Where to Meet Alpacas in SoCal?

All photos: The Alpaca Hacienda | Sandi Hemmerlein

As alluringly friendly as they seem and as genuinely inquisitive as they are their survival instincts dictate that they be a bit standoffish. (At least, to humans who are clamoring for their attention.) Their ancestors roamed the mountainsides of Peru together, far from civilization. Between the two main breeds — Suri (whose locks create very silky fiber) and Huacaya (whose fiber is almost crimped and springy, providing good stretch for fabric) – no two individual alpacas are exactly alike.

Like many humans, alpacas just value their personal space
and they’ll do you a favor by keeping you out of their spitting distance. And if you let them come to you, it could be
the start of a beautiful friendship.

Although alpacas aren’t native to southern California, a fair amount of them were imported here in the 1980s and 90s — which means that our history with these camelids (related to camels) is recent.

But there’s plenty of opportunities to take a crash course in alpaca etiquette and learn how to win them over by visiting any one of the following five greatest alpaca adventures in southern California.
Or, better yet, knock out all five of them.
You won’t have the same experience twice.
I am focusing on #1 but will link for #2 , #3, #4 & #5.

1. The Alpaca Hacienda, Temecula

If you’ve ever dreamed of having land say, a sprawling ranch up on a hill and a herd of fluffy animals, a visit to The Alpaca Hacienda may prove to you that dreams really do come true. And its founders and owners, former elementary school teacher Beth Osborne and her husband Mike Arndt, have managed to make that dream a small business raising both types of alpacas for their fiber, which is far softer than sheep’s wool and gives cashmere a run for its money. In her introductory presentation on a “Meet and Greet” tour (available most Wednesdays and Saturdays, by advance reservation), Osborne explains how the alpacas get sheared once a year just before the heat of summer hits and how she’s learned to spin the fiber into yarn which can be used to knit sweaters, beanies,

gloves, etc. or even felted into blankets and handbags.
After a few minutes of answering such burning questions like “What’s the difference between an alpaca and a llama?” and “Will the alpacas spit on me?” (to find out for sure, you’ll have to take the tour), Osborne lets the tour group loose with a bag of nutritional pellets, first at the female enclosure at the upper ranch and then the boys at the lower ranch. The genders are separated for most of the year — that is, except in the spring when they’re allowed to try to breed with each other (if they so desire).

As alpacas are herd animals, you can learn a lot about their social dynamics when you’ve got a palm-full of snacks outstretched for one and all the rest rush over. Fortunately, these alpacas are socialized enough to eat right out of your hand, with little risk of getting nibbled by their four bottom teeth, which get filed down yearly.

And some might even let you pet them on the neck and scratch into the lower part of their headlocks. Since you’re separated from the animals by a low fence at their enclosures, the 90-minute tour is appropriate for even very young children, under the supervision of an adult. Leave some time at the end to brows the boutique, which is the best alpaca gift shop in SoCal, no contest (and carries items that will appeal to alpaca fans of all ages). Although The Alpaca Hacienda is open year-round for public tours and private events, it’s in the spring that you can witness the herd pre-sheared and at maximum fluffiness. That’s also when you might get to see some babies (a.k.a. “cria,” who can gestate for up to a year and are generally born one at a time). But let’s be honest — this ranch tour