Get a Taste Of Farm Life at Great Country Farms all year round. Located in Bluemont, Virginia, this 400-acre farm hosts year-round events that offer up-close encounters with farm animals, special activities, delicious food, corn mazes, and more!
Great Country Farms
Since I was a little girl I’ve always wanted to know what farm life was like. I was born and raised in the city which means I haven’t had much experience with farm life in the past. Aside from the random road trips my family has taken, we merely pass by farms in the country. To think in the past it was normal for a family to own a farm in order to survive.
These days we are spoiled and have our fancy and wonderful supermarkets to go to for our food and any other needs. Experience Farm Life and enjoy the benefits of its bounty!
Great Country Farms
Address: 18780 Foggy Bottom Road, Bluemont, VA 20135
Phone: 540-554-2073
A Taste Of Farm Life at Great Country Farms
Great Country Farms is a 400-acre working farm situated at the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains outside the village of Bluemont, VA. Great Country Farms offers to produce as well as the farm experience to its customers. The Zurschmeide Family has been farming in Loudoun County since the 1970s and Great Country Farms was started by the second generation of Zurschmeides in Loudoun in 1993.
I will share more history and facts about this amazing farm throughout my series of posts. It’s so amazing how this farm had its humble beginnings which became something so much more.
Visiting Great Country Farms
Last fall I took my family to an amazing farm called The Great Country Farms. My other family members and friends have told me so much about this place, I was so excited to finally be able to take my kids. The one thing that everyone said over and over again was how delicious and fresh their Apple Cider Donuts were.
They were so delicious they sell out by lunchtime. I made sure to plan our visit in the early morning hours so we wouldn’t miss out on those delicious donuts everyone was talking about. In this series of posts, you will find out what Great Country Farms has to offer.
Family-Friendly Farm Visit
Everything is family-friendly on this farm meaning all members can enjoy everything, things such as pumpkin cannons with actual targets oh yeah! There were slides, a dinosaur who loves to ear pumpkins, a life-size chessboard.
Little bikes for the kids to ride, a lake stocked with fish, pig races, live animals, a huge pumpkin jumping pillow, mazes, picnic zones, and so much more! Make sure you read all of my posts to see all of these features.
Great Country Farms Activites
In this series of posts, you will find out what Great Country Farms has to offer. Everything is family-friendly on this farm meaning all members can enjoy everything, things such as pumpkin cannons with actual targets oh yeah!
There were slides, a dinosaur who loves to ear pumpkins, a life-size chess board, little bikes for the kids to ride, a lake stocked with fish, pig races, live animals, a huge pumpkin jumping pillow, mazes, picnic zones, and so much more! Make sure you read all of my posts to see all of these features.
Great Country Farms Lake
The first thing you see when you walk up to the farm is a beautiful lake with a beautiful tree sitting in the middle of it. I snapped this photo as soon as I got outside of my car, it was too beautiful not to capture.
When you turn around you will see a huge cow, my kids ran to the cow and of course, tried to climb it. Of course, my kids would do that, sadly they realized it was impossible to climb and decided to pose for a photo.
Family-Friendly Fall Visit to Great Country Farms
Could you imagine seeing a real cow this huge in real life, oh goodness that would be crazy! Throughout the farm, you will see how this family-owned farm honors every cow on the farm. Since we arrived on the farm during the Fall season, we arrived when the farm was having a guessing contest for their biggest pumpkin.
Their corn maze was also open meaning the kids and I had a great time venturing in and out of that. Let’s just put it on the record that mom knew what she was doing. You will get to see and read more of that later in this series of posts.
Multi-Generation Family Fun on the Farm
Above is grandma, with our little Esuun, Goodness that little girl is growing like a weed! Once you check-in you will receive your bracelets, you will walk through their small shop which seems to have so many fresh-made on-farm goods and foods.
My favorite was the fresh-pressed apple cider, but we will get to that in a little bit. Everything was grown and made for you on the farm, how’s that for farm fresh!?
Farmers Market
Everything from jam, maple syrup, kettlecorn, fresh slushies, fresh applecider, produce and so much more, this little shop has everything you need for a delicious snack or meal. There was even a small coffee station for moms like me who need that extra boost of energy to tackle this huge farm with 4 kids.
Food and Merchandise at the Farmers Market
By the way, I found this awesome sign in the syrup display shelf. There were many different flavors you can choose from meaning endless possibilities. I think this sign stood out to me though because it showed this farm had a great sense of humor.
It’s rare to see funny things like this in shops so I was very excited to catch this. You never know what you will find on this farm honestly, there are things like this hidden all around. Make sure you keep your eyes peeled when you visit!
The Fall Pumpkin Queen
A little fact about the tractor ride that totes little cow cars along, each of those little cow cars is named after the actual cows that live on the farm. I thought that was the sweetest thing! As a visitor to the farm, you are invited to join other guests around a fire and roast marshmallows. This is complimentary and oh so delicious!
Roasting Marshmallows at Great Country Farms
I can just taste those marshmallows now, there’s something about fire-roasted marshmallows that just warm your soul. The kids had a ton of fun roasting marshmallows and even setting fire to a few of them. Yeah, I pretty much expected that would do that. Boy’s will be boys of course.
Fresh Apple Cider Donuts
After a small talk with the owner of the farm, I felt like I was being welcomed into someone’s home. It’s not often you actually get to meet the owners of some of the farms anymore. I really love how his family owns and operates the entire farm.
Community Supported Agriculture Program
The farm started with a Community Supported Agriculture Program (CSA) which has grown over the years and delivers produce to homes as far as Alexandria and Arlington. In 1996 and again in 2007, the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce voted Great Country Farms.
“Agribusiness of the Year” for its unique efforts to farm in a difficult climate through innovation, rather than selling out and growing houses. We are thrilled to still be a family farm in our growing county!
We owe it all to Farmer Bob for instilling a love of farming in us. He still visits the farm regularly on weekends to continue that tradition for the new generation of farm visitors and can often be found in the tasting rooms at Bluemont Vineyard or Dirt Farm Brewing, our sister businesses up the mountain.
Plan a visit to Great Country Farms
I hope you keep reading along with us as we show you all this great farm has to offer. When’s the last time you visited a farm? What did you do there? What did your kids think about it?
Cindy
Thursday 17th of March 2016
Fun! I love taking my kids to these kinds of places. My son's first grade field trip was to a Christmas tree farm and i got to chaperone. We had a blast!