The Secrets To A Perfect Chester County Fall (in Dining Guides)

Photo by controltheweb, under Creative Commons License

The air is crisp, leaves twirl down aimlessly and it’s almost cool enough to garner — gasp! — a fall jacket! There are a couple of things (okay, a lot of things) that excite me about autumn. First is seeing kids at the bus stop blowing their foggy breath into the morning air. The second is gassing up the ole’ hunk of metal and cruising to the local farm to pick fruit, buy pumpkins and play in the straw. Of course, there’s so much more… so we bring you our list of Chester County farms with all your favorite autumn activities.

Highland Orchards

Highland Orchards is the perfect choice to spend an afternoon picking fresh berries and fruit. Right now, they have delicious seasonal apples and red raspberries that you can pick yourself! If you aren’t up to the wandering the farm, they also have a tremendous selection of fruits in their market shop. I scooped up a few apples for baking apple crisp — yum! Bonus: if you want to pick more than fruit, you can help yourself to an armful of pumpkins all shapes and sizes. Highland Orchards even has the gigantic ones you see in contests, and they could be yours!

Highland Orchards Farm and Market
1000 Marshallton-Thorndale Road
West Chester, PA 19380
Call 610.269.3494 for picking hours
www.highlandorchards.net

Wynnorr Farm

Chester County has a little secret… Wynnorr Farm, one of the last working farms in Westtown. Family run, they offer a great option for fall fun. Every Saturday and Sunday through Halloween they offer a piece of the action in their Fall Harvest. They have apples, cider, gourds and pick-you-own pumpkins, as well as a hay ride through their operation, ending in an optional bonfire!

Wynnorr Farm
Rt. 926 East of Rt. 52
Westtown Township, PA
Call 610.399.9080 for hay ride reservations
www.wynnorrfarm.com

Marlborough Valley Corn Maze

Some autumn fun — like jumping into a freshly raked pile of leaves or looking for a good Halloween scare — appeals to almost everyone. Every day on my way to work I drive past the Marlborough Valley Corn Maze, and it’s driving me crazy! I’ve watch the corn grow as high as it can, and I can’t wait to get lost in it. For only 8 bucks, you get admission into the maze and access to the hay jump, hay ride, goat walk (God only knows what that is…) and, drum roll please, a pick-your-own pumpkin patch! For the older crowd, they also have a Haunted Woods and Haunted Hayride!

Marlborough Valley Corn Maze
1081 Wawaset Road (Rt. 842), across from Indiana Hanna Road
Kennett Square, PA 19348
484.886.6080
Friday: Noon – 6 pm
Saturday/Sunday: 9 am – 6 pm (Haunted attractions until 10:30 pm)
www.mvmaze.com

Have any other suggestions for fall activities in the area? Add your ideas to the comments below!

About the Author

Sarah's dream job is to own a small cafe and bookstore and if that doesn’t work out she wants to be homeless in Europe. In the mean time she's exploring and reporting on the wide and wonderful world of WC Restaurants.

More About Sarah Reese...

2 Comments So Far

JB – Oct 16, 2007

If there are any knitters in the group, Wynnorr also sells really pretty wool yarn from their sheep friends on the farm.
Fenwick – Oct 19, 2007

I love Highland Orchards. I tend not to like to work for my food, but this is worth it.

Comment Guidelines

Be Respectful. Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?: Although the old saying, "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all," is swell, we encourage constructive feedback (ie, be polite), and recommend backing-up your comments with evidence/witnesses.
Be Honest. Look where it got Abe Lincoln. Well, before the evening at the theater.: We don't recommend complaining just for the sake of it (see number 1), but if you have a legitimate comment, it should be shared. Also, don't hesitate to disagree with other comments, even if your opinion is in the minority. If patrons aren't honest about their experiences, restaurants won't know that there is room for improvement. And there always is.
Be Specific. "The food was good" doesn't cut it.: Each dining experience is unique, so if a dining experience moves you in any way, by all means, share the details. Choose the sensory details that impacted your experience the most and describe them in your postings. Other foodies will gobble it up—literally.
Be Concise. 'Nuf said.: What? We thought it was pretty clear the first time.
Be Helpful. Sort of like how the elves and reindeer help Santa.: Will what you have to say improve the restaurant's ability to provide impeccable service and improve the dining experience for others (again, see number 1)? If so... help away.
Show a Little Pride. No Jane or John Does please.: If you are too embarrassed to put your name as the commenter, you probably should re-evaluate your comments (you know the drill... see number 1). If you have sensitive information that you feel needs to be passed along, please use your best judgment and e-mail it to us to avoid public posting. We don't want you to have any post-post regrets.
Don't Name Names. Let's not get too personal here.: We know you want to share your experiences, both good and bad, but this isn't the place to publicly condemn or praise individual people. Feel free to comment on "the service", "the chef", or "the staff", but any positive or negative mention of specific names will be moderated.

Name « required

Mail (will not be published) « required

Website

West Chester Dish

Advertisement

Dining Guides