Heritage Farms

The campground has 15 primitive sites: nine tent sites, three A-frame sites and three Adirondack-style shelters. Reserve ahead. Sites are walk-in from the parking area, no more than 300 yards away, and roughly 50 yards apart. Each has a picnic table and fire ring. Porta-johns are provided, but there is no running water or shower; bring your own water. Bottled water and firewood are sold at the farm, and outside firewood is not allowed. If you want to bring a pet camping, ask the farm for permission before arrival.

Pumpkin Pandemonium is the fall draw, with pumpkins, hayrides, a corn maze and family activities. In winter, visitors come to choose and cut Christmas trees. The farm’s offerings change with the season, and the food is seasonal too, so do not count on it as a regular meal stop.

The farm’s history starts with Lawson Waterman, who came to Peninsula from New York in 1836 and built canal boats before assembling farmland over several decades. The present farmhouse dates to 1852 and is one of only two original farm buildings still standing. This is a piece of the valley’s working history, not a recreated village.

The family first planted Christmas trees in 1955, after generations of other farming. In 1978, the National Park Service bought 144 acres of the original farm, including the Christmas-tree plantings then in the fields; the farmhouse and main buildings remained with the private farm. The nearby Tree Farm Trail runs alongside the farm’s large tree fields, so you can see the rows on a walk through the valley even when you are not visiting during tree season.