April 13, 2023
Looking for a fun, easy, and low-cost way to start incorporating agritourism on your farm? Why not start with a farm trail? Many visitors and Vermonters alike are looking for beautiful places in which to explore the outdoors. Farm trails (or farm walks) offer visitors a healthy and safe place to be outside, engage with the working landscape, and enhance their knowledge and appreciation of agriculture.
What is a farm trail?
A farm trail can be as simple as setting up walking trails around your farm. You may already have natural walking areas on your farm that can be utilized by visitors to experience your farm and explore Vermont agriculture from a new perspective. A farm trail can be year-round, or it can be seasonal. Do you have fields in the winter that would be perfect for cross-country skiing? Or perhaps your sugarbush trails would be great for springtime birdwatching or summertime strolls.
Some farms also choose to set up self-guided tours or picnicking areas for visitors to enjoy, and some even provide small snacks or meals for purchase at their farm stand. It’s really about making the most of what you already have on your property. If you do choose to serve food, be sure to acquire the appropriate permits from your local municipality and health department. Check out the Vermont Agritourism Regulatory Guide for help determining which permits you need.
Signage
Signage on your trail is very important but should always be balanced with maintaining the natural setting your visitors come to enjoy. At the very least, you need your Act 31 sign, signs for safety precautions, and to help visitors find their way. When thinking through signage for wayfinding, be more thorough than you think you need to be. You know your property like the back of your hand, so it can be tough to see from an outsider’s perspective where direction is needed. Have some neighbors or friends try out the trail and give you feedback before opening it up to the public. You can also make it more of a self-guided tour with signage explaining your farming practices, details about the landscape, or the history of the property.
It’s also important to have signs detailing clear rules and expectations for utilizing your trails. Do you allow dogs? Can visitors pet the animals or pick your flowers? Is there a cost to utilize the trail? How can they pay? Is the trail open during certain hours, seasons, or days of the week? You can also share your social media handles and ask visitors to tag you in their posts, use your hashtag, etc. to help spread the word!
Liability and Accessibility
Vermont has strong landowner liability protections. However, these laws change if you choose to charge for access to your trails. Make sure you have strong liability insurance and post your Act 31 signs at the entrance of each trail.
Accessibility on farms is often a challenge, but there are a few things you can do to make sure your trails are accessible to more people. The first is to place seating along the trail. This is a great addition to your trail that benefits all visitors. You can also offer maps with alternative trail routes that are shorter, more easily accessible by wheelchair, etc. If your trails are capable of supporting vehicles, you might also offer an “accessibility pass” allowing select visitors to drive their vehicle instead of walking.
Promoting Your Farm Trail
Farm walks are an easy, low-cost, and low maintenance way to invite visitors onto your farm, develop deeper relationships with your community, and market your products. If you decide to incorporate trails on your farm, you can promote them on your website, through social media, in an email newsletter, or by joining the Vermont Farm Trail Network! The Farm Trail Network is a collaborative initiative of food, farming, and agritourism organizations working to create a directory of walking trails on farms across Vermont. By joining the network, your trail will be promoted on DigInVT.com and you will have access to a variety of resources including sign templates and advice from other farmers!
Thanks for reading the Marketing and Agritourism Blog! I’m your host, Kristen Brassard, Marketing & Agritourism Specialist at the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets. Stay tuned every other week for tips on marketing and incorporating agritourism practices on your farm and be sure to sign up for our Agriculture Development Newsletter so you never miss a post!