I love getting outside when the weather is nice and farms are such toddler friendly activities. On a lovely rain-free weekday, my friend and I opted to take a group of 4 (yep-- altogether there were FOUR) two year olds to Allaire Community Farm. We arrived soon after their 10am opening time, and headed into the farmhouse to pay our entry fees and buy food for the petting zoo.
Entry rates here are cheap at only $5 for an adult and $3 for kids 1 and older. The farm is wonderfully maintained and while we were there, it was hosting a few young adults with special needs--which is a big focus of the programs offered at the farm.
We walked down to the one farmhouse to visit some chickens and then headed over to see all the horses. Our toddlers loved looking at the horses and we bopped around to make sure the toddlers didn't touch their faces as advised by the signage. Our crew loved running around the corrals and we took the scenic route (the long way!) to get to the outdoor petting zoo area so we could visit more with the horses, a cow and a donkey (and because we weren't totally sure where to go).
We made our way up to the shaded petting zoo area and our gang loved all the animals there. We fed goats, pigs, a donkey and I think even an alpaca. We saw some geese and more chickens. We were the only group in this area at that time although a little girl and her grandma came by for a short time. Definitely easier to manage 4 toddlers without being in a crowd!
The goats were the big hit of the petting zoo. I've seen goats be pretty aggressive while being fed but these guys were really gentle. The toddlers were able to feed them by themselves without any problems. We hardly had any food left for the pigs since the goats were so great! After we fed the animals their food, a worker on the farm showed the kids some duck eggs she collected from a local inhabitant. Pretty cool!
After the petting zoo area we walked to a little playground spot where the kids played on some seesaws and other kids equipment. From there we noticed a little tunnel memorial for covid-19 victims and the kids enjoyed walking thru to see all the seashells and rocks used to build the memorial. It was a really lovely tribute. After exiting the tunnel we grabbed a seat in a gazebo to give the kids some snacks before leaving for the day.
Two hours was more than enough time to see everything the farm offers and stop for a snack during the trip. They do offer barrel rides and hay rides on weekends but on a quiet weekday you'll likely not see that in operation. The farm also offers riding lessons which is very cool and probably really fun for older kids.
If you are in the Monmouth or Ocean area, go visit this sweet little farm! They are doing great work here for underserved individuals in our community and it was a great hit with our kiddos! For more info, visit https://allairecommunityfarm.org/