Pumpkins, Mazes, and Farm Fun
While area farms serve a purpose of growing or producing food, there’s also plenty of opportunities to visit a farm for fun. Here’s our top list of must-do activities on our local farms this fall.
Pick Your Pumpkins & Apples
Home décor, Halloween decorations, or cooking and baking, pumpkins serve many purposes. The Great Pumpkin Patch combines education on uses of these cucurbits alongside the fun of a pumpkin patch, picking your own or exploring their remarkable pumpkin and squash displays. Curtis Orchard & Pumpkin Patch encourages you to walk the yellow brick road through the kids activities before reaching the apple orchard and pumpkin patch, leading you back to their shop filled with cider, donuts, and their award-winning honey. Okaw Valley Orchard in Sullivan is an off-the-beaten-path farm with U-Pick, apple cider making demonstrations, educational tours, and a charming store to pick up their cider, donuts, and more.
Corn Mazes
Wander into the tall stalks of corn at Hardy’s Reindeer Ranch, where you can get lost in their 10-acre design which changes every year. Buxton’s Garden Farm in Sullivan presents their “Corn Maize” in the fall, where you can also grab pumpkins, squash, and mums. For the younger ones, check out the smaller mazes at both Curtis Orchard & Pumpkin Patch and The Great Pumpkin Patch.
Dine on the Farm
A different kind of al fresco dining, Prairie Fruits Farm & Creamery invites you to be a part of a community dinner under their pavilion, where guest chefs prepare multiple course dinners utilizing their goat cheese and other local ingredients for a truly unique experience. Don’t miss their weekend open hours where you can have a cheese tray paired with their carefully curated wine and beer lists.
Shop the Markets
Fall brings some hearty veggies that make some great at-home meals. Seven farmers markets across five days—from Urbana’s Market at the Square, the largest area market with over 70 regular vendors to the Sustainable Student Farmers Market held on the University of Illinois campus—make it easy to pick up seasonal produce, meat, eggs, flowers, bread and more.
Plan Your Visit
Need help planning your visit to the greater Champaign County area? Check out our Experience Guide, or contact us for more information! Don’t forget to book your stay at our area hotels, located conveniently throughout the community.