Tour History
Farms & Ranches of Years Past
The tour lineup changes each year. Here are the farms, ranches and preserves that have opened their gates in past seasons.
Selected Past Years
The lineup changes every season, and this archive is being filled in as material from earlier years is recovered — the years below are the ones we have records for so far. Entries describe each site as it was in its tour year.
2025
- Sierra Foothill Conservancy
- The Stookey Preserve, where regenerative seasonal grazing builds healthier soils, wildlife habitat, and native plant and pollinator populations.
- Raw Roots Farm
- A no-till, regenerative and certified-organic farm in operation since 2012, growing over 100 varieties of vegetables and fruits.
- Sierra Cider
- An orchard of 800 trees and 20 apple varieties — hand-crafted hard ciders, fresh juice, and cider slushes from rare and heirloom cider apples.
- Mount Bullion Vineyards
- The Casto Oaks estate vineyard and cellar, where visitors walked the rows and learned the winemaking process from vine to bottle.
- Aurum Vineyard
- An 8.5-acre vineyard at 3,000 feet elevation with a reputation for exceptional Cabernet Sauvignon and Sangiovese.
2022
- Big Table Ranch
- An events venue and gathering place established in 2015 — “when you have more than you need, build a bigger table, not a higher fence” — which opened its permaculture and food-forest gardens to tour visitors.
- MoonShine Ranch
- A 330-acre working cattle ranch near historic Coulterville (est. 1999), then running Angus and Watusi cattle while restoring its oak woodlands and wildlife habitat.
- Wild Fire Ranch
- An 87-acre dryland sheep ranch above Coulterville — home at the time to a flock of registered Shetlands, working Border Collies, and Jan DeShera’s weaving studio.
- Northern Mariposa County History Center
- A museum in Coulterville’s historic Coulter Hotel and mercantile buildings, whose exhibits covered the Miwuk, Chinese, mining and ranching eras, 1849 through the 1920s.
2017
The 2017 tour also featured a Farm-to-Fork brunch at Raw Roots Farm.
- Raw Roots Farm
- A small, 3-acre no-till fruit and vegetable farm in Catheys Valley, then growing over 100 varieties of produce for its CSA and farmers’ markets.
- Mount Bullion Vineyard
- Harold and Kris Casto’s six oak-studded acres, where the family made award-winning Casto Oaks wines from Mariposa-grown grapes.
- Butterfly Creek Winery
- A 200-acre property 45 minutes from Yosemite where the Gerken family, in Mariposa since 1972, produced award-winning estate wines.
- Harris Roping Arena
- A roping arena that welcomed 2017 visitors with live demonstrations celebrating California’s vaquero roots and cattle-roping tradition.
- JJ’s Garden
- JJ Gillispie’s experimental container garden of 2017 — raised beds built from repurposed materials, with drip irrigation to conserve water.