With autumn just around the corner, it’s time to enjoy nature’s harvest. From apple picking to pumpkin carving, fall is full of activities you can enjoy with family and friends. Ohio really gets into the spirit of autumn, hosting festivals and tours throughout October and November. Harvest fairs and scenic drives are musts, with hayrides being the highlight of any event. Here are five of Ohio’s best hayrides, from classic rides through apple orchards to jolly haunts through the wilderness.
Enjoy A Hayride At One Of These Ohio Farms!
1. Leaders Family Farm
0064 County Road 16, Napoleon, OH 43545
The hayride at Leaders Family Farm in Napoleon, Ohio is amazingly scenic and peaceful. It’s the perfect break to take in between all the other activities the farm has to offer. Leaders is noteworthy for being the home of the state’s first corn maze. What’s a corn maze, you ask? It’s a life-size maze built into a cornfield. The thrill of finding your way out of the twists and turns is one way of enjoying nature’s bounty. In addition to the scenic hayrides the farm offers, Leaders is the perfect family-friendly farm for its wide range of activities. The Jumping Pillow, cow train rides and face painting are available for visitors to Leaders Family Farm.
2. Rockin’-R-Ranch Old West Pumpkin Festival
19066 East River Road, Columbia Station, OH 44028
The Rockin’-R-Ranch gives tractor-pulled wagon rides to a field where you can pick your own pumpkin. The hayrides at this ranch are all about bringing back the nostalgia. The ranch has been holding harvest events each fall for the past 20 years. By day, the Old West Pumpkin Festival features a farm market, country kids show and animal petting farm. By night, the place transforms into the Spooky Ranch. This is the number one Halloween attraction of its kind in the area, and one of our top picks for a hayride.
3. White House Fruit Farm
9249 Youngstown-Salem Road, Canfield, OH 44406
White House Fruit Farm holds Farm Celebration Weekends throughout September and October. The farm opens its doors to the public every weekend. There’s a Pumpkin Pavilion, petting zoo and hay mountain for guests to enjoy. Their horse-drawn wagon rides are fun for people of all ages as well. This family farm has been around since 1815, selling homegrown produce in its barn farm market all year round.
4. Fear Forest Haunted House and Hayride
6780 Tod Avenue SW, Lordstown, OH 44481
If you want to get your spook on, check out this hayride in Lordstown, Ohio. It’s a mile-long hayride that’ll take you on a harrowing ride through Fear Forest. You’ll get dropped off in the middle of a dark cornfield, where the haunted house awaits. If the hayride and haunted house don’t give you a fright, the Insane-A-Tarium, Psycho Path or Forbidden Cornfield just might.
5. Nightmares in the Wilderness
7665 Lafayette Road, Lodi, OH 44254
Another spooky hayride is located in Lodi, Ohio. This hayride will whisk you away to the scene of your greatest nightmares. After a ½ mile hayride, you’ll get dropped off in the wilderness. You’ll have to navigate the twists and turns of the forest to escape the clowns and monsters lurking in the shadows. If you make it out alive, a wagon will take you back to the Apple Cabin, where you can recount your trial of terror over a beverage or two. This hayride is a fun part of a larger interactive experience.
This article was written by Hanna Choi.