Pumpkin-picking, hay rides, food, games, farm animals, a massive corn maze, dozens of instagrammable photo spots, flower fields and more are all included in a ticket to the beautiful Happy Day Farm in Monmouth County. Looking to have a fun fall day in New Jersey (and get some cute pics)? Keep reading to hear about my day at this must-visit NJ farm for fall activities and photos!
Tickets to Visit the Farm
Last Saturday, my boyfriend and I visited Happy Day Farm in Manalapan and had ourselves a very fall day. I have wanted to visit this farm for a few years now and finally made it happen. As a Monmouth County native, I am happy to know that this farm is not too far from home. As of current (end of September 2021), tickets are priced at $23 per person, and they are open Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 5pm. Starting in October, they will also be open on Fridays. Tickets must be purchased online before entering the farm.
The farm offers many fall festivities such as PYO flowers and pumpkins, aesthetic photo-ops, two different corn maze options, and many family-friendly games/activities. The ticket is good for the entire day, but my boyfriend and I were able to do and see everything we wanted to do in about 2-3 hours.
Activities
We entered the farm a little after 2pm, and checked out the farm animals in the Timmy Town Zoo. In this petting zoo are ducks, chickens, goats, alpacas and more cute animals. They also have hand-washing stations which I appreciated. After checking out the animals, we made our way to the 10+ acre corn maze. This year’s maze is Super Mario inspired, and offers two different paths: a shorter one (15-25 minutes) and a longer one (45-60 minutes). We decided to do the shorter path to save time, and I found it very nostalgic and fun to walk through. We finished in about 10-15 minutes and made our way to the next fall activity.
PYO Flower Fields, Pumpkin Patch, and Fall Photo-ops
From the corn maze, you can take a hay ride or walk to the other side of the farm where you can access the pumpkin patch, fall photo-ops, and PYO flower fields. This section of the farm is my favorite and is extremely aesthetic. We took photos at some of the photo-ops, walked around the pumpkin patch, and strolled through the zinnia flower field.
If you take me to a flower field, I will most definitely be attempting aesthetic, pinterest-inspired photos. My boyfriend was generous enough, as he always is, to snap some pics of me frolicking through the field. Zinnia stems are 2 for $1 at Happy Day Farm, so I picked a bunch to bring home. In the checkout area to pay for the PYO stems and pumpkins, they have baskets of mini pumpkins and gourds, which or course, I had to grab as well.
We made our way to the sunflower field before closing time, and it is very cute and filled with many photo-ops. The sunflower field also offers PYO stems, and they have a register set up as you enter/exit the area. We walked through the field and admired the vibrant yellow sunflowers. They even have a little stairway/elevated platform where you can get a solid view of the entire field and photo spots.
Overall, Happy Day Farm in Manalapan is definitely a must-visit NJ farm for fall activities and photos in 2021. I feel it is worth the cost to enter, and makes a great day trip, date spot, family-friendly farm etc… I highly recommend visiting during the remainder of the fall 2021 season, and they close the fall harvest festivities on October 31st.
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