Hidden Villa is one of our favorite local spots and this week we paid it a spring visit. Hidden Villa is an organic farm and wilderness preserve founded by the Duvenecks in 1924 and dedicated to the cause of environmental education. It’s a wonderful spot for toddlers. There’s an awesome, enclosed Education Garden with rows of different plants and lots of natural playhouses, tunnels and hidden animals for kids to “discover”. My boys will play happily there for well over an hour, running in and out of the tunnels and playing ‘house.’
Making lunch in the playhouse
More tunnels
Further down the path there are animals to visit: cows and sheep by the barn, and chickens, goats and pigs beyond that. Both boys love going into the field with the chickens where they can often get close enough to touch the birds.
Chicken Chasing
Lambs
We go to Hidden Villa fairly often as it changes so much throughout the year. Last time we were there over Christmas, four piglets had just been born. This trip we were able to see how much these babies had grown. The boys remembered the piglets and how they had acted last time and were able to make comparisons with their behaviour this visit. Plus, the farm had just welcomed a bunch of lambs, some in the last two weeks, and the boys were delighted to watch these little “baas” (as The Puppy Dog calls them) frolicking in the muddy field. I love having a place like this close by to visit where the kids can see the cycles of nature in action and note the changing seasons. It’s a great value day trip – Hidden Villa just asks for a $5 donation per car.
The Outdoors Parent 
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