ORIGIN: Churchtown Dairy is the vision of Abby Rockefeller…read more Abby took 250 acres of vacant agricultural land and built a dairy farm that is both beautiful and sustainable, a beacon of biodynamic farming. CONCEPT: Churchtown Dairy not only enacts more sustainable agricultural practices, but also strives to inspire and educate others to do the same. Books and workshops dedicated to sustainable practices that are oriented away from profit-driven food production are available. EXPERIENCE: Churchtown Dairy offers gathering space to learn about the dairy's products, as well as handcrafts and agricultural skills. So far I've learned how to make kombucha and the basics of beekeeping through Saturday workshops led by a talented and inspiring local resident, Colleen Quinn. For example, there are monthly tastings of the dairy's cheeses led by the dairy's cheese monger in which up to ten guests are welcome to bring along beverages. The dairy also provides space for those looking to gather and expand their needlecraft skills. Products of Churchtown Dairy, as well as other local farms, are available in refrigerator cases and shelves in one of the dairy buildings. TIPS: I have learned about upcoming events by checking the community board inside the dairy, following the dairy's Instagram (@churchtown_dairy), and the dairy's website.

I discovered Churchtown Dairy when I came across an Eventbrite ad in my email on "Cheesemaking for…read moreHome Cooks." I decided to sign up for the course and also did a tiny bit of research on this dairy. What do you get when one of the heirs to the Rockefeller fortune, Abby Rockefeller, decides to create a dairy farm based on regenerative farming practices? Churchtown Dairy. It is, bar none, the best looking farm I've ever come across. They hired builder Rick Anderson to design the farm. Admiring one of the designs, the round barn, on its own, is worth the trip. Beauty moves us in ways I can't explain but is this place all show, no go? The intro course I took was casual and informative. They have raw milk to purchase (I didn't know raw milk can only be purchased on a farm). Other items for sale include farm made cheeses including a Camembert style (Peggy), a washed rind (Coperthwaite), and others to choose from...beef, pork, medicinal garden products, some books, and gift items (picnic knives, cutting boards). I bought some raw milk in one of those old timey glass bottles. The separation of the milk from the milk solids was apparent. I gave it a little shake and had a glass. Good but I don't know if my palate is sensitive enough to discern the difference between this and regular pasteurized and homogenized stuff. I also bought some Coperthwaite cheese, the washed rind camembert. This had a distinct character; it smelled/tasted of grass and barnyard. I could almost picture the cows in the barn. Fresh cheese - bright and tangy...went well with a bit of honey on a cracker. In my humble opinion, this place gets by on more than its good looks. It also serves as an educational and community center. It's definitely worth a trip..more than one to take in all it has to offer.

This was a nice experience. We got to pet farm animals and walk with llamas and alpacas. They will…read morenot walk unless the owners of the park are ahead of the line. The animals are stubborn but tame. This was a nice experience. Definitely take a water bottle on the hike. While it's not strenuous you will get thirsty. Staff was friendly and answered questions. Bathroom is clean.

Loved the place. Great family fun. The owners and staff are wonderful people and fun.read more

I used to visit here annually when I lived in NY. I have very fond memories of Indian Ladder Farms…read moreas a child and it was a very special treat to sample their warm apple cider and devour a bag of fresh cider donuts. Many years later they have so much more to offer - several varieties of fresh coffee, fresh warm pies, a huge selection of jarred items such as honey, pickles, olives, jams and jellies, a variety of craft beers and ciders made on site, Danishes, cookies, and other pastries for purchase, clothing and other merchandise, a large produce area with some of the most beautiful fruits and veggies available, a separate building dedicated to just apple varieties, and a large event hall at the back end of the property near their brewery. This place is pretty awesome. Something else to note is that when we arrived, they were setting up for Oktoberfest, so if you don't have any plans for Oktoberfest next year this would be an exceptional venue to share in the celebration. I have to say that it is a little pricy, much more expensive than I remember but we are living in different times now. We purchased one of the warm peach pies and it was exquisite. I even had a piece with my breakfast the next morning, I couldn't get enough, but it was about $25. Three donuts and two coffees cost us $17.55, which is a bit overkill but we wanted to enjoy in the moment. We also purchased a jar of peach jelly Togo and that was about $8. This is a great place to take a friend or date in the afternoon or for an event. There are several walking trails available and the property is gorgeous as you have a great view of the Catskill Mountains. There are several places where you can just sit around and chat for a while and they have their own pub and eatery under the main store. Additionally, there are some livestock chilling on the property and a small petting area where the kids can feed goats, chickens and any other creature wandering around. All-in-all, we had a great time while visiting and would definitely come back next time we are in NY.

Can't believe I've never been here before. I made up for it by picking up some awesome produce,…read morecider (hard and regular/sparkling and not)...and a bunch of other goodies. (Ice cream and cider donuts, anyone?) Nice staff-super helpful. Oh, the sweet potatoes that I got here were gigantic and some of the best I've ever cooked.

I visited in early fall (first week of October) on a Saturday and the farm was packed! They have a…read moregood system for parking, pretty well organized over all, and this is key. Upon arrival each person pays a $10 cover charge that you receive a ticket for use in the country store in the amount of $10, so technically you get your money back as long as you buy something. Honestly the visiting experience was only okay, I am not sure I'd go back or recommend it BUT this is tempered by the fact that I did buy the biggest, prettiest mum and I may go back again for another one next year. I definitely have the nicest mum in all of Jersey City. I think it was around $20 for my huge mum and I was going to buy some apple cider donuts, but when I saw they were charging $18 for 12 donuts I put the package back on the shelf.

Food/drinks: Margarita pizza was okay and $$$ but the apple cider and apple cider donuts were SO…read moreGOOD. Honestly best apple cider donuts I've ever had + freshly baked , not stale at all and very soft and fluffy (but you have to buy it in a dozen, you can't buy individual) Lots of apples to choose from ~5-8 kinds from evercrisp to snapdragon to gold rush. Gold rush & pink lady were my favorite. Atmosphere: Loved for fall! There's was live music, plenty of apples and pumpkins to pick from, plenty of benches and seating indoors and outdoors for eating, and areas for children to play Dogs allowed! Service: friendly everywhere!! Price: cheap for entry, food is $$. You have to pay a $10 fee but it goes towards anything you buy. For apple cider & cider donuts I would say worth the price. Apple picking is charged by the pound

My Upstate getaway was full of meanderings, and those meanderings often included visits to the…read morefarms around town. Golden Harvest was one of those farms, chosen by my husband who planned the entire trip. I was along for the ride. It's quaint and hard to miss with its bright-red, apple-shaped sign. We parked in front of the shop, and the smell of freshly baked goods greeted us when we entered. At that moment I knew this place would not disappoint. The counter had pies, turnovers, and cookies on display, but we came with a mission: secure a cider donut. It's so refreshing to see donuts sold at a reasonable price. For $1.35, these were a steal compared to the $6 ones sold in the city. (Yes, $6 for a single!) The donuts, which were still warm when we had them, were generously coated with cinnamon sugar. You could taste the apple cider with each bite. I would have ordered more, but I was saving my appetite for barbecue. (See my review for their smokehouse on my profile!)

Very friendly people. We stopped for the cider donuts and produce but left with much more. My…read morehusband loved the distillery tasting room. This farm takes waste seriously and have found so many amazing things to do with the produce they grow. The donuts were delicious btw.

Our toddler absolutely LOVES visiting Tonn's. It is not just a Market it is an experience! The…read morebeautifully decorated photo opp truck out front is our daughter's first stop. If you walk on back there are goats, alpacas and free roaming chickens! (Bring quarters if you'd like to get food to feed the goats). For the month of October (weekends only) they set up a FREE corn pit and play area for kids. Love this place and what they have to offer the market itself is a bit on the pricey side but they do not lack customers! (Have cash on hand for the ice cream truck! The truck hours are online. GREAT PRICES for the ice cream)

Cute little seasonal marketplace. Decided to stop by after seeing lots of posts about it in the…read morefall. We probably arrived too early before all of the food options were available so we just browsed around but didn't purchase anything. The shop was cute and so were the farm animals.

"You Hit the Wrong Note Billy Goat" (Bill Haley and the…read moreComets) Bradley Mountain Farm was more fun than a Barrel full of ............Goats! We signed up for a 1:00 "Barnard Buddies" session. For ten bucks, we reserved our own bench at the fence that pens in their goats, were given a bag of goat food (compressed hay pellets), and enjoyed a half hour of Goat Wackiness. The fun began when the other 1:00 groups were escorted to our benches by our Guide. We immediately saw the goat herd march to the fence and follow us as to our benches. Obviously, they been through this a zillion times and knew there was chow on the way. I asked out guide if the goats can eat all day and was told yes--of course because goats have 4 stomachs. Another odd feature of the goat's anatomy is their eyes -they have bizarrely rectangular pupils. Apparently, their vulnerability to predators caused their eyes to evolve. They have a broad line of sight, and those rectangular-shaped pupils lets them better see danger approaching. We were instructed to hold the food pellets in our outstretched hand and let the goats "kiss" it out of our hands. It was so interesting to see hoe different goats had personalities -some were super mellow, while others were super aggressive and literally shoved their goat brothers and sisters out of the way to be fed. We did see a few males really go at each other with violent head butts, but our guide said that was normal. Go and take your kiddies and maybe you can take the goats for a walk on a leash or buy some "cuddle time" or Goat Yoga or Dress the Baby Goats in pajamas. I kid you not. They have a lot of activity options.

This was ridiculously pricey. It cost so much just to make soap when we actually went to the pen to…read morelook at the goats. They there was no goats out there. I was so disappointed, and when I went to the back to see the goats there was literally no goats there at all so we finally went to the side that had goats, and then a dog randomly started barking at us. The lady walked out of the door and told us to leave this was an extremely disappointing experience. The supervisor was really rude. and overall it was way too pricey and just a waste of time I would not recommend.1star