Fort Vannoy Farms
Exploring the Harvest Festival at Fort Vannoy Farms
Hours and Location
Fort Vannoy Farms is open daily 10-6. They are located at 5791 Lower River Road in Grants Pass OR. Its a few minutes outside of the city, but it is a pretty drive to get there. They have a large parking lot field. We went after some heavy rain, and its a bit muddy walking around so wear some boots if you have them.
Kid-friendly Activities
Fort Vannoy Farms has a ton of FREE things for the kids to do. There are a few activities you’ll need to purchase a token to do, I’ll list those separately.
FREE ACTIVITIES They really put together a lot of no cost activities to keep everyone happy and allow time to make some good memories. There’s a giant hay pyramid made from hay bales to climb up and crawl through. I can confirm it’ll hold multiple adults if you need to race to the top as a family. There’s a large corn bin filled with corn kernels. My toddler loved this the best, and kept coming back to “swim” in the corn. There’s a toddler size hay bale maze, and lot of fall themed photo stations. There are also hay rides pulled by a tractor that take you around the farm and will drop you off at the other sections of the farm.
TOKEN ACTIVITIES Tokens are $8 each. Each activity is 1 token per person. The cow train runs through a serious looking course with hills and a tunnel to go through. Its about 4 minutes long, and the cows have seatbelts to keep the riders safe. Adults can comfortably fit in the cow- well as comfortable as riding a cow can be at least. Their corn maze is enormous. I believe its 8 acres. And the corn stalks tower way overhead so there is no easy way to cheat to find your way out. They had plenty of workers to help make sure you didn’t get stuck though. Way past the pumpkin fields and cornmazes, you’ll find the Pumpkin Chunker. We didn’t try this one out, but it looked like a fun activity to launch some pumpkins.
Spooky stuff
On select nights, their Haunted Corn Maze is open. This is a completely separate corn maze than the day time one. We did not do this one. The description from their website sounds terrifying. I asked friends who love scary stuff about this one, and it is one of their favorites. Their website says clowns with chainsaws, zombies, and vampires are waiting for you in there and specifically states it is not recommended for young children. Tickets can be purchased on their website. $22 plus $1.70 fee.
Pumpkin Fields
Southern Oregon pumpkin farm fields are so beautiful. I think Fort Vannoy’s pumpkin patch is one of the overall best ones around. They have two patches to visit. The front patch has rows of pumpkins brought via tractor from their fields. They have every color you can think of: orange, yellow, green, white, pink, and blue!! There’s also warty pumpkins and giant pumpkins! Bins of smaller pumpkins, gourds, and squash are adjacent to the front pumpkin patch. Catch a lift from the hay ride beside the parking lot, take a tour of the farm, and then hop off at the pumpkin field. If its rained recently, it’ll be muddy. Boots are recommended. The back patch is the actual pumpkin field. Grab a wagon, and walk along the rows of pumpkins nestled in the vines. It is a massive field with rows and rows of different varieties of pumpkins. The orange ones are closest to the entrance, but head straight to the far end where the pink and blue and white pumpkins are. Work your way back to the orange ones. The rows of brightly colored pumpkins against the mountain backdrop form the perfect setting for a family photo tradition.
Other things happening
They have a farm stand, and sell ice cream and kettle corn in their big white tent up front. Gobi’s Coffee Bar and Smitty’s Food Truck are there daily with food and beverages.