Pumpkin Farm Train Rides

Image courtesy of nuchylee
 at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The clock is running out on opportunities for pumpkin farm fun this season. Most farm and orchard activities wrap up this weekend or run just through October 31. To find just the right last minute afternoon outing or day trip for your family -- with train ride options, of course! -- try these links:

"Looking for a Great Pumpkin" -- This Sun Times article offers a multitude of suggestions. Do a page search for "trains" and plenty of ideas appear, including All Seasons Apple Orchard in Woodstock, Dollinger Family Farm in Channahon, Harms Farm Garden Center in McHenry, Johansen Farms in Bolingbrook, Kuipers Farm in Maple Park, Randy's Vegetables in Sleepy Hollow and Siegel's Cottonwood Farms in Crest Hill. Take a special look at the steam train rides offered during the weekend at the Dollinger Family Farm. For $3, riders get a ride the rails on a real mini-steam train. 

Pumpkin Patches and More: Trains appear at Yaegers Farm Market in DeKalb, Anderson's Fun-E Farm in Plainfield, Stade's Market in McHenry,  All Seasons Orchard in Woodstock, Royal Oak Farm in Harvard,  Tom's Farm Market in Huntley, Konow's Corn Maze in Homer Glen, and Settlers Pond Shelter in Beecher. The Royal Oak Express at Royal Oak Farm offers a ride for parents and kids on a miniature replica of a 19th century train. Rides are $2.50. 

Make it Better:  A crisp, clean site with orchard suggestions for Northern Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana. 

University of Illinois Extension: If you would like to head beyond the Chicago area, here's a good resources for farms in other areas of the state. 

Illinois AgFun Another list of Illinois pumpkin patches. 

Be sure to call ahead before you go to be sure your farm destination is still open! 

Tinley Park: Odyssey Fun Farm's Cow Train

In my on-going quest to find the perfect combination of fall fun and railroad love, here's what's piqued my interest today: the Cow Train! Many orchards offer rides on a barrel train, which is usually a tractor pulling 55-gallon barrels hitched together. Odyssey Fun Farm in Tinley Park has taken the concept a step further with the Cow Train. No plain ol' barrels here. This "train" takes its farm location seriously with bovine-inspired, Holstein-patterned cars. 

In addition to the train and a pumpkin patch, Odyssey Fun Farm's other activities include pig races, a corn cannon, a pillow jumpy, kid zone, and a corn box (because corn is a lot less trouble to clean up from the floor of your car than all the usual sandbox sand!). There's plenty more to do and if you truly need more activities, or the weather doesn't cooperate, the farm is right next to Odyssey Fun World with ample inside entertainment options. 

Odyssey Fun Farm is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily through October 27, weather permitting. Look it up on Google Earth before you go and you'll know you've found the right place by zooming in on the corn maze (although, as of this writing, last year's maze is what I saw). 

Orchard trains

When the fall season begins, a new crop (heh!) of kids activities appears all over the area. Orchards and pumpkin farms take full advantage of the family-friendly nature of a trip to the local farm for some seasonal fun. It's not just autumn's bounty on sale; it's a mini theme park at almost every site. The specific activity varies by farm, of course, but a wagon ride of some sort is almost always available at the larger places. Sometimes, that ride takes on a train theme.

One of our favorite apple-picking places is Jonamac Orchard in Malta. It's plenty busy, but far enough from suburban crowds to be more pleasant, in my humble opinion. We love Jonamac because the folks who run it clearly care about their crop and their customers. The staff is always pleasant, the grounds are always tidy, and everything -- from plants to buildings -- are well maintained. This year, timely investment in a frost fan and an irrigation system means they have apples for picking despite this year's odd weather conditions. Aside from picking apples and pumpkins, there's a farm yard full of kids' activities. My children love the enormous jumping pillow, but there's also the "Apple Train" among other activities. It's a small tractor pulling several barrels that have been creatively turned into "cars" on the train. Like everything else at Jonamac, it's adorable and well done.

We have not yet made the trip to Johansen Farms in Bolingbrook, but their promotional materials keep catching my eye, mostly because they, too, offer a train ride among their kids' activities. Others that advertise train rides include the Hootenanny Railroad at Bengtson's in Homer Glen -- this one is a real mini-train that leaves from a cute station -- and the "Pumpkin Mine Kiddie Train" -- a tractor-pulled ride with "train" cars -- at Siegel's Cottonwoood Farm in Crest Hill. So there's always a chance that a fall day at the farm can turn into yet another train trip for the family.