If you love farm animals and would like to meet baby goats and alpacas, this one is for you!
Located in Northborough, Bracken Hill Farm is a 16-acre family-run farm that offers a variety of experiences.
The two main ones are a baby goat cuddle and hike, and a private alpaca trail walk. Both take you out onto the farm’s wooded trails with an animal alongside you.
The Baby Goat Cuddle & Hike is their most popular experience and needs booking in advance.
See prices & availability →The alpaca walk is private which means that you pay a set fee for the whole group. It’s up to 10 people which works out well for a family or a few friends.
It’s only 45 minutes from Boston which makes it an excellent day trip option.
Please note that while I try to be as accurate as possible, I always recommend checking the official website and socials. Things can change quickly and as much as I try to stay on top of things, it’s not always the case.
🐐 Quick Information About Bracken Hill Farm
📍 Where: 53 Auger Ave, Northborough, MA 01532
🐐 What is it?
Bracken Hill is a 16-acre family farm where you can meet animals.
What makes it a bit different from a standard petting farm is that it’s also a therapeutic learning farm.
They run animal-assisted programs with an on-site therapist, including eight-week courses for tweens, teens and adults in small groups. 🐐
They offer various goat and alpaca experiences but they have to be booked in advance. You can’t just show up.
This preserves the quality of the experience and ensures that it’s not too many people for the animals at one time.
Alongside the farm visits they do private events, goat yoga, and a mobile service where the animals come to you for weddings, birthdays and corporate days.
🐐 Baby Goat Cuddle & Hike
This is their most popular one and it runs about an hour.
You start with time to cuddle and play with the baby goats, then head out on a guided walk through the wooded trails with the adult goats coming along. They stop to snack on the shrubbery as you go. 🌲
Afterwards you can spend more time with the rest of the herd, which in this experience includes the alpacas, Douglass the donkey and Penelope the mini cow.
Treats for the goats are included. It’s all ages, with under-18s accompanied by an adult, and the group is capped at 18.
🦙 Private Alpaca Trail Walk
The walk itself is about 30 minutes and three quarters of a mile.
It’s a private walk which means it’s only your party. You pay for the group, up to 10 people, so it suits a family or a small gathering.
Before and after the walk you can spend time with the goats, horses, chickens, alpacas and their kune kune pig. 🦙
Their own advice is to come in clothes and shoes you don’t mind getting dirty.
🍂 Seasonal versions
They run the goat cuddle and hike with seasonal extras at certain times of year, and these sell in limited numbers.
The fall one adds warm apple cider and local cider donuts at the end. It’s capped at 15 and they recommend it for ages 5 and up. On this one you’ll also meet the horses, the pig, chickens, turkeys and ducks. 🍎
The holiday one runs 1 hour and 15 minutes and adds festively dressed goats, a decorated photo area with evergreens and lights where you take your own pictures, then hot cocoa and holiday cookies after a 20 to 30 minute walk. Capped at 20. 🎄
Worth knowing on this one: anyone who’d rather not do the hike can stay at the main farm area instead.
🚗 From Boston: Around 45 minutes
⚠️ Worth knowing: Wear closed-toe shoes or boots you don’t mind getting muddy, because the trails are natural farm terrain and can be steep. Tie long hair back as well, since the baby goats like to chew it. Both baby goat experiences are listed as not wheelchair accessible.
📞 Contact: (508) 905-0116 or emily@brackenhillfarm.com
🌐 Website: brackenhillfarm.com
📸 Instagram: @brackenhillfarmma
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