Camping and farm animals to enjoy!
Mal H.recommends this listing.
Our multigenerational family one night stay was just a lot of fun for young grandkids (ages 4 and 11), parents, and grandparents.
The "Hipcamp" part of Virginia Tree Farm is the huge back yard of Amy Rose and Derek's farm home and outbuildings. Trees and an outbuilding provide a natural buffer and privacy for campers. The access road to the campsite is shared by a couple of distant other neighbors, who we never saw.
The amenities are as stated. But do bring your own potable water. The small, portable chemical toilet is the "self contained" kind, and requires a bit of experimentation to make it work, so ask the hosts! An instructional sign would help! It is housed in a building whimsically labeled "Elevators", which is full of various camp toys, a propane stove (apparently if you forget yours) and interesting photos and things to read.
Upon arrival in late afternoon, we set up 2 tents and spent time watching all the animals. "Pancakes", the spotted hog, and "Spider Pig", the potbelly hog, rummaged around the pen they shared with a duck and three turkeys. The chicken pen was overflowing with chickens, ducks, geese and who knows!
We soon had our camp stoves cooking our supper and the provided picnic table and a sun shade set up with some very nice benches. We also brought some portable lawn chairs. Later in the evening we had a nice campfire going in the firepit, and enjoyed an almost full moon. We met Derek, who was cordial and welcoming and told us a bit about himself and the Virginia Free Farm's mission.
At night, the highway sounds of I-64 provided a bit of white noise (perhaps a half mile away, totally obscured by distance and trees). It did not bother us, and we had no chirping birds to distract, as another reviewer reports. A heavy dew descended and made tent flies and things left outside coated by morning. It was 39 degrees at sunrise.
In the morning, Derek again appeared to feed the animals. Sensing feeding time, "Pancakes" put up a loud chorus of pig grunts. and to the great delight of all Derek let the grandkids offer bits of bread to the pigs. "Pancakes" nibbled gently without any danger of biting! "Spider Pig" was too shy. The chickens responded in their pen with a cacophony of clucking. Derek told us more about the VFF's operations and regaled us with stories of Spider Pig's escape and meanderings.
Our stay was a great way to camp out, get to know some friendly hosts, and still have all the privacy you want.
Past trips
Visit Virginia Free Farm
in Virginia Free Farm, VirginiaCamping and farm animals to enjoy!
Our multigenerational family one night stay was just a lot of fun for young grandkids (ages 4 and 11), parents, and grandparents.
The "Hipcamp" part of Virginia Tree Farm is the huge back yard of Amy Rose and Derek's farm home and outbuildings. Trees and an outbuilding provide a natural buffer and privacy for campers. The access road to the campsite is shared by a couple of distant other neighbors, who we never saw.
The amenities are as stated. But do bring your own potable water. The small, portable chemical toilet is the "self contained" kind, and requires a bit of experimentation to make it work, so ask the hosts! An instructional sign would help! It is housed in a building whimsically labeled "Elevators", which is full of various camp toys, a propane stove (apparently if you forget yours) and interesting photos and things to read.
Upon arrival in late afternoon, we set up 2 tents and spent time watching all the animals. "Pancakes", the spotted hog, and "Spider Pig", the potbelly hog, rummaged around the pen they shared with a duck and three turkeys. The chicken pen was overflowing with chickens, ducks, geese and who knows!
We soon had our camp stoves cooking our supper and the provided picnic table and a sun shade set up with some very nice benches. We also brought some portable lawn chairs. Later in the evening we had a nice campfire going in the firepit, and enjoyed an almost full moon. We met Derek, who was cordial and welcoming and told us a bit about himself and the Virginia Free Farm's mission.
At night, the highway sounds of I-64 provided a bit of white noise (perhaps a half mile away, totally obscured by distance and trees). It did not bother us, and we had no chirping birds to distract, as another reviewer reports. A heavy dew descended and made tent flies and things left outside coated by morning. It was 39 degrees at sunrise.
In the morning, Derek again appeared to feed the animals. Sensing feeding time, "Pancakes" put up a loud chorus of pig grunts. and to the great delight of all Derek let the grandkids offer bits of bread to the pigs. "Pancakes" nibbled gently without any danger of biting! "Spider Pig" was too shy. The chickens responded in their pen with a cacophony of clucking. Derek told us more about the VFF's operations and regaled us with stories of Spider Pig's escape and meanderings.
Our stay was a great way to camp out, get to know some friendly hosts, and still have all the privacy you want.