Abbey Farms in Aurora is offering visitors a full-immersion experience into the fall season again this autumn with its annual Pumpkin Daze.

The family-friendly, autumn-themed event opened on Sept. 20 and runs Wednesdays to Sundays through Oct. 30 at Abbey Farms, 2855 Hart Road in Aurora.

Visitors to the ticketed event are treated to activities including a petting zoo, a tractor tunnel, zip lines, a corn cannon, tractor and hay wagon rides, a corn maze, grain bin basketball and more.

And, of course, there are pumpkins.

Eric Mott, director of Abbey Farms, said the event has been going on for about 16 years and has continued to gain more and more attention over that span.

The event has been building in attendance week by week since it opened Sept. 20 “as we have moved more into the fall season.”

“Our Septembers kind of start slow, but beginning in October, things really start to pick up and we had over 1,700 a day the first weekend this month,” he said.

Mott said the zip lines, the giant jumping pillow and the hay ride remain some of the most popular attractions as well as “people going out and picking their own pumpkin.”

“The corn maze is challenging and then our mega drop slide are also big attractions,” he said. “In terms of attendance, every year is a little bit different, and weather plays a big role year in and year out. Overall, we’ve been steady in attendance. We know there are other fall options out there, but we try to focus on family fun and have people leave the cellphones behind and just come out and have a good time.”

Lauren Riordan and her husband Kyle from Lombard on Saturday said they have come to the event before and found that the corn maze was indeed a challenge.

“We’ve been here before. We actually got married here when they were doing weddings,” Lauren Riordan said. “I think people keep coming back at it’s a fun, friendly-family environment. You can have fun with the kids and the adults too.”

Brittany Domke, her husband, Pat, and daughter, Remi, 3, of Downers Grove, wait to enter the petting zoo area Saturday during Pumpkin Daze at Abbey Farms in Aurora. (David Sharos/For The Beacon-News)

Brittney Ginter of Warrenville and her daughter Alejandra, 7, were getting some pumpkins on Saturday and were planning to go home and decorate them.

“There are a lot of places to get pumpkins but we come here because it’s local,” Ginter said. “We like the kids’ activities and the big slide.”

“I like to look at the pumpkins,” Alejandra said. “I also like to take pictures with the pumpkins too and I like the mazes and the apple cider doughnuts.”

Laura and Matt Lotz of Batavia had their kids in a wagon at the event Saturday and said they came “looking for a pumpkin patch.”

“We saw the signs for this all the time and headed here and it turned out pretty good for these guys,” Matt Lotz said of his children. “There’s a lot more that you can do here than we have time for since the kids have to take a nap. We did the tunnels and visited the petting zoo and the cows. It’s been a day on the farm.”

For more information on Pumpkins Daze at Abbey Farms, go to https://abbeyfarms.org/pumpkin-daze/

David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/11/pumpkin-daze-at-abbey-farms-in-aurora-focuses-on-fall-fun/