Five of the Best Corn Mazes and Agri-Adventures in the Mid Atlantic. From New Jersey and Pennsylvania to Virginia and West Virginia, harvest festivals with corn mazes, pumpkins and apples cider provide the perfect means to create your own screen free family adventure. 

Here's the scoop. Autumn is the season to taste sweet apple butter and corncob jelly or play flashlight tag and chase the kids through the corn stalks. I have assembled a few suggestions from our readers. The season has family fun written all over it.

Horse Sleigh Farm Corn Maze in Washington Township, New Jersey (mid-September - early November). The guys at Horse Sleigh Farm have defined fun in almost every way possible starting with hundreds of home grown pumpkins and squash, an amazing 10 plus acre corn maze with a petit version for smaller children. Try pumpkin painting or  pumpkin carving; ride a pony or pet farm animals; jump on a hay wagon or plop on the giant hay mountain; checkout the corn box or play in the game tent; enjoy a hot air balloon ride or horse drawn wagon junket. Bonus Points: Stick around for the pig roast; play laser tag or navigate the haunted maze at night. Here's the deal. A coupon is available on their website. (Horse Sleigh Farm 438 Route 57 West, Washington Township, NJ 07882. (908) 246-3044 or www.HorseSleighFarm.com) 

Suffolk Peanut Fest in Virginia Beach (beginning of October). Experience the phenomenon that is the Peanut Fest; this family-friendly event honors Suffolk, Virginia’s agricultural heritage and its love of peanuts, the city’s official favorite legume. The Suffolk Peanut Fest is known for its fun family activities, concerts, amusement rides, contests and competitions, a demolition derby, a truck and tractor pull, fireworks and more. Bonus Points: On Saturday the 7th, arrive before noon and park for FREE! (1410 Airport Road, Suffolk 23434. (757) 539-6751 www.suffolkfest.org/familyevents.aspx)

 

Merrymead aMAZEing Cornfield in Landsdale, Pennsylvania. (October) Visit one of Pennsylvania’s "century farms" - the farm has been in the same family for more than 100 years. Masters of wholesome family fun, each fall Merrymead presents a five-acre cornfield maze complete with a pumpkin path and a 70-foot cornstalk tunnel. Sip apple cider, enjoy hand-dipped ice cream, paint pumpkins, taste luscious baked goods, pick your own pumpkin, take a hayride, dig in a sand box, ride a wagon train. Bonus Points: Take your own flashlight and navigate the maze new Moonlight Maze.  (Merrymead Farm 2222 S. Valley Forge Rd. Lansdale, PA 19446 610-584-4410 www.merrymead.com)

Pumpkinland and Hay Rides in Media, Pennsylvania. (mid September - early November) At Linvilla Farm, not far from Valley Forge, doing and tasting is all part of the fun. Pick your own pumpkins in the fall. Taste just off the vine tomatoes or husk your very own sweet corn. See horses, chickens and pigs; meet costumed characters like Dora, Elmo and Shrek. During September and October each year Pumpkinland remains a popular fall tradition for families with young children. Each weekend enjoy a 15-18 minute hay ride under the moonlight and a cup of cider at the campfire after the hay ride. There will also be live music, pony and train rides, face painting and much, much more! Bonus Points:  The Farm Market in the octagonal barn is not-to-be-missed for jams, jellies, pies and ice cream sundaes. (Linvilla Farm & Orchard 137 W. Knowlton Rd. Media, PA 19063 610-876-7116 www.linvilla.com)

Mountain State Apple Harvest Festival in Martinsburg, West Virginia (mid October). The Mountain State Apple Harvest Festival celebrates the rich agricultural heritage in Berkeley County, highlighting the role of the apple in the growth of the region. The four-day festival in the scenic eastern panhandle of West Virginia is a wonderful fall celebration with pie-baking contests, a Friday Night in the Park sports breakfast, a parade and more. (Martinsburg, WV 25402. (304) 263-2500 or www.msahf.com)

Information researched and posted by Nancy Nelson-Duac, curator of the good Stuff for the Family travel Files. Images courtest of respective locations. Copyright updated 2015.