1870 Farm
Rating
Family of 4
Roughly $70 to $90 for two adults and two kids, working from the Open Farm Visit ticket the farm has recently listed at $18 per person with animal feed included.
Duration
1.5-2.5 hours
Best Ages
2-10
About
1870 Farm is a 17-acre educational farm on Old Lystra Road, south of Chapel Hill and close enough to UNC that plenty of families make it a half-day trip from Durham or Raleigh. The thing to know before anything else is that you cannot simply show up. Visits are booked in advance through the farm's online scheduling page, and that single fact is what trips up most first-timers who drive out on a whim.
Once you are booked, the centerpiece is the Animal Village, which functions as a walk-through petting zoo. Chickens, sheep, goats, cows, ponies, donkeys, pigs, bunnies, alpacas, and llamas all live here, and animal feed comes with each ticket. For a three-year-old, that cup of feed is the whole visit.
For a seven-year-old, it is the opening act. The farm also has a pond with a floating dock where kids can fish for free, with bait and tackle available if you did not bring your own, and electric tractors that kids under 50 pounds can drive themselves. Gemstone mining bags are a listed add-on at $10 if your crew is into that.
The rhythm that works best is a morning slot: animals are more active, the pastures have not turned into a heat trap, and kids fade less. Give yourself an hour and a half to two and a half hours. Families are welcome to bring a picnic and use the tables scattered around the property, which is worth planning for since nothing is sold on site.
Honest fit notes. This lands hardest with toddlers through elementary-age kids, roughly two through ten. Tweens and teens will enjoy the animals for a while and then be done.
Strollers are workable on the packed paths but will fight you on grass and after rain, so a carrier is easier with a baby. It is an outdoor farm, so a rainy or freezing day is a reschedule, not a challenge. And because the farm posts pricing per experience rather than as a fixed gate price, and has offered both per-person and per-vehicle formats at different times, confirm the current rate and what is included when you book instead of budgeting from an older figure.
What parents consistently come away with is that this feels like a real working farm run by people who like teaching kids, not a manufactured attraction with a gift shop bolted on. The 4.7-star rating across more than 160 Google reviews reflects that.
Age Suitability
Parent Logistics
Stroller-Friendly
Limited
Nursing / Changing
Unknown
Kid Meals
N/A
Setting
Outdoor
Rainy Day
Not ideal
Plan Your Visit
Best Time to Visit
A morning slot in spring or fall, when the animals are active and the pastures are not baking
Wait Times
No wait, because visits are by advance appointment. The trade-off is that you cannot decide to come at the last minute, and weekend slots fill first
Nearby Food
Nothing is walkable. You are on a rural road south of Chapel Hill, about 15 minutes from the restaurants clustered around Chapel Hill and Southern Village, where Merritt's Grill is the local favorite for a BLT on the way home. Fearrington Village and Pittsboro are a short drive the other direction if you want a sit-down meal. The simplest plan is a picnic on the farm and food later.
Why Kids Love It
This is a farm where the animals actually come to you. Kids walk into the Animal Village with a cup of feed and get mobbed by goats, sheep, ponies, donkeys, and alpacas that have zero interest in personal space. Anyone under 50 pounds can drive a little electric tractor around, and the pond has a floating dock where kids can fish without anybody rushing them.
Pro Tips from Parents
- You cannot drop in. Visits at 1870 Farm are by advance appointment, booked through the farm's online scheduling page or by emailing info@1870farm.com. Plan a few days ahead, especially for a weekend morning.
- The 50-pound line matters. Kids under 50 pounds can ride the electric tractors, which is a highlight for the four-to-seven crowd and a disappointment for a bigger sibling who was counting on it. Set expectations in the car.
- Animal feed is included with each ticket, so hold some back for the far end of the Animal Village. Kids who dump the whole cup on the first goat have nothing left for the alpacas and llamas.
- Pack a picnic and plan to eat there. There are tables around the farm and no food for sale, and a snack break in the middle is what stretches this from a 45-minute visit into a real morning.
- Boots or shoes you do not care about. This is a working 17-acre farm with pasture, mud, and animal traffic, not a paved attraction, and white sneakers will not survive.
What to Bring
- Closed shoes or rain boots that can handle mud and pasture
- A picnic lunch or snacks plus water, since nothing is sold on site
- Hand sanitizer or wipes for after the petting and feeding
- Sunscreen and hats, because the pastures and the pond area have little shade
- A change of clothes for younger kids, especially if they plan to fish off the dock
Cost Info
Estimated Cost (Family of 4)
Roughly $70 to $90 for two adults and two kids, working from the Open Farm Visit ticket the farm has recently listed at $18 per person with animal feed included.
Some Saturday visits have been advertised at a per-vehicle rate instead, which changes the math for a bigger group, so confirm the current format and price when you book.
Gemstone mining bags are a listed $10 add-on, parking on the farm is free, and there is no food for sale, so a picnic from home keeps the total there.
Tips to Save
- Bring your own picnic.
- There is no cafe or snack bar, so a cooler in the car is the difference between a farm morning and a farm morning plus a $60 lunch in Chapel Hill afterward.
- Skip or share the gemstone mining bags, which are a per-bag add-on and can double a young kid's cost fast.
- Ask when you book whether the visit is priced per person or per vehicle that day, since the per-vehicle format is a real savings if you are bringing grandparents or a second family along.
- Animal feed comes with the ticket, so do not buy extra until you see how fast your kids go through it.
Hours & Contact
Have a Question?
Frequently Asked Questions
Tickets & Booking
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