Groveland Twp.- Fall fun is in full swing at Oak Haven Farm, 7515 Grange Hall Road.
New this year are ‘Flashlight Nights.? Beginning at dusk on Saturdays and Sundays, visitors can stroll through the first corn maze the farm has had in three years for $5, or for $3 more, add a horse-drawn hayride.
Oak Haven owner Nick Nichols, or Farmer Nick as he is commonly known, says the farm has the only horse-drawn hayrides that he knows of in southeast Michigan.
‘It’s sort of our trademark,? he says. ‘The hayrides are a nice mini-color tour.?
Nichols drives a golf cart around the 34-acre farm, pointing out the Percheron and Belgian horses and stopping the cart near an outside petting zoo area. The farm has several animals for visitors to enjoy, including a llama, goats, and sheep. An inside petting zoo has pigs, bunnies, turkeys, baby ducks and chicks. A new addition to the farm this year, a miniature donkey named Liz, runs around a fenced-in area outside before allowing herself to be petted.
Other activities for kids include Hay Stack and Straw Mountain and a free 500-foot long maze created especially for them.
Several thousand pumpkins, ranging in size up to 150 pounds, can be picked from the patch and bought for 39 cents per pound. The farm has apples including Crispin, Jonathan, Macintosh, Jonamac, Courtland, Jonagold, Gala, Ida and Empire available as well as cider and apple-spice doughnuts.
On weekends, visitors can enjoy homemade chili, Koebel hot dogs, nachos, hot spiced cider, hot chocolate, coffee and caramel apples. Cook’s ice cream is sold at Grandma’s Ice Cream Parlor at the site.
Nichols calls the farm an experience for little kids that they probably wouldn’t get anywhere else in the area.
‘It’s a fun time and last hurrah before winter,? he says. ‘There’s nothing like a jug of cider and doughnuts and sitting down with family and friends.?
Oak Haven Farm is open from 11 a.m.- 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 11 a.m.- 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Flashlight Nights are from 7:30 p.m.- 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The farm closes for the season Oct. 31. Details: (248) 634-KIDS or visit www.oakhavenfarm.net