Tour Apple Hill Farm near Grandfather Mountain!

Most recently updated October 15th, 2024

Estimated Reading Time: 13 minutes

Apple Hill Farm is very close to Grandfather Mountain and other areas of North Carolina and Virginia that were hardest hit by Hurricane Helene.

Grandfather Mountain State Park, along with many other NC State Parks are closed.  That said, many of the surrounding communities are open for business and could really use your Fall vacation dollars to help rebuild!  So please check with Apple Hill Farm directly.

Go to my Hurricane Helene page to get the latest updates on the latest area Park, Trail and road repairs. 

Mists rise from the mountains after a summer rain.
Smoky Mountains get their name from the mist that settles in the valleys.

I found Apple Hill Farm  – a working Alpaca textile farm – when I was hiking out in the Grandfather Mountain area  few weeks ago.   

I was looking for an activity to take a break from hiking (uphill!) in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains, but was still outdoors.

Apple Hill Farm was the perfect find!   It’s a working textile farm on the site of an old apple orchard that offers farm tours, and even has a fiber gift shop on site.

Alpaca graze at Apple Hill Farm.
Alpaca graze at Apple Hill Farm.

The farm was started in 2002 by a single Mom (and cancer survivor) with just 2 pregnant female alpacas and one young male.

Today Apple Hill Farm is home to 9 kinds of animals:  alpacas, llamas, angora goats, zebu cattle, horses, pigs, donkeys, chickens, and livestock guardian dogs.

The farm site includes 15 fields, 4 barns, and a farm store on 43 acres of land. 

They’re still a working textile farm, and lucky for us, they now also give visitors educational tours of the farm all year round. 

Read on to learn about my tour, and how you can visit too.

Continue reading Tour Apple Hill Farm near Grandfather Mountain!

Outdoor Activities for Kids at M&M Alpaca Farm!

Most recently updated January 16th, 2022

A few months ago, I decided to do a tour of local farms and animal rescues that would be fun outdoor activities for kids.   

I planned to visit and preview the places, then post outdoor activity ideas for families to use during their kids’ school breaks.

Entrance sign at M&M Alpaca Farm
Entrance sign at M&M Alpaca Farm

So, I tapped into the Facebook hive-mind for some local outdoor activity ideas

My friends came back with all sorts of great recommendations – most having something to do with goats, llamas, and alpacas –  but also a lot of breweries, wineries and meaderies.   Hmmm.  Anyway…

So, I trimmed out all of the adult beverages (that will be a different set of posts!) and made a list of places to go see.  

For my first visit, I narrowed it down to alpaca farms near me, specifically looking for an alpaca farm tour.

And that’s how I found M&M Alpaca Farm.  Although M&M offers free self-guided tours of the farm,  I opted for a scheduled guided tour for just a few dollars.  I’m very glad I did!

Continue reading Outdoor Activities for Kids at M&M Alpaca Farm!

View from the Bottom of the World – Back from Patagonia

Most recently updated January 18th, 2022

Estimated Reading Time: 2 minutes

It’s already been a full week since I made the 30+ hour return trip back home from my multi-day hiking and camping trip in Patagonia, at Chile’s famous Torres del Paine National Park.

I had the advantage of making the trip with the wonderful people at G Adventures  – and they handled all of the details and the heavy lifting.  All I had to do was show up with the right gear, and in good enough shape to make the trek.

Returning to Puerto Natales from Torres del Paine National Park.

NOTE:  I finally completed the whole trip report, with advice on what to pack, difficulty level, etc.   See the full story here.

Continue reading View from the Bottom of the World – Back from Patagonia