You Won’t Believe How Many Animals Roam This Georgia Farm

You pull into the gravel parking lot and hear them before you see them. Goats bleating.

Donkeys braying. And somewhere in the distance, a sound you cannot quite place.

Then you turn the corner and spot them. Camels.

Actual camels, right here in Georgia, standing calmly in a pasture like they belong. This farm has more animals than you would expect, wandering across fields that seem to go on forever. Llamas stretch their necks high, watching your every move.

Potbellied pigs snooze in the sun. A turkey follows you like a loyal dog.

The owner handed me a bucket of feed and pointed toward the fields. No map.

No tour. Just walk and see what you find.

Georgia has petting zoos, but this place is something else entirely.

The Camel Herd That Started It All

Scott Allen bought his first camel about thirty years ago for a Christmas pageant, and what started as a seasonal prop turned into something nobody could have predicted. That one camel became two, then a few more, and today Pettit Creek Farms is home to 21 camels and still adding to the herd.

It is the largest camel herd in Georgia, which is a title that sounds almost made up until you are actually standing at the fence watching them move.

Camels have a very specific presence. They are tall, unhurried, and surprisingly expressive, with big eyes that seem to be quietly judging every decision you have ever made.

The herd here includes animals of different ages and sizes, so you get the full range from gangly younger camels to the big, confident adults who clearly know they own the place.

What makes this herd special is not just the number but the fact that these animals are genuinely comfortable around people. Camel rides are available at the farm, and the experience is unlike anything you will find at a typical petting zoo.

You sit up high, feel that slow rolling gait, and suddenly understand why these animals were used as transportation for thousands of years. The farm also rents camels out for events, which means somewhere in Georgia right now, someone is planning a party with a camel.

Honestly, good for them.

80 Acres of Pure Unexpected Adventure

Most farms in Georgia specialize in one or two things. Pettit Creek Farms apparently decided that approach was too limiting and went a completely different direction.

The property spreads across 80 acres of land, and nearly every corner of it has something going on, from animal habitats to open pastures to seasonal event spaces.

The Allen family has owned this land since 1945, and the transition from a working crop farm to an exotic animal destination did not happen overnight. It was a gradual, deliberate shift that reflects a real passion for animals and for creating experiences that families remember long after they leave.

You can feel that history when you walk around the property. There is a lived-in quality to the place that newer attractions simply cannot replicate.

The layout gives you room to breathe and explore at your own pace, which is something I genuinely appreciated. You are not being shuffled through a tight corridor or rushed from one exhibit to the next.

The space allows for those spontaneous moments, like pausing to watch a zebra graze or finding a quiet spot near the goat pen where a kid keeps headbutting your knee for attention. Big farms like this have a rhythm to them, and once you settle into it, a few hours disappear without you even noticing.

That is a good sign for any destination.

Giraffes, Zebras, and Animals You Did Not Expect

The camels get most of the attention, and fair enough, but the rest of the animal lineup at Pettit Creek Farms is just as impressive. Giraffes are on the roster, and giraffe feeding is one of those activities that sounds simple until a massive spotted neck curves down toward your hand and you forget how to function like a normal person.

Zebras roam the property with that unmistakable striped confidence, and they are genuinely striking to see in person. Photos do not capture the way they move or the texture of their coats up close.

Kangaroos are also part of the mix, which adds an Australian wildcard to what is already a very eclectic collection of species for a Georgia farm.

Beyond the headline animals, the farm is home to reindeer, capybaras, lemurs, llamas, goats, and sheep. Each animal brings its own personality to the experience.

The lemurs have a theatrical quality about them, always moving and vocalizing like they are performing for an audience. Capybaras, on the other hand, operate at a completely different speed, slow, unbothered, and deeply content.

Having this variety in one place means every visit offers something different depending on where you wander and which animals are feeling social that day. It keeps things fresh even if you have been before.

The Petting Zoo That Wins Every Time

There is something about a good petting zoo that levels the playing field between kids and adults. Everyone ends up crouching down to the same height, holding out their hand with the same mix of hope and mild anxiety, waiting to see if the goat will actually be nice about it.

Pettit Creek Farms runs a petting zoo that delivers exactly that kind of shared experience.

Goats are the undisputed stars of any petting zoo, and the ones here are no exception. They are curious, persistent, and completely unafraid of humans, which makes them either endearing or slightly overwhelming depending on how many are surrounding you at once.

Sheep offer a calmer counterpoint, content to be petted without the same level of enthusiastic chaos their goat neighbors bring to every interaction.

What sets this petting zoo apart is the context around it. You are not just visiting animals in isolation.

The petting zoo exists within a larger farm environment where exotic animals are visible nearby, which adds a layer of wonder to the whole experience. A child who just finished feeding a giraffe and is now getting headbutted by a baby goat is having a very full day.

The petting zoo works well as both a starting point to ease into the farm and a quieter moment to wind down after the bigger animal encounters. Either way, the goats will find you.

Hayrides Through a Living Landscape

Hayrides have a way of slowing everything down, and at Pettit Creek Farms, that slowness is actually the point. You climb onto the wagon, find a spot among the hay bales, and suddenly the farm reveals itself at a pace that walking never quite captures.

The fields open up, the animals come into view from different angles, and you get a sense of just how much land this place actually covers.

The ride gives you a moving panorama of the farm, and the perspective from the wagon is genuinely different from being on foot. You spot animals you might have missed, notice the way the property transitions from one habitat to another, and get a few minutes to just sit and take it all in without any agenda.

For families with young kids who are starting to run out of steam, the hayride is a perfect reset.

There is also a communal quality to a hayride that other activities do not quite replicate. You are sharing the experience with whoever else climbed on, and there tends to be a lot of pointing and laughing and exclaiming when something unexpected shows up near the trail.

I watched a group of strangers bond over the sudden appearance of a camel near the fence line, and honestly it was one of the more charming moments of the whole visit. Simple pleasures, good company, and a very slow tractor.

PumpkinFest and Christmas Lights: Seasonal Magic on the Farm

Pettit Creek Farms is not just a year-round animal destination. It transforms seasonally in ways that make return visits feel completely different from what came before.

PumpkinFest turns the farm into a fall celebration, leaning into everything that makes October in Georgia feel special, pumpkins, cooler air, and the particular energy of a crowd that is genuinely happy to be outside.

The Christmas Lights event takes the farm in an entirely different direction. The property gets lit up in a way that changes the whole atmosphere after dark, and seeing animals like camels and reindeer in that glowing seasonal context adds a layer of magic that is hard to replicate anywhere else.

Reindeer at a Christmas lights event at a farm that also has actual camels is a combination that deserves more recognition than it gets.

Seasonal events like these are what turn a one-time visit into an annual tradition for families. The farm gives people a reason to come back at different points in the year, and each event adds its own flavor to the experience without losing what makes the place special in the first place.

Planning a trip around one of these events is worth doing if your schedule allows it. Checking the farm’s calendar before you go is a smart move, because these events draw crowds and the experience is better when you know what to expect when you arrive.

Why Pettit Creek Farms Belongs on Your Georgia Road Trip List

Georgia has no shortage of things to do, but Pettit Creek Farms occupies a category that very few places can claim. It is genuinely one of a kind, not in the way that marketing materials use that phrase, but in the literal sense that there is nowhere else in the state where you can ride a camel, feed a giraffe, and watch a capybara exist peacefully in the same afternoon.

The farm works for a wide range of visitors. Families with young children get the animal interaction and sensory richness that makes a day feel full and memorable.

Adults without kids find the exotic animal collection legitimately fascinating, especially once you start learning the backstory of how each species ended up on an 80-acre farm in Cartersville. The history of the Allen family and how this place evolved over decades adds real depth to what could otherwise feel like just a tourist stop.

Road trips through Georgia often follow predictable routes, hitting the same landmarks and stopping at the same spots. Adding Pettit Creek Farms to that itinerary breaks the pattern in the best possible way.

It is the kind of place you mention to someone afterward and watch their expression shift when you say the words “largest camel herd in Georgia.” The conversation always goes somewhere interesting from there. Address: 337 Cassville Rd, Cartersville, GA 30120.