You can now camp among the hops at Colorado’s Billy Goat Hop Farm

From hop farm to beer-fueled basecamp

Wake up to the scent of fresh hops, sip a cold beer brewed with cones grown steps away, and watch the sun dip behind the San Juans. That’s the new experience awaiting visitors to Billy Goat Hop Farm’s freshly launched Down at the Hop Yard Campground and Fridays on the Farm series in Montrose, Colorado. After eight years cultivating hops and winning national recognition, this independent farm is opening up its rustic retreat to the public, nestled among 18-ft hop trellises with panoramic views of the mountains. What started as a vision for a more intimate, interactive farming experience is now a living, drinking, sleeping reality. For starters, campers can now pitch tents or park their rigs at one of Colorado’s most unique destinations for craft beer tourism. From the press release:

“Before we even started the business, Chris and I dreamed of selling beer from the farm,” says Co-Owner Audrey Gehlhausen. “Families and friends laughing, dogs running around, cold beer, and surrounded by hops and mountains. We’re lucky to have found the wonderful community of Montrose to make this dream a reality. Not to mention the endless recreation around the Western Slope — work hard, play hard!”

Inside the Down at the Hop Yard Campground

Each campsite offers a 28-ft by 15-ft parking area with an adjacent tenting area of equal size, spaced apart for privacy and planted along the farm’s scenic trellis perimeter. From your tent flap, you’ll see rows of towering hop bines climbing toward a bluebird sky. Camp amenities include:

• ADA-accessible hot showers
• Flushing toilets
• Potable water
• A communal fire pit for post-sunset hangs

There are no hookups — this is true dry camping — but the experience brings a different kind of luxury: quiet nights under open skies, fresh air perfumed with hop oils, and the option to sample beers brewed with hops grown steps from your sleeping bag. Guests can book private or group farm tours as well, complete with an optional beer tasting. You’ll walk through the hop yard, learn about trellis systems, irrigation, and harvesting, and get insight into the farm’s unique pelletizing and storage operations. Campsites are available via HipCamp, making it easy for road-tripping beer fans to lock in a truly one-of-a-kind stay.

Kicking off Fridays on the Farm

Starting May 23 and running through October 3, Billy Goat is also launching Fridays On The Farm, a weekly celebration of beer, agriculture, and community. Held each Friday from 2 to 9 p.m., these gatherings are open to the public and campers alike. At the heart of the event is the Beer Barn, a rustic venue serving beers brewed with Billy Goat hops from across the Four Corners region. Selections rotate weekly but include hop-forward styles from partner breweries in Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, and beyond. Also on offer:

• Hop Drool — the farm’s own hop-infused hard seltzer
• Hop Water — a non-alcoholic option for the sober curious
• Rotating food trucks, yard games, and occasional live music

Kids and dogs are always welcome. So are mountain goats, at least in spirit.

Meet the Billy Goat crew

Billy Goat Hop Farm was founded in 2017 by Chris Della Bianca and Audrey Gehlhausen, a couple of river guides and mountain wanderers who traded seasonal gigs for roots — literal ones. After a research-heavy road trip across five states, they settled on Montrose for its ideal elevation, soil, and sun. Starting from scratch, they built out 32 acres of trellised land and installed a state-of-the-art drip irrigation system to support sustainable growing. Billy Goat isn’t just a hop farm — it’s a vertically integrated operation. From growing to harvesting, pelletizing to packing, everything is done on-site. The result is higher quality hops, more transparency, and closer relationships with the brewers who use them.

Cascade Cup Champions (two years running)

Billy Goat has carved out a national reputation for quality, particularly with Cascade hops. In both 2023 and 2024, the farm won the prestigious Cascade Cup, hosted by the Hop Quality Group. It’s the first farm outside the Pacific Northwest to take the top prize — and the first anywhere to win it two years in a row. More than 50 breweries used Billy Goat’s award-winning Cascade crop, including:

• Tree House Brewing (Massachusetts)
• Steel Bender Brewyard (New Mexico)
• Wren House Brewing (Arizona)

Cascade sells out fast, but many other varieties are grown and processed with the same care and climate-driven character.

A farm fueled by values

Billy Goat Hop Farm is more than a hop supplier. It’s a family-run, community-driven business built on sustainable practices and real human connections. Their smaller size allows for hands-on farming, early pest detection, and reduced chemical usage. Composting, water conservation, and eco-friendly stringing practices further reduce their footprint. Their motto, “Know your farmer, love your beer,” is more than marketing. It’s how they operate