The One Farm To Put On Your Don’t Miss List This Fall!

If you adore fall, you may be planning a visit to a local farm with activities your whole family will love. One of our favorite farms is Denver Downs Farm, which offers a huge corn maze, a jumping pillow, a zip line, and much more. We’ll give you the details of all the activities they will offer this season!

Don’t miss the Family 4-Pack of Tickets giveaway at the end of the article!

This article includes:
The Corn Maze at Denver Downs
Things to Do at Denver Downs
Plan Your Visit to Denver Downs
Fall Weekend Themes at Denver Downs

As summer gives way to fall and the weather turns a little cooler, I can’t hide my excitement for my absolute favorite time of year. I love sweater weather, boots, and the leaves changing to vibrant yellows and reds. But most of all, as I’ve fallen in love with Greenville, I look forward to this time of year more than ever because there is just so much to do that every weekend becomes an adventure.

One particular place that I cannot wait to mark on my calendar during fall is trekking to Denver Downs Farm in Anderson. If you’ve never been, read on because you’ll want to plan your visit just as much as I do.

Here are 11 Reasons to Visit Denver Downs Farm.

About Denver Downs Farm

Denver Downs is currently a 900-acre agri-tourism farm, which means they are a working farm but invite people who are interested in learning about the farm. It also means they host really cool events like their annual Fall Festival, which features their nationally-recognized corn maze, live music, bonfires, and Pumpkin Princess Contest.

The farm was started as a cotton farm in the late 1800s and then transitioned to a dairy farm. It was successful, with a milking herd of over 300 Holstein cows at one point, but then the dairy cows were sold in the mid-90s and the farm transitioned to row crops, produce, and beef cattle farming. During Thanksgiving through New Year’s Eve, the roadside market sells the farm’s fresh-picked collard greens. (They are huge, gorgeous, and delicious.)

The Corn Maze at Denver Downs

The first time I heard about Denver Downs was when I was told that the largest corn maze in the Southeast part of the United States was at this farm. Growing up in New Jersey, we didn’t exactly have enormous corn fields to run through, so I was immediately intrigued. Plus, I really wanted to imagine some big-time baseball stars coming out of cornfields (thank you “Field of Dreams”).

Although I’ve yet to see Babe Ruth make an appearance, the corn maze is enormous with 12 acres of corn stalks and paths. It’s also really easy to get lost in, which is certainly half the entertainment – as long as you are willing to let a toddler lead the way.

The Garrison Family, who have owned and operated the farm since 1869, make the corn maze a lot of fun by putting up checkpoints throughout, where maze-goers can use their smartphones to scan the numbers and track their time. You can also win prizes for finding all the numbers. We were in the maze for about 15 minutes and only came across one number. If you don’t have kids, have at it.

The 2023 corn maze theme is still a secret (releasing mid-September), but we are excited to find out what it is. There will still be multiple checkpoints throughout the maze, and each checkpoint will have a trivia question to help steer you in the right direction.

Fun fact: Their corn maze is so awesome that they were named one of the Best Corn Mazes in the country by USA Today in 2021.

The Activities

When you walk into the farm, at first glance it doesn’t look huge. You think you can almost see all of the activities with a quick scan but wow, it’s deceptive. There is so much to do, at least a day’s worth of fun. I’ve gotten smarter each time I go and pack more food and water because we stay all day long, literally five to eight hours at least. And we still don’t even get to all of the activities they have.

There is a giant open barn full of hay with rope swings where kids can swing and then jump into the hay. Raise your hand if you want to be the adult in line with the kids? Yes, that was me too and it was a blast.

There is a zip line, a massive slide, giant tricycles, a pig derby, a ropes course, sensory sandboxes with Indian corn, two giant jumping pillows, corn hole, a tractor tire playground, gem mining, a petting zoo, barnyard activities, human foosball, a mini-farm house perfect for little kids to play in, swings made from tires that look like horses, spider web climb, an arcade that consists of areas where you can test your baseball and football throwing skills, and a cow train just to name a few. Each year they add some new attractions. Find the full list of activities on the farm.

On the educational side, there are exhibits of crops and signs about how the crops are grown, and how the maze is made.

In addition to more than 35 barnyard activities, they also have a big pumpkin patch, bonfire pits, farm animals, live music, tons of carnival food options, kettle corn, and funnel cake.

Awesome Tube Slide & Jumping Pillows

The farm actually expanded activities last year to use about 30% more of the acreage available, which means more fun for guests.

Denver Downs will again have its massive mega slide, Slide Mountain! I got to try it out and oh my gosh, it was awesome! You can go as fast as 35 mph and there’s even a bridge above to watch people slide down. I’m making a prediction that this is going to be the most popular activity at the farm.

And they’ve also greatly expanded their jumping pillow area to not only move it to a different part of the farm but also enclose it and add another jumping pillow. It’s huge. The pillows will be for older and younger kids, which I think is pretty smart, as long I can still go and jump because yup, I’m a big kid at heart.

Planning Your Visit to Denver Downs

Denver Downs Fall Festival, which includes the corn maze, pumpkin patch, and plenty of family-friendly activities, is open from September 23rd to November 12th, 2023, Thursdays through Sundays. The hours of operation are as follows:
Thursdays: TBD
Fridays: 11 am – 10 pm
Saturdays: 10 am – 10 pm
Sundays: 10 am – 6 pm

2023 admission is $29.95 per person plus tax, depending on the day of the week. There is also a modest online purchasing fee of less than $2. Children aged 2 and under are free. Though it may seem pricey at first glance, the tickets are well worth the cost. You get a stamp on your hand which allows you to leave and reenter the same day.  The ticket price includes all the attractions but concessions, pumpkins, and pick-your-own flowers are extra.

My family goes and makes a day out of it. Food selections include barbecue plates, hot dogs, pimento cheese sandwiches, and healthier options too like turkey sandwiches.  Special Festival Treats include of course: Fresh Popped Kettle Corn, Fresh Squeezed Lemonade, Funnel Cakes, S’mores, Cotton Candy, Fried Pickles, and more to be announced.

Bring water (water bottles allowed), sunscreen, and snacks since it can still be quite warm that time of year, and with all the running around and playing, it does get exhausting. My preschool-age daughter actually fell asleep on one of the tire horse swings the first time we went.

Admission includes activities like:

• Finding your way through the 12-acre corn maze
• Jumbo Jumping Pillow
• Cow Train
• Animal Races
• Little Farmer’s Corral
• Climbing Wall
• Giant Slide
• Zip Line
• Straw Barn Play Area
• Giant Lincoln Logs
• Corn Box
• Spider Web Climb
• Mini-Maze
• Bonfires & Live Music

For more information, visit www.denverdownsfarm.com.

Address: 1515 Denver Road, Anderson

What is your family’s favorite activity at Denver Downs Farm?

Check out our KA Guide to Fall, with over 30 fun places to go and things to do this season near Greenville, SC!