Wickham Farms in Penfield, NY

Originally, Wickham Farms in Penfield, NY was really not much more than a pumpkin patch. Kids would scatter and disappear into the thousand foot long parcel of land and come back arms overloaded with goofy orange gourds.

Now, not many years later, Wickham Farms, at 3 and a half acres, is a fully operational fun magnet for kids and adults. Instead of leaving with just pumpkins you can also buy brightly colored mums in a variety of sizes. Be prepared to take lots of pictures because your kids will find the 18 hole mini golf, the Bear Paws wooden play structure, the teepee with lighted jack o lanterns, and the corn maze. Plus, for a dollar, the wee ones can ride a kiddie train. They will, no doubt, get very warm after so much activity and convince you to buy them an ice cream!

The Maze, a full three acres in size, is the largest and most popular draw at Wickham Farms. The corn stalks rise over six feet, making cheating your way through it a near impossibility. It takes an estimated 35 minutes to navigate. Interestingly, the corn here is used not only to feed animals but is also used to make taco shells, corn flakes and corn chips. But no snacking along the way!

Wickham Farms not only sells traditional orange pumpkins, but many varieties of other gourds and squash as well. They also sell corn stalks for your Autumn decorating needs.

The kids can "pick" the apples off of play trees, or they can be purchased by the peck. All locally grown, of course, with apple pies sold in the barn on the land.

Wickham Farms has even turned itself into a mini-restaurant, serving light dinners like chicken salad that can be enjoyed outside on their Venetian-style patio, complete with a set of oversized checkers. For dessert, check out their cookies, cakes, pies, muffins and cupcakes - everything is freshly baked and served with a smile. The folks who work at Wickham Farms truly take you back to the days when retailers were congenial and polite.

On the grounds there are tractors for the kids to climb and fully operational train sets to captivate their attention. In October, Wickham Farms introduces a tractor ride (not free) around the pumpkin patch.

Group rates are available for coaches, teachers and even parents are encouraged to bring their teams by for ice cream after the game, birthday parties, or pumpkin picking.

Wickham Farms is located at 1821 Nine Mile Point Road in Penfield, New York, a great place for the family to spend an Autumn day.