Family Fun in Vancouver: Maplewood Farm

 Its surprising how life changes when you have kids, and where once you were chasing dance clubs and lounges, you are now chasing farms. Yes, you heard me right. Farms.

Turns out, kids love farms. Of course kids love the animals in the farm but they also love all the mud! Our tot is no different.

And if you want a fun Sunday with your tot, take them to Maplewood Farm in North Vancouver. Years ago, Maplewood Farm was a real dairy farm, but now it is more like an activity farm with a range of animals from pigs, goats, sheep, rabbits, a miniature donkey, chickens, ducks, geese, horses and cows. In most of the cases, you can pet these animals.

It's entirely safe, so there is no need to worry about the kids interaction with the animals. Some of the amazing animals you will see are the small stature Pygmy goats, lambs and the pure white New Zealand Rabbits which you can pet as well as feed. 

The Farm has many other farm animals too, from the largest, the Belgian Draft Horses, which my husband called a "power couple" because they were GORGEOUS!

There are also lots of tiny bantam Chickens, and these are smaller than crows! Also some creepy looking turkeys with their long necks.

If you call and book in advance, you can also enjoy some pony rides, which are available April through to the end of October. They cost $65 per hour, but for birthdays are worth it. You can also request to have a milking demonstration, which usually happens at 1:15pm, but you can probably request it for a birthday.

The Farm is located on 5 pastoral acres, land that has been agricultural since the early 1900's. There is a beautiful pond there as well full of lovely ducks!

The last time we checked the price for adults was slightly more than $8 after taxes. Children between 18 months and 16 years were around $5, which was the same for seniors (ages 55+). Special event days usually cost about a dollar or so more. Horseback riding is also available at around $115 an hour and booked in advance. Parking at the farm is free. If the parking lot gets full, there is also street parking in the area.

Maplewood Farm is best when it isn’t raining, although it’s still okay if you bring an umbrella, or borrow one from the farm. We want when it was raining and still had a ball of a time!