Driving Across The Country With Leta: Our Snowy Stop At The Grand Canyon Deer Farm
Somewhere between Los Angeles and Georgia, buried in snow just outside Williams Arizona, is one of my favorite stops from any road trip I have ever taken. My friend and fellow road trip driver, Leta Taylor, and I were making our third cross country drive together, except this time we actually slowed down enough to stop at the places we always used to drive past. That decision is exactly how we ended up standing in the snow hand feeding deer, and I was so happy the whole time that getting back in the car afterward was genuinely the hardest part of the whole stop.
Leta filmed the whole trip on YouTube, and you can watch the deer farm stop, plus the very snowy drive that got us there, here.
How We Found This Place By Accident
We left Los Angeles headed toward the Grand Canyon, expecting a long but easy drive. What we did not expect was snow. A snowy mountain road turned what should have been about a one hour stretch into three, and by the time we finally made it to our hotel near Williams that night, we were exhausted. But on the way in, we both spotted a sign for a deer farm, and I was already saying pull over before Leta even finished reading it out loud.
The next morning we woke up to even more snow, played around outside like kids for a few minutes, grabbed a quick breakfast, and then finally doubled back to check it out before continuing on to the Grand Canyon. The place is called the Grand Canyon Deer Farm, a small family run spot on an old stretch of Route 66 just outside Williams Arizona, close enough to both the Grand Canyon and Sedona to make an easy addition to a road trip through that part of the state.
What It Is Like To Hand Feed The Deer
Nothing really prepares you for how gentle these deer are. They walk right up to you, nose first, and let you feed them out of your hand like it is the most normal thing in the world. They do have teeth, but you would never know it from how soft their mouths actually are against your palm. I kept saying I could not believe how calm they were, and I am pretty sure I have the proof in about fifty videos on my phone of me grinning like crazy while a deer eats out of my hand.
The deer are the main draw, but they are not the only animals on the property. We also met a zonkey, yes that is a real animal, half zebra and half donkey, and a pen of goats before we left. Beyond what we saw that morning, the farm is also home to wallabies, bison, peacocks, and an umbrella cockatoo named Mozart, plus reviews mention reindeer, a camel, mini horses, and donkeys depending on the day. It is open daily, with hours that shift a bit by season, generally 9 AM to 6 PM in the warmer months and 10 AM to 5 PM in the winter, so it is worth checking their website for current hours and pricing before you go, especially if you are visiting in the snow like we did.
Why I Was So Happy I Almost Did Not Want To Leave
By the time we actually got back in the car, I did not want to go. It sounds dramatic for a stop at a deer farm, but it genuinely became one of the best parts of the entire trip, better than I expected from something we had not even planned on doing. We spent the next stretch of the drive just smiling, scrolling back through our videos, and sending them to family because we wanted everyone to see how it felt. If you are ever driving through the Grand Canyon or Sedona area, even if it is just a quick stop on your way somewhere else, put this one on your list. It might end up being your favorite stop too.
Have you ever made an unplanned stop on a road trip that ended up being the best part of the whole thing? Tell me about it, and let me know if a deer farm just made it onto your own road trip bucket list.
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