Fall Fun: Smolak Farms

I believe in New England, you haven’t truly enjoyed autumn unless you’ve visited one of the many local farms. Some offer fresh apple or pumpkin picking, others may have a cute store filled with local goods, and then there are the ones take it to a whole other level. They become a full day, activity-packed destination.

There are a few of these fun-filled farms that we typically go to every year, such as Shelburne Farm in Stowe, but a few days ago I saw an ad online for Fall Festival Weekends at Smolak Farm and was immediately intrigued. I had never been to Smolak Farms in North Andover and was excited to try a new spot.

There are multiple passes available, depending on what you’re interested in doing. When we arrived, we purchased the Fall Fun Package, which included a themed hayride, fresh cider donut, goody bag, apple or pumpkin picking, 10 tickets for the carnival area, face painting and cow train rides. It was Super Hero weekend, so guests and employees alike were dressed up in their favorite hero costumes.

We visited animals, explored the cute store, and enjoyed live music while eating lunch. There’s a food and beer tent with basic foods such as hot dogs and pulled pork, and bar with beer, wine and seltzers. They feature local breweries each week – Lord Hobo and Exhibit A were on tap when we visited. The girls went right up front by the band and started a dance party while we were waiting for our food. They each got their faces painted with adorable butterflies, rainbows and flowers.

The themed hayride was such a fun and unique adventure. When we bought our tickets at the entrance, we chose a time to take the hayride. When the announcement sounded for our time, we lined up and boarded the tractor-pulled ride with Superwoman as our guide.

First we stopped at the Fields of 1,000 Hearts – a section of the farm covered with exactly 1,000 red and pink hearts. We got out, walked around, and took some photos. Isla may have picked up a heart or two that we had to quickly stake back into the ground before anyone noticed (oops!). If you’re visiting the farm without the hayride and want to see the heart field, there is a $2 charge with all proceeds going to different charity each month.

We piled back onto the hayride and were off. Our next stop was in the apple orchard with the Hulk… and an octopus! When we got off, the Hulk waved the kids over and gave them all frisbees to throw at the octopus – it was a giant ring toss game. When they finished, Hulk handed out apple cider donuts and took pictures with the kids. The donuts were amazing! I love cider donuts in general and these ones were delicious.

The final stop was in the orchard with more super heroes as well as cutouts for silly photos. The heroes gave everyone a goody bag of candy and an empty bag for picking apples. It was a small/medium bag for the apples which was perfect – usually when we go apple picking and get a big bag, the apples end up going bad before we can use them all.

The hayride leaves you in the orchard so there’s no rush choosing your apples, but it does mean you have to walk back to the rest of the farm instead of ride back. As with most orchards, the apples available for picking depends on when in the season you visit.

The Fall Festival Weekends are every weekend in September and October, with different themes throughout September and a Halloween theme in October. We arrived just after 1pm and closing time (4pm) was there before we knew it. I wish we had arrived a little earlier, we could have stayed for at least another hour.

Portapotties are the only bathrooms available for guests, and no changing tables for babies. Picnic tables are located under tents but the majority of the activities are out in the sun so definitely be sure to pack sunscreen and lots of water. Water bottles were available for purchase for $2 each. Typically we bring our own reusable water bottles and refresh them as we go, but there was no fountain or service to fill up your existing bottles.

We had such a great time at Smolak Farms and loved all the fun activities for Fall Festival Weekends. There are a couple things we didn’t have time to explore, so I could see us coming back again in October, especially since it will be Halloween themed. My girls love Halloween and I’m sure they would be super excited to wear their costumes.