Friends of Deer Hollow Farm

The mission of Friends of Deer Hollow Farm is to preserve Deer Hollow Farm as a working homestead, and support the historical and environmental education program for the benefit of all in our community.

Deer Hollow Farm (DHF) is an educational farm located in the Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve (here is a map). Rancho San Antonio Preserve is the most visited in the open space district because of the unique setting including the farm and adjacent county park. The program offers school year classes in Farm and Garden, Ohlone Native Americans, Wilderness, and serves as a summer day camp. Approximately 5000 local children reap the benefits. The farm is open to the public Tuesday through Sunday from 8AM to 4PM, with the exception of Wednesday afternoon when it is closed from 1-4PM. If you are interested, here is a photo album showing the spirit of the farm.(The album is a PDF file.)
To reach the staff at Deer Hollow Farm, email DeerHollowFarm@mountainview.gov or call 650-903-6430.

Friends of Deer Hollow Farm was formed in 1994. The five-member all-volunteer board of directors and the many generous donors all believe that Deer Hollow Farm is a rare Silicon Valley community educational center that must be preserved and supported. It's one of the last working homestead farms in Silicon Valley, a truly historic farm. More than 100,000 people visit the Farm each year, and 5,000 children come for field trips and Summer Camp. The City of Mountain View provides Farm management and supplies; Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District provides the land, buildings and maintenance; the County of Santa Clara and the cities of Los Altos Hills and Cupertino provide Farm operations support. Friends of Deer Hollow Farm funds Farm operations, field trip scholarships, animal care and Farm improvements. Together these community funding partners support the Farm with about $500,000 per year. For more information, please see this presentation about Deer Hollow Farm and Friends of Deer Hollow Farm. (The presentation is a PDF file). Also, see Friends of Deer Hollow Farm's brochure. (The brochure is a PDF file).

WHERE YOUR TAX DEDUCTIBLE DONATION GOES. Friends of Deer Hollow Farm is a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation. Funds are raised from individual donations and corporate and community organization grants. In addition, we sponsor special-event public fund-raisers: Fall Ohlone Day and the three Spring public Farm Tours. Friends also sells merchandise such as hand-made note cards, plant and animal identification cards, bookmarks featuring original photos of the Farm and Preserve, T-shirts, sweatshirts, mugs and many other farm-related items.

Our 2011-2012 budget expenditures are projected at $71,000. The largest part of that is a directed donation of $35,000 to support general operations of the farm.

Spring Farm Tours: Meet the Animals Visit Deer Hollow Farm's new farm babies at the 2012 Farm Tours. Trained docents will be stationed in the animal pens, explaining animal care and what life was like on a homestead farm.The final public tour will be on Saturday, May 19 from 10 am to 1 pm. Last barnyard entrance will be at 12:30 pm.

Meet the new lambs and goat kids, as well as the cow, pigs, chickens, rabbits, ducks, goose, sheep and goats. Spend some time with these animals on one of the last remaining homestead farms in the Bay Area. Walk through century-old farm buildings, a large organic garden and orchard, and learn what daily life was like just 150 years ago, when most Americans lived on homestead farms like Deer Hollow Farm. Enjoy fun, interactive activities and hands-on-learning in the Farm's Nature Center. Plant a bean to take home and enjoy refreshments in the Hay Barn.

For more information, read the 2012 Farm Tours flyer (the flyer is a PDF file).

Ohlone Day: A Living History Festival Friends of Deer Hollow Farm's 2012 Ohlone Day fund-raiser will be held in October 2012 at Deer Hollow Farm's replica Ohlone Village from 1 pm to 4 pm.

The festival offers a chance for the public to spend an afternoon in the Farm's Ohlone Village normally closed to the public. Step into the daily lives of the original Bay Area inhabitants, the Ohlone, who lived here for thousands of years. The replica underground sweathouse and Tule shade and sleeping structures will be open, and trained docents will provide short talks on how the Ohlone lived. For more information, read the 2012 Ohlone Day flyer (the flyer is a PDF file).

Nature Center Open. Come visit Deer Hollow Farm's Nature Center and see a preserved and mounted mountain lion as well as a deer, bobcat, fox, owls and hawks. Besides these exhibits, there is a popular "Touch Table" for hands-on learning about animals, birds, trees, and plants indigenous to Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve. The Nature Center is open on the third Saturday of each month from 9 am to 12 pm in the summer and 10 am to 1 pm in the winter.

Exhibits include animal skins, field guides, and skeletons. Learn about the Ohlone, the Bay Area's original inhabitants for thousands of years and see the tools they used for daily living. The Nature Center walls are covered with original photos of the Preserve's animals and birds taken by volunteers. Friends of Deer Hollow Farm volunteers staff the Nature Center. The Nature Center also features a booth with many homemade items such as bird houses, laminated animal and wildflower ID cards, bookmarks, and a Grant Pioneer Family History Booklet. See the enclosed flyer.