Our group of 4 adults and 2 children visited Cox Farms to find everything we expected plus plenty of pleasant surprises we didn’t. Before I even share our experience I feel compelled to share a part of what I found makes Cox Farm so special.
They clearly have crafted a culture amount staff that they were not only super friendly with the kids and other visitors but also between themselves. For example, I noticed a shift change and one staff member shared her appreciation for what the other was doing.
I can literally say each and every staff person was outgoing and seemed to thoroughly enjoy their job (and even the ones I thought wouldn’t be particularly fun). I wanted to preface with this as I certainly don’t see this many places I go.
Now for the fun…
Open barn with rabbits and pigs. Go up to the second level to enjoy the slide. Quite large and despite it’s height not fast so this is good for smaller children and easy for an adult and child to go together. Older kids will enjoy some of the faster slides (although my 7-year-old went down this at least 5 times).
Large area for small children only with slides, several play structures of varying types and a corn pit. My kids didn’t spend time here as they are 7 and 4 and were too big. My 4-year-old is quite tall so other 4-year-olds may meet the height limit and anyone smaller can enjoy.
Past the toddler area, we went on to the next slide and then on to ‘The Forest.’ The Forest for the first minute appears to be just a path with nothing beyond.
Don’t turn around! You’ll find a staff member down the path waiting for you to direct you where to go, what to look for and tells the kids they’ll receive a prize at the end if they finish the challenge (I won’t spoil it but I’ll say it’s very easy for the youngest of kids and they’ll all get a mini prize).
On the trail you come across some unexpected rooms to enter and enjoy what’s inside. The whole trail only takes 10-15 minutes.
Then there’s the rope swing, hay ride and lots of festive slides to keep the kids entertained. The log slide has small bumps inside which the kids thought made it fun. Adults didn’t want to try that one!
The tallest of slides (pictured in blue) wasn’t as fast as it looked but as we were leaving staff was showing up to wax it so it would be faster. My 4-year-old went down with my 7-year-old but didn’t want to go down again, however, my son went down at least 5 or 6 times.
Trevor was our hayride driver and he was very enthusiastic about talking about what was coming up, what we were seeing and keeping the kids very entertained. You’ll see a few halloween related props along the way and several completely unexpected (no spoiler alerts!)
If you’re an animal lover we did see baby cows and goats! Just before we left, we entered a fenced area where you can walk around with goats to pet.
You can also purchase feed if you’d like. We opted not to so we didn’t have to worry about the goats swarming us and we (including my 4-year-old) walked around without any issues.
Outside of the hayride, I don’t think there was any activity that my kids didn’t do multiple times. All in all, we spent 3 solid hours at Cox Farm. As we had gone later in the evening, they were shutting down so we had to leave. We could have easily spent another 30 to 60 minutes. As we walked out we each received our free pumpkin.
Things to know:
- We went during the week from 3pm to 6pm and it wasn’t crowded at all. Only a few people in line in front of us for each activity. I would expect it to be quite crowded on the weekends, however, there appears to be plenty of space for larger crowds including places to sit.
- Bring plenty of water for in between activities
- Sunscreen or long sleeves and a hat are highly recommended
- There are covered areas to sit at picnic tables, however, they are a little bit away from the activities. You will still be able to see your kids (possibly unless the place is crowded) so if you have younger children who may need help, you probably won’t sit there.
- I was able to find shade around most activities but not necessarily with a place you can sit.
- Each ticket receives a free pumpkin upon exit
- You’ll walk through a separate area as you exit where you can purchase food (including apple cider donuts!), pumpkins, and other non-food related products.
- A cup of free, delicious (and very cold!) apple cider is available near the toddler area.
- Check the Cox Farm website for pricing especially as early in the season and some weekdays have lower priced tickets.
- The Fall Festival goes through November 5th
- Tickets can be bought online or at the farm. If you’re going on the weekend you may want to buy your tickets ahead of time to avoid possible long lines (although there appears to be plenty of ticket booths available).
