The Moon Farm has been an iconic Fruita landmark and a destination for kids and mountain bikers of all ages for over 40 years. Wallace and Ella Moon started it all in 1954. Wallace was a carpenter. Ella was a creative housewife. She taught dance classes in the basement for many years. They adopted seven children; Earl, Mary Joan, Mike, Nick, Anna, David and DiAnn. Wallace and Mike built the tree house which was the first playhouse at the farm. DiAnn also wanted a playhouse, so one was built for her. That is how the idea for the Moon Farm buildings started.
Dave Moon has been a part of the Fruita mountain biking community from the very beginning. You might even say he played an integral part in starting the Fruita mountain biking craze back in the late 80’s. But that is another story. For now we focus on the farm. What goes on out there besides the pumpkin patch in the Fall? We tracked down Dave Moon to get the scoop.
What is up with the Moon Farm?
Moon Farm in the beginning
In 1965, I invited my kindergarten class to the farm for a field trip. At that time there were only three buildings and one horse to ride. After that, more schools started coming out to the farm for field trips. Still every year thousands of school kids come out for their field trips. Moon Farm got its name from all the kids saying that they were going to Moon’s Farm. My mother decided she wanted a new building built every year for the school kids to enjoy. Our whole family pitched in to help with the construction of all the different buildings at Moon Farm. My Dad retired in 1975 and Moon Farm Day Camp was started in 1976. A lot of the day camp kids helped with the building of Moon Farm. The camp ended in 2007. Moon Farm has been an important part of the community for the past 45 years.
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- Country Store
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- The Italian House
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- The Castle
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- The pumpkin patch headquarters
There are now more than 30 buildings with unique collections of antiques and artifacts including one of the largest Barbie Doll collections around!
What are some of the most popular attractions at Moon Farm?
The kids love the rabbits and baby animals. The adults enjoy looking at all of the collections with lots of antiques. Besides the Barbie Doll Collection Moon Farm also is the home to The Clown House, The Egyptian Temple, Fort Apache, The Italian House, The Jungle, The Mexico Alamo and many, many more.
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Who visits Moon Farm?
Mainly school groups, families and lots of people that got word of our collections.
Do mountain bikers really come to Moon Farm?
Mountain bikers stay at our two vacation rentals on the property. They enjoy being close to the 18 Road trails, exploring Moon Farm and relaxing by our fire pits in the evening
Where do mountain bikers stay at Moon Farm?
The large farmhouse with full amenities sleeps 12 plus. We also offer the two bedroom Outpost that sleeps four to six. They both have a locked bike shed, grassy yard and fire pit.
Needless to say, Moon Farm is a unique place that everyone should check out when they get a chance and if you plan on doing some biking in Fruita, you might want to check in and stay awhile.
Take a video tour of the farm or just show up and check it out in person. That’s way more fun! The farm is located at 1360 18 1/2 Rd, Fruita, CO 81521
If you want to reserve one of the houses, do it soon. They book up fast!
Moon Farm Vacation Rentals from Facing West Media, LLC on Vimeo.
