Don your flannel, breathe in the crisp autumn air, and head to these farms for fall fun.
MAYSE FARM MARKET 6400 N. St. Joseph Ave. This 84-year-old farm’s Fall Family Fun weekends typically attract 15,000 to 20,000 each year. From Sept. 21 to Oct. 27, take a wagon ride to pick thousands of pumpkins on a 10-acre patch or amble through the 5.5-acre corn maze. The latter gets an annual refresh; this year’s maze design features the farm’s donkeys, Mabel, Abel, and Rufus.
EVANSVILLE COUNTRYSIDE ORCHARD 16800 Old Petersburg Road You likely know Tim and Kristi Schulz’s orchard for its delectable produce and self-pick fruit days. But don’t sleep on its family-friendly pumpkin patch — an acre and a half “discovery patch” with different types of pumpkins planted together — available in October. Sip an apple cider slushie or pick fruits while you browse.
T.J.’S ORCHARD & PUMPKIN PATCH 4805 Orchard Road 812-963-6858 Tom Moers’ two acres produce a few thousand pumpkins each year, and he says there’s no shortage of buyers. Public pumpkin picking starts in late September and runs through Halloween. Customers can also partake in the orchard’s apple cider earlier in the season – Moers says the farm typically sells 17,000 gallons in eight weeks.
YOUR FARMS 10011 Telephone Road, Newburgh, Indiana Your Farms’ corn maze has upped the ante in its second year. Created last fall by Craig Bohannon as a fun attraction for area schoolchildren’s field trips, the first design spelled out the farm’s name. This season, Bohannon wanted to get patriotic — the 5.5 acres of corn spells out “God Bless America” complete with stars and a Bald Eagle head. Guests can either walk through the maze — which becomes haunted on select evenings — or take a tractor ride.
GOEBEL FARMS 4745 W. Boonville-New Harmony Road How does Goebel create corn mazes in the shape of Indiana Jones and Prince Harry? It calls in reinforcements. Using GPS to pinpoint a predetermined path, a John Deere planter then sows seeds to replicate a computer-generated image. Families can run through the pop culture likenesses on their way to purchase a gourd or take a hayride to pick the perfect pumpkin(s).
CATES FARM CORN MAZE AND PRODUCE 8132 Pruitt Agnew Road, Henderson, Kentucky From mid-September through October, Cates offers a pumpkin patch and corn maze featuring a new path annually. Last year’s maze stretched 15 acres.
TRUNNELL’S FARM MARKET 9255 U.S. 431, Utica, Kentucky About an hour’s drive from Evansville, Trunnell’s has become a popular seasonal day-trip destination for its Fall Farm Experience. Guests can explore a four-acre corn maze, ride the fall harvest wagon, and pick pumpkins.
