Public Alpaca Experience · Markdale, ON
Carolyn introduces every alpaca by name and tells you what each one is like. Then you feed them by hand.
$35 per adult · $20 per youth, ages 3 to 17 · Under 3 come free · Minimum forty-five minutes
Over 300 Google reviews with a 5 star rating
Always indoors, whatever the weather
Wheelchair and stroller accessible
100% money-back guarantee
$35 adult, $20 youth
Ages 3 to 17. Under 3 come free
Minimum forty-five minutes
With Carolyn and the herd
Up to 15 guests
Alpacas matched to your group size
Treats included
Always. No surprises at checkout
Always indoors
Whatever the weather
Wheelchair and stroller accessible
Clean footing, no mud, no manure walks
We bring out as many alpacas as your group needs. A small group gets a few, so nobody is surrounded by four alpacas all trying to eat at once. A full group gets more, so nobody is left holding a handful of treats waiting for a turn.
Everyone feeds an alpaca. Every time.
Minimum forty-five minutes, and none of it spent watching from behind a fence.
If the weather is good, you may start outside with the boys. They live in their own field, away from the girls, and Carolyn will tell you why.
Whether you feed them out there is her call on the day. A bigger group usually does. A small one usually does not, because the boys come over all at once and there is no holding some of them back in an open field.
If it is cold or wet, we skip this part. Don't worry, you'll just get more time with the girls.
Then you are inside for the rest of it. Clean footing throughout, no mud, nothing to walk through that you would not want on your shoes. Strollers and wheelchairs come straight in.
Carolyn runs through a few pointers on how to be around the alpacas. It takes a minute.
You stand in the centre aisle and Carolyn lets a group of the girls out to join you. Not behind a gate. In the aisle, with you.
Tiny Treasure is usually first at the gate, small and entirely unbothered about it. Brown Sugar will work her way through your shoelaces, your backpack and your jacket. Stellar goes for beards, though only the short trimmed ones.
Carolyn hands out small bowls of feed and the alpacas do the rest.
Watch their faces light up as an alpaca eats right from their hand.
That happens more than once. Carolyn swaps one group out and brings the next through. Depending on the time of year that might be the adult girls, the moms with their crias, or the yearlings.
You feed each group that comes out. Different ages, different characters, a different feel each time.
Scratch Butterscotch Ripple under the chin and she may lie down to enjoy it properly.
All the way through, Carolyn is talking about them. Who they are, how they behave, how the farm runs. Brook and Pumpkin never come out, because both are big girls who worked out how to reach the treat bowls on the shelf. Ask her anything you like and take as many photos as you want. Both are encouraged, not just allowed.
When the tour finishes Carolyn walks everyone over to the farm house, where the shop is. She will show you what is there and where it came from, including the things she makes herself from our own alpacas' fibre. Then she leaves you to browse.
Many items made from the same herd you just spent forty-five minutes with.
Up to fifteen people, and on a busy day that includes another family or two.
We would rather tell you that now than have you find out in the parking lot.
What it does not mean is less time with the alpacas. The herd comes out in groups through the tour, and every guest feeds every group. A fuller barn means more going on, not less to go round.
This is the one most people book, and it is the easiest way to meet the herd for the first time. If you are planning a birthday, a reunion or something that needs the barn to yourselves, there are three other options.
Compare all four experiencesThe Private experience is the same alpacas, the same barn and the same hand-feeding, with two differences. Nobody else is booked into your time slot, and you get a minimum sixty minutes rather than forty-five minutes.
For a family of two adults and two children that is $150 instead of $110. Forty dollars to have the place to yourselves.
See the Private Alpaca Tour"She took the time to introduce us to the alpacas, share interesting facts, and made sure everyone felt comfortable throughout. Each one has its own personality, and some were especially cuddly."
Corrinne Li
"There were no bad odors, the barn and open pen areas were well maintained. Our tour had people ranging in age from three to mid-sixties, everyone enjoyed themselves."
Sheila Laing
"My daughters (5 and 3 years old) were completely in love. You never feel rushed. Just relaxed and fully present in the moment."
Kristina Abramyan
Always indoors
Whatever the weather. We do not cancel for rain, snow or wind. If driving conditions are unsafe, we will either reschedule or refund your tour, your choice.
Fully interactive
You are in with the alpacas, not watching from the other side of a fence.
Treats included
Every guest, every group. Nothing extra to buy.
Everyone can take part
Wheelchair and stroller accessible, clean footing, no mud and no manure to walk through.
Minimum forty-five minutes
A floor, not a ceiling. Carolyn does not rush people out.
Come and spend the time with us. If you get to the end and you do not think it was worth it, tell Carolyn and we will refund you in full.
We have been hosting visitors since 2011 and we are not worried about this.
$35 per adult, $20 per youth aged 3 to 17. Under 3 come free. Minimum forty-five minutes, always indoors.
See available dates or book a Public TourBooking ahead is the only way to be sure of a place.
Nothing changes. The experience is inside the Girls' Barn, so rain, snow and wind make no difference. We do not cancel for weather. The only part we skip in poor conditions is the few minutes outside at the boys' barn. If driving conditions are unsafe, we will either reschedule or refund your tour, your choice.
Up to fifteen guests in total, which on a busy day means another family or two alongside yours. Carolyn matches the number of alpacas to the size of the group, so everyone feeds an alpaca regardless of how full it is.
Yes to both. The barn is wheelchair and stroller accessible with clean, level footing. Children under 3 come free. We've had guests as young as 2 weeks old, and our oldest was 98 years old.
Please book ahead. Tours run to a schedule, and when the day is full we cannot fit anyone else in. Even when there is room, turning up unannounced usually means waiting half an hour or more while we finish whatever we are in the middle of. Booking ahead means we are ready for you when you arrive.
Closed-toe shoes you do not mind wearing in a barn, and dress for the temperature outside. The barn keeps the wind, rain and snow off you, but it is not heated, so it will be about as warm as the day is. Treats are included, and so is everything else.
For the comfort of our alpacas and to have your best experience, please do not bring dogs to the farm. Alpacas see a dog as a predator, and even a calm one changes how the herd behaves for the rest of the visit.
