Farm Stays

Go back to the land and let the rhythms of rural life restore you.

BY KIM KNOX BECKIUS

t takes an open mind to stay at a working farm—a willingness to embrace both the peace of your surroundings and the unpredictability of each day’s developments. What happens on a farm 365 days a year is largely unscripted and exhilaratingly real. You don’t have to get your hands dirty, but this is your chance to help sustain a way of life that is increasingly challenging. Observing the labor and the love it takes to raise plants and animals will convince you: Real superheroes wear Carhartt, not capes.

Hartman’s Herb Farm

Mint, catnip, horehound … The Central Massachusetts property that Lynn and Peter Hartman purchased in the mid-1970s had been abandoned since 1920, but heirloom herbs still thrived. So Lynn dug them up, took them to a sale on the Barre common, and … sold out. After a Christmas 1989 chimney fire destroyed their beloved house, bankers weren’t keen on financing a fledgling farm. So the Hartmans opened a five-room B&B in the midst of their now-booming herbal and floral enterprise. “I realize what a gift it is to have people stay with us and support our way of life,” says Lynn, whose expertise in historic gardening makes her a sought-after workshop instructor. Time your stay for whenever an herbal dinner, a peaceful night, and a farm-fresh breakfast are the cure-all you crave. Barre, Massachusetts. 978-355-2015; hartmansherbfarm.com

The Inn at East Hill Farm

Gripping a smartphone is impossible while you’re milking a cow, riding a horse, kneading bread, contra dancing, or fishing beneath a hen for eggs. With unplugged resort amenities such as indoor and outdoor pools, stunning views of New Hampshire’s Mount Monadnock, and hands-on experiences for all ages—plus family-style meals and freshly baked snacks included—a selfsufficient farm is a bonus. Dave and Sally Adams, who met while working here in 1962, are turning the reins over to their children. But Dave is still passionate about the animals. “We might as well feed breeds that need some help,” he says, of the farm’s focus on rare heritage livestock. Troy, New Hampshire. 603-242-6495; east-hillfarm.com

Liberty Hill Farm & Inn

Sometimes even grownups need to run home to Grandma and Grandpa’s house, a love-filled farmstead where kids feed rambunctious calves and jump in the hay, bathrooms and chores are shared, and stories are swapped over bountiful, family-style meals. Beth and Bob Kennett stumbled upon this 1780s property while honeymooning in Vermont in 1975, and their prayers that it would one day be theirs were answered four years later. In 1984, they diversified by welcoming guests. When you observe their 100-cow milking operation, now part of the Cabot cooperative, you’ll feel a new appreciation for your own life’s labors—and every block of cheese. Rochester, Vermont. 802-767-3926; liberty hillfarm.com

Royalsborough Inn at the Bagley House

DaVinci the alpaca handles PR for this country escape with seven guest rooms, most within the oldest house in Durham, Maine. He’ll smile for pictures, walk on a lead, and even lean in for a kiss—if you hold a carrot in your mouth. Alpacas weren’t in the plans in 2005 when Jim and Marianne Roberts abandoned careers in Massachusetts to try innkeeping in Maine—but today their fiber farm entices travelers to the Freeport area. Jim shows the little ones how to brush the goats and collect eggs for breakfast, while Marianne’s culinary training, massage license, and knitting knowledge nourish, soothe, and inspire the grownups. Durham, Maine. 207353-6372; royalsboroughinn.com

Trevin Farms

Making a go of goat farming isn’t easy. But for owner and chef Troy Peabody—an urban transplant enticed by the serenity of rural Vermont—caring for three dozen Nubian goats and their annual output of kids, plus oxen, chickens, pigs, and a pair of Percherons, doesn’t seem like work at all. Welcoming guests to stay at the modern farmhouse, assist with chores, and partake of farm-fresh breakfasts helps with the economics. Book the cheesemaking package, and you’ll hand-milk Liberty, Elsa, and the rest of “the girls” (who know and respond to their names) on Friday; join Peabody in the kitchen on Saturday; and leave with a creamy chèvre on Sunday. Sudbury, Vermont. 802-623-6473; trevinfarms.com