The Venue: The Philo Apple Farm
The rustic experience: A Farm Weekend entails staying in a guest cottage in or next to an 80-variety, 1,700-tree apple orchard and taking cooking classes in which fresh ingredients–herbs, raspberries, asparagus–are picked and used to make meals.
Where: Philo, California
Cost: $1,500 per couple for the weekend
Contact: philoapplefarm.com
The Venue: Bobolink Dairy
The rustic experience: Artisanal bread- and cheese-making workshops are held nearly every other Sunday from May to October on this 200-acre farm 90 minutes from New York. Milk comes from about 40 completely grass-fed cows. Visitors looking to stay in the area can decamp at the Apple Valley Inn.
Where: Vernon, New Jersey
Cost: $50 (not including lodging)
Contact: cowsoutside.com
The Venue: Fountain Prairie Inn
The rustic experience: Have supervised up-close-and-personal experiences with 300 head of grass-fed highland cattle, which look like woolly mammoths. Also, the Dane County Farmers’ Market, which is one of the largest producers-only farmer’s markets in the country, is in nearby Madison.
Where: Fall River, Wisconsin
Cost: $70–$150 per night
Contact: fountainprairie.com