One weekend, we decided to have a fun family adventure at an Alpaca Farm. This one had been on my hit list for a while because who wouldn’t want to pet some fuzzy alpacas?! As luck would have it, we decided to visit during the last weekend of September, which turned out to be their annual National Alpaca Farm Days weekend!
About National Alpaca Farm Days
For almost 20 years, the Alpaca Owners Association, Inc. has organized National Alpaca Farm Days. This event is usually held the last Saturday and Sunday in September. Over 120 Alpaca Owners Association member ranches and farms across the country open their gates and welcome the public.
During National Alpaca Farm Days, most farms offer special activities, learning experiences, farm tours, and livestock demonstrations. Some farms also have special sales on alpaca apparel, blankets, stuffed animals, and other merchandise.
About Alpacas
If you are not familiar with alpacas, they are members of the camel family. They are frequently confused with llamas but are an entirely different animal. Llamas are about twice the size of an alpaca and raised for guarding livestock. Alpacas are raised for their fleece. Their fleece is softer and more allergy-friendly than sheep’s wool.
The most common type of alpaca breed is called huacaya (pronounced wah‑KI‑ah). Suris(SOO‑rees) are more rare and only account for about 10% of the population. Alpacas are easy to train and are very intelligent. These animals have a calm temperament and get along well with small children, which makes them an excellent member of the petting zoo.
Breezy Hill Alpaca Farm
We chose to go to Breezy Hill Farm in Woodbine. This farm is just about a 30-minute drive from Columbia and other points in Howard County and Baltimore. This alpaca farm offers lots of fun with farm animals, a petting zoo, a zip line, gift shop, and kids activities.
During the National Alpaca Farm Days, the farm had a special craft activity. For just $1 per craft, the kids made these adorable alpaca stick puppets made with real alpaca fur. My daughter’s stick puppet is meant to be My Little Alpaca. As a bonus, the weather was beautiful – not too hot and not too cold.
Farm Animals
I expected this to be a pretty quick visit to pet and maybe feed the alpacas. Surprisingly though, we ended up spending an hour and a half there! On the farm, there are a few interesting varieties of chickens, peacocks, miniature horses, a donkey, a turkey, bunnies, goats, sheep, and a friendly cockatoo that sits on a perch right out in the open.
It was also pretty interesting that the turkey, donkey, and sheep grazed in the same area. The animals were so cordial to one another. We must have spent at least 10 minutes just staring at the spectacle of those three species in one spot!
Feeding Alpacas
In the barn, they have a tiny snack shop where you can buy food for the alpacas (also only $1). We all had a great time feeding the alpacas and watching them roam around the fields and play with each other. They are very friendly and calm animals.
Farm Activities & Shopping
Aside from having fun with the animals, our kids enjoyed sitting on the tire swing. There is a zip line that kids of all ages can use (no additional fee when we visited). My son loved playing on the zip line!
Breezy Hill Alpaca Farm also has a gift store. The store sells alpaca fur items and other handmade goods. The farmworkers told us that alpaca fur is hypo-allergenic. Alpaca clothing makes a great choice for those with allergies. At the gift store, we also got little finger puppets as a souvenir for the kids, which were also a reasonable $3 each.
The staff at Breezy Hill Farm was friendly and helpful. My son asked one of the farm workers a lot of questions. We learned a lot about the alpacas, including all their names and personality quirks. We enjoyed our outing with the friendly alpacas and their furry farm animal friends. We highly encourage others to check it out. Breezy Hill Alpaca Farm would be an excellent choice for a school field trip because it was a very educational visit.
The farm offers tours and sells alpacas and their wool. It is best to check out the Breezy Hill Alpaca Farm website before you visit. Hours vary by season.
Other Adventures Near Breezy Hill Farm
If you want to create a whole day trip, there are a few other fun places nearby:
- Breezy Hill Alpaca Farm is only one mile from Larriland Farm, so if you’re headed there for produce picking, it is a great little side stop!
- After our adventure, we headed on to Frederick to take them to our favorite Italian restaurant, Pistarro Ristorante Pizzeria Napoletana. You can read more about Pistarro’s in my TripAdvisor review. In a nutshell, it is a fantastic kid-friendly, moderately priced restaurant. It also has a nice playground right next to the parking lot that our kids love!
- And of course, Frederick offers a lot of other things to do. It has loads of shopping, antiques, food options, and parks. The possibilities are practically endless on what to do to round out your day trip.
