Best Family Farms near Los Angeles with Entertainment

1. Underwood Farms — Moorpark

Pony rides, pick-your-own fruits and veggies, hay pyramids, and tractor rides—what could be more magical? This Ventura farm, produce market, and animal center is open almost every day of the year, with seasonal activities and harvests, and all the extras (like tractor rides and animal shows) for a day of family fun. 

Visit the pumpkin patch, choose a Christmas tree, and go strawberry picking throughout the year—but visit on a weekday afternoon, if possible. Weekends are busy (there's so much to do!), and weekday mornings almost always have several preschools visiting. (For a quieter farm visit, try the Underwood Farm located in Somis, listed below.) Weekday admission is slightly lower than weekends and holidays. Children under two are always free. 

2. Tanaka Farms — Irvine

A few of the highlights at Tanaka Farms include strawberry tours, watermelon tours, u-pick pumpkin patches, and the Hikari Festival of Lights. There is a small general admission fee in addition to attraction fees for things like tours, tractor rides, and pick-your-own activities (children under two are free, prices are higher on holidays and weekends). The wagon makes a few stops in the fields so kids can hop out to pick their own produce.

Tanaka Farms also has a seasonal flower farm in Costa Mesa where kids can pick sunflowers, zinnias, and more. The flower picking usually starts around Mother's Day. Check our events calendar for more Tanaka Farms events — they have events for kids of all ages. 

Tractors driving, train riding, ax throwing, goat milking are all in a day's work at Gilchrist Farm. 

3. Gilchrist Farm — Santa Clarita

Gilchrist Farm in Saugus has it all – families can enjoy egg hunts, ax throwing, goat milking, horseback riding, and more. There’s a train, pot-bellied pigs, and wagon rides, too. Bring your lunch and take advantage of the picnic tables and shady area. One of the seasonal highlights at Gilchrist is the fall pumpkin patch, complete with food trucks on weekends and hay rides around the property. 

4. Zoomars at River Street Ranch — San Juan Capistrano 

This hidden gem might be the best-kept secret in the OC! Zoomars at River Street Ranch is a family-owned business with over 80 animals, pony rides, train rides, tractor rides, a "guinea pig pen," gem mining, and more. This amazing petting zoo will give you all the farm feels. 

5. Montebello Barnyard Zoo — Montebello 

This barnyard is not a working farm, but it has all the farm feels and is the perfect place for a field trip. Kids can ride ponies or a John Deere tractor, feed animals, or participate in gem mining. This spot is only open for tours from Wednesday to Sunday. 

Top Smaller Family Farms near Los Angeles

6. McGrath Family Farm — Camarillo

Every first Saturday of the month, McGrath Family Farm offers a tour that teaches guests about organic farming (though sometimes the reservation requires a large group). Check the website for pick-your-own and pumpkin patch availability. 

7. Underwood Farms — Somis

Besides pick-your-own citrus and berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries), Underwood's location in Somis also sells jams, pickled vegetables, honey, nuts, farm fresh eggs, fresh-cut flowers, and more. October brings a bounty of pumpkins, gourds, squash, a hay pyramid, and a cornstalk tunnel. 

The animal center is small but charming, and you'll pass it when trekking to the U-pick fields. Who doesn’t love pygmy goats, chickens, alpacas, and sheep? Bring quarters to buy treats to feed the animals through food shoots! However, do not worry if you forget coins because you can buy bags of carrots at the farm stand to feed everything except the chickens. This smaller farm has all the fun of the larger farms, minus the crowds. 

8. The Painted Pony Farm — Santa Paula 

This little-known farm is home to all sorts of friendly animals. Visitors must book in field-trip groups and the farm tour changes depending on the season. In early fall, the tour includes apple picking, and in October, kids can choose a pumpkin from the patch. In the spring, the tour focuses on baby animals. Children are encouraged to hold bunnies and chicks, meet the horses, feed the goats, and more on this darling outing in an idyllic setting.  

9. Stone Soup Farm & Heritage Orchard — Oak Glen

Stone Soup Farm, situated in the foothills of east Oak Glen, is a family micro-farm of heirloom apple orchards, flower fields, berries, and more. The farmers share their passion for regenerative farming and give kids a close-up view of sustainable farming practices they call “Farmaculture.” Check their website for dates when the farm is open, and do not miss the Autumn Apple Fair. 

Stone Soup is in its annual heyday from September to November, with cider pressing, a children's play garden, and seasonal activities for all ages. It's one of the best places for apple picking near Los Angeles. 

RELATED: Christmas Tree Farms near Los Angeles 

Meet the inhabitants of a local working farm at Tapia Bros. 

10. Tapia Bros Farm — Encino

Tapia Bros is a small urban farm in Encino with a summer strawberry patch, fall pumpkin patch, and winter Christmas tree farm. The stand sells fruits, veggies, and flowers all year long. In the fall, there are photogenic pumpkin patches, a petting zoo, a train ride, and an interactively massive corn maze. Don't miss out on the kettle corn, and take it with you into the corn maze because you might be in there for a while! Tapia Bros usually opens for the season in March.

11. Forneris Farms — Mission Hills

Forneris Farms sells tomatoes, strawberries, corn, and all the best produce of the summer season—plus, there's a pumpkin patch in the fall. Kids can enjoy a tractor-pulled train ride around the property and a seasonal corn maze. 

12. Apricot Lane Farms — Moorpark

Have you ever watched the smash-hit documentary, The Biggest Little Farm? Well, this is it! This working farm offers tours on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Most tours include a seasonal pick-your-own activity. Kids 12 and under receive free admission, though adults should plan on a hefty price tag for the walking tour (the farm is famous, after all). 

Education Center Farms near Los Angeles

13. Centennial Farm — Costa Mesa

Centennial Farm is a three-acre working farm. It's home to fruit and vegetable gardens and plenty of livestock. The farm originated to teach children about agriculture and its importance in daily life. The educators on the farm are on site most of the year to teach visitors about nutrition and California agricultural roots. Make sure to book a tour online before you go. 

14. The Ecology Center — San Juan Capistrano

Take the family to this gorgeous 28-acre Ecology Center for the farm stand, farm tours, Hearth Farm Dinners, evening farm film series, a farm-focused homeschool program called Farm Raised, and Eco Tots—a sensory, hands-on garden learning experience for children ages two through five, and their parents. The non-profit organization models creative solutions for thriving on planet Earth. 

15. The Gentle Barn — Santa Clarita 

Learn about farm animals on a tour at The Gentle Barn. It's open to the public on Sundays. Visitors can brush a cow, give a pig a belly rub, pet a sheep, and more. Field trips and group tours are available on other days of the week. Each animal at The Gentle Barn has a heartwarming story of their rescue and rehabilitation, all shared during the tour. 

16. Moonwater Farm — Compton

Moonwater Farm is a beautiful setting where kids ages eight to 14 can take two-hour enrichment classes focused on the connections between the earth, our soil, and their health. The farm cultivates mindfulness and exploration by offering hands-on growing and cooking opportunities for kids growing up in an urban environment.

All photos courtesy of the farms