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Carousel Acres Petting Farm: Amazing Day of Family Fun

Nestled on the west end of South Lyon is a wonderful little gem of a farm and petting zoo. Carousel Acres Petting Farm known for their mobile petting zoo for parties and events, also has a home base in metro Detroit!

Carousel Acres Petting Farm

Carousel Acres, South Lyon, MI

This weekend we had a fun visit at Carousel Acres in South Lyon, MI. I took my niece for her special 7th birthday outing, since she absolutely loves animals and requested a farm visit. Carousel Acres did not disappoint. My preteen daughter tagged along as well. The girls had a fun walking around and feeding/visiting the many animals they have on site. Some of the animals they have on site include typical farm animals like goats, pigs, horses, donkeys, geese, chickens, bunnies, and cows, but also kangaroos, emus, foxes, parakeets, reindeer, a kookaburra, and a tortoise named Tom. After parking and paying admission, we were given a tour guide to walk us through the farm before we explored on our own. We started by feeding the parakeets in the aviary.

Carousel Acres Petting Farm

One of the things that makes this zoo special is the ability to get close and pet and or feed many of the animals. We were able to feed the birds, brush the donkeys, horses and zedonk (zebra/donkey) and pet the goats and sheep. For my visually impaired niece, this was truly a gift. The animals were calm and genuinely loved the interaction.

Carousel Acres Petting Farm


Another great feature is that this zoo is completely manageable in an hour or two. We happened to go on a very hot Saturday morning, but we arrived right as they opened and stayed about an hour and a half. We probably would have stayed longer if it wasn’t so hot. The animals all seemed very well cared for with adequate space and places to cool themselves. Oliver is the big bull and he was described to us by our farm guide as a real-life Ferdinand. He loved getting all the pets through the fence.

Bathrooms and Accessibility

There is one port-a-potty available on the farm. There were plenty of benches to take a break if needed, but I can imagine it would be hard to navigate a stroller, walker or wheelchair in some muddy areas. We wore tennis shoes and walked through our fair share of mud (and manure). The distance between animals is not very far and could be doable for a person with limited mobility. All fences and enclosures can accommodate persons in larger bodies. Pony rides are limited to children weighing less than 90 pounds and the playground equipment has a weight limit of 75 pounds.

Carousel Acres Petting Farm

Playground and Other Things to Do

There are plenty of other things to do on the farm before or after visiting the animals. There is a place to shoot some hoops, play volleyball, and play tetherball. You can lasso a wooden horse with a hula hoop, bounce on an inflatable unicorn, race some rubber duckies with a water pump or roll down a mini roller coaster. There are lots of fun places to take pictures too!

We did not stay long in the play area, as it was already very hot outside. However there were teeter-totters, spinning toys, things to climb and a giant sand box as well.

Carousel Acres Petting Farm

Carousel Acres Petting Farm Location and Hours

The farm is located around a 35 minute drive from our metro Detroit home, within minutes of Novi.

The farm’s address is 12749 9 Mile Rd, South Lyon, MI 48178

Carousel Acres Petting Farm Hours:
Monday – Friday 10am until 2pm.
Saturday & Sunday 10am until 3pm.


Carousel Acres Petting Farm Admission and Fees

Admission is $9 per person 1 year and up. Pony rides are available for another $9/person. Cash, check as well as Venmo is accepted as payment.

Connect with Carousel Acres

Website | Facebook | Instagram

Check out some of the other petting farms and zoos in Metro Detroit.

Julie McKeeman
Author: Julie McKeeman

Julie is first and foremost a mom of two amazing kiddos, Elliott and Bennett. She is an elementary school librarian whose passion is to create safe spaces for all children.