10 Petting Zoos & Farms in the Bay Area

Bale of Fun FarmVisit official site →

3688 Roblar Rd, Petaluma

A family-run rescue farm with more than 75 animals. On its short booked tours, young kids feed, pet and hold them.

Dates

• Appointments only, no drop-ins
• Tours most Saturdays and Sundays, late April to late October

Tickets

Farm tours are $10 per person for 30–40 minutes, booked online. Kids not yet walking are free.

Know before you go

• Book online ahead; drop-ins are turned away
• No dogs
• Free parking on the farm's driveway
• Look for the small sign on the first eucalyptus tree off Roblar Road

San Francisco Zoo Family FarmVisit official site →

Sloat Blvd at the Great Highway, San Francisco

The barnyard in the zoo's Fisher Family Children's Zoo, where kids groom the goats and meet the sheep up close. The only hands-on farm in the city.

Dates

• Zoo open daily; winter hours 9:30am–4:30pm
• Barnyard Experience weekdays 11am–2pm, weekends 11am–4pm
• Goat enrichment daily at 11am

Tickets

Adults $32 weekdays, $34 weekends; children 2–11 $22 weekdays, $24 weekends; under 2 free. San Francisco residents pay less with proof of residency.

Know before you go

• Parking is $15 on weekdays and $20 on weekends; free street parking along Sloat Boulevard
• No pets; service animals welcome
• Muni riders get $1 off admission with a same-day receipt
• Skip if you arrive after 2pm on a weekday: the barnyard hours are over

Slide RanchVisit official site →

2025 Shoreline Highway, Muir Beach

A coastal teaching farm above the ocean. Drop-in visitors pet the goats that come to the fence; Family Farm Days put kids in the pen milking them.

Dates

• Open every day, sunrise to sunset
• Family Farm Days 9:30am–1pm on set Saturdays

Tickets

Free to visit. Family Farm Day is $45 per person, 36 months and under free, registration required.

Know before you go

• Don't feed the animals
• Animal pens are off-limits outside a staff-led program
• No dogs or other pets; service animals only
• No public trash cans, so pack out what you bring
• Skip if you want hands-on time on a drop-in visit: contact is through the fence

Sonoma TrainTown RailroadVisit official site →

20264 Broadway, Sonoma

A 20-minute quarter-scale train ride whose stop at a miniature town has a petting zoo. Kids hop off and hand-feed the animals before reboarding.

Dates

• Saturdays and Sundays, 10am–4pm
• Closed when it rains or significant rain is forecast

Tickets

Free admission and parking. The train is $9.75 per person, 12 months and up. Petting-zoo feed is a quarter a handful.

Know before you go

• Bring quarters for the animal feed; staff make change
• Service dogs only
• No outside food
• The petting-zoo stop is a few minutes, then you reboard

Ardenwood Historic FarmVisit official site →

34600 Ardenwood Blvd, Fremont

A working 1890s farm run by the park district. At the 3pm chore, kids check for eggs and feed the livestock with staff.

Dates

• Open Tuesday–Sunday, 10am–4pm
• Closed Mondays, except Memorial Day and Labor Day
• Closed Thanksgiving and Christmas Day
• Animal feeding at 3pm, Thursday to Sunday, at the Granary

Tickets

Adults $4, seniors $3, kids 4–17 $2, under 4 free. Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays from April to mid-November: $6, $5 and $4, with the train and Patterson House included. Cashless.

Know before you go

• Parking is free
• No dogs
• Go Thursday to Sunday to be there for the 3pm feeding
• Give it half a day if you add the train and the house tour

Little Farm at Tilden Nature AreaVisit official site →

Environmental Education Center, 1500 Central Park Drive, Berkeley

Tilden's 1955 farmyard of cows, pigs, goats and sheep. At the weekend Goodnight Farm program, kids help a naturalist carry the animals their evening meal.

Dates

• Open during park hours, 5am–10pm daily
• Goodnight Farm Fridays to Sundays, 3:30–4pm, at the pig pen

Know before you go

• Don't bring food: public feeding has ended, so Goodnight Farm is the way to feed the animals
• Parking is free
• No dogs anywhere in the Nature Area
• Parents take part in Goodnight Farm alongside their kids
• Skip if you want hands-on time outside Goodnight Farm: other visits are look-only

Oakland Zoo Petting YardVisit official site →

9777 Golf Links Road, Oakland

A goat and sheep yard in the Children's Zoo, near the lower entrance. Kids walk in and gently pet the herd.

Dates

• Petting Yard open every day, 10am–3pm
• Zoo entry 9:30am–2pm; the zoo closes at 4pm
• Closed Thanksgiving and Christmas Day

Tickets

Advance reservations required. Prices change by date; child tickets are 15% off the adult price and under-2s are free.

Know before you go

• Parking is $15 per car bought ahead, $20 at the gate
• Do the Petting Yard first: it closes an hour before the zoo
• Book online early; prices rise closer to the date

Harley Farms Goat DairyVisit official site →

205 North Street, Pescadero

A working goat dairy that keeps a pen of goats by the public area. Small kids touch them over the fence, and baby goats arrive in spring.

Dates

• Open every day, 11am–4pm
• Closed New Year's Day, Easter Sunday, Thanksgiving and Christmas Day
• Public tours resume mid-February

Tickets

No booking needed for the goat pen. Guided tours are booked separately.

Know before you go

• No dogs on the farm; leashed dogs are fine at the pond
• Tours don't take children under 7
• Pair it with a walk around Pescadero: the pen itself takes 20 minutes

Hidden Villa Weekend Farm TourVisit official site →

26870 Moody Road, Los Altos Hills

An organic farm in the foothills. Its guided weekend tour takes families into the pens with the cows, pigs, goats, sheep and chickens.

Dates

• Weekend tours on set Saturdays and Sundays, 10am or 1pm
• Each tour runs 1.5 hours

Tickets

$18 per person, adults and kids alike. Register ahead; a tour needs at least five people.

Know before you go

• Parking is $10, cash or check at the gatehouse, or paid ahead online
• One adult for every three children
• Wear closed-toe shoes for the dirt paths
• Skip if you plan to drop in: without a guide the pens are closed and feeding isn't allowed

Lemos FarmVisit official site →

12320 San Mateo Rd, Half Moon Bay

A coastside mini-fair farm with a petting zoo of baby goats, pigs, sheep and bunnies. Kids hand-feed them from a food cup, and the pony rides run all year.

Dates

• Open all year
• November: Saturdays and Sundays, 10am–5pm

Tickets

A petting-zoo food cup is $2; the petting zoo is in the unlimited pass. Kids 14 months and under are free.

Know before you go

• No dogs
• Ponies carry riders up to 70 lb
• Buy a food cup per kid: the goats crowd anyone holding one