Hike

Join the Trustees as they hike from the Barn to the Pine Grove, looking for tracks and telltales left behind by the creatures who roam the property surrounding the Crane Estate. Using our skills of observation, we’ll find footprints and feeding sites, homes and hiding places. We’ll warm up after our trek with hot chocolate in the Pine Grove.

What animals do you see in winter? Where do they find their food? We will hike to the woods and look for clues of what they have been eating and where they have been sleeping. Discover tracks in the snow and try to guess what animals have been on the trails.

Experience what life is like as the largest rodent in North America. We will examine a beaver mound up close, and then take a walk to see a beaver lodge, dam, and scent mounds. Discover how beavers continue to change the habitats in which they live and how other species of plants and animals benefit. On our return, we will make beaver dioramas out of natural materials.

Appleton Farms invites families for a self guided Winter quest during holiday break! Grab your snow shoes, hiking boots or cross country skiis and get the family outside between Christmas and New Years to seek out our elusive herd of wooden reindeer sculptures found throughout the Grass Rides.  See how many you can find and leave a bell around each one's neck.  Bells can be found at the bulletin board.