A Trip to Frying Pan Farm Park

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Frying Pan Farm
A sheep and her lambs at Frying Pan Farm.

Located in Herndon, Virginia, Frying Pan Farm is a great place to visit with young kids. There’s a petting zoo, a working farm, a carousel, even a playground! With a variety of activities and things to look at, it’s a place where you can easily entertain the family. Here are all the details.

Getting There

The farm and park is located about 20 miles from DC and features ample parking. There’s no admission fee, but some activities inside the park require fees, including the carousel, wagon rides, pony rides or horseback riding lessons, and renting the picnic area for a party.

Animals Galore

Frying Pan Farm

Frying Pan Farm’s main draw? All of the animals! It is a working farm with over 100 active farm animals, including cows, pigs, bunnies, ducks, peacocks, chickens, sheep, and horses. There are several areas where kids can pet animals, or get up close to look at them.

Frying Pan Farm

Since it is a working farm, they also have a country store where you can buy many fresh items all made on the farm, including eggs and meat. If your child is begging for a snack, the store also sells chips, candy, ice cream and soda, plus T-shirts and little knick knacks. Note: The store has different hours than the park: Monday – Thursday 10 am – 2 pm, and Friday – Sunday 10 am – 4:30 pm.

More to explore

Frying Pan Farm

The Kidwell Farmhouse in the park has old farm equipment on display. In the 19th century Dairy Barn, you will see contraptions once used to process milk from the farm’s cows, while another barn displays a collection of early farm equipment. There’s even an operational blacksmith and wheelwright shop that has a working blacksmith during special events. The farmhouse is also set up to show how farm families lived in the 1930s.

Frying Pan Farm

Frying Pan’s antique 1920s Herschell carousel was renovated in 2018 and it is open for rides Friday through Sunday from spring through fall for $4 on weekends. Buy them in advance online or at the country store when you go to the farm. If you happen to visit during the week, you can tire them out at the playground onsite instead, which is a decent size.

Event Info

Frying Pan Farm hosts lots of tours and events, as well. People can even rent out its picnic area for parties.

The park hosts concerts in its pavilion and farmyard throughout most of the year (June – April), including children’s concerts and bluegrass concerts—fun for the whole family! Check their website for more information.

Additional events are Kidwell farmhouse tours, which only happen on select days (so call ahead!) as well as a farm stand that is open May to September from 8 am-12:30 pm. It’s a mini farmer’s market onsite at the farm! Buy a variety of fruit, vegetables, and crafts.

Frying Pan Farm Information

Frying Pan Farm is open daily from 9 am to 5 pm except for Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.

Have you been to Frying Pan Farm? Tell us in the comments!