Summer has officially yielded to fall, with heat waves, cookouts and apple pie giving way to crisp mornings, campfires and apple cider. There is, however, one important thing that straddles the seasons: a full schedule of outdoor family events. Here is a sampling of activities you’ll fall for.
Enjoy Corn Mazes, Hay Rides and Cars at
Wilcox Farms
Wilcox Farms began growing vegetables in the Boyertown area nearly 75 years ago and still offers them along with varieties of fruit. It also offers an afternoon’s worth of fun during the fall months, including multiple corn mazes. Its large maze, divided into three smaller ones, features more than eight miles of trails winding through a 25-acre maze of corn. Flashlights are provided if you want to try your hand at navigating them after dark. A smaller corn maze for children includes a mile of trail and a play area featuring swings, slides, tractor tires and balance beams. The mazes are open Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Additionally, tractor hayrides are available on Saturday and Sunday, and the 13th annual Car Show commences Oct. 12 from 9am to 2pm.
Learn more: wilcoxfamilyfarm.com | 610.367.2387
Frolic at a Fall Festival:
Mast Farms
When it comes to offering fun fall events, this Morgantown farm’s flag doesn’t fly at half-mast. The third-generation potato-growing operation’s Fall Festival features more than 20 activities for families. It offers two corn mazes carved into 15 acres of cornfield; 40 acres of pumpkins to pick for cooking, carving or décor; a farm animal exhibit; hayrides; giant Jenga; an equally giant jumping pillow; rides; a potato slingshot; a children’s play center and plenty of food.
Learn more: mastmaze.com | 610.858.6109 (phone) | 610.286.9315 (hotline)
Pick Apples at
Weavers Orchard
Nearing its 100th anniversary, this Morgantown institution offers a wide range of pick-your-own options, including raspberries, donut peaches, kiwiberries, sour cherries and sunflowers. But its core crop is apples. Weavers features about 18,000 apple trees across 35 acres of land. Over 30 varieties of the fruit that keeps doctors away are offered, from the well-known (Evercrisp, Pink Lady, Fuji, MacIntosh) to the more obscure (Ambrosia, Crimson Crisp, Pixie Crunch). Its fresh-pressed apple cider, which includes a blend of at least five of its varieties, is available in its farm market along with apple cider doughnuts. Weavers also will present fall festivals ― featuring hayrides, magicians, jugglers, reptile shows, barrel train rides, face painting, tube slides and more ― on Saturdays, select Fridays and Columbus Day during October.
Learn more: weaversorchard.com | 610.856.7300
Enjoy All Kinds of Apple Cider at
Frecon Farms
“We don’t make cider,” claims this third-generation farm in Boyertown. “We just provide infrastructure to let nature continue its process.” Its infrastructure has a lot of fans. Frecon’s ciders ― both the sweet and hard variety ― are sought after throughout the region, with its website listing about 15 places in southeastern Pennsylvania where they are available for purchase, including over a half-dozen bars/restaurants in Philadelphia. Adults who prefer their cider with a kick have plenty of flavors from which to choose, including Early Man, a lightbodied blend of heirloom apples; Cidre Sweet, a blend of apples, apple juice and sugar cane; and Crabby Granny, which blends traditional crab apples, Granny Smith and Winesap varieties, and sweet dessert and aromatic apples. Frecon’s retail store also offers additional fruits of its labor ― such as cherries, peaches, plums, apricots and nectarines ― along with pastries from its scratch bakery.
Learn more: freconfarms.com | 610.367.6200
Pick Pumpkins at
Brecknock Orchard
This family-run orchard and farm market located just outside of Berks County in Brecknock Township, Lancaster County, offers pick-your-own fruit and vegetable options from April through October. During the fall months, the main crops are pumpkins and apples, with black raspberries, tomatoes, sweet peppers, hot peppers, eggplant and zucchini also being options. The orchard offers Fall Festivals on Saturdays throughout the month, along with Columbus Day, featuring orchard tours, wagon rides, children’s crafts and make-your-own caramel apples. Throughout the fall, Brecknock has fresh apple cider doughnuts and apple cider available in the farm market.
Learn more: brecknockorchard.com | 717.445.5704
Navigate and Learn at
Duncan’s Corn Maze & Pumpkin Patch
A corn maze might not seem like ripe grounds for educational fun, but kernels of knowledge pop at Duncan’s. Loretta Duncan began designing a corn maze for fun at her Robesonia farm 25 years ago. It quickly became a destination for families. The shape and theme of the maze change every year; last year it was zebras, this year it’s sea turtles. The massive maze is shaped like the animals and features multiple questions about them. Answer the questions correctly and you’re sent in the right direction; choose poorly and you’ll soon find yourself at a dead end. Along with its namesake maze, Duncan’s also features pick-your-own pumpkins at a 6-acre patch; snacks by the campfire; and a slide, haybales and cornbox for the littles.
Learn more: duncanscornmaze.com | 610.693.8056
Revel at
Reading Liederkranz’s Nationally Recognized Oktoberfest
When it comes to Oktoberfest celebrations, this Berks County institution has often been the Lieder of the pack. The Reading Liederkranz, nestled at the top of Spook Lane in Lower Alsace Township next to Stokesay Castle, topped a USA Today and 10Best poll of favorite Oktoberfest bashes multiple times over the last decade, beating out much larger competitors across the country. (It finished a still-impressive third in the 2023 rankings.) Formed in 1885, Reading’s German social club pulls out all the stops for its celebration, offering a parade, traditional German food and fanfare, musicians, dancers and beer. Lots of beer. This year’s iteration runs from Wednesday, Oct. 2 through Sunday, Oct. 6, rain or shine.
Learn more: readingliederkranz.com | 610.373.3982
Amuse at Autumn Adventure:
Savidge Farms
Since 1999, this fourthgeneration family farm in Mertztown has featured fountains of fall fun with Autumn Adventure. On the weekends (and Columbus Day), it offers tractor-pulled hayrides to its pumpkin patch. During the week, families can pick their own pumpkins, play an 18-hole miniature golf course, fire air cannons and traverse its corn maze.
Learn more: savidgefarms.com | 610.682.6616
