Mini Highland Cows in Central Florida

Between finally having a day off, and the temperature having a high that wasn't three digits, there was no better day than today for an adventure. Ever since I visited Scotland, I absolutely fell in love with Highland cows. Little did I know that earlier this year, a small exhibit featuring highland cows had opened! I wasn't sure what to expect, but the reviews looked great and I knew there would be cows.

We booked our tickets online and made our way towards Kissimmee, a smooth 45-minute drive from our apartment. The check in process was super easy; a quick hello to the receptionist who handed us our wristbands that granted us entry. Boggy Creek Airboat Adventure has two main attractions, the cows, which we were here for, and airboat tours, as their name suggests. The immediate entrance has a very active butterfly garden, a few alligators on loan from Gatorland, and lots of cool photo opportunities. We went during the weeks following up to Halloween, so their normal photo ops had a spooky layover as well as several aliens and skeletons added to the mix. They also have haunted weekends that involve a group in a military jeep shooting the zombie employees with Orbeez guns! While the airboat tour is a timed event, the central area and the cows have no time restrictions, and you can come and go between those areas as many times as you please. You will receive either a blue wristband, which allows you onto the airboats, or a yellow wristband, which grants you access to the cow exhibit.

The cows are separated by newborns and those that are a little bit older. The older cows have never been near smaller cows, so they are kept separate for the safety of those that are only two weeks old. For only being two weeks old, the baby cows were so happy to have visitors. There was a very lovely employee that brought us out further into the field to see the older cows. She told us that Highland cows have the same average life expectancy as horses, but that didn't mean anything to me, so she clarified between 20 and 30 years. I also didn't know that there were Highland cows AND Mini Highland cows, so that was a wonderful bit of information to learn. The fully grown cows measure up well past my shoulders, but these little babies are about waist high. Some were more skittish than others, but the majority of them were so happy to have someone to pet them.

We spent quite a bit of time in the butterfly garden, as many of the chrysalises had hatched and there was much activity within the garden. There were also some adorable little quails and quite a few ducks. We were lucky to have met one of the people that works to maintain the plant and animal life within the garden, and she told us all about the animals that they had and how to care for them. They work closely with the Florida Game and Wildlife Commission to make sure that each animal is properly taken care of and that they all have somewhere safe to live after they outgrow their space at Boggy Creek.

Our whole experience took a little under two hours, but we were welcome to stay until close if we had liked. Boggy Creek is open every day, weather permitting! Being right on the water, the staff is very careful to make sure the wind won't be an issue for the airboats and that there isn't any lightning or dangerous weather that would put anyone at risk. We had an absolute blast, and I was already planning our next trip before our current one had even ended. If you make it back there before I do, kiss the cows for me!