A Girl and a Goat....Farm

Okay, so two of my favorite things are animals and cheese, not necessarily in that order. A great place to experience both is at Harley Farms in Pescadero, just outside of Half Moon Bay. I was invited to visit Harley Farms to see the baby goats last year. BABY GOATS!!  Who doesn’t want to see baby goats?? Of course I said yes! And I got baby goats and more!

We arrived and found two pens full of baby goats just a few days old. There were soooo cute! There were some that were sleeping and some that were jumping, climbing and playing. We were able to pet them and take pictures. It was so hard to walk away from those cute little fuzzy wuzzies! There were also lots of mama goats still waiting to have babies- at one point we thought we'd get to see one give birth! They usually get about 150 baby goats every spring, and you can just stop by during open hours to see them. Harley Farms isn't just goats, they also have an Alpaca named Jim, a donkey named Rosie, bees, peacocks, cows and a couple of dogs protecting the farm. The menagerie is ever growing!

Harley Farms is a working goat farm and they make several different types of goat cheeses, jelly’s, ravioli, desserts and other delicious food products. They have a store on site at the farm. I was a bit nervous, I had never had goat cheese before but I was (somewhat reluctantly) willing to try it. They offer samples of most of their cheeses, jellies and oils in their store. I tried most of the cheeses and now I am addicted to their honey lavender goat cheese! I mean, there are worse things that you could be addicted to, right? I also got their chocolate pot (a very thick, goat-milk-based pudding) and it was amazing! They have some luxurious bath and body products from soap to lotions and massage oil as well. 

They offer guided tours of the farm where you can see the goats being milked and visit all of the animals up close and personal. You’ll even get to take home a box of farmstead cheese! The guided tours do require reservations and sell out far in advance during the summer months. ​

You can book a private farm dinner in the Hayloft for parties of 20 or less, or join the monthly farm lunches and dinners that the farm hosts. The dates for these are posted on their web site in the October/November time-frame for the following year and they sell out almost immediately. It's no wonder they do, they have an amazing huge fir dinner table in a beautiful barn setting with handcrafted furniture and gorgeous views of the farm fields. The food is prepared by a local chef with all locally grown ingredients. 

If you’re looking for a fun afternoon of animals and cheese, this is the place to go! Be ready to have your heart melt and your taste buds tingle!

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