Prairie Moon Farm in Knoxville Illinois is home to some unique animals and fun farmyard games. Their main open season is fall (for the pumpkin patch) and winter(for the reindeer encounter) but they do have spring and summer events. For a more immersive experience you can stay on the farm in their Air Bnb Cottage! We stayed there this spring and had the best time! Here I will give you a run down of our experience and why we recommend this stay and a visit to Prairie Moon Farm in general.
The Cottage
Upon our arrival to the cottage we were greeted by some very sweet farm cats. My kids immediately loved them. The kitchen and living room are open to each other with beautiful views of the farm. There are three bedrooms, one of which has two beds in it. There’s one bathroom and a washer and dryer available. I loved the light blue and seafoam green colors throughout the house. On the counter, the hosts left some homemade apple butter and honey sticks for the kids as a gift which was so sweet!
Farm Tour
John and Miranda, the hosts and owners, gave us a tour of the farm on our first night. The kids got to pet the donkeys, alpacas and reindeer and see guineas and turkeys. We learned so much about the ins and outs raising these animals. The Alpaca and reindeer were definitely our favorite. They seem to have such character in personality about them! The reindeer still had their velvet on their antlers, which were growing at a rapid rate. This was really fun to see and feel and learn about.
While the kids loved the animals and the farm maze, I loved learning about John and Miranda‘s future plans for the farm and how far they have come already! Almost everything on the farm has been refurbished or updated by the family themselves, doing a little more every year. You can really see how much heart and soul they’ve put into updating and rebuilding these old buildings and into learning how to care for these uncommon animals.
In Town
After our farm tour, we headed 5 minutes into town for dinner. Knoxville is small, but they have a great options right downtown. Our first night we ate at Carnival where you can get carnival food all year long our second night we ate at big cats barbecue, which is right across the street from Carnival. Before heading into Carnival, we explored some of the shops downtown. We loved Jen’s Western Beauty Boutique, I could have stayed there for hours and the girls working there were so kind and helpful! We left there with 2 bedazzled pairs of cowgirl boots! While Knoxville is the closest town to the farm, Galesburg is only 10 minutes away and has so much to do! I definitely recommend checking out Galesburg’s Seminary Street while you are in the area!
Running with the Reindeer
In the evening, John and Miranda let us know that we could go visit the reindeer again with all the lights up outside after the sun had gone down. We were just excited to get to visit the reindeer again, but this part would become my son’s favorite part of the whole stay.
They go out each evening just to make sure the reindeer are good to go before bedtime, but they also get them a little exercise by racing them. There is a trail that goes all the way around the reindeer‘s enclosure. If you begin to run around the enclosure, the reindeer will run along the fence with you. At seven year-old my son likes to do anything that means running fast. For me, it was so funny to see the reindeer kick and jump to get themselves in gear for the race. I think my son ran around the enclosure three or four times with the reindeer. They definitely got their exercise that night and he loved it.
Farm Events
While the farms main seasons are fall & winter, they also have some weekend, events planned, and some big ideas planned for future seasons! Here is the schedule for their 2025 season!
May 3rd – May 11th 9:00am – 5:00pm
August 1st – 2nd 4:00pm – 10:00pm
September 6th – October 26th
Saturdays and Sundays only 9:00am – 5:00pm
November 15 – December 21
Saturdays and Sundays only 10:00am – 5:00pm
– Reindeer Encounters are by ticketed entry only, and spaces are limited!
Worth the Visit
if you are local to the area, I definitely recommend checking out the farm during their open season or during one of their events. If you are not, a stay at The Cottage is definitely the way to go for an even more immersive experience that you won’t forget! Let John and Miranda know we sent you and give the reindeer a cuddle from me!