Upon entering the Center Grove Orchard, the senses are hit with the sweet aroma of apples and donuts, children’s laughter, and the sight of a red, old-fashioned farmhouse. After passing through admissions, the first building in sight is an open archway barn with a corn pool ready to be jumped in.

Center Grove Orchard opened in 1994 with hayrides and school tours that taught kids about animals. The orchard offers visitors a variety of fall-themed attractions and food items.

Online admission is $13.95 for an adult on weekdays or $18.95 for adults on the weekends. In-person admission is also available for a higher price.

“[The orchard] is a great place for people to come out to play and to spend time and to learn about farming in a fun and beautiful setting,” Deanna Black, the orchard’s director of fun, said.

There are over 25 attractions within the orchard’s Farmyard, including hayrides, a corn maze, an apple slingshot range and jumping pillows. The most popular attraction is the corn pool.

“A lot of guests, when they first get here, they go straight to the corn pool,” said Jacquelyn Staudt, the public relations and communications manager.

The corn pool is a large area covered in loose kernels of corn. Visitors can wade through the kernels and treat it as a large sandbox.

“Picture three semi-loads [of corn],” Black said about the amount of kernels in the pool.

A new zipline attraction also made its debut at the orchard this year. The “Bee Line” is a small self-propelled zip line that officially opened in September. Staudt said she had received several emails and comments on Facebook about the zipline.

“People are loving this new attraction,” Staudt said.

Visitors can also sign up for goat yoga. In this activity, customers can participate in a 60-minute yoga session inside a pen full of baby pygmy goats.

In addition to these attractions, visitors are able to pay to pick and take home produce from various harvests. In October, there are three different patches to visit: the sunflower meadow, the apple orchard and the pumpkin patch.

The apple orchard is 20 acres and has over 30 different types of apple trees planted within it.

The most popular orchard is currently the pumpkin and gourd patch. Visitors can select from a variety of options ranging in size, symmetry, color and texture.

The orchard’s final day of the 2022 season is Nov. 6. During this weekend, they will have two pumpkin destruction days, where any left-over pumpkins will be dropped from a crane or bashed and smashed by visitors.

Center Grove Orchard also offers campfire rentals or group nights to accommodate clubs, families and couples. Group nights allow a large group to come after hours for private hayrides and access to the corn maze, a campfire and the jumping pillow.

Outside of the activities within the Farmyard, Center Grove Orchard also has a food shop. Everything in the shop is made from scratch, Black said.

Available items include pies, barbeque sauces, jams, salsa, cheese and apple cider donuts.

“The donuts are great,” said Shane Bandonselaar, a first-time visitor to the orchard.

Additional information can be found on the Center Grove Orchard website.