Every year, we go to the pumpkin patch. Everybody.
It’s one of my favorite field trips, and the kids look forward to it all year — even the big kids who pretend they don’t care until we pull into the parking lot.
Now, you might remember the pumpkin patch as a tiny roadside stop — a few pumpkins on the ground, maybe a scarecrow if you were lucky. But in Georgia? The pumpkin patch is an all-day adventure on a massive family farm. It’s hayrides and ninja courses and flower fields and animals and so much more.
This year, we went to Sleepy Hollow Farm in Powder Springs, GA — about 45 minutes from our school in Stone Mountain. It’s a beautiful drive, and once you get out toward the farm, everything opens up into wide fields, trees, and big sky.
Getting Tickets
One important note:
You can’t just show up.
You must buy tickets in advance for a specific time slot, and those slots go quickly as the season gets closer to Halloween.
We went during the last week of October — which also happened to be Spirit Week at Lighthouse.
(Yep! We have Spirit Week - one in the fall and one in the spring - complete with Pajama Day, Costume Day, Crazy Hair Day and more.)
Start With the Farm Map (Trust Me on This One)
The very first thing we did — before bathrooms, before snacks, before anyone sprinted toward the playground — was take a picture of the farm map.
At Sleepy Hollow Farm, the map is posted at the entrance, and it’s your best friend for the day. This place is huge.
This was a lifesaver later when someone asked,
“Where are the goats again?”
or
“Are we close to the ninja course or did we pass it?”
If you’re going with a group — especially a mix of ages — take map photos for yourself and encourage older kids to do the same. It turns the whole farm into an adventure you can navigate confidently instead of wandering until someone gets tired or hungry (or both).
The Corn Maze
We went here first.
The maze is huge — tall enough that even our tallest middle schoolers couldn’t see over it. Once the stalks closed around us, the sounds got louder, the laughs got wilder, and the whole maze felt like a tiny world of its own.
Kids loved:
- getting “lost” together
- the sense of adventure
- the dramatic echoes and rustles
- discovering little pockets and corners
It felt haunted in the best way — not scary, just exciting.
(And yes, this is the same maze where we ended up filming our short movie.)
The Hayride
Forget the tiny wagons you remember from childhood.
These are tractor-pulled trains with multiple long cars that take you across the entire property.
Consider it your park train/MARTA for the day — hop on, hop off, and let it shuttle you between the best parts of the farm without anyone melting down halfway there.
If you have kids who get overstimulated by lots of walking, the hayride is a perfect reset.
The Animals
This was a highlight for everyone.
They have:
- goats
- pigs
- cows
- horses
- donkeys
- chickens
- ducks
- and the sweetest rabbits
The staff even let our older students help with rabbit care after we mentioned we used to keep French Angoras. The kids were gentle, focused, and so proud to guide the younger ones on how to hold and pet them.
The Flower Fields
Absolutely gorgeous.
Kids made mini bouquets, explored the rows, and took photos in the beautiful photo setups — giant frames, lace-covered structures, cozy cottages that look like Pinterest had a field day. In the field (get it?)...
The Nature Ninja Course
This was one of the biggest surprises — it’s like they took a nature playground, stretched it out across the woods, and added Ninja Warrior energy to it.
There were balancing beams, ropes, climbing challenges, and tough obstacles. Our students could’ve spent hours there.
If you have energetic kids, this might become their favorite section.
Gift Shop, Snacks & Bathrooms
And for, perhaps, the most important part of this field trip review.
The bathrooms?
Shockingly clean.
Like, cleaner than most city parks and nicer than we expected by far. Big win.
The gift shop was cozy with snacks, toys, fall finds, and treats. The $6 apple fritters were a hit and exactly what everyone needed after running around the maze. They also had shelves and shelves of delightful farm-made jams, jellies, pickles, syrups, and canned goods.
A few of our students were so fascinated by the colorful jars that it sparked a whole new special interest. Before we even left the store, they were already talking about starting an independent homesteading study:
- Learning how canning works
- Experimenting with homemade jams and syrups
- Building their own little preserved-food collection at school
I fully expect lemon balm jelly, blueberry-lavender syrup, or some kind of experimental pumpkin butter to appear during a Genius Studio one day soon.
Thank you to Sleepy Hollow Farm for such a wonderful visit. We will definitely be back.