Hodges Farm in Charlotte NC was expensive and definitely not all that. I've been to far better farms with the kids...
My wife and I were looking for a nearby farm to take the kids do that would be fun where they could see horses, goats, pigs, etc… we searched on Google for the area surrounding Charlotte NC to include Mooresville, Statesville, Harrisburg and Matthews. The closest farm that we found was called Hodges Farm and they had a website HodgesFarmNC.com.
So I visited their website which looks like it was created or written by a three-year-old. There is not a lot of information on there and it tells you to call their local lumber for more information and hours. So I called and got a message from this deep redneck that was kind of hard to understand and sounded like a Southern version of Gomer Pyle.
It instructed me to leave a message and that they would call back. They never did. So being that wasn’t far way we decided to venture over there and see what it was all about. When we got there and was probably about 30 cars parked out front and you could see they had a worse in a pen that they were walking in circles and they would let kids take rides on it.
They also had a very small maze made out of corn stalks which was kind of boring to walk through. They had hayrides for five dollars per person. So we decided to take the kids on a hay ride. They had a big flat trailer that could fit probably 50 or 60 people in it and were pulling it behind a regular farm tractor.
The farmer himself drove the tractor and it was kind of a slow and very short hayride. I have had far better hayrides at farms in New York, Pennsylvania and even Maryland and Virginia. That ride wasn’t worth a dollar. I would definitely not recommend the hayride there because all they did was go around one of the pumpkin patches and that was extremely boring. Even the kids thought it sucked.
Then we got back there rose to little goats in a pen, and a bunny and a rooster. Then there was another pen with three little pigs that were trying to hide themselves in the mud. Not much entertainment there at all. Then there was a bigger fenced in area with a donkey in it that looked like they had cleaned out that area in months because it was completely filled with the donkeys excrement. The poor donkey was standing there in his own poop looking very unhappy.
In other words there wasn’t much to look at with farm animals. The old farmer from time to time did make announcements on his PA system mostly telling people to go and get ready for the hayride or to pick their own pumpkins out of the pumpkin patch. If you did as most people and picked some pumpkins and brought them back to the shed at the front where the farmer was to pay for it, you might be in for a surprise.
What you thought was reasonable priced pumpkins and they state this on their website – definitely was not. Their smallest pumpkins which are the size of a softball were six dollars. Then they won up to $15 or more. I’m sorry, but it the local Trader Joe’s they have the same ones that Hodges Farm had for $15 for $3.99! And the funny thing is the ones at Trader Joe’s were prettier and in better shape.
And to top it off if you want your child to ride on the horse which was just three tiny little loops of this small tiny pen it cost $10. In my opinion Hodges Farm on Rocky River Rd. is nothing more than a profit generating machine for the farmer and his family. There are other farms in the area which are far better, have far more for your family to see, have far better hayrides, far more farm animals and even far better prices on things from pumpkins to horse rides.
If you’re looking for a farm for some fun for your family I recommend you look elsewhere like Patterson farm in Moorsesville. We went to Patterson farm the following week and the kids absolutely loved it. Patterson Farm was far better then Hodges Farm. I don’t recommend Hodges Farm at all.
Harsh! Of course farmers are trying to make a profit. They have families to feed, and taxes to pay, just like the rest of us. This insulting review does give some facts which may be helpful, but the tone is so ugly, it forces the reader to wonder about the character of the author, the proverbial “Pot” that judges the Kettle.
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Hey, I visited Hodges Farms and I must concur. Maybe that persons review sounded little angry. If you are a city dweller in search of a taste of rural life . . . then keep on driving. Go on down the road. I mean could that not at least use a mule to pull the haywagon? I thought their roadside vegetable stand was recycled from the local grocery store, they didn’t even bother to remove the stickers. Oh and Gomer was a little pompous.
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Although NC dad might have sounded a little irate, I certainly understand his rationale. Personally, I thought the website was great. Of course it was downhill from there! Save your money, stay home and enjoy the website. Seriously . . . We visited last year during the holidays. They don’t even grow their own Christmas trees at Hodges Farm. They have them hauled in from the mountains and then double the price. The Hodges X-mas trees are old, turning yellowish and shedding. By the time you can get one home, it’s ready for the wood chipper. I seriously doubt if they grow their own pumpkins either. You take a couple of kids for an afternoon outing and you will easily spend more than if you went to Carowinds. It’s a cheap tourist trap–basically a rip off. It does very little to exemplify rural life on a farm. It’s merely a frankie farmer get rich quick scheme. It’s sad that so many people are duped into wasting their hard earned money. I would bet that very few return a second time. I must agree with the last reviewer, the farmer himself is rude and arrogant in a homespum . . . AW Shucks sort of way. Don’t waste your time or money at Hodges Farm. There are much better ways to spend a Saturday afternoon with the kids.
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About the farm
I am so sorry you did not enjoy the farm. A few facts. There is no charge for admission – the six dollars if the least we charge because everything goes through a credit card machine and thats as low as we can process. You can get as big a pumpkin as you want – we don’t price the pumpkins , we don’t even look at them. YOU tell us how much they are . Anybody that prices a pumpkin gets fired on the spot. The customer prices the pumpkin , always!!! YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BUY A PUMPKIN .
It would take two mules to pull a wagon with ten people on it . They would need to be changed out every two hours . 12 hours a day — hmmm -12 mules a day. Every other day off – that’s 24 mules with at least six back up mules for the month —30 mules.
Mules are slow – no brakes -They kick and bite- get sick, injured. They are dangerous if you have a hundred kids run around that might spook them . Let me think about that. The hay ride is a little over half a mile long . About thirty mins by mule – the first trip.
The maze was planted twice and it was sorghum , not corn .POOR WEATHER HURT IT – I have no control over the weather.Kids throw ears of corn – they hurt!!! It’s not a adult maze – only about 5 acres – and it is for the kids to play in. Bigger than that and they get lost. AND ITS FREE.
Our animals are not potty trained – pens are cleaned every day. They are turned out to pasture at night.
Admission is FREE –You price your pumpkin – you do not have to buy one – the kids are asked when they want to get off the horse – three laps is about the average- the maze is free and for small children only . We can not compete with walmart prices but then who can??? yes they are not all perfect as they have been picked over and like us they are not all perfect. If you want a perfect pumpkin go to Walmart – enjoy the trip.
Our policy is if you are not pleased you get your money back – period. Most people pay at check out on the honor system . We never price our pumpkins – you do. If an employee prices a pumpkin they are fired on the spot. If you want adult entertainment go to Vegas. We do it for kids. the Adults just drive them here.
No dogs allowed – period – some bite and they all scare the kids to death. This was our number one complaint. we had three complaints this past year out of ten thousand visitors.
If you are special and you think this rule stupid , so be it . nobody wants a pumpkin your dog peed on .
Yes , I am a little like Gomer – a little country – I talk funny. I work a 80 hour week and try to make a living farming.
This is not a business – it’s my home. It’s not a showplace . The house is a hundred years old . The tin roofs are a little rusty and the tractor could use a good wax job. The animals are much loved but they could use a bath this week. It gets muddy when it rains and dusty when it dry.
Some people don’t know what it’s like to live on the land . It’s hard.The money is a joke. The work can be brutal. I love it but if you want a tourist site there is always the petting zoo at Myrtle Beach . I hear it’s air conditioned.
This review is just so unjust in my humble opinion.
Why don’t you try it – after all it’s FREE.
Frank Hodges
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Lol..Sometimes trying to be cheap ends up backfiring on parents like you.
Talk about a bit of justice going on there HAHAHA
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Well, what did you and your kids expect to find on a (especially tiny) farm like this one anyway? Some three-dimensional pig dancing and chanting ‘Boom chakka chakka chakka’? Seriously, it’s a f-a-r-m, not a carnival. Yes, while you all may be damn disappointed, its time to face the cold, hard truth – you asked for it. Just saying.
Next time, do your ‘homework’. Look up reviews, ask peoples’ opinions on the place you’re considering to visit. It pays to know what to expect in terms of excitement, you know.
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Just to comment on the Christmas tree statements above…no one grows Christmas trees in Charlotte. Christmas trees are grown in the mountains. All local Christmas tree lots bring in trees from the mountains. I have gotten my tree from Hodges Farm for the last two years and they were the best, freshest trees I have ever gotten. I have never seen where they claim they grow their own Christmas trees. As far as the pumpkins, hard to believe they weren’t grown there when I have actually cut them off the vine that is growing out of the ground. I am sure running a farm is a difficult job…cut some slack!
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I agree with the complaint. The response from the farm about the pony ride is absurd. Here is my response to their comments.
“Anybody that prices a pumpkin gets fired on the spot. The customer prices the pumpkin , always!!!”
This is not true. The farm displays example prices for different sizes and let customers compare their picks to the samples. Then customers had to tell the price based on their comparison. This is even worse than setting a price by the farm since it makes customers feel guilty if they prices a pumpkin, even if it is uglier than the samples, less then sample size. Also, this pricing is not informed before you walked over long distance to pick ugly pumpkins and return to the counter.
“YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BUY A PUMPKIN .”
Come on! You advertised and attracted customers as ‘pumpkin patch’. We drove all the way to the farm and found no pretty pumpkins, and then you say this? This is not very responsible answer. Who pays our gas? You should have at least some usable pumpkins if you advertise it as pumpkin patch.
“the kids are asked when they want to get off the horse – three laps is about the average- the maze is free and for small children only . ”
Then, why don’t you reduce the price to $5 instead of charging $10 for 100ft ride? Kids don’t know about the price, they just want to ride it. Then, the consequence is either that the farm rips off parents, or makes parents feel bad for having sad kids.
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