Can I touch, feed or bathe an elephant?
No — and it's a loving no. For our residents, being touchable was the job: decades of rides, baths, tricks and photo lines. Retirement means that part of her life is over, for good. Her peace is the whole gift, and we won't take a piece of it back for anything.
If your hands need an animal to fuss over — and we understand completely — Winnie’s Farm is full of rescued goats, donkeys and old horses who genuinely want the attention. Contact lives there, happily.
Other places offer elephant encounters. Why won't you?
Because an encounter has to be produced. Somewhere behind it, an elephant is being kept willing to stand close to strangers, and that willingness always costs her something. The sanctuaries we most admire keep their herds entirely away from the public, and they're right to. We simply built the version where you can still be near enough to watch a herd live — through glass, across a meadow, on their terms.
Can I visit just for the day?
There are no day tickets, because there are no tickets. The only people on this land are overnight guests, members here for a class, and the team who works here — that's how the property stays small enough that the herd has never had to notice it.
The ways in are a stay, a membership, or one of the twelve wedding weekends a year. We know that makes us harder to see. We think it's why we're worth seeing.
Can I bring my children?
From age twelve, staying in the Long House or on a full buyout — the quiet here asks a lot of little ones. And in truth, the best hour of a child's visit usually happens at Winnie’s Farm, where the residents' whole philosophy is scratches, please.
When am I most likely to see them?
We can offer patterns, never promises. Early mornings often find the herd at the watering hole; evenings tend to draw them toward the meadow as the day cools; midday Florida heat usually means the shade of the grove. The keeper on your boundary walk will tell you where they've been all week — and then the elephants will do whatever they please, which is as it should be.
Can I take photographs?
From anywhere you're welcome to be, as many as you like — some of the meadow photos guests take from the dinner table are extraordinary. What we never do is stage one: no elephant is positioned, lit or held still for a camera, and there are no photo sessions with the herd at any price. Drones stay grounded, everywhere on the estate, always.
Can I volunteer with the elephants?
The herd is cared for by a small professional team who live on site, and keeping that circle tiny is part of how the elephants heal. The kindest ways to help are sponsoring a resident or giving to their care — though at the farm, between us, there's usually a feed bucket that could use carrying.
How do I know the elephants are truly well?
We'd rather show you than tell you. The field log is published unedited every day. An independent welfare audit is published annually. All care follows protected contact — the standard the world's most respected sanctuaries use — and we're building to Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries standards, with accreditation to be sought as soon as we're eligible. The full picture is on our about page.
How do I book?
Write to us at stay@theloviesfoundation.org with your dates and we'll take it from there — a proper booking room is being built, but for now it's a person answering, which we secretly prefer anyway.