I've visited Strawberry Hill Farm and Garden multiple times. The owners are always friendly and…read moreconstantly upgrading! I'm always delighted with the changes. This is a great family activity. My grandson really enjoyed the Hillbilly Golf. The animals are well cared for. I'll be going back again, too! That new baby donkey is cute as the dickens!

I visited Hansen's a couple of weeks ago with my boyfriend and his family. His parents said that we…read morewere going to a farm to milk a cow, so I decided to join them. When we got there, I wasn't sure what to expect. Everything looked okay, and we were lured by all the ice cream flavors, so I was not prepared for what was to come. We jumped on an open air vehicle to begin our tour. We stopped at the place where they have the cows all separated by age: calves, younger ones, and adults. We were first given the opportunity to feed the babies, which is when my horror began. I had the chance to feed a five-day old calf that was HORRIFIED. I didn't want to play into this game at first, but I overheard that the calf was being a brat; rather than allowing others to make it more scared, I decided to step in to bottle feed it. I learned that the cows are taken from their mothers at birth so they don't attach, and the tour guide had the nerve to tell is that their moms don't care. I get that this is standard practice at milk factories, but please don't insult our intelligence. Then we move on to the factory part, where we see the cows lined up and attached to the devices that are milking them. My horror grew. We learned there about the artificial insemination, got to see some cows not wanting to be herded in, and our tour guide saying they "should get over it," as it will be over in a few minutes. And of course, this is where the tour group is invited to milk one of the cows. I couldn't do it, but the rest of my group was happy to do so. I know that what I saw isn't likely even close to the horrors of the milking practices of most milk factories, but this was enough to make me want to cry. Then we moved on to another part of the farm, where the cows are kept in filthy and crowded conditions. We were told that they prefer to be in there and not roam because they don't feel safe roaming in pastures... what?! I couldn't do it anymore; I had to step away. Then they showed us their kangaroo collection. I don't know much about kangaroos, so nothing to say here about whether or not this was a happy situation. The kangaroos were just lying there looking bored or hot. The tour ended by us trying their ice cream, cheese curds, and butter (which they had us make). This part would have been fun, had I not been traumatized already. Again, I can imagine that this is the "nice" version of what happens in most milk factories, so thank you, Hansen's for giving me a glimpse.

We took our two grandchildren, aged 3 and 5. They absolutely loved the kangaroos, chocolate milk…read moreand the ice cream that was included in the ticket price. They also enjoyed bottle feeding the calves, the cheese curds and wagyu beef sticks. The 5 year old even milked a cow! It was a very well run tour! They had tables set up with our names ready to wait for everyone to arrive. They also gave out crayons and sheets for the children to color. We then loaded up on a tractor drawn trolley to take us to the farm. Our large group was divided into two groups. 1/2 went to the kangaroos and the other 1/2 to the calves. We were given slices of bread to feed the kangaroos. It was fun for the adults too, lol! When then moved on to bottle feed the calves, then visit the heifers and then the milking room. We were provided with some very interesting facts as we went along. We then visited with their 2 one year old female kangaroos. Super cute! We loaded up on the trolley to return to the main building. There they provided us with a choice of whole milk or chocolate milk, plates of curds and beef sticks. They also had jars of heavy cream for us to make butter. 5-6 minutes of shaking and we had butter! We then were able choose from around 20 flavors of ice cream. Very delicious! We watched a video on the making of their products and had the chance to purchase items. This was the second time we had visited the dairy in the last 2 years. This was just as enjoyable as the first time. I highly recommend this for anyone with young children! Or even adults! We'll take the grands again in a couple of years. Thank you for a wonderful time Hansen family!

This family owned and operated orchard is wonderful! They're all incredibly friendly and the prices…read moreare perfect! Everything we got was delicious and fresh. Going and picking out our pumpkins was such a fun experience and the orchard was beautiful! The kids had a blast too. 10/10!!!!!!

They have some of the very best apples in the area. If you want to pick your own, take a drive up…read moreto Story City. Their cider is delicious. The baked goods look wonderful, too!

Oh my gosh. This place is amazing. I went with some friends to their "Llamamas" Christmas event…read more The llamas and goats were dressed up in festive costumes and you could feed, pet, and pose for pictures with them. There were also HUGE pigs to feed, and one of them "sits" for a treat! It was so fun. The owner and her family &team were super friendly and welcoming to everyone. There's a little adorable gift shop in the main barn. Apparently they have two separate Air B&Bs on the property, at least one of which you can wake up to llamas on your porch and in your windows! How fun would that be? This wonderful, charming place is located between Cedar Rapids and Ely. I'm going to keep an eye out on their social media pages for more events because it was so much fun!

This farm is beautiful, the owner and her daughter were so sweet, and llama yoga was so fun! Would…read morehighly recommend checking it out!

My absolute favorite pumpkin farm since I've been a kid. In recent years, they've done away with…read morepicking your own out in the field but they have tons of sizes and gourds to choose from inside the shed. Dick and Letha DeMoss are the sweetest people and honestly, the reason I make the drive up from DSM. Letha bakes all of the bread and makes most of the jam, you must grab at least one of each! Dick is great for cooking advice; he'll tell in great detail how to prepare anything you buy. They have other seasonal produce: tomatoes, green beans, onions, etc. Find them at Ames Farmer's Market and their veggie stand in town! Lots of good photo opportunities as well-- antiques, tractors, fields, outbuildings. The cutest!

Another off the beaten path garden center. Beautiful view and a charming setting on the farm…read more Plants are well taken care of and you will surely find something you want to add to your garden.