Cherry Crest Farms, Lancaster County, PA

Website: Cherry Crest Farms
Season: May-September, maze opens in July NOT OPEN ON SUNDAYS
Cost: See all admission rates here.
Approximate Length of Visit: You can definitely make a day of this. They even have flashlight maze in the evening sometimes.
Recommended ages: All ages but there's more to do for younger kids.

I think Cherry Crest Farm is my absolute favorite out of all of our family fun activities. We have never missed a year since we discovered it. There is so much to do there, especially for younger kids. It can get crowded but not unbearably so. It's nice anytime it isn't raining but it's especially nice when it's a nice fall day. The service and facilities are top-notch. I can't recommend this place enough.

The maze is great for adults and older children but even young children enjoy it. There are play structures located within the maze to entertain them. There's a snack bar within the maze and candy machines pop up along the way. Honestly, we haven't had much luck with the actual maze and had to cheat our way out every time (and between the members of our group we had a PhD, Master's degree and Bachelor's degree). It was still a lot of fun.

That's only a small part of Cherry Crest Farm. There are so many activities for kids beyond the maze. They have a smaller maze, two bouncers (big pillow-like bouncers, not bounce houses), sandboxes, play structures, slides, pumpkin slinging, mining for gold, games, animals, a wagon ride, a small train, pedal cars. That's just part of it. There is more than I can list here. There are activities in the courtyard and activities in the barnyard.

My son had a great time playing on the obstacle course. He had been obsessed with the window cleaners at his school so he just kept going down the rope over and over.

There are animals and a farm education area where he got to hold a baby chick and milk a 'cow'.


The food is excellent. They have roasted corn that is out of this world. It is some of the best sweet corn I ever tasted and I'm usually there in October. The pork barbecue is also really good as are the french fries and, well, everything else. The freshly made Kettlecorn is something we never pass up. Food prices get higher every year but they add more choices every year and you're allowed to bring your own food, if you'd like.


In the past my worst complaints about Cherry Crest were the poor baby changing option and the long lines for the restroom but in 2009 they added a nice baby changing room (and also a nursing station) and added another restroom building. They added even more facilities later.

That is the best thing about Cherry Crest - it gets better every year. They add something new and keep up what they already have. In 2009, they also added a new play structure with slides and small climbing walls, another tent with picnic tables, some games and probably a few other things I missed. In 2011 the added quite a bit - new food stands, new restrooms, new games.

Take note that they aren't open on Sundays. Cherry Crest is a full day for us but it can be combined with Strasburg Railroad.

Please add your comments regarding this activity or let me know if you have any questions about it that I might be able to answer.