Cherry Crest Adventure Farm--Part I

We visited Cherry Crest Adventure Farm on a short trip to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, to hang out with friends. The farm has a great variety of activities for visitors, including animal feeding, a corn maze, and shows.

Entrance to the farm

The shopping courtyard

The first thing we tried was a rain gutter runner where the kids pumped water to send a rubber ducky down the gutter to a u-joint and down a second gutter back to the pump. My daughter and little son enjoyed pumping lots of water.

Rain gutter racer

Pumping like crazy

Nearby was a kids' tractor ride that the boys enjoyed. It was a short trip through the corn field and for little ones only.

Pulled by a tractor

Then we tried out the corn maze. They've had several different themes for their mazes over the years. This year's theme was board games, so various puzzles were hidden throughout the garden. Also, the overall design, from overhead, showed dice and a pawn. We didn't appreciate that from our corn's eye view.

Heading into the corn maze

Checking the map/puzzle sheet

One of the challenges inside the maze

Another puzzle involving scratch offs

The kids really enjoyed the "find the hidden object" pictures.

Click to enlarge if you want to try it out

Punny puzzle

What to do?!?

A fun photo op!

We chose a flag to help the group stay together. We were instructed how to wave the flag to signal for help in case of emergencies like being lost or being too hot.

Carrying the flag

Bike-powered misting station--another heat solution

We discovered a random set of musical percussion instruments that our kids played to death.

Banging on the vertical xylophone

Several times we heard a local scenic train go by. The track cuts right through the farm but not through the corn maze!

Not the way out

At the end of the maze, they had displays of previous mazes and how they make the maze each year. The kids were not too interested so I only got to take a few pictures as we walked by.

Many Mazes

You can make a maze in your backyard with these 16 simple steps!

We ate some lunch and went to the butter-making demonstration. Rather than churning for a while, they gave us cups with lids that we had to shake to make the milk fat solidify into butter. The demonstration was fun and quick. And they handed out pretzel sticks so we could sample our own butter.

Making butter

We bought a cup of feed and started feeding the animals, always a popular activity with children and animals alike. Some of the animals were aggressive, especially the goats. Maybe they looked that way because of their appearance--the horns and the creepy eyes.

Feeding a goat through the fence

All the goats ready to eat!

A fence with less protection

The sheep were a little easier to feed. They looked more friendly. Our preschooler was brave enough to try (which wasn't true for the goats).

The face of serenity?

My daughter demonstrates feeding technique

The preschooler gets in on the action

The least interactive way to feed the animals was the conveyor belt to the goat walkway. Kids put some feed in a cup and then cranked until the cup made it to the top, where a bell rang as the food tipped over into a small bucket. The kids enjoyed cranking even if they didn't have feed to put into the cups. That probably made for some cranky goats.

Feeding the higher ups

Across the path were other animals, including a depopulated pig barn.

Pig barn

Close up of the sign

Feeding the pigs

The pigs had ducks for neighbors.

Ducks hanging out

Inside a big barn, our children got to hold baby chicks. This was another activity that was too much for our youngest one.

Lady demonstrating proper holding technique

Happy holders (and holdees)

More from the farm in the next post!