Somewhere between the whitewater rafting signs and the pasture fences of southeastern Tennessee, there is a working farm where a kangaroo will lean in and take food right out of a child’s hand. Zebras graze on one side of the property, a river runs along the other, and a two-toed sloth waits inside a warm enclosure for its next round of visitors. Nothing about the drive out there suggests what you are about to walk into, which is exactly what makes it stick. For families counting gas money and weekend hours, this is the rare stop where the memory outlasts the receipt. A Working Farm Tucked Along the Ocoee River © Ocoee Riverside Farm, Benton, TN Ocoee Riverside Farm sits at 1087 Reynolds Bridge Rd in Benton, Tennessee, a small Polk County community wrapped in pasture, ridgelines, and the Ocoee River itself. Roughly 45 minutes north of Chattanooga, the farm lands almost exactly halfway between Chattanooga and Knoxville, which makes it an easy morning drive from either metro. Nashville families should plan on about 3.2 hours behind the wheel, so that one works better as an overnight than a day trip. Calling it a petting zoo undersells it. More than 100 animals representing over 50 species live here, from goats and sheep to zebras, camels, llamas, spider monkeys, fennec foxes, sugar gliders, and sloths. What separates the place from a standard roadside attraction is the format. There is no turnstile and no general admission fee. Instead, guests book specific hands-on encounters ahead of time, and staff walk small groups through each one. One practical warning worth writing down before you leave home: use Google Maps for navigation. Other apps have been known to send drivers down the wrong rural roads out here. How a Family Operation Grew Into an Animal Encounter Destination © Ocoee Riverside Farm, Benton, TN Ask around and the same two names come up: John and Donna, the owners, who guests repeatedly describe as being right there in the middle of things, leading tours and handling animals themselves. Guests mention meeting the family and the wider crew on the same visit, which tells you a lot about the scale. Staff members get named constantly in visitor accounts, usually for how patiently they handle a nervous child or an endless string of questions. Word of mouth built the rest. Some visitors say they first spotted the farm on social media and started planning from there, and a few mention waiting months for the right window to make the trip happen. The animal-care philosophy shapes the whole experience. Visitors consistently note that no animal is pushed into interacting if it is not in the mood, and that many creatures free-range across the pastures, wandering over on their own to be petted. Presentations sometimes weave in faith-based references, something families have specifically appreciated. Whatever your background, the takeaway is consistent: this is a farm run by people who clearly enjoy showing it off. Bottle-Feeding a Joey and the Kangaroo Hop © Ocoee Riverside Farm, Benton, TN Picture a kid holding a bottle while a baby kangaroo wraps both front paws around it and drinks. That is the moment families drive here for, and it runs about $19.95, though pricing can shift with the season. Adult kangaroos are woven into the general farm tours and encounters too. Guests can get close, sometimes hand-feed them, and watch the whole mob bounce around the enclosure while a guide explains how the animals actually work. For a deeper visit, the VIP Kangaroo Encounter includes a segment called the Kangaroo Hop, when the joeys come out to play. That upgrade gets added onto the farm tour by plenty of visitors, and it is the one people talk about most afterward. Kangaroos rack up more than 100 mentions in visitor feedback, second only to the sloths. Adults show up expecting the kids to be the excited ones and leave saying they are the ones now obsessed. Field trips have done the cuddling version too, with groups reporting time spent holding baby kangaroos before moving on to the next barn. Thirty Minutes Inside the Sloth Enclosure © Ocoee Riverside Farm, Benton, TN Sloths are the headliner here, mentioned nearly 250 times in guest feedback, and the farm has built two distinct experiences around them. The standard Sloth Encounter runs $64.95 per person and allows up to four guests, ages 5 and older, into the enclosure for 30 minutes. Inside, you can pet, hand-feed, and interact with one of the resident sloths while a handler explains their habits. Want more time? The VIP Sloth Encounter costs $179.95 per person, lasts a full hour, introduces you to two different sloths, and includes the chance to actually hold one. That version is limited to guests 12 and up. Resident sloths include Zoey, Flash, and Dash, plus Chloe, a two-toed sloth several visitors describe holding. One family called their daughter’s turn with Chloe the part she still cannot believe happened. Small detail with real consequences: skip perfume and lotion before your encounter. Sloths have sensitive noses, and the farm asks guests to arrive scent-free. Kids and grandparents alike book this one, and it books up, so reserve early. Camels, Mini Cows, Monkeys and the Critter Coral © Ocoee Riverside Farm, Benton, TN Camel kisses. That is a genuine option here, alongside camel rides, and school groups have come away talking about it more than anything else. The Farm Tour and Animal Encounter is the backbone booking. It covers both domestic and exotic species, includes access to the Critter Coral petting zoo, and comes with food so guests can hand-feed as they go. Fans of big shaggy livestock should look at the Mini-Moo and Petting Zoo experience, which puts you alongside miniature Scottish Highland cows for $16.95. That one is open to ages 8 and up. Spider monkeys have their own following, described by guests as adorable and thoroughly unhinged in the best way. There are also fennec foxes, sugar gliders, micro squirrels, llamas, goats, sheep, reptiles, and zebras grazing within view of the cabins. Horseback riding rounds out the lineup, and several families have paired a morning ride with an afternoon farm tour. Guests who add two or three encounters in one day report the day never dragged, largely because the guides keep the facts coming between animals. Sleeping in a Covered Wagon or the Sloth Suite © Ocoee Riverside Farm, Benton, TN Overnight lodging turns a day trip into something bigger, and the options on this farm are not ordinary rentals. Covered wagons sit near the river with individual bathrooms and fire pits, and guests can preorder firewood for the evening. Visitors describe sitting by the fire listening to a mix of wild and farm animal sounds after dark. The Riverside Cabin comes with a full kitchen, and one family said they cooked every meal there and never got back in the truck all weekend. The river runs directly behind it, close enough for morning fishing. Then there is the Sloth Suite, which grandparents and grandkids alike rave about for its hidden rooms, tunnels, and windows overlooking the sloths and other animals below. Wagon guests mention thoughtful touches: walk-in showers, ceiling heat lamps, Bluetooth speakers in the bath house, and all-natural cleaning products throughout. Practical bonus worth factoring into the budget: overnight guests often receive discounts on animal encounters, and several say they got more hands-on time simply by staying on the property. Covered wagons alone draw 33 separate mentions from visitors. Booking, Hours and What to Wear © Ocoee Riverside Farm, Benton, TN Reservations are the whole system here. Nothing runs walk-up, so pick your encounters and book them before you drive. The farm shop is open Monday through Saturday from 10 AM to 5 PM, and most animal encounters run on that same Monday through Saturday schedule. Holidays and special events can change things, so a quick phone call to 423-241-3738 before you leave is smart. There is no general admission charge at all. You pay only for the specific experiences you reserve, which means a family can build a budget-friendly afternoon around one $16.95 mini cow session and a $19.95 joey feeding for well under the cost of a nice dinner out. Closed-toe shoes are recommended for many activities, and skipping scented lotion matters if sloths are on your list. Age minimums vary by encounter, from 5 for the standard sloth visit to 12 for the VIP version. The farm stays open year-round, which makes it a solid cold-weather option when other Tennessee attractions shut down. One more time, because it matters: navigate with Google Maps. Why This One Earns the Drive © Ocoee Riverside Farm, Benton, TN Some days out cost a lot and fade fast. A kid who has bottle-fed a joey and stood inches from a sloth tends to bring it up for years. Multi-generational groups seem to do especially well here. One party of seven spanning ages 10 to 60-plus found something for every member, which is a rare thing to pull off on a single outing. Teens work too. A chaperone who brought a group reported that everyone, herself included, learned more than expected and stayed engaged through the sugar gliders and micro squirrels before the kangaroos closed things out. What comes through most in visitor accounts is the staff. Knowledgeable guides get flagged well over 200 times, and families keep noting how patient the guides are with small children. Budget-wise, start small. Book the farm tour, add one encounter that matches your kid’s obsession, and see how the day feels before committing to a VIP tier or an overnight in a wagon. Prices and schedules can shift seasonally, so confirm before you load the car. Then go let a kangaroo eat out of your hand. The post Kids Hand-Feed Kangaroos And Come Face To Face With A Sloth At This Tennessee Farm appeared first on Taking The Kids.