Mother Nature’s Farm

Opening weekend 2019 at Mother Nature’s Farm was a blast! We were greeted by Caroline, one of the family members who owns and runs the farm, as we were paying our entrance fee so she let us in on all the fun things to do! We arrived shortly after the 9am opening so it wasn’t very crowded. It was nice not having to wait in line for bounce houses, share the animals with too many other people or wait for the tractor hay ride.

You enter through the most incredible shop of homemade items where you make your way back to the register to pay. It is $10 a kid and includes a pumpkin and access to the air bounce, a hayride, spider web crawl, feeding the animals, the hay maze and all the fun throughout the farm. Adults are $5 to tag along and ride the hayride. Warning, the tractor pulled hay ride is very bumpy. For some reason I was not expecting quite so many bumps, so hold on tight to little ones and don’t let them lean over the sides. Alexander, Caroline’s son, was our tractor driver himself today.

Kids wear a sticker that says “I was found at Mother Nature’s” with a picture of a pumpkin and adults have a tractor sticker to wear. Little kids wear the sticker on the back so they do not pull it off. Adults can wear them wherever they find fashionable! The pumpkin sticker entitles you to pick a pumpkin. The tractor sticker is your pass to the hayride. By the register, where you first walk out to the patch, amongst the corn stocks there is a place for lost pumpkins. Such a great idea!

Throughout the farm there are corn stocks, bounce houses, play houses, animals, pumpkins, bails of hail, a hay maze, a spiderweb climb, watering system, giant towers, bounce animals and so many things to do.

There are about a million photo opportunities. I saw numerous professional photo shoots taking place amongst pumpkins. One things I remember about last year was how crowded it gets, especially closer to Halloween, so if you don’t want anyone else in your pictures, I suggest you go early in the season.

Munchies

There is food available at Maneau’s Munchies including cotton candy, candy covered apples and some other classics. They also encourage you to pack a picnic lunch for your friends and family. There are picnic tables throughout the farm. Also plenty of room to sit and eat, drink and relax in the shade.

Most importantly there are carrots for sale $1 a bag that you can buy and feed the animals. This is available at the main food stand or off to the side there is a giant bucket and you can purchase them there.

Animals

Home Sweet Home Sanctuary at Mother Nature’s Farm is a non profit no kill sanctuary created to hose and care for unwanted or rescued animals.

On the farm there are chickens, ducks, sheep, llamas, goats, cows, horses, turtles, pigs, and our personal favorite, the donkey. HeeHaw. There are signs that say “Pet animals at own risk! Animals may bite… nibble, snip, lick, spit, peck, sniff, fart, poop or kick…” So pretty much like the kids you bring with! The goats can be a little overwhelming because there are so many and they tend to be very aggressive trying to get those carrots. My kids do not seem to like goats, however I was brave enough to reach in to pet them to show my kids that they are not scary.

There are chickens and ducks running around. They seemed nice, but watch out for little ones. All the other animals are behind fences. The turkeys love to show off  their beautiful feathers. The cows were very chill and patiently waited for carrots. The horses and donkeys were very friendly and got to eat most of our carrots. They are in the far back, so by then my kids were finally brave enough to feed them.

Remember that with animals comes dirt, flies and all the other lovely things about nature we love so much. There is a hand washing station next to the bathrooms for those of us that needed more than just hand sanitizer after petting animals.

There are several port-o-potties available and signs to point you in the right direction. I personally held it this year, but another Mom said they were cleaner at the beginning of the season.  One thing I could not find was a good place for changing diapers.

The Details

Mother Nature’s Farm is between Gilbert and Cooper on the south side of Baseline. You can’t miss the seasonal flags waiving.

There is lots of parking off Baseline, they open up the grassy area in the front for overflow. There are signs that point you in the right direction of where to park when it gets busy.

The farm hosts other events during the fall and throughout the year such as Military Monday, Blushing Peach Face Painting BBQ battles, snow days and sell trees closer to Christmas. Be sure to check the calendar online for other events!

Mother Nature’s Farm
1663 E. Baseline Rd.
Gilbert, AZ 85233
(480) 892-5874

The complete list of pumpkin patches in Phoenix, including some in other Arizona cities, can be found here!