What a great time in a very relaxing place. The grounds are charmingly rustic and inviting. Loved the lilac maze and the petting corral, especially Darla the pig. Staff were very nice and helpful. We thoroughly enjoyed being able to have a picnic on a table under a tree. I'm sorry that lilac season was cut short for Fort Cross this year but we will do our best to be back next season. A gem nestled in the East County and worth the drive on a beautiful Easter Sunday. read more

Fort Cross Old Timey Adventures - Entrance to a wonderful afternoon - Tours Near Me - Santa Ysabel, California

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I honestly wasn't sure what to expect before we got here. When we arrived, the parking was full. There was a woman in a golf cart that ended up helping us park. We also checked in with her for our wristbands (this is if you park in the back). Upon entering the grounds, I was a bit confused on where each activity was located. We could have really used a map, but after walking through once, I realized it's actually small and manageable. I thought we would only stay for 2 hrs, but my 4 year old wanted to do EVERYTHING and we ended up spending 4 hours there! Our favorite was the reptile show. We were able to HOLD snakes and a gecko, something I can't say that I've done anywhere else (domestically anyways). Pro tips: - pack a lunch - bring your own soap / sanitizer (the wash stations were out of soap) - get to the reptile show early! They have to cap the number of people they let in to not scare the animals. Highly recommend if you have kids. Was well worth our $$. read more

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The value wasn't appropriate. We got there at 2:30pm and were told more than half the activities were not available due them needing to close at 5pm. Lack of kindness and flexibility. It was disappointing. Very clear the staff just wanted to leave as soon as possible. Julien could use a real outdoor activity space, but this is not it. And don't come after me owner lady, your responses just make you look worse. read more

This place is an absolute gem for the family. It is right on the outskirts of Julian and we always pass by on our way for pie. They have loads of activities for the holiday season including archery, pumpkins patches, and a petting zoo. Highly recommend checking this spot out. read more

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Absolutely amazing experience for adults and kids alike! Went with my little one and husband for a st. Patrick day event! It was above and beyond what I expected and we enjoyed every minute of it! St. Patrick was a highlight for my son and husband who enjoyed his spot on Irish accent very much! The scavenger hunt was sweet and well thought out with very fun prizes at the end! Everyone made new friends, the petting zoo was great too! I made friends with one of the brand new goat babies they're very sweet and tiny! My husband held a couple snakes and my little guy had fun watching the tortoises eat! If your family want to have a great time I highly recommend visiting fort cross! Incredible Photo ops everywhere! Did I mention paint ball slingshot , tomahawk throwing and archery ? Well done and family fun great for bonding! We loved the very welcoming and compassionate owners! We are already planning our next visit back! read more

Fort Cross Old Timey Adventures - The slingshot course! My husband got Mona Lisa in the nose and chin! Leprechauns for st.patricks day they were hard to catch! - Tours Near Me - Santa Ysabel, California

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This was such a cute little hidden gem, not too far from San Diego to take your family and little ones for a very organic good time. The entire place is built like a wild fortress with gardens and various outdoor activities that you can play with your little ones, and I would say even middle schoolers would have tons of fun exploring the grounds. I took my two year-old here, and we had so much fun climbing up and down the fort, Going through the maze, looking at the flowers, and watching apple juice making demonstration. I would definitely come back and visit again in the future. read more

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Had such a grand time with my guy and my pup at the lilac festival! There are lots of fun activities including axe throwing, archery, slingshots, painting, candle making, a scavenger hunt, etc. My favorite activities for the day were the slingshots and the hoedown. One of the things I was most excited for was the candle making. Unfortunately, I ended up skipping it because it looked pretty lame based on what everyone else was doing. The maze was also a bit sad since there wasn't many lilacs, which was the point of going. The archery could really use an upgrade as well considering most of the bows don't work correctly. I would come again, but I wouldn't say this is a must do activity. I'd give it a 3.5 overall. read more

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I learned of Fort Cross after my daughter's school went there on a field trip and she unfortunately had to miss it because she was sick. We ended up going here because she was so excited to go and all of the kids in her class were absolutely raving about it that we decided she had to experience it as well. This was such a fun experience! We didn't even do any of the packages. We just roamed the grounds, and the kids played in the open area, swung on the tire swing, climb the ropes and just experienced all they have to offer and it was a blast! We will definitely be going back again to do a package as I hear that's so much fun as well. This was a great outdoor adventure for kids to roam around, learn about some history and get outdoors. read more

What a fun, adorable place! Our whole family truly had a great time! There is so much to do and look at, so many great activities for adults and kids alike, and lovely decor and photo ops! also, the staff was very friendly and helpful. We went for the autumn jubilee and loved the petting zoo and the hoe down the best! Be prepared and bring your own snacks or meals though! They do have a very small limited snack bar with water and trail mix type snacks as well as a gift shop. I loved that it was dog friendly too! read more

Fort Cross Old Timey Adventures - The goats were so friendly and well cared for. - Tours Near Me - Santa Ysabel, California

Had a wonderful time at Fort Cross during their Autumn Jubilee. This place is perfect for families or even a fun date! We took advantage of the adventure package. Had a blast! Also, many of their other activities. I personally would recommend the reptile show, as Ursula was such a delight and got everyone involved and excited. The hayride and hoedown was how we ended the day, and it did not disappoint. Thanks to the owners, Jesse and Doreen Cross and the wonderful staff/family!!! What a true gem!!! Would highly recommend!!! To be a kid again! We had so much fun! DeAnne, Brian & Curtis read more

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Absolutely LOVE this place! It's the most idyllic place for kids in San Diego, hands-down. We went to the Fort Criss Old Timey adventures autumn festival and it was a blast. We did archery, axe throwing, paintball, slingshots, and candle dipping. There is a lilac maze, an old Goldmine, and a fun general store with old-time candy. Highly recommend especially during the spring and fall for their special events. You can also purchase different trees, bushes, and plants, including sycamore, strawberries, peach, apple, all kinds of things! They also have cute little kitties that run around the property who are very friendly. About an hour out of San Diego after you leave, you can go across the street for a Barbacoa quesadilla and some hard apple cider with caramel crumble apple pie at "Mom's" read more

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This was an amazing trip. Though it was really hot, we still had a ton of fun petting the animals and doing activities. Our guide was very nice and even gave us a private tour. I highly recommend you visit Fort Cross if you are in Julian. read more

Our family had the best time at Fort Cross! Farmer Ben was awesome! He was entertaining while at the same time shared a lot of history with us. The kids had a blast, shooting slingshots, throwing axes, and doing archery. One of our favorite experiences was the petting zoo. The goats were adorable. We also got to see Olivia, the pig and a bunch of bunnies, ducks and birds. We were lucky enough to only have about 10 people in our group that day, which made it feel like a very personal, one on one experience. Finally we all got to enjoy a reptile show and everyone got handed their own snakes and lizards. It was so cool! We would 10/10 recommend doing this with your family. We made memories we will never forget. Also the entire farm is decorated so cute, everywhere you look is something unique and quirky. We took tons of pictures. Fun for all ages. Our kids were 14, 11, and 9. We loved it. read more

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If you are looking around Julian for an activity outside of shopping, eating and apple picking; I would recommend Fort Cross Adventures. This family owned and built setup gives an old timey backyard feel with games ranging from treasure hunt, archery, ax throwing to a large garden/nursery. Like a large backyard it is all dirt paths with over grown trees & bushes so i would not come in high heels or nice shoes. The garden area is an "instagram" worthy spot for influencer photos as it is decorated with vintage photo frames, art, pottery giving it a rustic yet artsy feel. Pictures on yelp do the venue more justice than the companies website or TripAdvisor. Dates and hours are limited, as the family runs all aspects of Fort Cross. Highly recommend confirming they are open before just heading out. My one reservation or word of caution is with the archery. There are no forearm guards or finger protection offered. The bowstring with repetitive can possibly hurt your skin and cause of injuries. read more

We visited Fort Cross yesterday and participated in their Johnny Appleseed event. From the first moment we arrived we felt welcomed. Our hosts taught us the hoedown and did an incredible job with engaging our homeschooled kids. In fact, my very shy daughter said her favorite part was the hoedown! Our hosts did a great job explaining everything and giving all the kids equal turns so that everyone got to participate. The property was beautifully decorated for fall and we had a blast! They did an incredible job keeping the attention of my our 4 year olds all the way to our 10 year olds! I highly recommend!!! read more

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I had the pleasure of attending the Fort Cross Autumn Jubilee and Haunted Hayride this past weekend. What sweet Fall fun!! Fort Cross has been covered with pumpkins and the cutest decorations for the season. They do hoedowns throughout the day which involve singing and square dancing. From axe-throwing & slingshots to a lovely Lilac Maze, there's lots of great activities to enjoy. They even have a Reptile Show and a Petting Zoo with goats, pigs, rabbits and guinea pigs! The Hayride may have been my favorite part, though! I loved getting to learn more about Julian while seeing a bit more of Fort Cross. I also recommend taking part in the Treasure Hunt--a wonderful way to explore the grounds! The Haunted Hayride was an eerie, fun way to spend the night. Sharing ghost stories makes the experience unique and collaborative. It's also a lovely way to enjoy the gorgeous dark sky full of stars that Julian has to offer. Spooky without being too scary for all ages! Great fun for kids, adults and couples alike. If you're coming to Julian in October, I highly recommend booking a visit to Fort Cross! read more

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I was lucky enough to go on a field trip here. It was so much fun. The activities were very fun and the employees made it so fun. I highly recommend visiting Fort Cross read more

Had a great time at the Holiday Hayride Festival Event! The staff were friendly, fun, festive, knowledgeable, and kind. The farm is beautiful and relaxing with many activities to check out, we didn't even get to everything! Definitely will be back. read more

What a fun experience. Even our teenagers had great time ,despite acting too cool at the beginning . Great for all ages read more

Such a fantastic field trip!! The kids all enjoyed themselves and all of the staff was so great!! Highly recommend the Native American Experience field trip!! read more

Fort Cross Old Timey Adventures - Tours Near Me - Santa Ysabel, California

had to reserve a bunch of lilacs to buy the day before our arrival. bouquet very small. very disorganized there. no help anywhere. description of where to get flowers poor. got twice the amount of flowers last year for the same price. girl said no more flowers for people in line. meanwhile they have orchards and orchards of lilacs that will be dead in a week that they could sell people today. all about $$$. not nearly as great an experience as in the past. read more

Brought a group of 7 adults and 1 toddler on a Saturday. There were just 2 other families there during our time slot (you need to make reservations), and they spread us out at different activities so it felt very peaceful and quiet. For the first hour, we got to do slingshots, tomahawk throwing, and archery. Wasn't sure what to expect, since some of the Yelp reviews mentioned the equipment being old or broken down. Everything was great in our experience, and they have enough targets / archery stations that everyone could go at the same time without having to wait. It felt very unrushed. There was also a play area that our toddler loved, so she didn't feel like she was missing out. The second hour started off with a reptile show. That was everyone's favorite part - we got to hold 5 snakes, a gecko, pet some tortoises, and see a chameleon eat (there might have been more, I don't remember). After that, there was a petting zoo that our toddler absolutely loved. They have a bunch of goats, a pig, chickens, ducks, and bunnies (including some babies!). There was also raspberry picking, but we didn't do that. The overall area is pretty big, and there's a lot of picnic areas and shade. I think they have a lot more activities when you go during their festivals, but this was a fun stop and everyone had a good time. read more

Jesse and his team are the best and make the entire family feel specia!!! make sure to visit Fort Cross and see all that they have to offer. There are so many ac to do and so much to pick and choose from. Whether it's animals, games, antique, or trees, and berries they have something for everyone in the group. read more

We have been coming here several times a year. Today's was the worst experience in customer service I've ever seen and heard.... Won't be going or recommending this place. I called for a moving time slot and date due to an emergency and I was told exactly this- "I'm sorry no refunds even if someone was dying with COVID in the hospital there is no way to recover funds on tickets, doesn't matter if someone has covid and is dying or other life threatening emergencies" the lady was so harsh and heartless. I would have been fine with no refund because of small business but to say things about people dying doesn't even hit some compassion in this lady is sick. Truly disappointed not because I couldn't get a refund or move dates but how heartless this person is!!! The brothers who own the o seemed so wonderful so this lady should def be talked to about customer svce read more

Fun day activity to do with the family! Great value, lots of activities, would recommend! Plenty of photo ops and friendly staff!

This place is a monumental waste of money. Almost $200 for a family of four! And let me tell you, it's no Disneyland (or Knotts or whatever). It's just a bunch of junk that they've collected on a plot of land with different sections. The "main" has a lilac "maze" which is just a bunch of randomly placed plants - hardly a maze of any sort. The reptile area is a haphazardly put together space with random animals. And the rest of the space is just ropes hanging from oak trees on the property and random junk they seem to have collected from the side of the road. As if the entrance fee for the ridiculous "main" area isn't high enough, it's another $20/pp to go into their shoddy "adventure" area where they have half-broken sling shots and junk hatchets for axe throwing. By the way, you don't get a discount or anything if there is nothing to pick on the farm. Same price (maybe even more expensive because they called it Autumn Jubilee which, from what we could tell, was just a bunch of really, really cheap Halloween decorations and a bunch of pumpkins all over the place). If you're looking forward to the tractor ride, just hope that it's going to be a tractor pulling you (which they park out front for looks) and not their beat up Toyota pickup. Really wouldn't mind if it were a few bucks to go in and look around and a few more bucks for the activities but the price (and the attitude at the front desk) were just way too much for such a cockamamie operation. There really isn't much to do in Julian so a lot of people are looking for a place to go with their kids and these kids are banking off of that with the most low effort tourist trap I have seen in a long time. Nevertheless, don't waste your money or your time. Go somewhere else and save yourself the disappointment. read more

Fort Cross Old Timey Adventures - Bunch of junk for the middle seating area. - Tours Near Me - Santa Ysabel, California

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10 out of 10 experience at Fort Cross. This was mine and my kids first time here today and we had a blast. I have a 16 and 5 year old and there was more than enough to entertain both of them for hours. You can tell they put a lot of love into the place and everyone working here provided exceptional service. read more

During Covid-19 we have been super bored! All the amusement parks and especially Legoland are still shutdown! However, we found this little gem called Fort Cross hidden in the San Diego Valley by bunch of Indian Casinos lol .. I came from Los Angeles so the drive was far but it was very much relaxing because along the way it was a scenic drive observing the beautiful country side with cows, horses, lakes, meadows, trees etc . As we got to Fort Cross the area looks like a little western old town with shops, restaurants and other farms. It was pretty crowded on the weekend so luckily we reserved tickets online prior to coming which were $20 per person. We parked next door at the Julian Pumpkin patch and checked into Fort Cross where they gave you a wrist band. There were tons of educational activities such as cider pressing, petting zoo, amphibian zoo, painting bird houses, making candles, going on a hayride, entering into the lilliac maze and playing in the castle tree house. My kids really enjoyed the amphibians where they were all stored in glass cages and all you need to do is point at which one you wanted to hold such as a snake, Iguana etc ... The hayride came every 20 minutes which is located on the outside and my kids enjoyed the sing-along. Be sure to purchase and drink their homemade apple cider! This is a great place for the family especially the kids! I would recommend booking a room at a hotel nearby such as Harrah's or Pala to make it an overnight vacation. read more

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Very cute lots of photo ops and everyone was super welcoming. Made some candles and explored the area

We had a perfect family outing at Fort Cross. It was more fun than I was even hoping for. The day started with us at the slingshot range, slinging paintballs at targets. We then moved to the Tomahawk throw. We were all looking forward to this the most, and it was super fun. I was surprised at how much freedom we were given to just throw till our heart's content. Then we moved to the archery range, where I showed natural talent at hitting the targets. Next we collected food for the goats and proceeded to feed them. We also fed the bunnies, and had a lot of interaction with the animals. We then moved onto interacting with all of the reptiles. I was surprised at the amount of animals we were allowed to hold. It was fabulous. This is a wonderful adventure for the family that entertains all! read more

This is our second year coming here. Such a great time and we end up spending the whole day there, around five hours, because there's so much to do! Highly recommend! read more

Fort Cross Old Timey Adventures - We made this candle and painted these at Fort Cross!! - Tours Near Me - Santa Ysabel, California

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Wifey set up another awesome trizzip,,, the dude in the picture is amazing his laughing is contagious,,, it started to make me and my son laugh in joy! The reptile show is top notch ,I got everything packaged so I was able to go back to the reptile show and it was way better with less people... the staff is very knowledgeable and professional and cool AF,,, the schedule is awesome because you figure if you Miss something you got a chance to do something else and then schedule it it for the next hour,, this place is sick AF , after leaving this spot me and the family was like,this fort cross is awesome amazing and we're wore so satisfied with you invested joy bliss fun entertainment and great memories! You got to go to this mf place if you got a kiddo,this place is dope af f all them haters from the real david from El cajon san diego read more

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We had a great time visiting here! It's such a hidden Jim would highly recommend for the entire family!

Once again Doreen, Jessie, George, and the crew delivered an amazing experience! I brought 12 kids there to camp and explore the farm and we had such an amazing time. Of course, the kids loved the petting zoo, but there was so much more going on. They have reptiles galore, a fantastic camping area, beautiful flowers and gardens, you never know what you're going to find as they're always creating new and incredible areas in the farm. We even learned how to catch gophers and helped move some mosquito eaters into the new ponds! Bravo you guys! We appreciate you so much and can't wait to come back! read more

We could have spent all day here! We pre purchased our tickets and went for the 10am festival package. We did all of the activities- hay ride, reptile show, petting zoo, candle making and painting craft. We wandered around the cute grounds and really had fun- 3 adults and a 6 and 9 year old and we all loved it. Want to go back next year! read more

Fort Cross Old Timey Adventures - Petting zoo - Tours Near Me - Santa Ysabel, California

We had a great time at the Autumn Jubilee. There's a good amount to do for all ages and lots of areas to explore. Staff was friendly and helpful and made sure our family had an amazing experience. We can't wait to check out other events at Fort Cross throughout the year and we will definitely be back to the Autumn Jubilee next year. read more

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Thank you- our students had such a fantastic field trip experience. The colonial life theme was highly educational and exceeded my expectations! Engaging, talented & friendly staff; lovely dreamy grounds; relevant, interesting & varied content delivered in such a memorable way, and those baby goats were a huge hit. Many teaching moments throughout the day led up to a mock battle scene which was a wonder to watch! I highly recommend booking a school field trip at Fort Cross. read more

Fort Cross is such a cute day date! There's so many animals and plants to see! According to the current season/festival there's always extras you can do as well. We went last for the lilac festival and there were a ton of photo opps, painting/candle-making area, a tractor ride and had some foxes as special guests that were so cute. Its always a fun time! It's also right across the street from Julian hard cider so perfect for a pit stop after or just a couple mins from downtown Julian. read more

Fort Cross Old Timey Adventures - Best day date! - Tours Near Me - Santa Ysabel, California

I went this past weekend to their Autumn Jubilee Festival and it was a fun experience for the kiddos. My son and his buddies loved it. The boys were 4, 7, 8 & 10. So it's really fun for all ages. We did the hayride, reptile show, candle making, cider pressing, maze running wild, pumpkin patch, arts & crafts, slingshot paintball, petting zoo, axe throwing and everything else available. Everything was well organized and fun for everyone. We were a group of 5 different families and there was something for everyone. There are hand sanitizer bottles around, but do take your own and do your own due diligence when handling everything. We wiped things down on our own. It's a farm so expect to get dirty, even without Covid. read more

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Amazing time petting the animals, slinging paintballs, and candle making!!!! The owners wife was sooo sweet and funny! They have great customer service and fun vibes!!!! We were a group of 9 and they tolerated us with welcoming arms! read more

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