About a hundred years ago, in April 2019, we were still free to roam around the country as one does when CV-19 doesn’t exist. And one day Aliyah Rose decided to visit the Oxon Hill Farm Park in Maryland because, you know… no quarantine. Ah, the blissful days of sunshine and mask-free frolicking… Ahem, where was I?
Ah yes, Oxon Hill. Now if the gentle reader recalls, there used to be a time not so long ago when one could take her beloved Boomers to places like this without masks or hand sanitizer or even social distancing! You may not believe us, but it’s true, we swear it. (Grandma is honestly trying not to swear, but the spiraling dystopia we find ourselves in Is. NOT. Helping.)
Oxon Hill Farm is a National Park that is also a farm. What a concept! They have bunches of live animals that you would find on a working farm, like horses, cows, pigs, sheep, goats, and chickens. We mainly saw the horses, cows, and chickens, and Aliyah got to feed the chickens herself. (More on that later.)
There were a number of interesting buildings to see at the farm, in addition to the awesome farm animals, tractors, and other farming paraphernalia. The visitor center was in building 9 above, and the milk cow was in building 6, which is a large barn. The chicken coop was in area 10, in the central area of the illustration. Some of the other buildings included a horse stable, pony barn, silo, windmill, rabbit shed, and dairy barn. Everything is close enough together to manage with little kids, but there is plenty of room to walk around and get some exercise too!
To get to the farm, you park a short walk away from the main farm buildings. That keeps the farm looking more like a farm and less like a tourist trap (which it most certainly is not.) The top photo shows the view of a cow pasture that we passed while traversing the entry road on foot. The watercolor illustration shows where the access road is in relation to the rest of the farm.
Aliyah had never seen horses and cows up close and personal before, so this was a bit of a shock to her. But she is not a wilting violet. Not this little one.
Keep away from the cow’s feet. 
Aliyah is brave!
It can be scary meeting a creature who is 50 times your size! Aliyah is a brave little girl, but she thought it unwise to approach an animal that could squish her like a bug. Luckily, she met a very patient cow who let her say hello without balking. It took a bit of convincing to help Aliyah work up her nerve. We said hello quietly and politely, and the attending Park Ranger told us a bit about how the cows are cared for, how big they are, and how to treat a cow with respect. Note: We’re pretty sure the cows are not thrilled with all the attention, so please make sure your little ones show proper courtesy to all the farm animals.
Next, we took a hayride though the farmland, which was actually left to return to it’s natural state, as you can see below. Also, the “hayride” did not feature any actual hay, so it was not quite as picturesque as we would have imagined. But then again, since there was no hay, there were no bugs hiding in the hay either, so that was all fine with Grams.
We saw some beautiful countryside during our wagon ride. And because most of the kids went on an earlier ride, we had this one mostly to ourselves. Aliyah very much enjoyed the view, but it was hardly fair to let her see a world full of leaves when she couldn’t jump off the wagon to go collect them ALL to bring home! She did find some prickly seed pods of some sort, but she wisely chose not to stuff them into her boots. This time.
After the hayride we puttered about, looking at the old machinery. They have a corn sheller which was built in the late 1800s, a spinning wheel, an antique John Deere tractor, and other fascinating pieces. Definitely something of interest to anybody wanting to know how people lived a hundred years ago.
Next Aliyah asked us to check out the gift shop, since we were all getting thirsty. Aliyah and Granddad purchased National Parks Passport books for themselves, so we can stamp the date and time whenever we visit a new national park. (Grams already had one from when Mommy was a little girl.) There were also various stickers for many of the parks, but we decided to save this important purchase for next time. So we we would have even more to look forward to.
Aliyah’s very favorite part of our visit, aside from blowing apart the dandelions, was visiting the chicken coop. The Ranger on duty gave all the children chicken feed (seeds and such) that the kiddos could throw on the ground for the birds to eat. That was sort of like bribing the chickens to put up with all the strangers in town (us.) We were quite clear with Aliyah Rose that the chickens would be frightened if she ran after them screaming and yelling like a little hooligan. She understood that they are small enough to be afraid of anyone chasing and screeching at them, even a very small person such as herself. She saw some other kids doing just that, and we asked her how she would feel if she were being chased by giant monsters, and she got it perfectly. She was very careful around the “sweet little chickens” and fed them calmly.
The Park Ranger supervising the chickens was so pleased to see a little person respecting the residents that she invited us into their home as the other children left. Aliyah was very interested to learn how the chickens live and where they sleep at night, and she had a few questions when she got over her shyness. She even found a beautiful feather and asked the Ranger if she could keep it. Thank you and blessings, kind Ranger!
This box holds chicken feed. 
Everyone was happy!
One of the great features for bigger kids (7-13-ish) is the Junior Ranger Program. Kids can become Junior Rangers by asking for the activity book at the Visitor Center and completing the listed activities. Turn in the completed book and they will give you a certificate declaring you a Junior Ranger, plus a badge and a patch! Note: Aliyah was only 3 when we visited, and we didn’t know about the program at the time, so we can’t tell you what the activity book looks like. If we pick one up in the future, we will be sure to update this post with a summary and maybe some pictures!
For everyone, young and old, there are walking/jogging/biking trails that are open EVEN DURING the Corona virus rampage. And we all need fresh air and sunshine, right?! There are also self-guided walking tours, and you can pick up the brochure for that at the Visitor Center, or just download/print it here: https://www.nps.gov/oxhi/planyourvisit/upload/self-guided-walking-tour-map.pdf
Aliyah’s Review
Aliyah loved the chickens, and she was curious about her new National Park passport, although she wasn’t completely sure what it was for. She enjoyed the hayride and found lots of dandelions and clover flowers to pick. The cow was intimidating, but she mustered up her courage to pat her gently, and we were very proud of how nicely she behaved with all the animals. She learned a lot today, and we all gave it a resounding thumbs up!
About Oxon Hill Farm
Website: https://www.nps.gov/oxhi/index.htm
Address:
6411 Oxon Hill Road
Oxon Hill, MD 20745
Phone: (301) 839-1176
Directions: https://www.nps.gov/oxhi/planyourvisit/directions.htm
References
- Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/OxonHillFarm
- Oxon Cove Park Self-Guided Walking Tour: https://www.nps.gov/oxhi/planyourvisit/upload/self-guided-walking-tour-map.pdf
- Oxon Cove Park Entry, National Register of Historic Places: https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/03000869
- Oxon Hill Manor Entry, National Register of Historic Places: https://catalog.archives.gov/id/106778014
- Youtube page: https://www.youtube.com/user/OxonCoveParkNPS