Feed Farm Animals at Hagan Community Barn in Rancho Cordova
Hagan Community Barn in Rancho Cordova is a gem near Sacramento for kids who love animals. This affordable experience lets families visit, feed, and pet farm animals at the barn. It’s an adorable outing for kids of all ages and one of the many fun things to do in Sacramento with kids.
My family and I recently visited Hagan Community Barn, and it was perfect for my 3-year-old! Check out our visit on Instagram here.
Details to Know
Hagan Community Barn is open for barn tours most Saturdays from 10am to 12pm. It’s $5 per family to visit the barn, up to 4 family members. The admission fee is cash only.
The barn will close in poor weather conditions. Additionally, they hold special events throughout the year. Some of these events have included celebrating Cupcake the Donkey’s birthday to a Rodeo Lunch. These events also tend to take place on Saturdays. While there is no age limit to visit the barn, most events have a suggested age range of 5+ years old.
In addition to the $5 admission fee, there is a daily vehicle entry fee to Hagan Community Park in Rancho Cordova. On weekends from May to September, it’s $6 per vehicle for daily entry at the kiosk to the park.
Drive all the way to the barn in Hagan Park. There is a parking lot directly in front of the barn.
What to Expect at Hagan Community Barn
There are various animals at Hagan Community Barn that kids can interact with. Barn animals include:
- Cupcake the donkey
- A goat
- Chickens
- Ducks
- Pigs
- Bunnies
- A cat
Some animals, like the donkey and goat, can be fed by visitors. A really unique experience is that kids can go right into the pen with the goat, chickens, and ducks! They can pet the animals or feed the goat.
When our family visited, the staff member took one of the bunnies out and let my son pet the bunny, too.
Hagan Community Barn is a relatively small barn. I recommend combining a barn tour with something else in Hagan Community Park or Rancho Cordova as the visit won’t take too long. I’d estimate that a barn tour will take approximately 30 minutes. It’s ideal for younger kids or preschoolers who love interacting with animals. The peaceful and calm setting is a bonus, too.
Bringing Produce for the Animals
It is not required to bring produce to feed the animals, but you certainly can bring donations. We picked up a big bag of carrots from Costco for $3.99. I figured by donating produce, we’d guarantee that our toddler would get to feed the animals since we were bringing some with us.
Bringing the carrots worked out well as he was able to feed the animals quite a bit. Additionally, other children who were there at the same time got to feed them with our carrots, too. I do think it helped make the experience even more fun.
The barn accepts fresh produce that includes carrots, apples, watermelons, pumpkins, squash, red or green bell peppers, romaine or green leaf lettuce, and mealworm for the chickens.
Other Things to Know
Beyond Saturday barn tours and special events throughout the year, Hagan Community Barn has Barn Summer Camp for kids ages 6-12 years old. They also host birthday parties.
Extend the Fun in Rancho Cordova
Sacramento Valley Live Steamers Public Run Days Train Rides
If you time your visit to Hagan Community Barn right, you can combine it with the monthly train ride in Hagan Community Park. This is what our family did!
The Sacramento Valley Live Steamers has monthly public run days during the first full weekend of each month on Saturday and Sunday from 11am to 3pm from March through September. The miniature steam train rides are right next to Hagan Community Barn. Like Hagan Community Barn, the train rides may close due to weather conditions.
I have to say, I was very impressed with this train ride. It’s one of the trains you sit on and straddle. At 15 minutes, it was much longer than I thought it would be. They put a lot of work into the track to make it a really fun family experience. You cross over bridges, and trestles, go in tunnels, and pass by waterfalls.
The train rides used to be donation-based, but they recently began charging $2 per person. Children age two and under ride for free. You can purchase train tickets online, in advance.
Hagan Community Park
If you’ve already paid the entrance fee to get into Hagan Community Park, there are many other amenities to enjoy. In addition to the Hagan Community Barn and the steam train rides, there’s a playground, duck ponds, and picnic areas.
Hagan Community Park also has many special events for kids throughout the year like their Hoppin’ & Huntin’ at Hagan Easter event, and Halloween at Hagan event.
Additionally, Hagan Community Park connects to the American River Trail. Walk or bike the trail along the American River. This trail is flat and very stroller-friendly. This All Trails route is a great guide point for the trail from Hagan Park.
Sacramento Children’s Museum
Another fun thing to do with kids in Rancho Cordova is the Sacramento Children’s Museum. This museum is more like an indoor play space with imaginative play areas for kids from babies to eight years old. Another perk is that the Sacramento Children’s Museum is one of the many museums where you can get free admission with your Sacramento Library card. The Sacramento Children’s Museum is about a 10-minute drive from Hagan Community Park.
