Channel Your Child's Inner Foodie With These Family-Friendly Activities To Do Near Saratoga Springs
Throughout the region, there is a treasure trove of agricultural experiences just waiting to be explored. These family-friendly activities are not only a great way to spend the day, but they will also help your child develop a greater appreciation for food by taking them straight to the source—farms, sugar houses, orchards, markets, and more. We've rounded up the best kid-friendly agricultural activities to experience, all located close by in Washington County.
Pick Your Own Fruits
Apples are not only an ideal snack for kids, but they're such a versatile fruit with so many different varieties that it's a prime educational experience. Take your kid to a local orchard and let them eat some of the delicious fruit! While you're there, explain how certain apples are better for baking, applesauce, cider, and snacking. Then, go home and make an apple pie or applesauce together!
Even better, apples aren't the only fruit you can pick—find u-pick strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and more. The biggest challenge will be keeping your kids from eating all the bounty until you get home!
Apple Hill Orchards
Head to Apple Hill Orchards in Whitehall for a family-owned, family-friendly, u-pick orchard where you can make amazing memories with your family. Pre-picked apples are available as well. Late summer going into fall is when apples are in season in this area.
Strawberry Ridge
Strawberry Ridge in Granville takes pride in producing high quality, responsibly grown fruits. They offer a wide variety between strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, pumpkins, and more. Visit their website and see what's in season!
Hicks Orchard
When you visit Hicks Orchard in Granville, you won't just be embarking on a typical apple picking trip—you'll get to see a piece of history. Hicks Orchard is the oldest u-pick orchard in New York State, established in 1905. They also have pick your own cherries and blueberries, a corn maze, farm activities, and more.
Visit Local Farms
If you want to show your kids where food comes from, there's no better way than bringing them to a real, working farm. Depending on the farm you visit, you'll be able to purchase food right from the source, pick your own, and maybe even meet some animals.
Gardenworks Farm
Plan a visit to Gardenworks Farm in Salem with the entire family this year. This third generation family farm features a greenhouse filled with annuals and perennials in spring, blueberries, organic salad greens, tomatoes, and more in summer, and raspberries, squashes, and pumpkins in fall. You'll also find plenty of local cheeses, meats, baked goods, artworks, and other items in their marketplace. If you visit from mid-June into October, you can grab a bite to eat at their cafe, which highlights fresh, local ingredients.
Mack Brook Farm
Mack Brook Farm prides itself on pasture-based, environmentally sustainable farming - they've earned both the Animal Welfare Approved and American Grassfed certifications for their Angus cattle, which give their meat a superior flavor. Visitors can purchase cuts or sides of beef on site. One note of mention: Their cattle are moved twice a day during the summer, and they may be in pastures that are a significant walk uphill on a rough terrain.
Lant Hill Farm Bed & Breakfast
Lant Hill Farm is both a working farm and a bed and breakfast - if you're looking to take the farm experience even further you could book a stay with them! If you call ahead, they can accommodate visits and tours for a family or a small group. Lant Hill Farm specializes in potatoes, berries, apples, and more—they even make their own syrup!
Head to the Farmers Market
Including your kids in grocery shopping is a fantastic way to teach them about foods and get them involved in the meal planning process. One of the many benefits of shopping at a farmers market compared to a grocery store is that you can meet and talk with the growers themselves. Most farmers love to take a moment to tell you about the produce they worked so hard to cultivate, and they may even provide a few preparation tips or recipes! Stop by one of these farmers markets, perhaps on your way back from visiting a farm or orchard.
Cambridge Valley Farmers Market
At the Cambridge Valley Farmers Market, you can find a variety of vendors from the local area with pasture raised meats and eggs, artisan baked goods, maple products, organic produce, and more. This market runs from 10am to 2pm on Sundays, May through October.
Greenwich Farmers Market at 70 Main
The Greenwich Farmers Market market is open June-November. During these months, you can browse vendors selling pasture pork, chicken and eggs, maple products, and more on Wednesdays from 3pm to 6pm.
Oh Happy Day Farmstand
You'll find a variety of farm fresh produce and goods at Oh Happy Day Farmstand in Fort Edward. Stock up on pickles, salsas, relishes, jams, and more. They're typically open from early June through mid-October.
The Pumpkin Stand at Tiashoke Farm
The Pumpkin Stand at Tiashoke Farm has 50 varieties of pumpkins, gourds, and squash for sale. Stop by their stand in Easton and pick up pie pumpkins to bring home. Although pumpkins grown for eating are called "pie pumpkins" you aren't limited to pies - get creative and try pumpkin soup or pumpkin butter instead. Don't forget to save the seeds for roasting!
Tour a Sugar House
You might learn something right along with your kids when you visit sugar houses! See maple go from sap to syrup right before your eyes. Sugar houses often allow taste testing too, and not just with syrup, but with maple candies and other products as well. Yum!
Dry Brook Sugar House
Dry Brook Sugar House in Salem offers tours for kids and adults during the sugaring season—mid-February to March—although they welcome visitors all year round. See how "the sap is running" and enjoy the aroma of maple syrup as it's bottled.
Mapleland Farms
Tours and tastings are available by appointment at Mapleland Farms in Salem, where they produce not only maple syrup but maple sugar, maple fudge, and maple cream. Visit their website before going on a tour and check out fun maple facts and recipes.
Rathbun's Maple Sugar House Restaurant
During springtime you can visit Rathbun's Maple Sugar House Restaurant and watch them turn sap into syrup. They have activities to do year round though; pick blueberries in late summer, check out apples and fall produce in the fall, and you can cut your own Christmas tree in the winter.
Eat Out Together
Head to a kid-friendly restaurant and you'll have a world of opportunities in front of you to teach your kids about food, and so much more—decision-making skills, manners, even math if they help you calculate the total and tip. Encourage your children to try new foods by letting them order what they want off the menu. This involves reading the menu, narrowing down options, and perhaps a discussion on what is nutritious or not.
Pine Grove Diner
Pine Grove Diner in Granville serves breakfast all day - even picky eaters can enjoy this! They also offer homemade soups and pies. If the kids behave, consider letting them get a dessert!
Allow Treats Once in Awhile
Having less healthy foods on occasion can keep kids from thinking of treats as "forbidden," and therefore, even more appealing. Teach them how to enjoy desserts and sweets once in awhile as a special occasion and you'll ingrain a healthy attitude about restraint and moderation that will be valuable for years to come. Keep healthy snacks on hand and within reach at home, but if they've been on their best behavior, consider taking them out for a sweet treat.
Battenkill Valley Creamery
They don't just sell award-winning milk—Battenkill Valley Creamery in Salem also has a number of delicious ice cream flavors like black raspberry, peppermint stick, and butter pecan. Of course, while you're there you might as well pick up some wholesome, healthy milk!
King Bakery Donut Cart
Open from spring through the first snow fall, you can find the best made-from-scratch doughnuts and pastries at King Bakery Donut Cart in Cambridge. Everything they make is baked, fried, filled, and glazed right in their own commercial kitchen.
The Ice Cream Man
The Cream Man in Greenwich makes incredibly delicious ice cream, ice cream cakes, homemade pies, and more. Stop by for a treat with the kids, perhaps after a day of fun at a farm or farmers market!