Did you know that there is a farm in Bellevue, WA, just minutes from Megan’s Island?! I didn’t. But now, I do. And you do too.

A few weeks ago some girlfriends and I were looking for a scenic walking location somewhat near Bellevue. I did some quick Google-ing and discovered Kelsey Creek Farm. This place looked pretty online, so I was excited to check it out in person.

Side note: I have a thing for barns and farms. I have a goal in life of owning a nearby barn/farm and renting it out for weddings. I think I’d make a killing and have a lot of fun. That’s on the bucket list. More details at some point, although it’s many years away. In the meantime, I pin ideas to my “Dream Barn” board on Pinterest. I love Pinterest.

I digress. Back to the Kelsey Creek Farm. The Farm is run by the City of Bellevue and is open everyday from 9:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. We stopped in on a Sunday mid-morning and were the only people there. It’s free to walk through (donations are gladly accepted) and you can “meet” lots of fun farm animals: sheep, goats, chickens, bunnies, horses, pigs, and a cow.

Here are some of our new friends:

Sheep at Kelsey Creek Farm

Cow at Kelsey Creek Farm

Bunny at Kelsey Creek Farm

Goat at Kelsey Creek Farm

Fluffy chicken at Kelsey Creek Farm

Kelsey Creek Farm offers group farm tours, farm classes (for kids 2-6 years old) and day camps (for kids 4-7 years old). It also can be rented out for birthday parties. Occasionally, it holds special events that adults might enjoy too. In fact, one of them is coming up this next Saturday (4/26/14, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.). What is it? Sheep shearing! Here is the description from the web site:

Watch the sheep being shorn of their winter coats. Enjoy spinning demonstrations, children’s crafts, tractor/wagon rides, pony rides, food, animal viewing areas and more. No pets allowed in the barnyard areas. Free shuttle service available from Wilburton Park and Ride, 720 114 Ave SE  and Bannerwood Sports Park, 1630 132nd Ave SE.  No entrance fees. Costs vary for food and activities. No ATM on site and we cannot accept charge cards. Go here for more info.

Kelsey Creek Farm: Such beautiful terrain

We had a great time exploring on our walk and I wanted to share some of the opportunities at Kelsey Creek Farm beyond walking and making new critter friends.

They offer “adoption” of critters on the farm, which is a fun idea. I have a friend — and a husband — that I think need to “adopt” an animal or two. More information about critter adoption here. They also offer a picnic shelter event space for up to 50 people, for a mere $30 per day — actually,I’m not sure about that exactly. The three difference websites about the Kelsey Creek Farm aren’t clear on what you actually get for $30. I guess you have to email someone for more information. (Update: I found actual fees, after clicking through about 15 different pages. It’s much more than $30. More here.)

That leads me to my next point: Kelsey Creek Farm needs to streamline their websites! There are too many sites with too much out of date and/or confusing information. For example:

You can start in several places. I started with Google. There, I found http://www.farmerjayne.com/which directs to http://bellevue.com/happening.php?id=1036 (which appears to be a for-profit website highlighting events in Bellevue. Why would a city venue direct away from a city site? Seems counter-intuitive to me). I initially stumbled across the Kelsey Creek Farm through the “walk on in Bellevue” website. (Nice SEO!)

Thinking that there had to me more information somewhere, I Googled City of Bellevue and searched for “Kelsey Creek.” Only 2,600 page options came up. I started at the top and found this page with relatively no information and really mediocre photos http://www.bellevuewa.gov/kelsey_creek_park.htm. I eventually found this page which seems to have the most information: http://parkstrails.myparksandrecreation.com/Details.aspx?pid=23.

Normally I don’t have the patience to go on a wild goose chase like this for something fun to do. The Kelsey Creek Farm website (I can’t remember which one; there are too many) states that they have more than 250,000 visitors each year.

Anyway, there are some great links here about a great event this weekend at Kelsey Creek Farm. Grab your rain gear and head out to the Kelsey Creek Farm this Saturday. Maybe I’ll see you there?