Thistleberry Farm, South Bend, Indiana
Each year we make it a point to visit the Thistleberry Farm and Pumpkin Patch in South Bend, Indiana.
This year we met up with our local Classical Conversations group there for a field trip day and it was such a great time!
As much fun as we had it was also a little sad to look around and remember how much fun they had at the pumpkin patch when they were smaller. It was a reminiscing kind of day that made me want to throw myself on the ground, grab their ankles and beg them not to grow up. You know, because I am super mature.
Here are photos from years past of us at Thistleberry. They’ve gotten so big!
Mommas, hug your babies. Do things with them they want to do...like do the duck race at the pumpkin patch a million times. I promise, it will be worth it.
Our homeschool pumpkin patch wristbands included selecting a pie pumpkin which was fun until we found that the kids are now too tall to stand in the pumpkin house and then I thought I was going to lose it, sobbing all over the place. On the plus side though we got one orange pumpkin, and one white pumpkin so there’s that…
The Thistleberry Farm has so much to do if you get the wristband to the play area. There is an inflatable jumping pillow, a large slide, giant bikes to ride, animals to see, mazes made out of giant tires, oversized legos to play in, corn to play in, water to pump for duck races, on and on. So much to do.
The big attraction is the corn maze which this year is Princess Bride themed. I tend to shy away from mazes after getting lost in a pineapple maze on our honeymoon (there’s a story for ya!) but the kids seemed to enjoy it with their friends.
There also is a corn launcher because, hello, that’s what we do in Indiana. ha
If you go there you should know that the bathrooms are portable ones with potable water to wash your hands. There is no drinking fountain to be found.
On weekends they make the most amazing kettle corn and pumpkin doughnuts but when we visited on a Wednesday there was nothing in site for snacks. So make sure you plan accordingly for your trip. I think we can all agree that we would rather not become involved in some type of hostage situation with our children when they go without food or water for any great length of time. With my kids, it ain’t pretty.
Let me think…what other things should I tell you about the place?
Oh, I know! While there is a ton to do it is essentially just in the middle of a field which often can get muddy so dress accordingly. Also, there is very little shade so even though you are going when you think it is cooler weather it still gets blazing hot out there and you’ll still need some sunscreen. This is spoken by the mom who every year wears the sweater and the cute boots out to the pumpkin patch and regrets it about 17 minutes into our time there. It is sunny and hot almost every time we go.
If you have a huge animal lover you should know that while they do have animals to see they are not available to pet. For my kids this is fine but you might want to prepare your kids if they are expecting to try to ride the goats or something.
All in all, It was a beautiful day and we had such a great time.
If you are interested in visiting Thistleberry you can visit their website here and get the times and prices for each day. The pumpkin patch portion of the farm is always free to visit.
Thank you Thistleberry Farms for having us!
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