Hillside Farm

Started in 1994, many of our farmers grew into their own farms. Steve, the first farm manager, built rich soils and local selling. He married, became a Waldorf farm teacher, and raised a crop of children.

Growing Safflower in 2004-2006 was an experiment with UC Davis Agriculture Extension to show the viability of growing oil crops for BioDiesel: GrowGas: Dryland farming Safflower in the Sierra Foothills.

2008 brought on a host of new and local farmers from Nutt'n Flat Farm. In 2011 Jonathan took over and expanded up the hillside earning enough to buy his own nearby farm: Hawk'n Fox Farm.

The Hillside - Intense sun makes sweet vegetables and fruit

Owners Mark and Sharon are now looking for a new live-in Farm Manager who wants to move organic growing and community involvement into a future of high productivity, modern techniques, automation and diversity. Mixing traditional, hi-tech, and greenhouse growing techniques, we want to make this a profitable, sustainable and fulfilling opportunity for the right person/people.

Nearby Mountains and Wildflowers

California's Sierra Nevada Foothills are rich with '49er gold rush history (several ancient gold mines on property), sun, wildlife, and outdoor activities. As a home county to Yosemite National Park, the surrounding High Sierras are an outdoor mecca of summer hiking, rock climbing, rafting/kayaking/boating, and skiing. See below this list of many national, state, and locally designated wilderness areas, Wild Scenic Rivers, forests, and Parks. The college across the street has miles of hiking trails and a PAR course. 1500 feet of agriculture water canal (flume-ditch originating in the 1800s gold rush) crosses us and can be walked to the High Sierra. 38 inches of winter rain provides ample stored water during the cloudless summers. Hillside Farm has 12 acres of fields, orchards, hillside terraces, and the upper "wilderness".

Crow's distance to surrounding outdoor recreation, parks, lakes, wildernesses, camping, hiking, boating and climbing:

• Yosemite National Park - 32 miles

• Columbia College flume trail to PAR course, library, lake, trails, tennis courts, sports arena, Arboretum rock climbing and classes - .1 miles

• Marble Quarry Campground, trails and Labyrinth world class climbing - .5 mile

• Columbia Historic State Park ghost town, stagecoach rides, nature trail, museums, mock gunfights, picnicking, and Labyrinth Rock Climbing - .7 miles

• Organic Grocery Markets, 8 different restaurants, festivals, farmer markets, family taverns, shops - 1 mile

• Blewetts Point overlook trail - 1 mile

• Stanislaus National Forest (unlimited dispersed camping) - 1 mile

  • Emigrant Basin Wilderness Area - 22 miles

  • Carson-Iceberg Wilderness Area - 32 miles

• South Fork Italian Bar Gold mining/panning, Lost Duchess Mine and endemic Fawn Lilies - 2 miles

• Columbia Airport Fly-ins Campground, Nature Trail, Yosemite Flight Tours, Flight School and wildfire tanker bases - 2 miles

• New Melones Lake Recreation Area, Parrots Ferry, Windsurfing, Canoeing, Upper Stanislaus Rafting-Kayaking and Campgrounds - 3 miles

• Irrigation ditch hike and Mountain Biking trail to the high-country - 3 miles (starts on property)

• 5-mile Creek and waterfall High Mountain Running Course - 13 miles roundtrip from driveway

• Sierra Outdoor School, Old Oak Ranch youth center, Summer Camps, Winter Snow Sledding - 5 miles

• Sonora old town, Red Church and Dragoon Hiking trail. Supermarkets, Hardware, Big-Box stores - 5 miles

• Natural Bridges, Table Mountain ancient lava flow and trails. Coyote Creek and Moaning Limestone-Marble Caves - 5 miles

• Tuttle Town, Mark Twains Cabin, and Glory Hole Recreation Areas, boat ramps, water skiing, sailing and campground - 7 miles

• Murphys old town, Ironstone Winery, Concert Grounds and Museums (locally found, world's largest gold nugget is exhibited) - 8 miles

• Stanislaus River swimming holes: Camp Nine, Candy Rock, Gods Bath, Cleos Bath, Rainbow Pool and waterfall - 10-20 miles

• Red Hills Critical Environmental, Wildflower and hiking area, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) - 12 miles

• Table Mountain, Peoria Flat, Grotto climbing and hiking area - 8 miles

• Tuolumne River National Wild and Scenic River for whitewater rafting and kayaking - 12 miles

• Big Trees State Park: Giant Redwood groves, hiking and cross-country skiing - 17 miles

• Pinecrest Lake hiking, beaches and boating - 22 miles

• Dodge Ridge Cross-Country and Downhill Skiing - 24 miles

• Bear Valley Downhill and cross-country skiing - 30 miles

• Hover Wilderness Area in Humbolt-Toiyabe National Forest - 35 miles

• Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail (PCT) and Sonora Pass - 45 miles

• Lake Tahoe, Kirkwood, Desolation Wilderness and many Downhill and Cross-country ski areas - 59 miles

• Ansel Adams Wilderness Area (Minarets) in Sierra National Forest on the southern border of Tuolumne County - 66 mile

• Mono Lake, Bodie Ghost Town and many East Side Hot Springs - 66 miles