A Visit to a Family Farm in Wading River, New York
Bakewicz Farms, which includes farm animals, The Silo (serving local craft beer and hard cider), playground, mini golf, and farm stand (with yummy goodness like homegrown and local produce, homemade baked goods, and more) is a great place to bring the kiddos for some quality family time, and fresh air. The girls and I spent the morning at this 11 acre farm, and we can’t wait to visit again!
I must admit, we usually visit farms on the East End in the fall for the sunflower festivals, or for apple and pumpkin picking but, I am ready to see what these family farms offer during the summer season too. Like when we went strawberry picking in June over at Glover Farms.
Bakewicz Farms is definitely geared toward families, and I felt comfortable letting the girls roam free in such a safe, family friendly environment.
Which Animals Live on the Farm?
Well, let’s see… there are cows, chickens, horses, goats, an alpaca, and an adorable free range pig named Lulu. We started our day by feeding the animals with a treat that you can pick up at the farm stand. Surely enough, all of the animals eagerly awaited our arrival when they saw us approaching with treats in hand.
We first stopped by to visit with the cows. The girls were a bit intimated because of their size, and their horns. But, they are very sweet and gentle. Just make sure you stay alert when you are by their pen because they love to poke their heads out to say hello.
I have to say the feeling when they took the treat from the palm of my hand was something else. But, in that moment you fully realize how kind and gentle they truly are.
Our Favorite Farm Animals
Afterwards we headed over to the goats. This was Sadie’s absolute favorite. She enjoyed feeding the (crafty) baby goats. They were able to sneak into the horse pen in order to escape the nudges from the larger goats. She even named one, and couldn’t stop talking about him the whole way home.
As for Nora, she loved feeding all of the animals. And, while she tried her best to make sure each animal received one of her treats, there just weren’t enough to go to each and every one. She was so upset when she ran out and hadn’t fed the cows toward the back of the farm. But, don’t worry, we ended up grabbing more treats, and Nora headed to their pen first.
So, what was my favorite farm animal at Bakewicz? Lulu. She just came right up to us on our way over to the playground. And, because we were told in the farm stand that she is a happy, free range pig we already knew what to expect. Honestly, I could have spent my whole visit snuggled up to that little pig, and went home happy.
Tip: Make sure to have some hand sanitizer for when you are done feeding the animals so you can enjoy all of the treats the farm stand has to offer. And, if you head out in the summer, bring sunscreen. It was a cloudy day but, I still came home with sunburn.
Farm Based Entertainment
Well, we just talked about the farm animals but then there is the playground too. A wide open space filled with tons of play structures for the kiddos to play on. There was a pirate ship, a castle, a wooden school bus that the girls spent a ton of time in, mini golf, and more. The playground area is almost completely fenced in. Like I said earlier, I felt totally comfortable letting the girls roam free.
Bakewicz Farms also recently opened the Silo Bar. It was not open during our visit but, it was a weekday morning. However, I would love to visit in the fall to enjoy the local craft beer they serve.
Support Local Farmers
Before we headed home for lunch I grabbed a few things from the farm stand – raw honeycomb, a handmade vanilla loaf cake (that I can’t wait to use for a strawberry shortcake recipe), Kirby cucumbers, tomatoes, and sweet cherry jam. Oh, and I can’t forget the Brownie, Chocolate Chip Cookies the girls requested for the ride home. All in all, our weekday trip to Bakewicz Farms was pretty fantastic, and we cannot wait to spend more time there in the future!
