Corn cob cannons firing at tractor-tire targets and a giant jumping pillow are pulling families back to Abbey Farms in Aurora for another season of Pumpkin Daze, which continues through November 1. The farm at 2855 Hart Road has turned the fall event into a multi-generational tradition for some visitors, with an 8-acre corn maze, hayrides and dozens of activities included in a single admission price.
Katarina Grapsas, who traveled from Naperville, was making her fourth visit to the farm, according to the Chicago Tribune. She said the outing has become a family tradition, and her children gravitate toward the jumping pillow above everything else the farm offers. That pillow is one of the park's signature draws, alongside the sprawling corn maze that Abbey Farms describes on its website as one of the largest in Kane County.
The corn cannons stand out as a particularly unusual attraction for kids, according to Danica Luken, who works at the farm and told the Tribune that operators use corn pickers stationed in the maze to keep the cannons supplied with cobs to launch at tractor-tire targets. Phil Nork, Abbey Farms' associate director, told the Tribune the farm drew more than 5,000 visitors the previous weekend, part of a pattern of steady weekend crowds that has made Pumpkin Daze a fixture of the Aurora fall calendar.
Decades of Growth on the Farm
Pumpkin Daze is now in its 17th year, per the Tribune's reporting, building on an attraction that, as of 2023, had already been running for about 15 years and was pulling in more than 30,000 visitors over its six-week season, Abbey Farms director Eric Mott told the Chicago Tribune at the time. Mott said a typical two-day weekend back then brought in roughly 3,000 people. That same reporting described the event combining the 40-acre pumpkin farm with an 8-acre corn maze, a petting zoo, zip lines and the farm's mega slide, along with extras like go-carts, a hamster wheel race, a pirate ship adventure and a rope maze challenge.
This year's visitors brought their own reasons for returning. John Deknatel, who visited with his 3-year-old daughter Jaina, told the Tribune he came back because she loved the slide and the pumpkin patch the previous year. Sue Duffy, meanwhile, was making her first trip to Abbey Farms with her daughter and niece, and said her favorite part was simply the candy.
Weekend Extras and Family Rituals
Nork told the Tribune that Abbey Farms has added a weekend beer tent and features music on Saturdays and Sundays, while the farm also hosts numerous school groups during the week. Those weekend add-ons echo earlier seasons of the event — a 2023 report from the Tribune noted a newly completed barn that housed both live music and the beer tent that year.
Not every visitor is thinking about activities first. Esperanza Garcia, 8, said candy is her favorite part of Halloween, while her mother, Emma Garcia, who lives in Michigan, said she planned to enjoy the farm's activities and eat donuts during the visit. Abbey Farms was closed on Mondays and Tuesdays during this particular stretch of the season, except on Columbus Day, and the farm posts a full schedule of hours along with special Halloween and flashlight corn maze activities on its website.
Planning a Visit
Abbey Farms lists regular hours of 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, with the farm typically closed Mondays and Tuesdays except for Columbus Day, when it opens from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. A flashlight corn maze runs after dark until 10 p.m. on Saturdays in October, though the farm does not offer a night maze on Halloween itself.
Admission runs $21 online or $23 at the gate on weekends and Columbus Day, and $17 online or $19 at the gate on October weekdays, according to Fox Valley Magazine. Children two and under get in free, parking is always free, and a $45 season pass covers unlimited visits. The outlet reported the event folds in more than 20 activities under one admission, including an 8-acre maze, hayrides, slides, a log balance beam course and a tractor tire tunnel adventure, with a petting zoo and live music in the beer tent from 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.
