Farms with animals for kids around Boston

The moment a 2-year-old locks eyes with a goat beats any museum. Boston's west suburbs are lucky: several real farms sit 15 to 25 minutes away, and two of them are free.

Drumlin Farm in Lincoln is Mass Audubon's farm and wildlife center in one, with pigs, sheep, cows and chickens as well as owls and foxes; Gore Place in Waltham and Wright-Locke in Winchester are free, with sheep and goats to watch over the fence, and an hour is just right. For more of an event, Belkin Family Lookout Farm in Natick has a train ride and play area, and Smolak in North Andover has an animal area and donuts. Davis Farmland, built for small kids, lets you into the pens to feed lambs and adds a spray park in summer; it's worth the hour's drive.

• 6 places
• 2 free
• 6 stroller-friendly
• closest is 15 min away