Autumn Farm Adventures
By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant
The air is crisp and scented with apple and fallen leaves. It’s time to enjoy a farm adventure with savory flavors and a bounty of harvest time fun.
• Stokoe Farms in Scottsville hosts its annual Harvest Fest from mid-September through late October. Bring along the grandchildren to enjoy more than 40 activities, including hayrides, pumpkins, petting zoo and candy cannon. Stock up on fall treats such as farm–made apple cider doughnuts, kettle corn, lemonade and fudge, along with other snacks.
• Especially if the grandkids are coming with you, don’t miss Long Acre Farms in Macedon with its five-acre Amazing Maize Maze, Back 40 play area, wood-fired pizza and other snacks, ice cream shop and more. Kids can zip around on pedal cars, frolic on the jumping pillow and scramble around on the play equipment. There’s also gem panning, wagon train, cow train, mini maze for the tots and a giant slide. But Long Acre also appeals to grown-up tastes with an extensive gift shop, fall produce and also wine tasting at the farm’s adjacent JD Wine Cellars.
• Pick’n Patch & Corn Maze in Stanley is another great place to take the grandchildren where they can compete on blasting the apple cannon, bounce around on the jumping pillow, get lost in an eight-acre corn maze or wooden maze, greet animals at the petting zoo and enjoy lawn games, corn kernel pit, mini train and more. Select fall produce and décor and stick around for a snack or lunch at the snack shack.
• The Apple Shed in Newark is renowned for its cider, apple variety and fresh doughnuts, made daily. The gift shop is a must-see with an impressive variety of local fudge, honey, maple syrup, pumpkins and décor items. Sip a few brews at the on-site Old Coat Cidery and pick up lunch and a cider slushie at the cafe. Smaller children will enjoy the small playground, corn slide, culvert tumbler, glass-sided beehive display and farm animal petting zoo, all of which are free. For a small fee, join the hayride to spot bigfoot hiding along the not-so-spooky woodland trail and (optionally) pick your own apples.
• Cobble Creek Farm in Spencerport offers a hayride around the farm with a stop at the you-pick pumpkin patch (pumpkin is extra). Make a day of it with the little ones as they tumble on the jumping pillow, fire off the corn cannon, work their way through the straw crawl, scoop and pour in corn bin, and climb aboard the barrel train ride. Greet the farm’s goats and pigs and explore the eight-acre corn maze.
Most agritourism farms charge admission or fee-per-activity and some have many free activities as well. Check the websites before you head out. Dress for the weather and wear sensible shoes. Expect uneven terrain. Because these are working farms and some open to the public for only the fall season, some of these facilities provide only portable toilets.