We visited in the spring to go berry picking, but the Fall season is really when Vollmer Farm has it’s time to shine! Starting in September, the back forty acres of the farm are open each weekend for family fun! This includes an underground tube slide, barrel train, hayride, playground, sling shot, farm animals, jumping pillow, corn maze, and a pumpkin to take home! It’s like Hill Ridge Farms but even bigger!

The Back Forty

So what all is included in the back-40? The Vollmer Farm website doesn’t have a lot of pictures, so we’ll give you the inside scoop!

Instead of parking at the main entrance with the gift shop and ice cream parlor, go ahead and drive on down the gravel road. You will come to a grassy field where they will instruct you to park, and there’s a separate check in desk back there to get your wristband for entry.

Hayride

We got on the hayride as our very first activity so we wouldn’t miss it or run out of time to complete it. However, we saw it running frequently while we were there. It is a covered wagon with wooden bench seats, so no actual hay.

The ride takes you around the whole farm so you can get a good look at each activity before you set out on your adventure! They will also bring you back to your car at the end of the day if you are too tired to make the walk.

Farm Animals

There aren’t a lot of farm animals at Vollmer Farm, but you will see a peacock, turkey, goats, and donkeys. You can pet the donkeys and goats and they are friendly. If you’re looking for more animals, try Hill Ridge or Spring Haven Farm.

Underground Tube Slide

This was by far my kid’s favorite activity and we spent almost an hour going down the slide over and over again! It was pretty cool because it was built into a mountain and the tube goes underground before spitting you out on the bottom. It went fast and you slide down on a mat. These slides are getting popular and you can find one at Lazy Hound Farm as well.

Playgrounds

There are two separate playgrounds available. The one at the top of the hill is based on old tires! You can climb them, jump them, and crawl through them!

The playground at the bottom of the hill has a wooden train and truck, which was popular with my boy. This is also where you will find the hay stack with a slide included!

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Jumping Pillow

The jumping pillow is similar to what you would have found at Three Bears Acres if they were still open.😞 It’s like a bouncy house, but it’s built into the ground. My 2 year old has trouble on these things. It’s constantly moving due to other kids jumping, so it’s hard for the little ones to not get bounced all over the place.

It’s also extremely hard to just get on the pillow! You first have to walk up the side incline in your socks, and even I have trouble with that!

Barrel Train

The barrel train is included in admission and is first come first served. We rode this train a few times and my two year old rode by himself. The driver goes pretty fast, but there are seatbelts for safety.

Corn Maze

I personally hate corn mazes with kids. The idea of getting lost in a field with screaming, hungry kids is the stuff of nightmares for me. But, I’m trying to branch out and my husband talked me into it. 🤷

This maze had shorter stalks than other mazes we’ve done before. I could see over the top of the corn, which helped me not feel as trapped. The maze was also easier to get out of. It wasn’t a complicated maze and it didn’t have as many twists and turns like the one we did at Crossroads Corn Maze. We were in and out within 15 minutes.

The goal of the maze is to make it through and find all 5 pumpkin buckets along the way. Gather stickers from each bucket and turn them into the concession stand to earn a prize. We found all of the buckets, but unfortunately they were each out of stickers. We let the staff know and they still gave us our prize, which was a big Vollmer Farm Sticker.

Concession Stand

Now if you want to prevent hungry, screaming kids, visit the concession stand called Nibble Nook. They have real food items like nachos and hotdogs, so you could actually eat lunch here. And the prices aren’t bad! Plus, grab some ice cream as a special treat!

Optional Activities

Your entrance includes one of the following three activities. You will be given a ticket to redeem at the activity of your choice.

Kayak on the Lake

I ended up taking my two year old out on the kayak. I was worried it wouldn’t go well, but he did great! We were able to paddle over to the ducks and see people fishing off the bridge. We didn’t tip over, but some water got in the boat from paddling so be prepared to get your legs and butt a little wet!

Fishing

Check out a rod and reel and try your hand at fishing! We didn’t try this activity, but we saw a lot of people with nice fishing rods casting off the bridge.

Gem Mining

I’m pretty sure this is new this year, but instead of the corn crib you can now do gem mining. We had done this before at Blue Diamond Gemstone panning, but this technique was different. You poured the rocks down a trough into a mesh bucket. Then you are given a separate bowl to pick out your rocks, which included shark tooth fossils.

Pick your Pumpkin

Don’t forget your pumpkin on the way out! Each ticket includes a small pumpkin, or you can upgrade to the bigger ones for an extra fee. The pumpkins are located back at the entrance with the gift shop and ice cream parlor. We actually drove from the Back-40 to the entrance since it’s a pretty far walk.

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I think we will be making Vollmer Farms one of our annual traditions. It’s so much more spread out than Hill Ridge, so you can get away from the crowds if needed. And I think it has about the same amount of activities!

What do you think? Will you be visiting Vollmer Farms this year?!