Festive Fun at Cox Farm’s Fall Festival

***Skip to the bottom of this post for my quick tips to beat the crowds and get the most bang for your buck at Cox Farms!***

Walk through a mist of bubbles and enter the Fall wonderland that overtakes Cox Farms every year. Ride down one of their many hillside slides or head over to pet the cows and their calves. Wander through the “Cornundrum” maze and sit down and snack at one of their many food stands. Whatever you do, you can’t go wrong with a day at Cox. 

For as long as I can remember, Cox Farms has been synnonymous with cooling temps, falling leaves, and apple cider. It’s not Autumn in Virginia without a trip to the Fall Festival. Though it’s changed over the years, adding more parking and a wider array of activities, one thing never varies and that’s the happy squeals of children as they run from one side of the farm to the other. There’s so much to do, it’s hard to fit it all into one day.

But, we sure did try. There were animal visits and maze racing and hayrides, oh my. And, the slides, oh the slides. We may have gone on every single one in the place at least 10 times (I’m no mathmetician but that’s a lot). Each time we reached the bottom, baby Hey J would start signing “more more more” and up we’d go again. 

About midway through, we decided it was snack time so we headed over to one of their little food stands and grabbed nachos and moderately priced waters. I love that we immediately found a place to sit and enjoy in the shade- there’s lots of covered space for relaxing and enjoying your concessions. I really suggest you try to go during the week as it gets very very busy on the weekend (I can’t blame anyone- it is a fabulous place to go). The best time for crowds seems to be from about 2-closing at 6. We arrived about one on a Tuesday and it was still a little crazy from the school trips. Do not go in the morning if you can avoid it. We counted something like 12 busses when we arrived and it was clear they were heading out so there may have been even more. 

After we had all the sliding, animals, and apples we could take (they have complimentary apples from Marker Miller orchard and apple cider on tap for tasting), we headed out to pick our most perfect pumpkin from the patch. After lots of deliberating, everyone went home with a perfectly shaped specimen (included in admission to the park). 


It was a weary crew that trudged back to our car across the parking field (really it’s huge- thank goodness it wasn’t half full while we were there). But, a happy weary, the kind of tired you get after a perfectly spent day with lots of laughter, love, and a whole lot of fall fun. 

Quick Tips for Fun at Cox Farms Fall Festival: 

1. Go on a weekday. 

2. Arrive after 1 pm to miss the school rush. 

3. Check the Cox Farms calendar for discount days.

4. Plan to explore the farm for about an hour or two before you take a rest on their famous hayride. 

5. Rest and refresh at the apples and cider stand located down the hill near the castle slide. 

6. Enjoy because any day at Cox Farms is a fun one! 

Visit c/o Cox Farms 

Please note- It is a very large and busy place, please keep an eye on your kiddos. We witnessed a mama frantically searching the crowds for her Spider-Man capped son. I was glad we had decided to put our boys in their mooshu TRAINER squeaky shoes (c/o mooshu TRAINERS) because they were never more than a squeak away.