Happy Sunday, everyone! I hope you’re having a great weekend and – if you’re a local reader – enjoying this lovely weather we’ve been having here in Southern Ontario. After the rainy summer we had, it sure is nice to enjoy a few days of straight sunshine!
If you love animals – particularly farm animals – as much as I do, then I think you’ll get a kick out of today’s post! Today I’ll be taking you on a tour of one of the most unique and fun-filled agritourism destinations in Ontario: Haute Goat.
Located in Newtonville (just outside Port Hope), Haute Goat is a 200-acre farm that’s known for offering fun, interactive animal experiences. The farm is owned by husband-and-wife team Shain Jaffe and Debbie Nightingale. They used to live in Toronto, where both held careers in media and entertainment. In 2007, Shain asked Debbie if she wanted to find a place in the country – a seemingly out-of-the-blue request, as apparently he’d never shown any interest in farms, animals or rural living! Debbie, on the other hand, happened to have an interest in all those things, so her answer was an immediate yes. Three weeks later, the couple purchased their first farm in Campbellford, but continued living and working in Toronto part-time in order to pay for their new property. In 2009, Shain and Debbie decided they enjoyed the farm life so much that they wanted to live there full-time, which meant Debbie could fulfill her dream of owning lots of animals – Nigerian Dwarf goats in particular! They both fell in love with the breed, and as their family and friends started visiting the farm every weekend to play with the goats, the couple came up with an idea: a place where visitors could come to bond with animals and reconnect with nature. So in 2015, Shain and Debbie upsized to a 200-acre property in Newtonville, and Haute Goat was born.
Today, Haute Goat is a popular agritourism destination that welcomes visitors from all over Ontario. And don’t let the name fool you: in addition to their large herd of Nigerian Dwarf goats, the farm is home to Icelandic horses, alpacas, pigs, chickens and more. Haute Goat had been on my must-do list for a while, and when Debbie kindly reached out and invited me for a visit, I knew it was meant to be!* So a couple of weeks ago, my best friend Victoria and I hoofed it to Newtonville to check out Haute Goat for ourselves.
Haute Goat offers a wide variety of interactive farm experiences. The Goat Shmurgle is their signature experience, but they also offer goat yoga, goat milking, alpaca walks and more! We booked two experiences: the Goat Shmurgle and the alpaca walk (a.k.a. the Alpaca Knuffle Shuffle.) The Shmurgle started at 1pm, so we arrived at the farm half an hour early to walk around and check things out before getting started.
At 1 o’clock, we joined the rest of our tour group at the meeting point to get started with the Shmurgle. Our tour leader Jaime (who was awesome!) started by telling us about the history of Haute Goat and how it all began, before walking us over to the goat enclosure. The goats all poured out of the barn and congregated by the gate, clearly excited for what was coming next. We all shouted “one, two, three… release the goats!” and the goats started running out of the open gate into the fields.
From there, we took the goats on a walk around Haute Goat’s beautiful property. Now, I use the term “walk” lightly. The goats pretty much led the way and we just followed. Many of the goats were more interested in grazing than walking (hey, I can relate to that!) and we had to clap, dance and run alongside them to get them to move along. It was so funny watching everyone trying to encourage the goats and get them going!
Getting the goats back in their enclosure was the hardest part and definitely took a team effort, but eventually all goats were accounted for! Now that the walk was over, we settled into the “Goat Playground” for the remaining half hour of the experience, the “Shmurgle” itself. “Shmurgling” is Haute Goat’s term for snuggling, cuddling, hugging, petting and playing with the goats, and it’s honestly one of the cutest things I’ve ever experienced. My favourite part was getting to hold Boots, one of the farm’s baby goats. She was so cute and snuggled right into me. Apparently the babies like being held close to your chest because it makes them feel safe and secure. (How sweet is that!?)
After the Goat Shmurgle wrapped up, we had half an hour of free time before our next experience, the Alpaca Knuffle Shuffle. So we headed over to the chicken coop (hilariously named Cirque De Poulet) and the pig pen to see some of the other animals. The pig pen contained four adorable piglets and one equally cute (if exhausted-looking) mama. It was so fun to watch the piglets play and tumble around with one another. I’ve heard that pigs are very similar to dogs – they’re just as intelligent, playful and social – and I could really see that here. The way the piglets were roughhousing with each another reminded me of puppies at play.
At 2:30, we headed over to the alpaca enclosure for the Knuffle Shuffle, also lead by Jaime. While we shared our Goat Shmurgle with a group of about 20 others, there were only four others on the alpaca walk, which was awesome. It almost felt like a private tour! One alpaca is typically assigned to two people. Victoria and I were paired with Shadow, a beautiful dark brown alpaca with a sweet and gentle nature. She even posed for some photos with us!
After Jaime got the alpacas leashed up, we were ready to go for our walk. While the leashes make this a more structured experience than the goat ‘walk’, don’t kid yourself into thinking it’s easy! We had a tough time getting going with Shadow, who was more interested in eating than walking (again, I can relate) but eventually we got her into the groove of things, and even managed to go for a little jog with her. If you’re interested in seeing the whole hilarious encounter in action, check out my Instagram reel here.
After the Knuffle Shuffle, we went to check out the farm store, which sells Haute Goat branded merchandise along with various items handmade from alpaca wool (socks, mittens, dryer balls) and goat milk (soaps, creams, lip balms.)
The same building houses the Screaming Goat Café, where visitors can refuel after an action-packed day at the farm. I ordered a pink lemonade and a grilled goat cheese sandwich, served on sourdough with tomato oregano sauce (so much better than ketchup!) and potato chips. Victoria got a cider from Ganaraska Brewing Company and a brisket hand pie. We also ordered a cheese flight, which includes five different varieties of goat cheese served with crackers, jelly and strawberries. The food was all very good, and I especially loved the cheese flight. It’s just $10, which is a steal when you think of how much other places charge for charcuterie boards!
Victoria and I had such a blast at Haute Goat, and I highly recommend it to any animal-lover who’s looking for a fun day out! Every member of the team was so kind, welcoming and clearly passionate about the work they do, which made our experience that much better.
Click here to book one of Haute Goat’s farm experiences (like the Goat Shmurgle or the Alpaca Knuffle Shuffle), and keep an eye on their website to stay up-to-date on seasonal events, such as the upcoming Ghouly Goat Spooktacular. If you want to take it one step further, Haute Goat also offers overnight sleepover experiences where you can spend the night at the farm! Here’s one of the sleepover domes we spotted on our walk:
And now for a very important question… if you had to choose just one, would you rather walk an alpaca or snuggle a goat?
*Our visit to Haute Goat was generously hosted by the farm. As always, all opinions and thoughts are entirely my own.