Walk-in petting farms
These are the closest match to a traditional petting zoo. Public hours are posted and families can usually see or interact with animals without booking a private program.
Active listingsFarms and animal programs with current websites
Different visit stylesSome are walk-in; others require tickets or reservations
Check before leavingHours, animal access, and feeding rules change by season
New Hampshire animal directory
14 places for farm-animal visits
Open a listing for the type of animal experience, visiting requirements, address, and current website.
Walk-in Public hours are offered
Scheduled Tickets or registration may be needed
Mobile Animals travel to booked events
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Beans & Greens Farm is a year-round farm market with a seasonal Fun Park and petting zoo. Its public attractions include barnyard animals, play areas, hayrides, concerts, and a fall corn maze.
The farm also schedules hands-on animal events, including spring programs where guests can meet, pet, and sometimes hold young goats, piglets, chicks, ducklings, rabbits, and other farm animals. Activity dates and admission arrangements are posted on the farm calendar.
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Carriage Shack Farm is a third-generation educational petting farm with farm animals, sanctuary animals, and reptiles. Public visits may include close animal encounters, feed cups, the reptile barn, a farm shop, and wagon rides when available.
The farm also brings traveling petting-farm, pony, bunny, reptile, and themed unicorn packages to schools, companies, and private parties. Its website carries current public hours, weather notices, event listings, and rental details.
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Charmingfare Farm combines a hands-on farm-animal area with wooded trails and exhibits featuring North American wildlife. The Dairy Discovery Barn's petting area lets visitors interact with traditional farm animals, while weekend ride options may include ponies, a tractor train, and horse-drawn wagons.
Regular zoo admission runs seasonally, and ticketed animal events continue during other parts of the year. Charmingfare also operates a year-round traveling petting zoo for private and community events, with supervised interaction and advance booking.
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Dancing Bear Farm is an educational farm that builds supervised animal care into children's programs, camps, playgroups, and barnyard events. Depending on the program, participants may hold chicks, work with goats, collect eggs, and help with age-appropriate farm chores.
This is a program-based animal experience rather than a walk-in petting zoo. The farm maintains current camp and class information online, and families should register for a scheduled session instead of arriving for an unscheduled visit.
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The Friendly Farm is a five-acre, hands-on animal attraction designed around direct contact with domestic farm animals. Guests can wander the grounds, feed young goats, pat lambs and larger animals, visit the pig pen and chicken coop, and hold chicks when conditions allow.
The farm advertises daily public admission during its operating season and welcomes school groups, larger groups, and birthday parties. Feed and seasonal admission details are provided on its website.
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J & F Farms operates a public petting farm alongside its farmstand and seasonal attractions. Visitors can see and pet goats, sheep, pigs, donkeys, alpacas, horses, ponies, and cattle, with feed cups sold during part of the year.
The animal area is generally available during farmstand hours, though admission arrangements change by season. Fall visits can also include the farm's corn maze and related family activities, so guests should check the current notice before traveling.
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Joppa Hill Educational Farm is a nonprofit teaching farm with more than 60 animals, public walking trails, classes, camps, and seasonal events. The grounds are open daily, and visitors can meet animals along the barnyard route.
The organization is clear that it is not a conventional petting farm: guests remain outside enclosures and may gently scratch or pat animals that approach the fence, but cannot enter pens or bring feed. This makes it a good fit for a low-key farm-animal visit rather than unrestricted handling.
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McDonny's Traveling Farm is a mobile petting-farm and pony-ride business serving children's parties, schools, and other events in New Hampshire and the Boston area. Its staff sets up separate child-safe pens for farm animals and supervises touching, holding, and educational interaction.
Typical visits may include young goats or lambs, rabbits, chicks, ducks, chickens, and ponies. The company states that it is fully insured, supplies staff for setup and supervision, and handles cleanup after the event.
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Miles Smith Farm is a working cattle farm known for Scottish Highland cattle. Its scheduled cow experiences give visitors supervised time with the herd and may include feeding, brushing, close photographs, and learning how the animals are cared for.
The experience is more focused than a general petting zoo and must be reserved for a listed date. The farm also offers on-site lodging, which can be paired with additional time near the cattle under the farm's rules.
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New England Party Animals is a mobile petting-zoo and pony-ride service based in Milton. It books birthdays, schools, camps, colleges, corporate gatherings, assisted-living visits, and community events throughout New Hampshire and neighboring New England states.
Warm-season packages include goats, lambs, rabbits, guinea pigs, chickens, chicks, and ducks, while smaller indoor-friendly packages are offered in colder months. The business publishes current rates and date ranges, provides supervised feeding and brushing, and states that it is USDA licensed and fully insured.
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The New Hampshire Farm Museum is a working heritage farm and museum on 50 acres. General visitors can meet cows, goats, sheep, pigs, and chickens, grind corn to feed the chickens, tour historic barns, walk the trails, and attend public farm events.
For closer access, the museum schedules staff-led Animal Encounters that allow eligible participants to enter selected pens and interact with farm animals. General admission and encounter programs have separate schedules, so visitors should review the calendar before arriving.
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Stonewall Farm is a nonprofit working farm and education center with public trails, animal barns, camps, school programs, and community events. Casual visitors can see the farm animals, while structured programs provide more direct, staff-led contact.
Its year-round Farmyard Fiesta birthday program includes an animal tour, goat brushing, a visit with the sheep, and a supervised bunny circle. This is a reserved group experience rather than an open daily petting enclosure.
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Trombly Gardens is a fourth-generation farm with a year-round market and outdoor barnyard animals. Families can stop during business hours to see the animals, including the farm's donkey and other livestock, while also visiting the market and ice-cream stand.
The farm schedules current hands-on events such as Meet the Spring Babies, when guests can pet and hold selected young animals before walking the outdoor farm area. Event details, dates, and ticket information are posted on its online calendar.
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The Barn at Winterberry Farm runs children's farm camps, parent-child classes, school-vacation programs, and barnyard birthday parties. Programs center on supervised farm activities and meeting or helping care for resident animals.
Warm-season birthday packages can include animal interaction and pony rides, while the educational calendar offers other scheduled ways for families to spend time in the barnyard. The farm is not advertised as a walk-in petting zoo, so a program or party reservation is needed.
Choosing the right visit
Not every animal farm works the same way
Scheduled encounters
Educational farms may require tickets, camp registration, a class, or a reserved animal experience. Confirm the program before making the drive.
Mobile animal visits
Traveling petting zoos come to parties, schools, and events rather than operating as public drop-in farms. Their home address may not be open to visitors.
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