Fall, family and fun: It’s a winning combination for any family looking to spend quality time together. And for several families, business heats up as temperatures drop and people flock to local farms and ranches to get a taste of fresh produce, to celebrate the fall season or just to get away from it all and back to nature.
Schnepf Farms
Schnepf Farms in Queen Creek is consistently named one of the Valley’s top hot spots—or in the fall, cool spots.
Owners Mark and Carrie Schnepf have continued to expand their annual Pumpkin and Chili Party for 18 years, just as they’ve changed the farm itself over the years. They stay as fresh as their crops while remaining true to the legacy of their family and land.
Schnepf Farms began when Mark’s grandparents purchased the land for $25 an acre. At the time, the land was too undeveloped to serve as a residence, so Mark’s parents were sent out first to hold down the fort. The couple spent their honeymoon night in a one-room shack with a farmhand outside. Since then, generations of Schnepfs have developed the land from barren desert scrub to thriving commercial farmland.
Mark and Carrie own Arizona’s largest agritourist farm. “The idea is that we’re a destination,” says Mark. “People get a real farm experience—something they just don’t get to do anymore. I really think there’s this kind of inner desire or inner feeling to get back to a simpler time.”
The Schnepfs didn’t set out to develop a premier attraction. But while trying to think of a sustainable way to keep the farm as they raised a family, the Schnepfs felt the pull to preserve a farming legacy on their land, often adopting farm buildings and materials from other sites.
“We saw what we were creating and the impact that it has on people,” Mark says. “People are making these family memories, and we began to understand what a legacy this could be.”
Mark and Carrie agree that while they love sharing farm fun all year, fall is the best.
“There’s just something magical about it,” Mark says. “The orchards change color. It’s really eye candy. People come out to our shops. They come out for breakfast or lunch or to enjoy the petting zoo. The air is wonderful. It all just comes alive in the fall.”
Carrie agrees. She says the drive to evoke fall in Arizona and really celebrate the season is what made her call their event a party—because “festivals are great, but we need a party for fall!”
At the first party, Mark had to drive to Circle K to buy more bowls for chili. Now, they serve nearly 60,000 bowls a year.
Guests also enjoy cornbread, corn on the cob, bonfires, music, rides and more.
“It’s such a great feeling. You can come and start your day here, and when the sun starts setting, marshmallows start roasting, you go to your car and get your sweatshirt. It’s a whole different feeling,” she says.
As the party has grown, they’ve added features to appeal to just about any guest: scarecrow painting and petting zoos for the little ones, the cookout and pumpkin patch for all ages, and even newer teen-friendly additions like a BMX Extreme Sports Show.
“Shows like (the BMX show) and our Extreme Canine Dog Show are quality entertainment,” Carrie says. “These are big shows. I want people to have a Disneyesque experience.”
Teens and older kids will enjoy the spooky train ride—created by local kids and sponsors as a “face your fears” ride, which takes over the normal train ride each evening at 6:30—and all ages will enjoy the traditional celebrity corn maze. This year it features the likeness of Arizona Cardinals star Larry Fitzgerald.
“I look forward to fall the most,” says Mark. “We love the rest of the year, but for both Carrie and I, this is our favorite event. We get a kick out of watching everyone. And there is something for everyone—between the rides, the entertainment, the bonfires, the marshmallows…it’s truly a multigenerational event.”
Down And Dirty On The Farm
For Gracie and Bill Tolmachoff, family time is a big part of what drives them and their children to run Tolmachoff Farms in Glendale.
“We love fall,” Gracie says. “The kids want to start roasting marshmallows. And then Halloween is close by, and Christmas is right around the corner. It kind of gets everybody geared up for that and everybody gets a little giddy, a little excited inside.”
Tolmachoff Farms
Tolmachoff Farms has been run by the family for four generations and more than 100 years, but the produce stand for which it’s become known started as a summertime activity for Gracie and Bill’s two older children.
“It started as them selling sweet corn, learning responsibility motivation, and it’s grown from there,” she says.
Tolmachoff Farms now sells a wide variety of fresh produce, including melons, peppers and tomatoes.
Farming has always been a way of life for the Tolmachoffs. Gracie talks about driving a tractor as her husband drove a second one, each with a toddler along for the ride. She was excited to open up the farm to offer that experience to families, especially in the fall. The farm kicked off its pumpkin and corn maze event in 1999 and has since expanded it.
This year, they added a pyramid of tractor tires that has been made into a combination sandbox and climbing playground for kids. They’ve also added a dress-your-own-scarecrow event alongside old favorites such as the petting zoo.
The farm makes sure to cater to different age groups. The main corn maze is perfect for a challenge and takes about an hour to navigate. For little ones, parents with kids in strollers, or just folks who aren’t up for that much wandering, the smaller “mini-maze” takes about five minutes to explore.
“Kids need to come out and have some fun and get dirty,” Tolmachoff says. “This is the time for it, and fall goes fast.”
Riding Into Autumn
My son, David, and I were eager to answer fall’s outdoor call. Luckily, MacDonald’s Ranch in Scottsdale was ready to hook us up—or saddle up, as it happened—with an early autumn adventure.
The ranch has been in operation by the Richardson family since the late 1950s, when it was a horse-and-cattle ranch comprising 36,000 acres in the desert that is now North Scottsdale.
MacDonald’s Ranch
As the land around the ranch was developed, the family retained 1,300 acres as Old MacDonald’s Farm, which was rechristened MacDonald’s Ranch in 1994. The aim throughout has been to maintain a working ranch that benefits the animal residents. Allowing visitors to take an authentic hands-on approach let them see how it all worked.
The ranch is now a party and concert venue as well as a go-to spot for horseback riding, stagecoach rides and more.
After saddling up and a quick refresher on holding the reins, we set off with our guide—who “learned to ride a horse before a bike”—and two other experienced riders. My son and I have been on exactly one trail ride. But Ally, our trail guide, made us feel right at home. As we made our way through the desert brush, she pointed out flora and fauna (even taking us by a tree to see a great-horned owl up close before it took flight), chatted about the horses and the ranch, and made sure riders of all skill levels had a wonderful time.
My son rode Charlie, a beautiful red horse. Mine was Yours (literally—his name is “Yours”—it’s the owner’s horse). The horses, which are cared for and ridden daily with plenty of fresh hay and rest in between, were fantastic. They were calm and friendly, and probably could have walked the trail on their own. Perfect for newbies.
We followed the ride with a visit to the ranch’s farm-animal petting zoo, where my son spent a ridiculously long time with the goats, donkey, pigs, peacocks and more. It was a fantastic morning. The ranch also offers moonlight rides, stagecoach rides and much more. But really, it was only a taste of the fall activities offered this month at farms and ranches around the Valley.
Fall on the Farm
If you want to get a taste of fall in the Valley, here are our primo picks. But get going: Fall goes fast around these parts.
MacDonald’s Ranch
26540 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale
(480) 585-0239
www.macdonaldsranch.com
Fall Fun: Pumpkin patch, stagecoach rides, trail rides
MacDonald’s Ranch celebrates fall in style with stagecoach rides, hayrides, guided horseback rides, and an annual pumpkin patch the entire month of October. Included in the admission price of $10 Monday through Friday (closed on Tuesday) and $15 Saturday and Sunday is the ranch’s petting zoo and Western games, a trip through the hay maze, gold panning, hayrides and stagecoach rides to the pumpkin patch. For a little extra visitors can try out pony rides, the “Blazin’ Barbecue,” special vendors and pumpkins for purchase. Photo by Kimberly Hosey
Tolmachoff Farms
5726 N. 75th Ave., Glendale
(602) 999-3276
www.tolmachoff-farms.com
Fall Fun: Pumpkin Days and Corn Maze
Tolmachoff Farms, known for its variety of produce, is in the fall spirit through Sunday, Nov. 9, with a 6-acre family corn maze, mini corn maze (perfect for little ones), tractor-tire pyramid, petting zoo, train ride, hay pyramid, farm-themed activities like dress-your-own-scarecrow and corn grinding to make feed for chickens, a play area with a corn box, a child and adult pedal cart track and more. Weekends also feature a bounce house. Check the website for times on each day. Admission is $9 for ages 2 and older. Photo by Erica Odello
Schnepf Farms
24810 S. Rittenhouse Road, Queen Creek
(480) 987-3100
www.schnepffarms.com
Fall Fun: Pumpkin and Chili Party
Admission to one of the Valley’s best-loved fall celebrations, running through Sunday, Nov. 2 (check the website for times), includes hayrides; a roller coaster, carousel and other rides; jumping pillows; petting zoo; country road rally; rock-climbing wall; miniature golf; bonfires; marshmallow roasting; a four-acre corn maze and 10-acre celebrity corn maze; farmhouse museum; Hillbilly Bob’s Pig Races; BMX Extreme Sports Show, Extreme Canine Dog Show and more. Chili dinners, burgers, pony rides, food, pumpkins and crafts are also available for purchase in addition to admission. Cost is $17 plus tax at the gate or $14 at any Fry’s Food Stores. Photo by Tim Sealy
Vertuccio Farms
4011 S. Power Road, Mesa
(480) 650-6606
www.vertucciofarms.com
Fall Fun: Fall Festival
During Vertuccio Farms’ Fall Festival, now through Sunday, Nov. 2 (general admission $9; season pass $22), visitors can check out the signature “pizza farm:” a half-acre circular garden divided into eight “slices” of land cultivating ingredients for a pizza. The farm will also offer plenty of special autumn festivities, including a 7-acre corn maze and mini hay maze, extreme air pillow and bounce house, mule and barrel train rides, giant tube slide, spider web rope climb, rubber duck race, a pumpkin patch (extra charge for pumpkins), pedal race cars, farm animals and playground. Photo courtesy Vertuccio Farms
Mother Nature’s Farm
1663 E. Baseline Road, Gilbert 85233
(480) 892-5874
www.mothernaturesfarm.com
Fall Fun: Seasonal festivities
On Saturday, Oct. 4, the farm presents a pumpkin weigh-off, and the pumpkin patch is stocked with fresh pumpkins daily, ranging from 1 ounce to hundreds of pounds. Stop by Maneau’s Market for fall decorations and pumpkin accessories, including products from Gold Canyon Candles. Kids will want to check out the festival. For $10, children get a pumpkin, an individual bag of stickers for decorating the pumpkin, admission to the air bounce, a hayride, straw bounce, animal feeding and entrance to Alexander’s Adventure Maze. Adults may tag along for $3 and join the hayride. Maneau’s offers hot dogs, popcorn, cotton candy, snow cones, drinks and more for purchase.
Superstition Farm
3440 S. Hawes Road, Mesa
(602) 432-6865
www.superstitionfarm.com
Fall Fun: Tours of a working dairy farm
Superstition Farm in Mesa opened for the fall season Thursday, Oct. 2, with regular tours of its working dairy farm, just in time to enjoy the beginning of Arizona’s cooler temps. Kids (and adults!) can get back to the essentials here, learning what it takes to bring milk to the breakfast table. The farm has more than 1,000 cows, and, after an udderly educational meeting in the Moo-University, guests embark on a tractor-pulled hayride around the farm for about an hour, where city slickers learn about how SuperFarm cares for its herd and gets milk for delicious dairy products. Following the tour, guests are taught to hand feed the farm’s rescue animals, which may include goats, sheep, a donkey, a horse, calves, a rabbit or chickens. Tours cost $7.50 for adults and $5.50 for kids up to 12. If you can’t make it to the tour, $3.75 for adults and $2.75 for kids buys feed for rescue animals to nibble from your hands.