They really treat these creatures like human family. Was such an experience. Got to ride and feed…read morethem. There is so much room for them to roam more than any lame Zoo. They have a thing where you can bathe them. The people who run this are amazing. I know they have been through alot over the years and goad they are able to keep moving forward one giant paw at a time.

A wonderful place to learn about elephants (and the world) from Patricia…read moreI recently visited Two Tails Ranch in Williston, Florida. You have to reserve a spot online before you go. They will respond with a date and time to show up. The sign in the gate when you arrive says they open the gates 10 minutes before the showtime so you may be sitting in your car along the dirtroad if you arrive early. You are directed where to park and then choose what options you want (feeding, picture, ride) and they give you tickets for each item. If you are going to ride the elephant you cannot be over 200 pounds (there is a scale at the ticket counter). Once everyone is done buying tickets you go to the first top. Our group of about 20 sat in rows of chairs under the shade right in front of the elephant pen with Zika the elephant and Patricia Zerbini. She has decades of hands-on elephant care through her family's dedicated efforts. She is the real deal. She stands in front of you and will answer any question in a straight-shooting, authentic, and honest manner, no punches pulled. She shared her experiences about elephants past, present, and future while teaching us about their care and the importance of their current issues. After that, you move in a group to another enclosure with a different elephant where people can feed, get a picture and ride an elephant. I chose all three and found them each well worth the time and money. They are once in a lifetime experiences that I'll remember forever. Patricia then walked us around the ranch, showing us her tortoises, zebra, and lemurs. She will answer any question as she is touring the group around. We ended at the little museum and gift shop, packed with fossils, artifacts, and elephant memorabilia. Two Tails Ranch is a real hidden gem run with love and purpose. If you're even remotely interested in elephants, this is a must-visit. Patricia and her family are doing wonderful work. I highly recommend visiting and supporting their efforts.

I've had the pleasure of residing on Tumble Farm since November and I love the farm feel close to…read moretown. You can enjoy the quiet of the farm and when you want to feel the aura of the city it is only 30 minutes away in Gainesville. I enjoy hanging out with the goats, donkey and horses. Maureen and Nick are wonderful hosts.

Had the pleasure of staying here with my family in our RV from Sept 2017 to Jan 2018…read more The owners are lovely people and the property is gorgeous. There's a menagerie of farm animals that my 3 year old loved. The owners even let us grow a vegetable garden while we were there. My in-laws and my parents stayed at the air bnb on separate occasions and both were comfortable. Tumble Farm has a real "Choose-your-own-adventure" vibe. The owners can help accommodate whenever you want to do in the area. From biking to canoing. This is a great place to have a rustic wedding, take a boy scout troop, travel with your horses, whatever event you can think of. Check the air BNB listings (Tofu House and a yellow scamp RV) for reviews from folks who actually stayed rather than one grumpy reviewer who just drove through.

I've been to Rooterville Animal Sanctuary twice, and both visits were totally worth the 2 hour…read moredrive from Orlando. The animals are well taken care of, the people working there are so nice and helpful and booking a highland cow cuddling session was amazing. You can even stay on site if you want that real "outdoorsy" experience - but it's perfect even for a quick day trip. Can't wait to come back again!

The best experience for a minication. I was lucky enough to not know where I was going for my…read morebirthday and it was the perfect surprise! (My wife did great!) Not only is the location a perfect portal to a different type of Florida , but the wagons are all the way in the back so it's perfect privacy. There's also a tent outside to sit and watch pigs take a bath in the fountain. The wagon room we got was the Piggies room! Perfect decor and amenities inside(towels/shampoo/conditioner/tissues/coffee mugs /even games!) Huge bathroom with incredible shower.There is ac but we spent most of the time with the screen door and bathroom window open & it felt great. Included inside:mini fridge, toaster, coffee/tea (included),microwave and a small heater. Plenty of plugs to charge & a full length mirror. We love that there was no tv because we got to watch highland cows instead !! We also got to sleep to rain and it was so peaceful especially waking up every morning to new friends like pigs and sheep! We also saw: 4 highland cows!! , 2 different types of pigs, a family of sheep (+Anya the sassiest girl), cats, dogs, goats, turkeys (that like hugs but scared meee), guinea fowls, chickens and hens, mini horses and a peacock that sounds like Kevin from UP in the nighttime !! All the staff were super friendly including miss Elaine! Truly an incredible place to visit and get to feed pigs all day.

Plenty of friendly animals to see and some you can feed. It's easy to send money for a small bucket…read moreof animal feed through Venmo, Cash App, etc. Clean facility with a wash station for when you're finished.

In love with this place! So many adorable and friendly animals. There is a hand wash station, area…read morefor your young ones to play and food to feed the farm animals. I highly recommend Ammas Ark and will continue coming back. There is a donation box to help keep the place going and also a cash app tag. I highly suggest giving a donation because this place was worth it. I hope they stay open

I will go back as often as I can. It brightens my day. Everyone is so kind and the feeding of the…read moregoats is such a fantastic experience.

When I saw this place I booked immediately - I couldn't resist and it was so good for my soul. The…read moreplace is very serene and calming even with all the screaming babies. The drive was a little ways from Orlando but worth every mile. I really enjoyed feeding the goats and cuddling them. There is limited bottle feeding so make sure to book early on the website and bring cash if you want to purchase additional feed as I lost cell service. The young ladies here were the sweetest, very knowledgeable and answered all my questions. I'm convinced that a couple baby goats are definitely in my future.

Wow, an amazing experience!!! We scheduled a private tour for my birthday and it was so fun 100%…read morerecommend! The alpacas are so friendly, well cared for, loved and soooo flufffyy!! Trina, the owner, is so cool, she really loves animals and she goes above and beyond!! Some of the alpacas are sweet rescues and the work Trina has done to help them live their best lives is amazing. The website has all tour pricing and options information. Highly recommend, it was such a special experience for me and my family...alpaca cuddles and kisses for my birthday and the cutest souvenir, a handmade stuffed animal made with alpaca hair for my son sooo fluffy!! This is an animal encounter that's not only so cute but makes you feel great about supporting a good place where the animals are so loved!

I had the absolute best experience at Shady Rest Alpacas, and so much of that is because of Trina…read more From the moment you arrive, you can tell how deeply she loves and cares for her animals. She's incredibly sweet, welcoming, and knowledgeable--and her passion is impossible to miss. One of my favorite parts was hearing the stories behind the alpacas. Trina jokingly calls herself a "bad farmer" because she tends to take on some of the hardest cases, but that's actually what makes her so special. She goes the extra mile (and then some) to make sure every alpaca is comfortable, cared for, and given exactly what they need. Hearing what some of them have been through and seeing how much love and patience she pours into their care was genuinely inspiring. The experience was educational, personal, and honestly really moving. You don't just visit alpacas--you leave with a deeper appreciation for them and for the kind of dedication it takes to care for animals at this level. I cannot recommend this place enough. If you're considering a private tour, do it. It's unlike anything else around and absolutely worth the visit.

We had a great time the best farm in MILES ! Seriously they have really gone all out with the…read moreappearance and fun ! You can pet animals play many games food there is amazing !

It's tradition at this point. My family and I do our annual visit for their fall festivities and…read moreit's always a great time.

Time travel back to 1857 and a real working farm…read more The parking area is out by the barn and kearning center theres a gift shop too! I bought a hand made bird house. The land is lovely, and Im sure the walk to the house is awesome but my knees werent up to it quite yet.

We were looking for an easy and close activity around Gainesville for our family. This working farm…read morewas perfect. We found easy parking under the shade of some trees and started at the visitors center where we learned about how the Dudley family donated their farm to the state to preserve it. We picked up a self-guided tour map and explored the farmstead. We enjoyed the turkeys the best. The Tom (also named Tom) was in full display. There is a little gift shop behind the visitors center and we had fun chatting with the staff. It was a delightful walk back in time.

Very pleased with my first "$25, whatever we have" bag from this farm. They gave me a GIGANTIC head…read moreof napa, a pair of turnips with the greens attached, a bundle of short, whitish carrots, a bag of arugula, a small head of iceberg, a yellow onion, a leek, a head of broccoli including the stalk, a bunch of kale, a half pint of yellow cherry tomatoes... I think that was it. I may come back and check this later. The quality of everything was top notch when it arrived, with not even a single squishy tomato or a brown spot on a leaf. It's a nice variety, including some things that will last into the second/third week which is important in These Times :P (are you seeing the size of this napa tho)

Great company, amazingly fresh produce, excellent customer service. First time buying produce from…read morethem today and love everything I got! Will definitely order again. Not sure about the butterfly people but they sound a little melodramatic to me.

An absolute wonderful time I had at Wacahoota Farms U-Pick Blueberries. This place is great. We…read morewent a few weekends ago and it was a rainy day. We hoped they would be open and to our surprise they were open and had tons of Blueberries and not many people. They charge $5 per pound of Blueberries or $25 for the full bucket which holds 5 to 6 pounds. If you decide you do not want to pick the blueberries yourself they charge 1 pound bags for $6. In order to get to this farm you either have to take Wiliston Rd or 441. You make your way down a dirt road and you keep driving. Thankfully they had signs that said U-Pick Blueberries which made it much easier to find. When at the farm they have several acres of Blueberries. We started picking and sampling at the same time. It was great to try the different types of blueberries they had. Every 10 minutes they hard what sounded like a gun shot go off to scare the birds away. They also had a bull horn to scare the birds as well. It was pretty epic. Overall I had a wonderful time picking the blueberries. It was fun and it was a great way to social distance from others. I would for sure recommend this farm.

$5/lb you pick or call ahead and they'll have them ready for you at $6/lb! Big nice juicy…read moreblueberries; top notch place !! We will be back for sure!