Lake Metroparks Farmpark

Lake Metroparks Farmpark is a family-oriented science and cultural center devoted to agriculture, farming and country life. Visitors can experience milking hands-on with our dairy cows. Machine-milking is also demonstrated. Learn how cheese is made and on weekends and during special events you even may help make ice cream the old-fashioned way! Discover pigs, sheep, chickens, rabbits and even a turkey In the Well Bred Shed. Horse- or tractor-drawn wagon rides are the mode of transportation throughout the park. Meet dozens of breeds of livestock including llamas, alpacas, chickens, pigs and goats in the Barnyard. The arena is home to the horses at Farmpark. We have all sizes including draft horses, light horses and miniatures. Explore the Plant Science Center which houses the Great Tomato Works hydroponic exhibit, and a greenhouse. Watch the border collie at Farmpark help to keep the sheep together as they move from one end of the field to the other in our sheep herding demonstrations (offered mid-April through mid-October, weather permitting). The fleece from the sheep is used for its fibers to make sweaters, fiber-art, and other wearables. Watch the sheep be shorn and touch the fleece and feel the lanolin on your fingers during sheep shearing demonstrations (offered mid-May through Memorial Day). Discover modern and antique tractors and farm equipment used on the farm in the Farm Technology building. Harvest activities take place in Field Crop. Discover corn fields, wheat fields, and learn how apple cider is pressed and taste apple butter seasonally. See hands-on how the soil is tilled, wheat and corn fields are cared for and harvested by the farmer. Put your sense of direction to the test as you wind your way through a multitude of twists and turns through a three-acre corn maze. The maze is open daily mid-August through mid-October, weather and field conditions permitting.