Take a drive down any Wisconsin road, and eventually, you'll see it. Off in the distance, a red barn, a herd of cows, a farmer toiling in the field - the Wisconsin farm. Some of those homesteads are now drawing visitors with the promise of a bed and home-cooked breakfast, and in some cases, a true farm experience. When a hotel just won't do, come home to the farm. Don't just sleep. Discover.
Rainbow Ridge Farms Bed & Breakfast
If you're out among the friendly goats at the Rainbow Ridge Farms Bed & Breakfast and one of them inexplicably keels over, don't worry, he's not dead, he's just excited to see you. It's all part of life on the farm with the breed of fainting goats, which have a tendency to do just that when scared or overcome with emotion.
The goats and another rare breed, the Olde English Babydoll Southdown sheep join chickens, llamas, honeybees, pigs and more at the bed and breakfast. Items fresh from the farm, like goat milk soap, caramels and cheese crafted by innkeepers Cindy Hoehne and Donna Murphy welcome guests to the B&B five miles outside of La Crosse. "There's a peace that's here ... it's very special to me and to our guests," Hoehne says. "We're becoming quite a destination instead of just a place to sleep."
Collect eggs from the chickens, milk goats and bottle-feed the kids and lambs. To catch the miracle of birth, book in March and April, a popular time for farm babies. Hoehne and Murphy will wake guests up at 2 a.m., or whatever hour the animals go into labor - don't forget a set of barn clothes if you plan on toweling off the newborn, cutting the umbilical cord and feeding it its first bottle. Just want to sleep? No worries, guests decide how much of a farm experience they really want.
Trillium Cottage
Spread out on the 85-acres of forest and field at Trillium Cottage in La Farge. Now in its 25th year, the organic family farm harvests 35 acres of organic hay each summer and offers two separate, private cottages, fully furnished with kitchen, bath and a wood-burning fireplace for those chilly fall nights. Each morning a basket of fresh bread, local cheese, farm eggs, milk and other breakfast treats are delivered to each cottage. Over breakfast watch sheep and goats graze in the pasture or try to spot a wild turkey. Guests are welcome to visit livestock year-round and feed the animals - everything from cows to guard donkeys to chickens, ducks and geese roam here.
Looking for something out of the ordinary? Sabamba Alpaca Ranch is the spot for you. Fifteen alpacas live on the farm, where innkeepers Tom and Sally Schmidt breed, raise and sell the animals and fiber products. Imported to the United States in 1984 from South America, the gentle animals often confused for llamas, come from the camel family. Guests help with daily care, including feeding, cleaning and taking the alpacas for walks. Really want to get hands-on? Help with other farm duties, like hay making, canning and jamming. Don't forget to bring the kids - alpacas love children. "If you put a child in the pasture the alpacas will come up and just about kiss them," Sally says. "They're just very curious."