The Leaping Lamb Farm Stay is located in Alsea, Oregon, an hour east of the Oregon coast and thirty minutes southwest of Corvallis, Oregon. It has 68 acres of land that guests can roam, with a creek that they can swim in as well. There are two possible places to stay on the property: the farmhouse and the cottage. As part of their stay, guests have the opportunity to help with everyday chores on the farm, such as feeding the animals or collecting eggs but they are not required to. They can also interact with the animals outside of the chores. Visitors of the farm are given the supplies needed to make their breakfasts. A quarter-acre of land with a garden is available for guests to “graze” and pick whatever they please for their meals. There is also fruit grown on the property that guests can use as well.
The Leaping Lamb Farm Stay is situated in the logging town of Alsea, Oregon. The property sits on 68 acres of land, with twenty of the acres comprising of pasture and the remaining forty-eight acres containing forests. With the sizable acreage and a variety of animals on the farm, the patrons at Leaping Lamb have opportunities to participate in working on the farm. They can have the choice between helping out with chores or simply interacting with the animals if they please. Lambs, chickens, goats, a horse, a donkey, barn cats, a turkey, a peacock, and ducks are the different types of animals that guests can expect to see on the property. If those who are staying at the farm would like, they can get fresh eggs from the chickens to eat during their stay.
A quarter-acre of the land is devoted to a vegetable garden that patrons can pick from to add to their meals. The grown vegetables include carrots, celery, tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, cucumbers, and various herbs. Also, out on the property, guests can play croquet, cornhole, badminton, and slackline. The flatlands can serve as a recreational area for individuals to participate in sports such as soccer, football, or baseball, provided that they bring their own gear. Guests are allowed to roam the land and walk on the designated trails at their leisure. Additionally, there is a creek that visitors can swim in.
The Leaping Lamb Farm Stay has a farm store that sells meat products such as lamb. They also sell t-shirts, hats, and other similar items. Two separate buildings are available for visitors to stay in, the farmhouse and the cottage. The farmhouse has six bedrooms and three bathrooms, with a full kitchen, dining room, living room, and deck, while the cottage has two bedrooms, a bathroom, a full kitchen, a living room, and a deck. Each building has its own barbecue and deck. Only one party is allowed per building. Guests are provided with shampoo, soap, and sheets at the beginning of their stays. They are also provided with breakfast food that is restocked before arrival and can be replenished if necessary.
The breakfast food guests are provided with includes bakery bread, muffins, and pancake mix. The farm also offers a medley of fruit including pears, kiwis, apples, raspberries, blackberries, and occasionally peaches. There are various types of beverages offered including orange juice, whole milk, and tea. In addition to the beverages, coffee beans are available for guests to grind to make their own coffee. Any eggs collected by the patrons can be used for their breakfasts as well. Guests are expected to make their own breakfasts with the supplies given.
The farm is one hour east of the Oregon Coast and 30 minutes southwest of Corvallis, Oregon, giving guests options for activities to do during their trip that are located within an hour's drive. If guests do not want to travel very far from the farm, they can visit the Hayden Covered Bridge, Mary’s Peak, and the Alsea Falls Recreation Site. Patrons can also stay and roam on the grounds of the farm. The creek on the farm feeds into the Alsea River, where guests can fish. If visitors want to go out and eat, there may not be many options nearby, but one available restaurant is Deb’s Cafe, where one can get a bowl of homemade clam chowder.
The current owners, Scottie and Greg Jones, hope that while guests stay at the Leaping Lamb Farm, they will feel welcome, relaxed, happy, and connected both with the nature around them as well as with each other. They mention that they pride themselves on being known as a “good family location,” as guests have stated, and also a place where guests can interact with the animals on the farm. Scottie and Greg live on the property along with the farm managers Denny and Kate Rivera. Together they handle the everyday chores of the farm, as they strive to help their guests with whatever they may need, in addition to giving tours of the farm to the general public. Tours are available for sign-ups and typically last an hour long. Subsequently, the tourists can then stay on the grounds for a picnic or to interact with the animals.
The farm is open year-round, with its busiest season being either in mid-march during spring break or from April to August, when the days get relatively warmer, and when it’s lambing season. During Lambing season, guests can help out in a few ways, including bottle-feeding the baby lambs. Visitors can also assist with the everyday chores on the farm like feeding chickens, collecting eggs, feeding the sheep, the horse, the donkey, and the goats. They are not required to help out with chores on the farm, but it is an option. Guests can interact with the animals outside of chores, for example, going and brushing the horse or sitting with the goats. The most significant policies for the farm are that no pets are allowed on the premises, and visitors need to sign a limited liability waiver.
Many guests at the Leaping Lamb Farm Stay are repeat guests. Most visitors are local in Oregon, with many of them being from Portland. Other guests are from the west coast, from both California and Washington. The demographics of the visitors are very diverse, but most visitors are in family units. A lot of guests hear about the farm from word of mouth. Reviews of the farm often say they “loved interacting with the hosts, animals, and the farm.” One particular guest said, “We stayed in the cottage, which is cozy and had what we needed. Our two young kids had a great time, as did myself and my wife. Scottie met us when we arrived and took us on a tour, familiarizing us with the property and introducing us to the animals.”
The owners of the Leaping Lamb Farm, Scottie and Greg Jones, are the third property owners and have owned the farm since 2002, though it wasn’t made a farm stay until 2007. Farming became a second career for them, and when they first started at the Leaping Lamb Farm, they had no farming experience. After doing it for five years, they decided they needed additional income to keep the farm running and started the farm stay, which was something Scottie was familiar with from Europe.
Though the farmhouse was initially built in 1895, the farm first started back in 1862 when it was a homestead. The farmhouse is made with wood walls and wood floors that came from wood from the property. People had begun moving into the region in the 1860s and 70s for logging, which, in turn, caused the area to become a logging and farming town. Over the course of time, the farm was passed down through the family before getting sold in the 1970s. Scottie and Greg then bought the farm in 2002, adding the cottage in 2005. Aside from adding the cottage, they have not made any significant changes to the property. They have done some safety renovations to ensure it is livable, but the structure is mostly original. The apple orchards and grapevines are original as well.
20368 Honey Grove Road
Alsea, Oregon 97324
United States
Bed and Breakfast
Scottie and Greg Jones
