Appleton Farms

I visited Appleton Farms when I attended a lecture organized by The Trustees.
It was an interesting lecture with a delicious dinner. I really suggest checking out the lectures that The Trustees offers at their various properties.
The space where the lecture and associated dinner was held was beautiful. Exposed wooden beams, long wooden tables with benches, and string lights over head added some fun sparkle.
It would be a fun place for a rustic wedding. So much charm.
The best part of the night was driving in on their very long unpaved driveway and passing by their grazing cows. One babe broke away from the rest and was just hanging out next to the road. It was adorable and the funniest quick moment to see this guy checking out the group of us coming in for a dinner.

MOOOOOOOOOOOOOve over you negative review! This place was so cute.
My friend and I are too old to play on a swing but we did. We also spent too much time talking to the cows and the goats. There is so much to do on the grounds I wish I lived closer so I could spend more time there.
I would suggest an afternoon wandering around if you are in the neighborhood.

Don;t get me wrong. a beautiful place but they are dishonest about how some of the animals are treated. They place baby male calves out in a area. so young children could see them. and bond with them for months. they name the calves and state they are never sold for veal, but said they eventually get integrated into a head and live in the fields for a few years.
Turns out they took a number of them this summer and sold them to a local farmer for Veal. What a horrible thing to do those animals. who had only known kindness. were part of their livestock. bonded with children and adults. They were the offspring of the mother cows that produce milk for them twice a day for years!
They should be ashamed and asked to account for their practices. and stop lying to the members and visitors.

This is a review for their fall family festival. 5 stars. We will go back year after year for as long as we live here.

While in search of lobster rolls this afternoon, we drove past this farm and decided to stop in. Not knowing much about the business, we wandered in to the CSA section of the store (the barn) and noticed how great the produce looked only to find out that the produce in that section was only for sale to those participating in the CSA. When we inquired, we were told there’s a 4 year wait list. :-(
There is a «dairy store» next door that offers a limited selection and supply of fresh produce but does have frozen grass-​fed meats.
My friend and I both purchased the grass-​fed hamburger patties which were reasonably priced. Will update review when we have the patties.
We would definitely return when we’re in the area!

Conceptually a interesting place to visit. However, seems reserved for fans and aficionados of a certain lifestyle /​cultural homogeneity. Perhaps it was the time we visited and volunteers we saw. Got the distinct feeling that this is club.
Also, can’t really buy produce, or product unless you are a member. I held a bread loaf (in plastic) and and a jar of something to purchase. The person told me I can’t buy this and made a point to get it back ASAP, and made a great show of putting it back in it’s designated cubby with a bizarre look as if I, and family were unwelcome roadies traveling the rural South.
OK. Got the message. Won’t be back until I get my club card.

We stopped by there in the end of May and bought Cream Cheese, yogurt, eggs. These items, and all the others, were outrageously priced, $ 5.50 for like 6 oz of cream cheese, $ 4 for a small container of yogurt, and $ 5 for 12 eggs. That wouldn’t justify bad rating, but the food quality would. The cream cheese was very sour tasting and seemed to be spoiled, the yogurt also tasted sour and gross, and the eggs were ok, but they seemed watery. One of the eggs actually blew up when I was cooking it in a metal ring for a breakfast sandwich (think of the egg shape in the McMuffin). It got much egg white all over the floor. I’ve never seen anything like it!
I was also disappointed that they didn’t have any fresh vegetables (except lettuce) or fruit available. Some asparagus, scallions, mushrooms, or the like would be great for this time of year.
I will not be going back to this place.

Appleton Farms is great! lots of hiking trails, and cross country skiing trails in winter. Good for snowshoeing as well. It is a working farm and they sometimes sell vegetables and such. There are two sections to the farm, and you cross a bridge over the train tracks. (MBTA). The Discover Hamitlon Trail has recently been improved with new trail marking signs which connected Bradley Palmer, Willowdale and other parks in Hamilton — in a 10 miles loop hike. Part of the trail connects Appleton Farms and goes through. There is an interesting obelisk stone marker at one of the trail intersections. Pretty cool! It is a short bike ride from Ipswich and the Ipswich or Wenham/​Hamilton Commuter rail stations. Stop in at the Ipswich Clam Box for dinner or one of the seafood shacks over in Essex JT Farnhams, Woodmans, Essex Seafood or Blue Marlin Grill restaurant. in Essex. =) Lots of antique shops over in Essex as well a short bike ride away. Overall Appleton farms is a great outing for the whole family.

This place will likely get all five stars when the expansion is done and there are more items and space in the little dairy. This is not a rating on the CSA as I do not partake in that.
They offer a lovely variety of farm fresh milk. One of them is not homogenized, so the cream comes right up to the top, and they use a more gentle pasteurization process, which maintains more of the integrity of the dairy.
We picked up a soft, spreadable cheese which is amazing, a real cheddar, the non homogenized milk and a lovely round of fresh butter. It was all wonderful and well worth the trip all the way in from Boston.
The grounds are lovely too, and if we had the time we would have taken the tours that are offered.
I strongly recommend visiting. They take MasterCard and Visa, are very friendly and I love supporting local businesses, particularly businesses that care for the environment.

Lovely! Nice wide trails for bikers, walkers and horses. Very well maintained and lovely. Lots of parking, wide open space and cows to moo at.

great!

Tastes Great. But…
NOT Organic
Antibiotics are used in the active milk producing population.
Buy Stonyfield milk from NH. You can find it in the grocery store.

A beautiful place and a great example of preserving and protecting open space and farmland.
They are now selling glass bottled grass fed jersey milk, which is super delicious and creamy. What milk should taste like!
The milk was being sold in the farm store barn.

Appleton Farms offers a very busy CSA which has expanded by leaps and bounds in the past few years– the proceeds of which support the Trustees of Reservations. I belonged to this CSA for 5 years before switching this year to Green Meadows. The CSA is a good one — good variety and quality. They have fantastic strawberries in season — pick your own. They offer lots of programs for kids (especially the 2 – 5 set), and lots of pick your own opportunities (flowers, peas, strawberries, herbs), as well as social get-​togethers for members, which I never really took part in.
The veggies are good, and they have their own meat for sale as well as local cheese and honey, too. Winter share (storage carrots, onions, potatoes. and squash etc) is available for an extra fee. It is a beautiful place to visit, even if you don’t get veggies there. Aside from the cultivated area, and the portion used for their dairy operation, there are 250 more acres of the Farm (separate from the 259 acre Grass Rides) that have trails for horseback riding, walking and biking. Dogs are allowed in certain portions of the farm — not near the livestock, however.
A beautiful place to visit — and another local outlet for excellent fresh food.

Appleton Farms is one of the oldest continuously operating farms in the United States, and features scenic views of rolling grasslands, grazing livestock, ancient stone walls, tree-​lined carriage paths, and historic farm buildings. A community-​supported agriculture program and dairy cow herd are onsite. Hiking, horseback riding, cross country skiing and snowshoeing, and a variety of public education programs are all available. Owned and operated by The Trustees of Reservations, Appleton Farms remains a unique example of a working farm.
Getting there: From Route 128, take exit 20N and follow Route 1A north for about 7 mi. Turn left onto Waldingfield Road and look for entrance immediately on left at corner.
Hours: 8 am to sunset.
Note: There is now a mountain biking area and horseback riding area at Appleton Farms. Dogs are now permitted in certain areas.