When we started this trip, we were not sure Harvest Host was going to be something we would utilize often- you can only stay one night in many places and often it’s dry camping. And truth be told, we love electricity, particularly air conditioning while traveling through the summer heat.
However with the ever increasing price of RV parks and the desire for some new experiences, we decided to give Harvest Host a try. For just $99 for the year, you get unlimited access to stay overnight at a network of 4671+ wineries, breweries, distilleries, farms, and attractions. All they ask is that the RVer support their Hosts by purchasing one of their local products with each stay!
With a handful of one night stays coming up in the next few months, we decided to finally join Harvest Host and have enjoyed our Harvest Host stays more than most of our RV park stays. Every Harvest Host typically offers a unique experience- a farm tour, the chance to meet and pet farm animals, educational programs, wine tasting, beer tastings, cultural experiences, and more. Honestly buying or donating to these small businesses hasn’t felt like a choir at all but much rather a chance to experience one of a kind opportunities.
One our first Harvest Host experiences and one of our favorites was visiting Uinta Farms in Willard, Utah. (less than an hour from Salt Lake City) With the rerouting of our trip, we decided one way we could make up for the loss of some sights we were really excited about was by filling our time with something we love- petting animals!
Uinta farm offers a farm tour as part of the stay at just $30 per RV, which if you have kids or multiple people inside your rig is a real steal of a price for what you get. Our tour was two hours long. (and I should mention we did the tour twice as we stayed at the farm for multiple nights) The tour starts with a 30-60 minute educational time (depending on the participants’ interest) to learn about alpacas, alpaca farming, shearing, maintenance, and general farm life. This part of the tour was different both times we took the tour. The first night, there were two small children on the tour so this part was shorter and we spent more time petting the alpacas. The second tour was all adults so we got to ask so many more questions and learn so much about the farm. It was really interesting and appealing to us that this part of the tour was totally guided by the participants. It felt like a fun, interactive conversation and not at all like a boring educational lecture even though we learned A LOT.
The next part of the tour is the animal interaction part of the tour. The hosts take you back into their farm where they introduce you to their farm dogs, chickens, guinea hens, horses, and most importantly, alpacas. You get as many alpaca treats as you want. There are multiple alpaca pens- the old ladies, the young boys, the old men, the old ladies, and the pregnant mommas and babies. You get to enter most of the pens and learn more about the alpacas like their names (see if you can guess which one is Boots below. Here’s a hint, he has white boots). While in the pens, the alpacas are so curious and get super close to you, often allowing you to pet them and always allowing you to feed them treats. It is an amazing experience to come face to face with these truly quirky animals. As the owner, Suzie says, “you can’t be unhappy around an alpaca.” And we concur, you can’t.
After you feel you have spent enough time with the alpacas, the tour ends in a small farm shop that sells farm raised honey, alpaca products, stickers, and more. There is no pressure to buy anything at any point, but we assure you that you’ll want to. We bought an alpaca beanie and our biggest regret is that we didn’t buy another for each of us.
We highly recommend a trip to Uinta farms, either as a Harvest Host or to call and try to do just a farm tour. It’s an amazing place to visit where you really can’t be sad. And if you are sad, we promise once the alpacas hoard around you for treats and pets with their silly expressions, you’ll be smiling in no time.
Be aware Harvest Host won’t work for everyone. You must have a self-contained RV with a toilet, water tank and inside cooking facilities. And there are no tents of any kind allowed.
This Harvest Host had the option for electricity and to stay multiple nights with an extra donation. We choose to stay three nights and donate the upcharge for electricity. It was well worth it for us. They also let us fill up our water tanks with fresh spring water for no extra cost. And there was a dump station less than half a mile away for $10 at the Pilot gas station we used after our stay.
So are U in ta Alpacas?
Because if so, sign up for Harvest Host and make this one of your stops! You won’t regret it!
To check out Uinta Farms: https://www.uintaalpacas.com/
To join Harvest Host, use our link: https://www.harvest-hosts.com/26XSRWK/2CTPL/
*Full disclosure: we do make a small portion of money when you sign up.
