How One County 'Farm Stroll' Turns Small Farms Into a Tourist Trail

Oct 29

13 min read

Families visiting neighbouring small farms on a self-guided farm stroll trail day

On Sunday, 24 September 2023, Jennifer Kinney opened the gate of Piscasaw Gardens in Harvard, Illinois. Her farm was only three years old. Farmers markets were her main income.

That day, by her own estimate, more than 600 people walked onto her land. "We more than doubled our sales," she told the local paper, compared with a normal September Sunday.

She didn't buy a billboard. She joined the McHenry County Farm Stroll.

So how does a farm too small to pull visitors on its own suddenly get hundreds of them in a day? It teams up with its neighbours, opens on the same day, and sells the drive, not the stop.

Short answer: A farm stroll (or farm trail) is a self-guided tour where a group of neighbouring farms open on the same day and hours, share one map and one round of promotion, and let visitors plan their own route. Entry is usually free; each farm earns from what it sells. It works because ten small farms together are worth a day trip, while one small farm is only worth a detour.

The Real Problem: Your Farm Is Too Small to Be a Destination

A family will happily drive an hour for a day out. They will not drive an hour for a 20-minute stop at one farm stand. If your farm offers 20 minutes of fun, you are a detour, not a destination.

That is why small farms sit quiet while the big pumpkin farm down the road fills its car park. It sells a whole day. You sell a few minutes.

The money is real for those who crack it. The 2022 Census of Agriculture counted 28,617 U.S. farms earning agritourism and recreation income, worth $1.26 billion in total, or about $44,004 per farm on average. We break those numbers down in our agritourism statistics guide.

And small farms are not shut out. Farms under 10 acres grew their agritourism receipts 137.2% between 2017 and 2022, to $89 million. Their average more than doubled to $27,010. The small farm agritourism playbook shows how some of them did it.

Penn State researchers studied county-level Census data. Claudia Schmidt, who led the research, summed it up: "more agritourism operations are associated with more direct sales in the same county." It works the other way round too. Neighbours who open their gates help each other.

Inside the McHenry County Farm Stroll

The McHenry County Farm Stroll started small. On Sunday, 27 September 2015, from noon to 5 p.m., 11 farms opened their gates for free.

Two partners organised it: the McHenry County Farm Bureau and the University of Illinois Extension McHenry County Master Gardeners. No single farmer carried it alone.

What the first 11 farms looked like

Look at the mix. The first stroll had an egg, feed and produce farm, a hydroponics grower, an alpaca farm, an equestrian centre, two orchards, a vineyard, other family farms and a university ecology campus. Kirk Cashmore, who grows greens year-round in a vertical hydroponics set-up, summed up his stop: "I do lots of interesting, unusual stuff."

Nobody competed head to head. Each stop offered something different, so families wanted to see three or four.

How the day works

There is no set start or end. Visitors pick the farms they like and drive between them during the open hours.

By 2019, the fifth stroll featured 12 sites, from vegetables to dairy cows, sheep, horses and honeybees, with Master Gardener and 4-H volunteers helping families host guests.

In 2024 the line-up was 10 family farms and one student farm, with the Center for Agrarian Learning joining as a partner. The 2026 stroll ran on 27 September, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The house rules are simple: no pets, supervise children, wash hands after touching livestock, and bring cash because most farms sell food and produce.

Bar chart: on McHenry County Farm Stroll Sunday 2023, Hephzibah Farms reported 1,000+ visitors and Piscasaw Gardens 600+ visitors with sales more than doubled — Visitor numbers as the farm owners reported them to the Northwest Herald, 25 September 2023.

What the farmers said afterwards

At Hephzibah Farms in Hebron, owner Anita Miller said more than 1,000 people came through. Her farm ran a scavenger hunt with a prize for anyone who found every station around the farm. "It gets our name out there," she said.

John Patyk of Patyk's Farm in Richmond counted several hundred visitors. "It brings awareness that we're here," he said.

And Kinney, the first-timer, more than doubled her sales.

Field-Tested Play: Keep entry free and make your money at the farm. McHenry visitors are told to bring cash because most farms sell food, produce and other farm products. Free entry removes the reason to say no, and a family that has driven out to you rarely leaves empty-handed. Price those products well with our guide to setting entry fees and ticket prices.

The idea spread next door

Boone County held its own Farm Stroll on 1 October 2023. Ogle County ran one on 15 October 2023 with six farms, from a pick-your-own berry orchard to a cattle ranch, sharing one map and brochure.

Six farms. That is all it took to make a day out.

Real Farm Trails at a Glance

The farm stroll is one version of an old, proven idea. Here are real trails and open-farm days from three countries.

Trail	Started	Format	Size	A real number
McHenry County Farm Stroll (Illinois)	2015	One free Sunday, self-guided	11 farms at launch	1,000+ visitors at one farm in 2023
Ogle County Farm Stroll (Illinois)	By 2023	One free Sunday, self-guided	6 farms (2023)	Shared map and brochure
Apple Hill (California)	1964	Seasonal growers' trail	16 ranches, now 55+	750,000+ visitors a year
Hood River Fruit Loop (Oregon)	1992	35-mile self-guided loop	About 30 stands and stops	First map printed 1993
Sonoma County Farm Trails (California)	1973	Members' map, tours and fair	220+ active members	30,000 printed maps
LEAF Open Farm Sunday (UK)	2006	One national open day	283 farms (2026)	3.65 million+ visitors in 20 years
Alberta Open Farm Days (Canada)	2013	Two-day provincial event	150+ farms (2024)	C$331,676 on-farm sales (2025)

What Happens When a Trail Keeps Going

A one-day stroll is the seed. Keep it going and it can turn a whole valley into a destination.

Farm trail growth chart: Apple Hill from 16 ranches in 1964 to 55+ members and 750,000+ visitors; Sonoma County Farm Trails from its first 1973 map to 220+ members; Hood River Fruit Loop from 1992 to about 30 stops on a 35-mile loop — Founding and current figures from UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, Sonoma County Farm Trails and the Hood River Fruit Loop.

Apple Hill: born from a crop disaster

Pear blight hammered El Dorado County, California. Pear output fell from about 52,000 tons a year to under 9,000 tons by the mid-1960s.

Four men refused to let the valley die: grower Gene Bolster, farm advisor Dick Bethell, county agricultural commissioner Ed Delfino and retired army officer Bob Tuck. They visited Oak Glen, a successful apple area in Southern California, and modelled their growers' bylaws on it.

In summer 1964 the 16 founding ranches hosted a picnic for the press. Then they handed out 50,000 paper litter bags at the California State Fair, each one good for 2 pounds of free apples on a visit to Apple Hill.

The Apple Hill Growers Association has grown from 16 ranches to more than 55 members, and UC researchers report that over 750,000 people tour the area each year. It is the same story as the farms using agritourism when crop prices fall, 60 years earlier.

Hood River Fruit Loop: one farm stand owner's idea

The Fruit Loop in Oregon was organised in 1992. Kaye White, owner of River Bend Farm & Country Store, developed and promoted the idea.

She and Thom Nelson of the Hood River Grower & Shipper Association wrote a grant that paid for the first local farmers market and the first Fruit Loop map, printed in 1993. Later grants came from the local chamber's visitor council.

Today, member farm stands and brochure advertisers pay for it. The 35-mile loop links about 30 farm stands, wineries, cideries and flower fields.

Sonoma County Farm Trails: 50 years and counting

In January 1973, Sonoma County farmers and farm advisors formed a direct-marketing collective. Supermarkets and cheap imports were squeezing small farms.

They became a nonprofit by March and printed their first map in May 1973. Over five decades, more than 1,100 farms and farm businesses have been members. Today there are 220+ active members, 30,000 copies of its printed map handed out each year and an apple fair that draws an average of 14,000 people.

Reality Check: Trails cost real money to run. In one year of its public nonprofit filing summary, Sonoma County Farm Trails spent $717,166 against $597,076 of revenue. A big trail is a business with staff, printing and events. Start small, cheap and voluntary, and only grow the budget when the farms are seeing the sales.

The Open-Day Model: Proof From the UK and Canada

Not every trail is a loop. Some are simply one shared open day, promoted together.

LEAF Open Farm Sunday (UK)

The UK charity LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming) started Open Farm Sunday in 2006. In 2025 an estimated 200,000 people visited 270 farm events across England, Scotland and Wales.

In its 20th year, 2026, 283 farmers registered and about a quarter were hosting for the first time. More than 3.65 million visitors have come since 2006.

Cambridgeshire farmer Michael Sly MBE shows what patience does: "We started with 12 people attending in 2006 and now host around 10,000 visitors."

Alberta Open Farm Days (Canada)

Alberta Open Farm Days started in 2013. In 2024 more than 150 farms took part and over 52,000 people visited.

In 2025 the event welcomed 52,783 visitors and recorded $331,676 (Canadian) in on-farm sales. Across 13 years, on-farm sales have passed $2 million (Canadian). Almost a quarter (23.5%) of 2025's farms were new to it.

Hosts get training in marketing, ticketing, food planning and insurance. Canada is now drawing a longer trail too; see the Field to Fork corridor from Saskatoon to Winnipeg.

How to Start a Farm Stroll With Your Neighbours

You do not need a grant or a committee of 20 to begin. Ogle County did it with six farms. Here is the plan, step by step.

Farm stroll diagram: one small farm alone is a detour, while six neighbouring farms on one shared map, same day and same hours, make a day out — One farm is a detour. Six farms on one map are a day out.

Step No. 1: Find five to twelve farms close together

Aim for farms within a short drive of each other. Look for variety, not copies. A berry farm, a beef farm, a flower field, a honey producer and a winery make a better day than five pumpkin patches. Our list of local partnership ideas shows who else to invite, including cafés and makers.

Step No. 2: Find an anchor partner

Every real example above had one: a Farm Bureau, a university Extension office, an agricultural society, a county commissioner or a charity.

The anchor brings a trusted name, volunteers, a mailing list and press contacts. Phone your Farm Bureau, Extension office or council tourism officer first.

Step No. 3: Pick one date and the same hours

Choose a day when your farms look their best. McHenry uses a late-September Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Same day, same hours, for everyone. That is what makes it an event instead of a list of addresses.

Step No. 4: Agree the house rules in writing

Copy McHenry: no pets, children supervised, hand washing after animal contact, bring cash. Tell visitors which farms have toilets.

If you have animals, read our petting zoo handwashing guide before you open. One sick child can end a trail.

Step No. 5: Make one map, one web page and one social page

One printed map, one web page with every farm's address and offer, and one shared Facebook page. McHenry's stroll points visitors to a shared "Northern IL Farm Stroll" Facebook page.

Each farm should also fix its own Google listing so visitors can navigate there. Our Google Maps guide shows how in an afternoon.

Step No. 6: Give visitors a reason to visit every stop

A passport or stamp card turns one stop into five. Hephzibah Farms ran an on-farm scavenger hunt with a prize at the end. Do the same across the whole trail.

Keep the prize small: a jar of honey or a return-visit voucher.

Step No. 7: Line up volunteers

McHenry uses Master Gardener and 4-H volunteers to greet guests. Ask youth clubs, garden clubs and retired farmers.

Step No. 8: Count everything

Count cars or clickers at each gate. Ask every farm for its sales against a normal day, just as Kinney did. McHenry asks visitors to fill in a short online survey.

Those numbers win next year's sponsors, grants and new member farms. They also feed the word-of-mouth marketing that makes year two bigger than year one.

90-day timeline for how to start a farm trail: call nearby farms, pick a date, ask insurance questions, make the map, open and count visitors — A 90-day launch plan for a first farm stroll.

Field-Tested Play: Launch with one day, not a year-round trail. A single open Sunday tests the idea with almost no risk. If it works, add a spring date, then a printed seasonal map, then membership dues. Apple Hill, Sonoma and Open Farm Sunday all started far smaller than they are today.

How to Split the Costs Fairly

Agree the money split before anyone spends a cent.

Four ways farm trails pay for maps and marketing: equal shares, tiered dues of $250 to $350, sponsors and advertisers, and grants — How real farm trails pay their way. Sources: Sonoma County Farm Trails, Hood River County Fruit Loop.

Real trails pay their way in four main ways:

Equal shares. Every farm puts in the same amount for the map, signs and ads. Simple, and best for a first year.
Tiered dues. Sonoma County Farm Trails charges $250, $300 or $350 a year, depending on a member's gross sales. Bigger farms pay a little more.
Sponsors and advertisers. The Hood River Fruit Loop is paid for by member stands and businesses that advertise in the brochure. A local bank, feed store or café may gladly pay for the back page.
Grants. The first Fruit Loop map came from a grant. In California, a state specialty crop grant paid consultants, map design, printing and promotion for three regional farm trails. Our agritourism grants guide lists where to look.

Use one account, one treasurer, and share receipts with every farm.

Reality Check: Don't let one farm quietly pay for everything. It feels generous in year one and turns bitter by year three. Write the split down and review it after every event.

Legal, Insurance and Paperwork: Questions to Ask First

This is not legal advice. Laws differ by state, province and country. Take these questions to your insurer, your lawyer and your local council.

Insurance questions for your agent

Does my farm policy cover members of the public on an open day, or only paying guests?
Does our trail group need its own event liability policy, and who should be the named insured?
Should each farm be listed as an additional insured on the group policy?
Are hayrides, animal contact or pick-your-own covered, or excluded?

Our guide to agritourism insurance coverage explains each of these terms.

Liability questions

Does my state have an agritourism liability act, and does it require warning signs with exact wording?
Do our waivers help, or does the law already protect us?

See our agritourism laws by state and whether liability waivers protect your farm.

Paperwork questions

Do farms selling food, drinks or samples need a permit for the day? Start with our guide to selling food on your farm.
Does our council treat an open day as a "special event" needing a permit, extra parking or traffic signs?
Should we form an association or nonprofit, as Sonoma did in 1973, or stay an informal group for now?
Who owns the trail name, the map, the web page and the Facebook page if a farm leaves?

Ask your Extension office for sample membership agreements and bylaws from other trails.

What I've Learned About Neighbours at Bloopy Durians

My own farm, Bloopy Durians, sits in Bentong, Malaysia, and has been featured in Bloomberg News and Asahi Shimbun.

Here is what I've seen. Tourists don't come for one farm. They come for a region, a fruit and a day out.

Bloopy Durians now welcomes visitors from all over the world, and many companies send their staff and management to the farm.

None of that came from treating neighbours as rivals. I've written about other Bentong farms, such as A Little Farm On The Hill. When visitors love your area, they come back, and they bring friends.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a farm stroll?

A farm stroll is a self-guided tour where several neighbouring farms open on the same day and hours. Visitors use a shared map, choose their own route and buy products at each farm. The McHenry County Farm Stroll in Illinois has run this way since 2015.

How many farms do you need to start a farm trail?

Fewer than you think. Ogle County, Illinois, ran its 2023 Farm Stroll with six farms, and McHenry County launched with 11. Aim for enough variety to fill a day out.

Do farm strolls charge admission?

Most one-day strolls are free to enter. The farms earn from produce, food and products sold on the day. At Piscasaw Gardens, a first-time stroll farm more than doubled its usual September Sunday sales.

Who usually organises a farm trail?

Usually an anchor partner works with the farms: a Farm Bureau, a university Extension office, an agricultural society or a charity. McHenry's partners are its Farm Bureau and Illinois Extension; the UK's Open Farm Sunday is run by LEAF.

How do farm trails pay for maps and marketing?

Through equal shares, membership dues, sponsors, advertisers and grants. Sonoma County Farm Trails charges $250 to $350 a year by sales size, and the Hood River Fruit Loop is funded by member stands and brochure advertisers.

Do I need special insurance to join a farm trail?

Ask your agent before you open. Check whether your policy covers non-paying visitors on an open day, whether the group needs its own event policy, and whether animal contact or rides are excluded. This is not legal advice.

Your Next Step

You now have the plan. What you need next is the right offer for your stop on the trail, the thing that makes visitors spend when they arrive.

My free ebook gives you exactly that: 150 ideas, each with its difficulty, startup cost, pricing and earning potential, plus a 90-day launch roadmap.

Get My Free Ebook: 150 Ways to Unlock Hidden Wealth From Your Farm

Not sure your farm is ready for visitors yet? Take the free Farm Readiness Quiz. It takes a few minutes and shows you what to fix first.

Take the Farm Readiness Quiz

P.S. Jennifer Kinney's farm was three years old and lived on farmers markets when she joined the stroll. One Sunday, 600-plus visitors and more than double her usual sales. Your neighbours are already there. All you have to do is pick up the phone.

Stephen Loke of AgritourismSuccess.com, whose farm is featured in Bloomberg News and Asahi Shimbun.