Verdant View Farms

I just can’t say enough good things about this farm and the family that runs it. If you want to bring your family out to experience life on the farm this is the spot. The family that runs the farm couldn’t be nicer, and I want to give a personal thank you to Don, Eldon and Tammy for being such gracious hosts. The accommodations were clean and quaint, the breakfast was amazing (you eat with the family) and the conversation was very interesting (make sure to ask Don how many countries he has visited). As to the farm and the animals, my twin 4 year olds just couldn’t get enough — we milked cows, we got to feed calves, there are rabbits, chickens, cats, goats and a super cool barn dog named Scooby (make sure to play fetch with him). My only regret is that we didn’t stay longer and I will most certainly come back. Thanks for a great time and great hospitality!

We had a wonderful time, two parents and a very urbane four year old. We stayed in Room 7 of the little white house and it was clean and charming. The breakfasts were deliciously quirky and our conversations were pretty interesting. The kitchen in the white house is modern and more than fancy enough for light meals or sitting down to eat take out. The staff was helpful and the animals delightful. You might want to get your kids on an early morning schedule if you really want to partake of the full farm experience. Scooby has some attention issues — he really needs to give that little kid goat some space, he was kind of scaring us a little. Bonus points for the bunny pen and surprisingly robust wifi. And please don’t run the jacuzzi tub after 10… you could hear and feel those things through the whole house!

Always fun, always a great time. First came here in Oct 2010 and again in May 2015. We love taking the tour on the wagon-​going through the corn stalks-​milking the cows-​the kids looked for freshly laid eggs in the chicken coop-​played with the super friendly barn dog Scooby-​fed the goats-​pet the cats-​fed the small calves. The owners are very hospitable. Look forward to going there again. It’s very relaxing.

We took the apprentice farmer tour and it was awesome! (We did not stay here — but may in the future. :)) My 12 year old daughter enjoyed it but my 9 year old twins LOVED it. So hands on, laid back but interesting, plenty of time to just roam, experience, awesome. It would not have been so great had it been pouring rain. Otherwise, some cool weather and misting was no problem. :) Strongly recommend!

This review is for the farm tour– it was a windy partial spring day when we signed up for a tour here. We were the only ones there, which was great! Ms. Megan was super helpful and really took the time to explain and listen to my daughter. She took her around to see the cows and chickens. She fed the chickens and many kittens there, she milked a cow and fed the babies a bottle!
My daughter won’t forget this real, authentic farm. She was talking about it the rest of the day… constantly!

It was a great experience! Staff is very friendly and helpful. We had a hard time choosing where to stay for our trip, but I’m sure we will come here again. They have cats, cows, calves, funny looking goats and an extremely playful dog.

First business that I’ve given 5 stars to on Unilocal! I visited this farm during the summer and everyone was extraordinarily friendly and I, along with my 3 friends, all had a GREAT experience. We felt the true farm experience and milked cows, walked in the corn fields, went to church, and ate an authentic breakfast. Thanks so much!

An extraordinary places especially for children who get to feed the calves and milk the cows. Breakfast with the family was both delicious and extraordinarily friendly. Genuinely special. Only downside for our family was we stayed at the white house on the ground floor and it was pretty noisy all night from the people upstairs. If we go back we’ll go for the top floor.

This was our (me, wife, two kids) first trip to Strasburg and we were floored! Verdant View was a great place to stay for our first time. Everyone was super friendly and informative. The farm tour was a ton of fun and it sparked the kids’ interest in farming and barnyard animals. They loved the goats the most but the dog, Scooby, and one of the kitties came in at a close second. Nice accommodations and very tasty breakfast in the morning as well. Looking forward to seeing how the place looks after the renovations are done. Definitely recommend!

We are from Sc and wanted to experience the Amish and farm life. Our son got to milk a cow, make cheese with Amish girl and learn about cows, goats and sheep. The dog wanted us to play «ball toss» with him all day, that was fun. We had a wonderful day at Verdant Farms! Son in law was super knowledgeable and friendly on the tour. We bought cookbook, too.

The first time I found this place I had emailed them for more info.
and some how my email got lost and I got no response.
I was a little leery and wondered if the place was legit.
I revisited their website many months later and found they had a prepay site to confirm tours and times. since I hadn’t found many other reviews regarding just their tours, I was still a little doubting.
but i confirmed my ticket and i went. and had a great time! it was legit and pretty well booked.
the tour was at a relaxed pace. you check in at the silo with the OPEN and Entrance signs. Ample parking for all. And pretty easy to find.
We went to check out the goats. which were super friendly and well behaved. lots of kiddos on the tour i attended. of course all the visitors were super friendly. i think most people were on vacation.
The tour guide was super nice, personable and laid back. the kids were sort of allowed to run amuck but with some guidance. i think they tour is really catered towards the kids with a few activities that are super exciting for them while the adults typically stood back and watched. but seriously if you are into farms/​tours or animals, fun will be had by all.
things we did (in no particular order):
visited with the goats unclose and personal. went into the chicken coup in which all the kids and some adults tried their hand at catching a fowl. we went into the barn for some farm info. we went into the cow ‘maternity ward’. took a tractor /​trailer drive up the farm. saw the steam engine run right through the farm. each got a chance to milk a cow.
i felt like this was a really neat experience! esp for kids. most people were visiting from out of town and doing the whole amish/​farm experience. but i think this is still great fun for locals too. the price was pretty reasonable. it’s right around the corner from the Red Caboose Motel. Just a hop over from Strasburg.
Definitely a must see/​do. and i also heard they had a BnB there as well! Moo-​yeah! ;o)

Oh wow! This turned out to be WAY more awesome than I had anticipated.
To start with, it was our anniversary. So given a choice between a romantic weekend get away in Middleburg, VA Wine Country… OR a weekend staying at a working farm, milking cows and other ridiculousness, you have to know my husband and I to understand that it was a no-​brainer. Besides «romantic wine tasting»? That’s just a normal Thursday night for us.
So my husband did a little research and found Verdant View Farms.
They have two houses — the main house (which was taken over by a Girl Scout Troop that weekend), or the Little White Cottage, which has 3 rooms. We opted for the Little White Cottage (Room 6), and had a marvelous time. The only downside to staying in the cottage is that it’s very close to the road, so during the day, when cars and trucks are going by, it can get really loud (and ruin the whole «country getaway» ambiance). HOWEVER, the benefits of staying at the cottage outweigh the only negative. To start with, although you will hear street traffic (and it’s not that bad — it’s not like DC or NY. It’s like a car every 5 minutes), you will ALSO get to hear the awesome clip-​clap-​clip-​clap of the Amish horse and buggies driving past (yes and there are a *ton* of them). Also, our room overlooked a beautiful old oak tree and a pond with swams swimming. Incredibly picturesque! And mostly, it’s away from the main house, which is lovely — but *very* close to the cows… and the cow manure smell. Ha!
So the deal here is that at 7am or at 4pm you can «help» with the farm chores. And by «help», I mean, stand around while one of the staff explains stuff to you, while you look on cluelessly. Don’t worry, you don’t actually have to DO anything… you’re mostly following the staff around and going «oooh…that’s a chicken!»
Although it’s early, I highly recommend the 7am choring. To start with, the staff have been up for hours, so they are having a great time laughing at the lazy city folk (it’s OK, I’m a lazy city folk and perfectly OK with that). Also, you get to see the sunrise, which is super amazing. We «milked» a cow. And by «milked», I mean we touched a cow udder and the cow started self-​milking. I swear, the damned thing would just start squirting milk. If I wasn’t convinced that the cows were trying to eat me, I would totally have found it hilarious and charming. We also got to cuddle baby bunnies (awww), and baby kittens (there are a billion of them and they are all so adorable and cuddlesome), and bottle fed a baby calf (they can suck down some milk!!!), and played with the baby goats (which my husband totally fell in love with).
After the 7am chores, we headed to the kitchen, got some coffee, and sat on the main porch watching the sun finish rising while waiting for breakfast. It was remarkably relaxing and lovely.
Breakfast was served at 8:30 and OMG it was so good! Practically everything was grown/​made on the farm, so it was super fresh! We started off with homemade apple sauce with yogurt, then we had homemade beef sausage (so flavorful and meaty!), and warm cranberry pumpkin muffins, and then a swiss chard & kale frittata (the swiss chard and kale was grown in the garden out back… the eggs were gathered from the hens). We also had hard boiled eggs that were so fresh (3 of which we collected when we were doing «chores») that you can’t peel the egg shells… you cut it open with a knife and eat it with a spoon. The shells are so thin that they don’t peel easily! WHAT WHAT??? And OMG… my ultimate favorite — the pumpkin raisin bread French toast with peach jam stuffing… uuugh…I ate so much! There was also black cherry yogurt, plain yogurt, jam, and bread. It was so much food!
Oh — and we were served raw milk… from the cows that were just milked this morning. So if we end up dying or turn into hipsters, we’ll all know why. HA!
After breakfast, we went on a wagon ride that explored the farm. Seriously, I learned more about farms than I ever thought I would in my lifetime. I love to joke about farms and «city life» — but seriously, it was amazing. Everyone here was wonderful and sweet and nice and so willing to talk to you. It was just a great time.

What a pleasant way to kick off our five-​day Lancaster vacation. Elisa is a friendly host and guide at her family’s family-​friendly working farm and inn (just down the road from Strasburg Railroad and Choo-​Choo Barn). Arriving at 2:30 pm was perfectly lucky timing for the 3:00 farm tour, included with your overnight stay. Don’t miss the tour. Scooby the dog cheerfully joins you all over the farm, from feeding goats and chickens, to riding the tractor-​pulled wagon, to milking cows. Also included with your stay is a home cooked, farm-​to-​table breakfast, featuring raw milk from Verdant’s own herd. Thx to Amy for finding and booking here! (stayed 8÷7÷13)

This place is a great place for a family to see what it is like to work on a farm. Milk cows, feed calves, and play with kitties! So much fun is a beautiful area of the country.

KITTIES GALORE, AND SO MUCH MORE :)
My family [Husband + 3 kids 9,5 & 4] & I had a FABULOUS time here on our vacation to Lancaster in November 2010. Ginny is amazing. She made our family feel right at home. We signed up for the Wagon Ride & Farm Tour plus Full Farm Breakfast.
Upon arriving we were greeted by one of the farms MANY cats/​kittens while we waited around for the tour to start the kids played in the yard and took in the beautiful views all around
The Farm Tour
Started with some history and cow milking where we all got to help in the process learning how to do it by hand & then watching the machinery hookup and the milk flow through the pipes to the tank. The big cows walked close enough upon completion of their milking cycle to lick my daughters face and sniff at the random kitty here and there. We also got to bottle-​feed baby calves which was so much fun as well as bring dried corn out to the goats and ornery donkey which had to have its corn thrown to it. Scooby the pup joined us on all of our excursions stealing corn whenever he could from the animals and gnawing away at them like a favorite treat.
The Family-​Style Full Farm Breakfast
After our «chores» were completed we were invited into their home where they were having their full farm breakfast. That day happened to be special because it was also a birthday of one of the Matriarchs of the family and several family members were there to join in the breakfast as well as the guests staying with them. The food was quite tasty and was farm to table fresh with homemade jams, everything was delicious. They were so welcoming you felt part of the family.
After Breakfast
As breakfast wound down we were invited to enjoy the property… let the kids blow off some energy on the hammocks, run around and play with the kittens, cats and pup & see the other animals like the rabbits…
Wagon Ride
The wagon ride was quite fun and it was rather cool to learn that they had built/​designed this vehicle to their own specifications. Ginny was so knowledgeable on all things farming it was a pleasure to sit with her and «pick-​her-​brain.» She is very personable and wonderfully patient with the kids answering their questions no matter how «silly» they may have been. Even Scooby who had never been on the wagon ride before decided today was the day he was coming along for the ride.
Entire experience was delightful and we will definitely return, I HOPE SOON!!! Maybe even stay at the farm this time :). BTW for everything that we did it was VERY AFFORDABLE and wonderful time for the kids!!! Would DEFINITELY RECOMMEND!!!