4050 Bromfield Road
Lucas, Ohio 44843
Park Office 419-892-2784
Fax 419-892-3988
1-866-644-6727 for camping reservations

Park Map | Campground Map

Malabar Farm Foundation

Malabar Farm Restaurant
3645 Pleasant Valley Road
Perrysville, Ohio 44864
419-938-5205

Malabar Farm in Pleasant Valley was the dream of the Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Louis Bromfield. Today, visitors can see the house and farm existing just as they did in Bromfield's time. The outbuildings and pastures still house chickens, goats and beef cattle. The hills are ribboned with strips of corn, wheat, oats and hay while the scenic trails are adorned with nature's bounty.

Guided Tours

• Malabar Farm reflects the agricultural tradition of Ohio while focusing on Louis Bromfield's life and philosophies.
• The 32-room Big House, designed by Bromfield and architect Louis Lamoreux, is a blend of Western Reserve architectural styles and was built to appear as if it had been added onto over the years.
• Tours of the mansion, preserved just as Louis left it in 1956, are offered year-round.
• Wagon tours of the farm are offered May through October. During the growing season, Malabar Farm offers educational tours of its vegetable garden.
• There is a nominal fee for house and wagon tours.
• Contact the park for hours and fees.

Camping

• 15 non-electric sites
• Fire rings, picnic tables, drinking water and latrines are offered.

Trails

• There are twelve miles of trail for the hiker or horseperson to enjoy.
• Trails traverse scenic fields and forests.

Pugh Cabin

• The Pugh Cabin is a day-use facility for groups up to fifty people.
• This building can be rented for meetings and group functions from 8:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m. Reservations are required.

Picnicking

• A picnic area with tables, grills, drinking water and latrines is available.

Fishing

• Good catches of bluegill and catfish can be caught from the farm ponds at Malabar.
• A wheelchair-accessible dock is provided at the Big House Pond.
• A valid Ohio fishing license is required.

Winter Recreation

• Sledding, ice skating and cross-country skiing are permitted during appropriate weather.
• Cross country ski rental available at the Big House Gift Shop.

Area Attractions

• Malabar Farm Restaurant, located within the park, is a restored "stagecoach" inn built in 1820. Today, the restaurant is state-owned and offers home-cooked meals, Tuesday through Sunday, year-round. The restaurant features many of the local and Malabar Farm raised products.
• The Ceely Rose Play - a drama set in the rural Richland County countryside during 1896, will be performed in the restored 1896 timber frame barn in October. Tickets on sale now.
• Malabar Farm Market, produce business operating at the park, revives the vegetable garden and spring-cooled roadside stand that Bromfield built in 1952. Fresh produce is for sale Memorial Day weekend through October, and guided tours of the garden are available. Call 419-938-5000.
• Nearby are Mohican State Park, Mohican Memorial State Forest, and Pleasant Hill Lake.
• For information on attractions in Richland County including Kingwood Gardens, Renaissance Theatre and Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course contact Mansfield/Richland County Convention and Visitor's Bureau, 52 Park Avenue West, Mansfield, Ohio 44902, 800-642-8282.
• Malabar Farm's Youth Hostel, administered by the Hostel International Organization, is a traditional 19-bed hostel, offering simple dormitory-style accommodations. For reservations and information call (419) 892-2055 or visit www.hiayh.org
• Fowler Woods State Nature Preserve, north off State Route 13, is a mixture of mature beech-maple forest and swamp forest. Spring wildflowers are abundant. Visitation is during daylight hours only.

Nature of the Area

Glaciers pushed up and over the hills of the area depositing rich soils in the valleys. The woodlands are diverse with beautiful stands of beech and maple along with remnant stands of eastern hemlock in the ravines. Sandstone outcroppings adorn the slopes covered with ferns and mosses. Trillium, spring beauties and wild blue phlox carpet the forest floor. The woodlands are home to the wood thrush, barred owl, fox squirrel and raccoon while the fields support populations of bluebird, red-winged blackbird, cottontail rabbit and red fox.

History of the Area

In his book, Pleasant Valley, Bromfield wrote, "Every inch of it (the house) has been in hard use since it was built and will, I hope go on being used in the same fashion so long as it stands. Perhaps one day it will belong to the state together with the hills, valleys and woods of Malabar Farm." Bromfield's prophecy came true in August 1972, when the state of Ohio accepted the deed to Malabar Farm. The state pledged to preserve the beauty and ecological value of the farm.

Earlier that year, Bromfield's legacy to future generations came close to being extinguished. Malabar Farm, owned and operated by the Louis Bromfield Malabar Farm Foundation for 14 years, was threatened with foreclosure. But the Noble Foundation, which held the mortgage, agreed to erase the mortgage and accrued interest -- about $280,000 -- when the state of Ohio accepted Malabar Farm as a gift to the people of Ohio.

From 1972 to 1976, Malabar Farm was operated jointly by Ohio's Department of Natural Resources and Department of Agriculture. Then in 1976, Malabar became one of Ohio's state parks. As a park, Malabar Farm is dedicated to perpetuating Bromfield's farming philosophies, preserving the Big House and its many artifacts, and providing a place where visitors can explore life on a farm and the beauty of nature.