My favorite color is fall. Sipping cider, rustling leaves, bushels of mums and rusty wagons overloaded with pumpkins are my ideas of fall perfection. Every year, our family seeks out those sweet fall moments at a pumpkin patch. Hayrides, corn mazes and a chance to snag the perfect pumpkin were at the top of our agenda when we decided to try out Pinehaven Farm in Wyoming, MN. I’d recently come across an article in Reader’s Digest listing Pinehaven as the best pumpkin patch in Minnesota. We went to see for ourselves.
Activities for Everyone
We arrived on a Friday in the early afternoon (took advantage of an early out day at school), hoping to beat the crowds. We basically had the whole place to ourselves. Admission at Pinehaven Farm ranges between $9-$14 per person, depending on the day you go. There are so many activities to do for the price, it’s worth it. We spent about three hours at the farm feeding goats, zipping down the slide, climbing haystacks and bouncing on the giant pillow. There are dozens of other activities to try at Pinehaven including a corn pit, a pumpkin eating dragon and a trolley that shuttles guests to and from the pick-your-own pumpkin patch.
My favorite part of the farm was the corn maze. I may be a bit directional challenged, but the maze was a chance for the boys to work together as we attempted to navigate the maze and earn punches on our corn maze card. We tried our best to find all the checkpoints, but eventually tired of the process and went to find a snack. On weekdays, Pinehaven offers cookies, caramel apples, mini donuts and a variety of sodas and drinks. Weekend snack seekers have more selection with roasted corn-on-the-cob, nachos, hot dogs, funnel cakes, cheese curds and a beer garden. Next year we’ll plan to come back on a weekend, for food reasons alone.
Pumpkin Cannon
Twice daily a train whistle sounds, summoning guests to gather at the pumpkin cannon for a launch. Using about as much pressure as a car tire, the cannon hurls a pumpkin at about 250 miles per hour for a distance of about 1/3 of a mile. The boys were impressed.
I’d Do that Again
Due to the wet conditions in the pumpkin patch, we chose to pick our pumpkins from the pre-picked patch. The boys painstakingly pawed through the pumpkins trying to choose just the right one. We had a great time at Pinehaven and are already making plans to go back next year.
