Feather Down Farms Kinnikinnick Farm, Caledonia, Illinois; Stony Creek Farm, Walton, New York; Ambrosia Farm, Bridgewater, New York

Field work: Feather Down partnered with three farms across the country providing luxury tents and booking services so the farmers don't have to. At the small organic Kinnikinnick Farm northwest of Chicago, guests can help gather the organic Italian cooking greens, baby arugula, chicory, and 26 varieties of tomatoes that end up in the kitchens of some of Chicago's top restaurants. Stony Creek Farm, in New York's Catskill Mountains, serves sausage from farm-raised heirloom pigs for breakfast, then invites guests to spend the day visiting the guinea hens, sheep, turkeys, and the resident dairy cow, Sierra. Along New York's Unadilla River, Ambrosia Farm lets visiting children adopt cuddly chicks, ducklings, or goat kids for the week; ride ponies; and help the farmers pick heirloom-variety produce. Adults can dig in even further with classes that include woodworking, sustainable farming, animal husbandry, and foraging.

Farm table: Feather Down aims to help you unplug and slow down, so in lieu of a restaurant, they have an "honesty shop" stocked with edibles such as farm-fresh eggs, locally made cheeses and jams, which you can cook over your antique wood-burning stove or in the communal outdoor brick oven. They'll also deliver baskets with ingredients, firewood, recipes, and cooking utensils for open-fire stews and soups.

Bedtime: The massive furnished tents have a Green Acres-meets-Little House on the Prairie look, with reclaimed wood cabinets, a roughly hewn table surrounded by mismatched vintage chairs, and a black wood-burning stove whose chimney sends puffs of smoke through the top of the tent. Adding to the ambience is the lack of electricity—you'll eat dinner by the light of candles and antique lanterns.

Feather Down Farms
Tel: 716 226 6323
From $525 for two nights for up to six people (closed November 16 through March 31)

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