Mother Nature's Farm
Rating
Family of 4
Admission is charged per person starting at age 1, so a family of four generally pays four admissions, and the fall festival season is priced differently from the quieter animal sanctuary season.
Duration
About 2 to 3 hours in the fall festival season, when there are pumpkins, animals, food and a hayride to work through. Outside of October, a visit to see the rescued animals runs closer to 1 to 2 hours. Families who add a birthday party or a group tour should plan on a longer block and book that in advance.
Best Ages
Roughly 1 to 9, with the sweet spot between 2 and 7. This is a walk-around animal farm, not a ride park, so the payoff is holding a handful of feed while a goat takes it out of your palm. That thrill peaks in the preschool years. The farm charges admission starting at age 1, which tells you how it sees its own audience. Big kids in the 8 to 10 range still enjoy the fall festival and the hayride, but tweens and teens usually treat it as a place they came to when they were little. Babies who are not yet walking can come along in a carrier, but they will not get much out of it and the dust and animal areas make it a harder trip than it is worth.
About
Mother Nature's Farm sits on Baseline Road in Gilbert, about a half hour southeast of downtown Phoenix, and it is best understood as four different places depending on when you show up. From roughly September through October it is a fall festival with pumpkins, corn stalks and the biggest crowds of the year. In November and December it turns into a Christmas celebration where families come to pick a tree.
From about January through May it operates as Home Sweet Home Animal Sanctuary, which is the quiet season and, for a lot of parents, the better one. In June, July and August it closes, which is the single most important thing to know before you load the car.
The animals are the heart of it. The sanctuary on the property is a nonprofit that says it has rescued and given a permanent home to more than 450 farm animals. That framing changes the visit.
You are not walking through a petting zoo attraction so much as visiting animals that live here, and staff talk about them that way. Kids can buy feed and hand it over directly, which for a three or four year old is the entire point of the day. Bring cash for that, because feed is a cash transaction and the card in your pocket will not help.
There is a hayride, there are photo-friendly pumpkin displays in the fall, and there is a small run of concessions, the Carrot Shack, Maneaus Munchies and the Feed Store, which handle snacks rather than meals. There are no pony rides, so tell your kids that before you arrive. Formal photo sessions are allowed but carry a sitting fee, and boutique shopping rounds out the fall setup.
The 4. 0 rating across nearly 900 reviews deserves a straight explanation. This is a working farm with dirt underfoot, seasonal hours and admission charged for every visitor age one and up.
Families who arrive on an October Saturday expecting a polished theme park sometimes leave disappointed. Families who arrive on a Tuesday in March to feed goats and let a toddler wander tend to be delighted. Both experiences are real, and you get to choose which one you have by choosing when you go.
Practical notes: walk-ins do not need a reservation, but school tours, large groups and birthday parties do, so call ahead. Wear closed-toe shoes, bring sun protection and water, and pack wipes. Check the current season, hours and admission rates on mothernaturesfarm.com the morning of your visit, since this is a calendar-driven business and the schedule genuinely changes.
Age Suitability
Parent Logistics
Stroller-Friendly
Limited
Nursing / Changing
Unknown
Kid Meals
Limited
Setting
Outdoor
Rainy Day
Not ideal
Plan Your Visit
Best Time to Visit
Weekday mornings, and pay attention to the season more than the hour. The farm runs a fall festival roughly September through October, a Christmas celebration in November and December, and its Home Sweet Home Animal Sanctuary season from about January through May. It closes for the summer, June through August. October weekends are by far the busiest window of the year. If you want animal time without the crowd, come in the late winter or spring sanctuary season on a weekday morning while the temperature is still comfortable.
Wait Times
There is no ride line to speak of outside of the hayride. In October, expect a real wait at the entrance and at the food concessions on weekend afternoons, and a shorter one for the hayride. On a weekday during the spring animal season, there is usually no wait at all.
Nearby Food
On site the farm runs concessions rather than a restaurant, including the Carrot Shack, Maneaus Munchies and the Feed Store, which are geared to festival snacks and treats. Hours and offerings track the season, so do not build lunch around them without checking. Off site you are on Baseline Road in Gilbert, one of the densest restaurant corridors in the East Valley, with fast casual, drive-thrus and sit-down family spots within a few minutes in either direction, and the Gilbert Heritage District a short drive east for a nicer meal. Menus and hours change, so confirm before you promise your kids a specific place.
Why Kids Love It
The animals here are rescues with names and histories, and the sanctuary on site says it has taken in more than 450 farm animals over the years, so the goats and their neighbors are used to small hands and unhurried attention. Kids get to hold feed and have it taken right out of their palm, which is the moment that ends up on every parent's phone. Add a hayride, a field of pumpkins in October and a Christmas tree lot in December, and it becomes the place your child asks about again the following year.
Pro Tips from Parents
- Check the calendar at mothernaturesfarm.com before you drive out. The farm runs on distinct seasons, a fall festival in September and October, a Christmas celebration in November and December, and the animal sanctuary season from roughly January through May, and it closes entirely for the summer months.
- Bring cash for animal feed. Feeding the animals is a cash transaction, and it is the single thing kids come for, so arriving with a card only is the fastest way to disappoint a four year old.
- There are no pony rides here. If your child is expecting to ride something, set that expectation in the car so the hayride lands as a bonus rather than a consolation prize.
- Walk-ins do not need reservations, but school groups, large parties and birthday bookings do. If you are bringing more than a couple of families, call ahead at (480) 892 to 5874 rather than showing up as a crowd.
- The 4.0 rating is worth reading honestly. Parents who go in October on a Saturday afternoon and expect a theme park tend to leave the lower reviews. Parents who go on a weekday to see rescued animals up close tend to leave the higher ones. Pick your version of the visit deliberately.
- If you want posed photos in the pumpkins or with the animals, note that formal photo sessions require a paid sitting fee. Confirm the current policy and fee with the farm before you bring a photographer.
What to Bring
- Cash in small bills for animal feed, which is not sold on card
- Closed-toe shoes that you do not mind getting dusty, for everyone including adults
- Sun hats, sunscreen and more water than you think you need, since almost the entire visit is outdoors
- Hand sanitizer and wipes for after the animal areas and before snacks
- A carrier or a stroller with wide wheels, since narrow umbrella strollers do not roll well on farm ground
- A change of clothes for toddlers, because dust plus feed plus a goat is a predictable combination
Cost Info
Estimated Cost (Family of 4)
Admission is charged per person starting at age 1, so a family of four generally pays four admissions, and the fall festival season is priced differently from the quieter animal sanctuary season.
On top of that, animal feed is an add-on and the farm takes cash for it, food concessions are separate, and a formal photo session carries its own sitting fee.
Budget for admission plus feed plus a snack run and you will be close.
Current admission rates by season, plus any group, school tour or birthday party pricing, are posted at mothernaturesfarm.
com, so pull the figure for your actual visit date rather than working from an estimate.
Tips to Save
- Bring small bills in cash for animal feed, because feed is a cash transaction and the machine or counter is where families get caught short.
- Eat before you come and treat the Carrot Shack and the other concessions as a treat rather than lunch.
- Visit during the January through May animal sanctuary season instead of the October festival if the goal is animal time, since the fall festival is the premium-priced, highest-traffic window.
- Skip the paid photo session and take your own pictures in the same spots.
- And if you are considering a birthday party here, compare the package against what you would spend bringing the same group as walk-in admissions.
Hours & Contact
Have a Question?
Frequently Asked Questions
Tickets & Booking
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