Spring Haven Farm LLC — Attraction in Hillsborough

Heres how it works. March 2024.. I showed up with no reservations, no nothin. Parking was easy, finding the check in booth was easy. Paid $15/person entry and bought handful sized bags of animal snacks for $1 each. Snacks are grains or carrots. I bought about 16 bags and that was a pretty good feeding experience. FYI every animal is always very hungry except the rabbits and pigs. Goats eat the grains out of your palm and dont bite. Dont feed the horses by hand, they have food buckets. Anyway once you pay entry and optional food you can walk around and see / pet every animal who is at the fence. Just about everyone was at a fence looking for handouts, and yes they are eager to eat. You can walk around, its all open and pretty obvious where to go, not mysterious or confusing. There is one pen with a double gate in the back left where you can walk in with the goats, the goats jump up on you like a dog, except a dog loves you and these goats are competing for food. smaller kids will feel overwhelmed getting rushed by 6 or more goats surrounding them and pushing into them, maybe discuss what to expect and watch before going in. There are additional things to pay for. a gem dig which is really a $15 bag of random gem like rocks that are mixed into dissolvable dirt, pour the bag into a gold pan like thing, run through the running water in a trough and look at the $3 worth of rocks you just discovered! really fun for kids, and some adults. Theres a tractor train that goes in a basic loop, dunno the price sorry. Also a barn of games. I did bow and arrow for 5$/15min/person and about 15 feet from the target. they also had axe throwing for the same price. There were more games too like darts, and such. I really hope...

We had a great time at the farm - however when purchasing our tickets titled “Pumpkin Carving with Goats” for $13.50 a piece, we assumed that ticket would allow us to do just that - carve a pumpkin with a goat. Instead, that ticket is actually only an entrance ticket to the farm property and you must then purchase a pumpkin to carve for an additional $10 a piece. So almost $25 to carve a medium sized pumpkin….

I think that is fairly misleading - which we expressed to the personnel there on site. The man we spoke to, which I believe was the owner or manager, was kind and did give us vouchers to return back to the farm a different time free of charge even though that was not the intent of our feedback. We appreciated that.

I still think the price for admission to walk the farm property is way too steep. We spent $64 as 4 adults just to enter and everything we did required additional charges - mining sleuth, pumpkin carving, feeding the animals, etc. They do have a tractor train ride that would have been great if they did more than a small circle over and over.

Overall, it’s cute but probably wouldn’t go back again.

Additional comment based on the owner’s bizarre response** - once again, I am simply saying that it should then be called a “general admission” ticket if all it gets you is admission to the farm and not “pumpkin carving with a goat” since the ticket DOES NOT get you pumpkin carving with a goat….. as a customer, this is misleading to what you get with the ticket purchase. Good luck...

I went to the second-to-last goat movie night of the season and I am so mad at myself for not going earlier in the summer — I had the BEST time! Watching The Princess Bride with a baby goat on your lap (with 7-10 other goats surrounding you at all times) does wonders for the soul. There are plenty of goats for everyone and good vibes all around! The farm is adorable and was decorated for Halloween when we went. Also saw chickens, pigs, rabbits, cats, and I think some little cows and donkeys (or something — it was dark).

Tips: Bring camp chairs unless you want to be literally laid out on the ground by a pile of goats. They will still be climbing on your back in a chair, but you’ll retain some semblance of control. Wear clothes that can get dirty — and be prepared to get dirty. There’s hand sanitizer around the goat pen, but you won’t go home smelling too great. If you’re not into being covered in goat, bring a blanket/towel to put in your lap. Or I suppose a rain poncho could work? Buy PLENTY of goat snacks (I think I went through 7-8 bundles of carrots). If you need to bring in purse, food, etc., bring a bigger bag that closes to put it in, or keep it shoved behind your back against the chair. (Or, you guessed it, goats will become involved with it).

Can’t wait for...