Hello hanskian-ga!
Your question immediately caught my attention. And here’s why. We’ve
recently moved to Pennsylvania and there are many, many things to do
here. While answering an earlier question for another customer
(http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=259363), I came
across some great resources. I sent away for them and recently, while
perusing their contents, I read about “Working Farm Homes and Farm Bed
and Breakfasts” and was fascinated! In fact, I have 3 different
catalogs sitting in front of me to help me answer your question and
all 3 of them were already open to these respective sections on
working farms! I am a huge fan of bed and breakfasts and a working
farm bed and breakfast was a new concept to me when I first read about
it. We are researching them ourselves to do some visiting and farm
chores, too! So, I am genuinely excited to help you with your
question.
The 3 resources that I have (all travel guides: “Growing Traditions in
the Lancaster-York Heritage Region,” “The Official Map and Vacation
Guide--Lancaster County—The Heart of Pennsylvania Dutch Country,”
“Pennsylvania 2003 Travel Planner”) cover PA Dutch Country, Lancaster
County, York County, and other areas of PA in general. All of these
places meet your specification of being within a 4-hour drive of
Washington, D.C., and in fact, many of them are even closer! I
recommend sending away for these printed resources, but you can also
access information on their websites. I recommend doing both as you
can find some discounts and special offers that way. I will list the 2
general websites here for you and then list specific B&B websites:
ExperiencePA
http://www.experiencepa.com/experiencepa/home.do
PA Dutch Country
http://www.padutchcountry.com/
Okay, now I will list some specific places in answer to your question.
I have made sure that all of the farms I’ve listed (and many of them
have websites!) meet your specifications (working farms, within 4
hours of DC, opportunities for children to participate in farm
chores/activities, a variety of animals, available for use in November
2003) and have listed notes with regard to exceptions where necessary.
Oh, and by the way, these places offer what look to be yummy farm
style breakfasts!
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Eby’s Farm Bed and Breakfast
Gordonville, PA
www.afarmstay.com/eby/index.htm
This is a fully-functioning dairy farm with opportunities for guests
to participate in the morning chores, including milking cows and
feeding calves. It is located centrally in Lancaster County so there
is a virtually endless list of attractions and activities for the
whole family. They will even arrange for a meal with Amish neighbors
if that is something that sounds interesting to you. As we consider
some family outings, this particular bed and breakfast is at the top
of our potential places to stay.
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Iron Stone Acres
Narvon, PA
www.afarmstay.com/iron
This is a 200-year-old Mennonite dairy farm that is open year-round.
There are opportunities for guests to work side-by-side with family
members as they complete their daily chores. This farm is in a
picturesque locale in central Lancaster County. Accommodations include
a full country breakfast, which in Amish country can be quite a feast!
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Rocky Acre Farm Bed and Breakfast
Mount Joy, PA
www.rockyacre.com
This is a large farm that welcomes families as guests. The
accommodations are extremely kid-friendly, and many of the available
activities are aimed directly at youngsters. There are opportunities
to milk cows, feed calves, gather eggs, interact with the farm
animals, take pony rides, and play in a spacious yard. This one is
another that we would consider personally when looking for a nice
family getaway.
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Cherry-Crest Farm
Ronks, PA
www.cherrycrestfarm.com
This working farm bed and breakfast hosts numerous activities
throughout the year. Their biggest activity is the “Amazing Maize
Maze,” a 5-acre cornfield maze. And this is a perfect time of year for
that! They also have opportunities for children to take tours of the
farm and interact with the farm animals.
From “Growing Traditions”:
“Stay on the 115-acre working dairy farm just minutes from shopping,
good food, and many points of interest. The guest house contains two
units, including one family unit.”
It is true that the Amish Country has many, many, many things to do
nearby. That is another plus of this area of the country.
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The above list answers your original question and should do the trick.
However, in order to give you more options that may be suitable for
your particular needs, I’ve included additional lists of bed and
breakfasts with similar amenities and opportunities.
The following is a list of Bed and Breakfasts that look very
interesting, and fit most of your criteria. They don’t mention
specifically whether or not they are open in November, and did not
have an online option for reservations so I couldn’t test
availability. I have included contact information and a short
description of the different farms.
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Verdant View Farm
Marietta, PA
www.verdantview.com
(717)687-7353
This one is by far my favorite that I’ve seen. I would definitely
consider calling them to confirm November availability. They boast the
opportunity to bottle-feed calves, milk cows, feed the various
animals, fish in the pond on the property, hike the “back 40,” or just
relax. Breakfast is served every day as part of your accommodations.
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Country Gardens Farm Bed and Breakfast
Mount Joy, PA
www.800padutch.com/z/countrygardens.htm
(717)426-3316
Country Gardens is located in Mount Joy, PA, which is an area that
apparently has a number of excellent farms where guests can stay. It
is located just outside of Lancaster and is convenient to the Amish
country and local attractions. This particular bed and breakfast
includes opportunities to interact with the different animals on the
farm, and even to participate in some of the simple chores.
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Country Log House Farm
Mount Joy, PA
www.800padutch.com/z/countryloghouse.htm
(717)653-4477
This is another farm located in Mt. Joy that is very family-friendly.
The following is an excerpt from their website:
“This is an excellent place for families with small children. After
breakfast, Dotty rounds up the kids and goes to gather eggs, feed the
goats, or watch the baby lambs (during April and May) play in the
meadows. The Hesses had seven children of their own, and they take
pleasure in their small guests.”
If it is open year-round this seems to be an excellent choice for a
family to visit.
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Meadow View K Farm Guest House
Mount Joy, PA
www.meadowviewkfarm.com
(717)653-9793
This bed and breakfast is a guest house located on a working farm and
our guidebook states that guests can “help with feeding the calves,
and play with the farm animals.” Their site also mentions that guests
have opportunities to participate in some of the daily chores. It is
probably worth the phone call to confirm November availability.
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Jonde Lane Farm
Manheim, PA
www.padutch.com/z/jondelane.htm
(717)665-4231
This is another bed and breakfast that looked very attractive, but
there was no specific mention of November availability. There are
opportunities to feed the animals and participate in chores. It is
located in a beautiful area of Lancaster County just north of the main
Amish attractions. I would consider it worth the phone call to confirm
availability.
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The following list contains farm bed and breakfasts that meet fewer of
your criteria, but may still be attractive options depending on your
specific needs.
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Country View Bed and Breakfast
Kinzers, PA
www.countryviewpa.com
(717)768-0936
This is a beautiful farm located on the Old Philadelphia Pike, a
highway with many Amish attractions. It is a fully-operational farm
with opportunities to interact with farm animals and watch the farm
workers as they carry out their daily duties. There is no specific
mention of guests being able to participate as well, but that
opportunity may be present. It is open in November.
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Landis Farm
Manheim, PA
www.landisfarm.com
(717)898-7028
This bed and breakfast is a working farm with the opportunity to
interact with the animals, and also to watch farm workers performing
their duties. There was no online reservation information and no
mention of November availability. I would not necessarily place this
one high on your list of places to consider, although it may be an
acceptable option depending on your specific needs.
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Meadow Valley Farm Guest House
Ephrata, PA
www.afarmstay.com/meadowvalley/index.htm
(877)562-4530 toll free
This is a guest house located on a working farm. It is open year
round. It does not mention specifically the opportunity to participate
in daily chores, but that may still be a possibility. It is located
attractively just north of many of the most popular Amish attractions.
It may be worth the phone call to confirm the opportunity to
participate in daily chores.
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Vogt Farm Bed and Breakfast
Marietta, PA
www.vogtfarmbnb.com
(717)653-4810
This is a 26-acre farm located in Lancaster County that is home to
abundant cattle and sheep. There is not an opportunity to participate
in daily chores, but it is open year-round. If performing farm chores
is high on your list of priorities, I would not recommend this one
highly.
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This last list includes six farm bed and breakfasts from our guidebook
that have websites that are either temporarily down or no longer
accessible. It is difficult to glean much information from their
3-line entries in the book, but I’ve included their names and phone
numbers in case you want to contact them.
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Landis Farm Bed and Breakfast
(717)687-6321
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Maple Lane Farm Bed and Breakfast
Paradise, PA
(717)687-7479
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Neffdale Farm
Paradise, PA
(717)687-7837
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The Old Summer House Bed and Breakfast
East Earl, PA
(717)445-8422
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Rayba Acres Farm
Paradise, PA
(717)687-6729
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Walnut Hill Farm Bed and Breakfast
Millersville, PA
(717)872-2283
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I also performed searches for similar establishments in places like
Virginia and Maryland but did not find any that met your requirements
other than close proximity to Washington, D.C. Most, if not all, of
the satisfactory farms are located in Pennsylvania, primarily in
Lancaster County. I hope that the above lists prove useful to you.
We’re excited to try out some of these places ourselves. If any of the
information is unclear, please let me know how I can clarify it for
you. Best wishes and happy vacationing!
Sincerely,
Boquinha-ga
Google Search Terms Used:
Working farm bed breakfast DC |
