A Saturday out of Traverse City
An hour and seven minutes east of Traverse City there is a working farm with a reindeer herd, a Tibetan yak nobody else in Michigan has, and u-pick you do not pay extra for. Here is the whole day, drive included.
Saturdays, 10am to 5pm · 6500 Nicklaus Drive, Gaylord, MI 49735 · Free parking
For Traverse City families
You already know what a Saturday in Traverse City looks like in October. Front Street is busy, the beaches are cold, and the kids have done the same loop three weekends running.
Go east instead. M-72 out of town, straight through Kalkaska, and about an hour later you are standing in a pasture with a Texas Longhorn herd, hand feeding a reindeer, and cutting as much lavender as you can physically carry without anyone weighing it at the till. It is a real working farm, not a petting zoo built for tourists, and it is the reason the drive is worth making.
Three reasons
There are closer farms. None of them have these three things.
A reindeer herd including Lilly, and Bud, a rare white Tibetan yak who is the first of his kind in Michigan. There are Texas Longhorns and micro donkeys too. The full roster is on the meet the animals page.
U-pick pumpkins are free with admission, and on Lavender Fest you cut as much lavender as you can carry with no bundle pricing and no weight limit. Most farms charge you twice.
The season runs thirteen Saturdays, each one with something on, and every festival is included with the same admission. There is an apple orchard and cider made on the farm.
The part that actually saves you money
For a family of four driving an hour each way, that is the difference between a day out and a day out plus a second bill.
The drive
One hour and seven minutes, fifty one miles, and one turn worth remembering. Times below are Google’s, not ours.
Traverse City to the farm, the way the map sends you
| City | Drive Time | Route Tip |
|---|---|---|
| Traverse City | 1 hr 7 min 51 mi | M-72 east, then north on Mancelona Rd. Grab your coffee in town and you will still be there when the gate opens. |
| Elk Rapids | 57 min 44 mi | Mancelona Rd most of the way. Ten minutes shorter than the run from Traverse City. |
| Kalkaska | 34 min 29 mi | US-131 north, then Mancelona Rd. Genuinely on the way if you are coming east from Traverse City. |
| Petoskey | 56 min 44 mi | US-131 south almost the whole way. Under an hour, and no back roads to worry about. |
| Boyne City | 44 min 35 mi | Hayes Tower Rd southeast. One of the shorter runs on this list. |
| Charlevoix | 1 hr 1 min 49 mi | M-66 south, then Mancelona Rd. About the same drive as from Traverse City. |
| Grayling | 27 min 18 mi | Old 27 north. Under half an hour, so this works as a half day. |
| Gaylord | 22 min 15 mi | Old US-27 south, then Mancelona Rd. Twenty minutes and you are parking. |
6500 Nicklaus Drive, Gaylord, MI 49735
Parking is free and on site. There is room for the kind of car that has a stroller and a wagon in the back.
Full driving directions and map
Your satellite navigation may call the address Wilderness Valley Golf Course. That is the same property. The golf course closed years ago and the farm is on the land now, so keep driving, you are in the right place.
Questions before you set off? Call 989-858-6859.
The whole day
Out by nine, home for dinner, and nobody spends the drive back asking what else there was to do.
Leave Traverse City around nine with coffee from wherever you already like. M-72 east is an easy run and Kalkaska goes by before the kids ask how long is left. The gate opens at ten, so leaving at nine puts you there near the start of the day when the animals are liveliest.
Most families spend two to four hours here. Meet the animals, ride the hay wagon, let the kids loose on the pedal karts and the hay tower, then do whichever u-pick is running that Saturday. Food and the retail buildings are priced separately, so bring a card.
Gaylord is twenty minutes back east and worth an hour. The downtown is built in Alpine style, and City Elk Park has a free elk viewing area, which lands well with anyone who just spent the afternoon looking at animals. Then it is a straight run home.
Tickets
The farm is open Saturdays only, so the question is not which day of the week, it is which Saturday. Every festival day costs the same as every other day.
| Adults, 14 to 59 | $15 |
| Seniors, 60 and over | $10 |
| Children, 3 to 13 | $10 |
| 2 and under | Free |
| Open days | Saturdays only |
| Hours | 10am to 5pm |
| Season | Aug 29 to Oct 31, 2026 |
| Plus | Dec 5, 12 and 19 |
| Festivals | Included |
Thirteen Saturdays to choose from. The full list is on the farm events calendar, and the two big u-pick days have their own pages: Lavender Fest on August 29 and the pumpkin patch through October.
Straight answers
One hour and seven minutes, and about fifty one miles. You take M-72 east out of Traverse City, straight through Kalkaska, then north on Mancelona Rd. It is a simple drive with no awkward turns.
Meet the reindeer herd, the Tibetan yaks including Bud, Texas Longhorns and the micro donkeys. Ride the hay wagon and the barrel train, and let the kids loose on the pedal kart track, the playgrounds, the corn pit and the hay tower. There is an apple orchard, lavender rows, a duck pond and a pumpkin patch in season. Full list on the farm attractions page.
No. Every festival Saturday is included with general admission. You pay once at the gate and that covers the day.
Honestly, it depends what you want. If you just want a pumpkin, there are closer places. What you cannot get closer is a reindeer herd you can hand feed, the first white Tibetan yak in Michigan, and u-pick that does not charge you by weight on top of admission. If those are worth an hour each way to your family, it is worth the drive.
Yes. Gaylord is twenty minutes from the farm and has an Alpine themed downtown, and City Elk Park there has a free elk viewing area. Both work well as an hour on the way home.
The season runs Saturdays from August 29 through October 31, 2026, plus December 5, 12 and 19. August 29 is Lavender Fest and the only day for unlimited u-pick lavender. Pumpkins run through October. Dates are on the farm events calendar.
An hour and seven minutes east. Reindeer, a white yak, and as much lavender as you can carry. Pick a Saturday and point the car at M-72.
6500 Nicklaus Drive, Gaylord, MI 49735 · 989-858-6859