pony ride. We did not but other kids were doing it. Not sure what the cost was.
Overall, it is a sweet experience that kids of all ages would love. In terms of ages, it seems like ages 1 and up is appropriate. Claire went at Halloween last year when she was only 14 months and loved it.
PRICES: Adults $7.50, Kids 2+ and grandparents $5, kids under 2 are free.
HOURS: They are open during the week for Christmas trees but rides are only Fri-Sun.
Friday: 3pm- 8pm (last ride leaves at 7:30pm)
Saturday: 10am – 8pm (last ride leaves at 7:30pm)
Saturday: 10am – 8pm (last ride leaves at 7:30pm)
Sunday: 1pm – 8pm (last ride leaves at 7:30pm)
I believe they are doing the Hayrides through the weekend before Christmas. Call for more information: 704-846-7975.
4 comments
hey, they actually do have a website:http://thehunterfarm.org/Home/index.html
Thank you to the reader above who gave the website! I updated the post.–Jen B
Just FYI..they also do birthday parties. I’ve done 2 birthday parties there in the fall for my now 4 year old son. It was not too expensive and included a hayride to see the animals and then you have use of their picnic tables to have cake. It was great and enjoyed by the kids and parents alike!
This was a lot of fun for me, the grandparents, and our three children under the age of three. They all loved it! Thanks for the info.