Visiting Purple Alpaca Farms

I visited an alpaca farm for the first time this weekend, and of course, I had to tell you all about it!

About Purple Alpaca Farms

After seeing a college friend visit, I immediately bookmarked Purple Alpaca Farms on Instagram (I have a collection of “Local Places to Try Soon”). Purple Alpaca Farms is a family-owned farm located in Boonville, NC. It took us right about two hours from Durham, but the bulk of the drive is a straight shot on I-40. If you are in the Triad area, it would be a quick drive.

Purple Alpaca Farms offers a few different types of experiences—Farm Tour, Alpaca Yoga, and agriculture classes. They are going to have their Glamping up and running by July too (which we are definitely going back for)! Check out their Event Calendar for more details. If you’ve always wanted to get married at an alpaca farm or are looking for an affordable menu, they do weddings too!

What to Expect

We did the farm tour on a Sunday, during which we learned about alpacas (their fleece, defense mechanisms, etc.). Did you know that alpacas can spit as far as 10 feet?! AMAZING. You also get to meet and feed their alpacas. Some alpacas are better with human touch than others (see below photo example of an alpaca not wanting pets), and they will tell you which alpacas those are.

My favorite part was feeding the alpacas because they come to you (as in they come to the the hay you are holding) and I liked sharing my bubble with them. Overall, we had so much fun and thought the tour was totally worth $12 (per adult)! The tour was scheduled for 10am-11am, but ours started a little bit late around 10:15am and ended around 11:30am. I didn’t mind at all that we went over the hour and appreciated that we weren’t rushed to be out and gone!

Purple Alpaca Farms has more than just alpacas. Upon our arrival, we were greeted by super sweet, people-friendly pups (and then by Gloria who is one of the co-CEOs). They also have chickens and ducks which you can hold if you feel comfortable (make sure you hold down their wings!!!). Out on the patio of the “Alpacafe” was an “Easter bunny” which was so cute and cuddly.

“Alpacafe” is part cafe and part gift shop, and you check in there as well. They have alpaca related items such as alpaca yarn (made from their own alpaca fibers), stuffed alpacas, and children’s books. The cafe is small but has several different beverage options and light snacks. I’ll share videos I took of the inside on Instagram so keep an eye out for those!

Other Helpful Information

If you are wondering about how you should dress for the visit to the farm, I wore my crocs and Alex wore his chacos. There are some alpaca poop throughout the farms but they are visible enough and clustered together so you can avoid stepping on them if you pay attention. I am not sure how muddy it gets on the farm after a rain so keep the weather in mind. Clothing wise, don’t wear anything too fancy since you’ll be getting alpaca scents and probably some hay on your clothes. There is a portable potty on site, but no actual bathroom with plumbing so prepare accordingly if you don’t like to use porta potties!

Would you visit an alpaca farm?