Sherwood, Oregon: The Pumpkin Patch at Red Berry Barn

I am not ruling out that at some point we will want to go pick berries at the Red Berry Barn, but what drew us there was the corn maze. We drove by recently, and noticed.

Well, the giant slides were pretty eye-catching too.

That all required further investigation, so we looked up the web site and found that in addition to the country store, garden center, and bakery, there was also a pumpkin patch.

The pumpkin patch runs from September 24th through October 31st, and includes access to the farm grounds, the maze, a hay ride, barrel train, yard games, and the hay slide, mole hill and slides, and super mega slide. Wow.

The part that really tickled us was that adult (13 years and up) admission is only $10, whereas admission for children 3-12 is $18. 

That is completely logical, because they've got the bounce houses, giant play pad, and play structure. Especially there are the many bouncy structures, which can easily be damaged. Still, it's rare that adults pay less than kids, so that was fun to see.

Realistically, the best use of the admission probably is wearing out your kids. Yes, you can go on many of the slides, but you can also watch them bouncing and sliding at shaded tables.

Or (to get everyone tired) you can go into the hay maze.

If we'd been strategic, we would have gone on the hay ride first. It circles the maze, and perhaps it would have helped us get the lay of the land. It was less frustrating than the one last year, with wider paths and shorter dead end paths, but we still eventually ended up exiting through the entrance. 

We thought it was our fault for not checking for a map or picture before we started, but we encountered another group in there who had asked, and they were advised to just wing it. 

We made our way back near the store, noticing a concessions stand with treats like shaved ice, elephant ears, and hot dogs, but also a nice traditional PBJ. 

We went in to explore the bakery. 

In addition to pies, cookies, and doughnuts, you can also find gelato, and a wide variety of differently topped rice crispy treats.

If you want one of those fancy milk shakes with a whole additional desert on top of the glass, they have a version of that too.

COVID: No one in the shop was masked, but the majority of the activities are outside. The floor is still reminding you to at least distance.

Accessibility: Surfaces were pretty navigable, with slopes instead of stairs, and mostly smooth.

Individual activities may still prove difficult for various abilities, like bouncing or climbing slides, and the barrel train looks hopeless for large people, but at least for browsing the store and dairy it should be fine, and possibly even for the maze.

The other potential caveat is the weather, but our day was gorgeous.

https://redberrybarn.com/