At some point, nearly every child dreams of becoming a cowboy.
For Geri and Ken Rounds, that’s a dream they get to live out every single day.
As the owners of Rounds Ranch near Wasaga Beach, the couple has turned the former 125-acre beef farm into a playground for wannabe cowboys and cowgirls.
With a corn maze, wagon rides, a petting zoo and a western playground – to name just a few of its popular features – Rounds Ranch has become a favourite stop for families looking to go a little country.
The couple purchased the ranch in December 2001.
“It just had the house, barn and a small shop,” said Geri, adding they added the corn maze, peddle-cart racetrack, a straw maze, wagon rides and a small petting area that spring.
This wasn’t the family’s first foray into farming, having previously owned and operated Valley Farm Market just down the road. Both Geri and Ken had always had a passion to teach others the importance of farmers and farms, and it was while still living on the smaller 10-acre farm that the idea to use what they had to educate others about agriculture first came about.
With degrees from the University of Guelph in agriculture, teaming their life on the farm with educating others about farms and farm life seemed like the perfect fit.
“We had schools that were calling to visit our farm. We started getting some Scouts and Brownies, (but) it was only 10 acres and we were very limited as to what we could do,” she said. “We love to teach about agriculture. We wanted to get more land and do this in a bigger way. That’s when (the ranch) came up for sale, and we thought it would be ideal to be able to expand.”
Since 2002, the couple has expanded the popular tourist attraction, adding a mist maze in the summer, a ghost town in the fall, barrel train boxcars, and a western playground with zip lines, slides, rope ladders and a bucking bronco.
They have also expanded the petting zoo, a feature that Geri noted is particularly popular for visitors. Pony rides were also added, giving some children their first chance to ride a real horse.
“Back in the 1950s, everybody had someone they were related to that lived on a farm,” said Geri. “Every child had an opportunity to go back to the farm and experience farm life. Today, people don’t have that option.
“You talk to children, and they’ve never been on a farm, they’ve never experienced holding a chick or petting a bunny, or knowing the difference between a sheep and goat, hay and straw.”
While open to the public from the July long weekend to Oct. 31, Rounds Ranch is open to schools and other groups beginning in May for educational purposes. Part of the program for school tours in the spring, she noted, is learning about where food comes from.
“It’s a real love of mine to be able to teach people about where their food comes from,” she said.
Geri said they celebrate new life on the farm in the spring, while in the fall they celebrate the harvest. During the summer months, they offer the western experience for tourists and locals to enjoy the farm and have fun while they are there.
“Our motto is ‘learning at best is play.’ When you’re playing, you don’t even realize you’re learning.”
Geri’s favourite cowboy, her husband of nearly 25 years, is aware of just how lucky they are to get to work, live and play at Rounds Ranch.
“I wouldn’t want any other job. I get to wake up and I am at work,” he said. “I feel like it’s a real blessing.”
As a freelance corporate leader, Ken said one of his passions is doing leadership training, something he gets to do quite a bit of with the many youth groups and schools that come to the ranch.
“My heart is watching young people learning how to make right choices and learning how they can actually be in charge of their own attitude,” he said.
With close to 25,000 visitors coming through the gates each year, the Rounds know they have to keep things new and interesting in order to keep people coming back.
“We have so many things to offer – horses, mazes, activities. Some are designed specifically to create challenge and frustration for people,” said Ken, noting that when families have been surveyed about what’s created the most memorable times for them as a family, they often think back to camping experiences.
“What they remember is not when everything went smoothly, but they remember the time when it rained. When there’s a little bit of hardship and challenge, people dig in and they start to discover traits about family members they never realized.”
Ken said it’s interesting to watch families attempt to make their way through one of the ranch’s mazes.
“We will get kids who can figure it out and their parents are really frustrated,” he said. “They can’t understand how kids can be so good at it. We had one guy whose job was creating maps, and he was so frustrated that his son was able to figure it out faster than him. It’s really quite rewarding when we watch parents discover some things about their kids.”
The parents have just as much fun as the kids, added Geri.
“We promote families having fun together. We have something to offer for the young kids, and yet have stuff for all through the ages as they get older. We’re really creative with our activities and appeal to people who love to have a different experience.”
The period before Halloween is a time that Geri said can get a bit overwhelming, but it’s something she would not trade for a second.
“I love it. It’s a ton of work and you never get away from it, but I think it’s very fulfilling and rewarding.”
That being said, Geri admitted she never dreamed she’d live at a place like Rounds Ranch.
“It was a dream of ours when we met at university that we wanted to farm someday. We lived in the city for a number of years knowing that wasn’t something that felt right – farming was in our blood,” she said. “We like to take on new and different things. We try to learn as much about it as we can and take a chance.”
The biggest chance they took, she agreed, was opening the ranch.
“It’s just evolved as time goes on. There are new opportunities that you see. Our dream was to farm and have our own business, and as new opportunities presented themselves, we felt it was something we’d really like to do.”
While there often doesn’t seem like there are enough hours in the day to get everything done, Geri said one of her favourite aspects of running the ranch is getting to see the smile on the faces of children and parents alike after they’ve spent a day visiting.
“I am out there every weekend and talking to the visitors…. When you have a customer who e-mails you or comes up to you at the end of the day and thanks you, it does show all the hard work is worth it. There’s a greater purpose in everything that we’re doing here,” she said. “We’ve been given this, so we want to give it out to others.”
Ken agreed, saying despite the hard work and the frequent 12-hour days, it all pays off in the end.
“We’re in the business of creating lasting memories for families. That’s what gets me up in the morning and what it’s all about.”
Home, home on the ranch
Date: Nov 26, 2009
Ken and Geri Rounds consider themselves blessed to be able to open their farm to people of all ages. The couple, married nearly 25 years, has turned a former beef farm into a playground for visitors looking to be cowboys or cowgirls for a day.
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