Gaylord, Michigan
Reindeer, Tibetan yaks, Texas Longhorns, mini and micro donkeys, peacocks and ducks all live on this farm. On open Saturdays you can walk the property, get out into the pasture where the herds actually are, and meet the three animals people drive here for.
Saturdays, 10am to 5pm · 6500 Nicklaus Drive, Gaylord, MI 49735 · 989-858-6859
The roster
Wilderness Valley Farm keeps a Tibetan yak herd, a reindeer herd, Texas Longhorns with calves, mini and micro donkeys, peacocks, turkeys, Call Ducks and ducks on the farm pond. Three of them get asked for by name: Bud, a rare white Tibetan yak; Lilly, one of the reindeer; and Paisley, a micro donkey who stands 26 inches tall.
Star one of three
Bud is a rare white Tibetan yak, and he is the first of his kind in Michigan. Most people who meet him have never stood next to a yak at all, let alone a white one.
He belongs to the farm’s Tibetan yak herd. The pasture tour is the part of the day that takes you out to where the herds are, so that is the trip to ask about if Bud is the reason you came.
Star two of three
Lilly is one of the reindeer at Wilderness Valley Farm. They are real reindeer, and they live here.
Here is the detail almost everybody has backwards. Male reindeer shed their antlers before winter. So a reindeer carrying a full rack in December is almost always female. Worth knowing before you visit the reindeer at Christmas on the farm.
Reindeer antlers, through the year
So the reindeer standing there in December with the biggest antlers on her head is, nearly every time, a girl.
Star three of three
Paisley is a micro donkey and stands 26 inches tall. That is a little over two feet, which is the number every visitor repeats to somebody afterwards.
Paisley lives with the farm’s mini and micro donkeys, so there is a size range to compare against right there in the same paddock.
| Paisley | 26 in | |
| One yard | 36 in |
Everybody else
Eight groups of animals live on the property. The three above get the headlines. These are the rest.
Bud’s herd, and the reason people ask what a yak is doing in Northern Michigan.
Lilly and the rest of the herd. Yes, they are real reindeer.
The horned herd out in the pasture, calves included.
Paisley and the rest of the donkeys, at the small end of the scale.
Worth the wait. If one opens its tail while you are standing there, you will know.
Part of the bird roster on the property.
A small breed you will usually hear before you spot them.
Out on the farm pond, near the picnic tables.
What you can actually do
Looking at animals is one thing. These are the parts of the day where you get your hands involved. Ask at the gate about pasture tours and calf cuddling on the day you visit.
Sit down on the grass with a bottle calf. It is the quietest thing happening on the property and it is the photo parents actually keep.
Ride out to the weanling yak and the Longhorn herd and hand feed them where they actually live, instead of looking at them over a fence.
Get in among the reindeer herd with a handler right there beside you. This is the one people book the day around.
A glass hive with the comb and the bees right there behind it. Reliably the longest anyone on your trip will stand still all day.
Peacocks at the fence line. Patience pays here, because the tail only comes up when the bird feels like it.
Before you come
The animals are here on open Saturdays. Admission covers the farm.
| Open days | Saturdays |
| Hours | 10am to 5pm |
| Main season | Aug 29 to Oct 31 |
| Also open | Dec 5, 12 and 19 |
Pick the Saturday that suits you on the farm events calendar.
| Adults, 13 to 64 | $15 |
| Seniors, 65 and over | $10 |
| Children, 4 to 12 | $10 |
| 3 and under | Free |
6500 Nicklaus Drive, Gaylord, MI 49735
989-858-6859 · Driving directions to the farm
Asking about a specific animal? Send the farm a message.
Straight answers
Yes. Feeding the reindeer is one of the farm’s animal experiences, and the pasture tour rides out to hand feed the weanling yak and the Longhorn herd. Ask at the gate on the day you visit for what is running and how to join it.
Yes. Wilderness Valley Farm keeps a real reindeer herd, and Lilly is one of them. They live on the farm.
A Tibetan yak is a long haired member of the cattle family. Wilderness Valley Farm keeps a yak herd, and one of them, Bud, is a rare white yak and the first of his kind in Michigan.
Not exactly. It is a working farm with a large animal roster, and there are specific experiences where you get hands on: feeding the reindeer, cuddling a bottle calf, and hand feeding the herds on a pasture tour.
On open Saturdays, 10am to 5pm, from August 29 through October 31, plus December 5, 12 and 19. Dates are on the farm events calendar.
Bud, Lilly, Paisley and everybody else are out here on Saturdays. Bring the kids, bring a camera, and give yourself long enough for the pasture.
6500 Nicklaus Drive, Gaylord, MI 49735 · 989-858-6859