Lancaster County's best-known corn maze is open from July, so the thing autumn actually adds here is pumpkin picking, flower picking and a higher gate price — and the farm had not published its 2026 fall dates or rates when we last checked.
The farm's own 2026 ticket page says fall tickets go on sale September 9 but publishes no fall rate. Discover Lancaster listed the prior 2025 fall season at 'starting at $24.95' online and 'starting at $30.95' at the gate - treat those as 2025 figures. Season passes went on sale April 29, 2026.
Cherry Crest sells a corn maze the way other farms sell a whole festival, and it has earned the right to. Five acres, more than two and a half miles of path, bridges, a clue system, and a national top-ten listing. The 2026 design is called Let Freedom Ring, cut for the country’s 250th anniversary.
The fact that reframes the whole visit is that the maze opened on July 1. Most Pennsylvania mazes are strictly autumn attractions, cut into corn that only stands from late summer and taken down after frost. Here the maze runs for a full season on either side of the fall rush, which means the honest question for an October visitor is: what am I paying extra for?
The answer is pumpkin picking, flower picking, the seasonal food and drink, live music and the atmosphere of the place in autumn. Those are real things. But if the maze is the reason you were going, September before the crowds — or even August — gets you the same maze in better walking weather and, on the prior season’s pricing pattern, for less money.
As of late August, the farm had posted no fall dates, no fall hours and no fall admission rate. It had posted one thing: fall tickets go on sale September 9. Season passes went on sale back on April 29.
For a sense of scale rather than a budget, the prior 2025 fall season was listed at starting from $24.95 online and $30.95 at the gate. That gap — roughly six dollars a head — is the most actionable thing in the prior-season data, because it is a structure farms rarely abandon. If it holds, a family of four saves about $24 by buying online rather than turning up. Do not plan on the absolute figures; do plan on booking ahead being cheaper.
There is also one confirmed 2026 fall date worth having: a Cider Donut Fall Festival on September 26. Several one-day festivals sit inside the season, so if you are choosing a weekend anyway, checking which ones have an event attached costs nothing.
Two and a half miles of path is a long way. With a clue system that rewards doing it properly, an adult group can spend well over an hour inside and enjoy every minute. A five-year-old will be finished long before the maze is, and the fall admission price does not change based on how much of it you completed.
For families with younger children, the practical approach is to treat the maze as one attraction among several rather than the centrepiece — do a portion of it, use the wagon rides, the animal encounters and the picking, and accept that the maze is really aimed at the older half of the family. For groups of teenagers and adults, it is the opposite: the maze is the reason to come and everything else is filler.
The Flashlight Maze is the evening version and is separately timed. It is a better experience than the daytime one for anyone over about ten, and it moves you out of the busiest hours. It is also a night walk in a Lancaster County field in October, which gets cold quickly once the light goes.
The winery and the brewery on site are not a token gesture; they change who this farm works for. A mixed group where not everyone wants a maze has somewhere to be, and live music and food outlets fill the gaps. That also makes it easier to spend considerably more than the gate price without noticing, so decide in advance whether the drinks are part of the day or an accident.
Ronks sits in the busiest part of Lancaster County, and October weekend traffic on the surrounding roads has as much to do with general tourism as with any farm. Add a buffer to the drive.
Underfoot, nothing is published, but the safe assumption for any Lancaster County farm in October is grass parking and soft ground after rain. Wear shoes built for two and a half miles of it.
The 2026 maze opened on July 1, far earlier than most Pennsylvania mazes, so the maze itself is available long before the fall rush. Fall tickets go on sale September 9, 2026, but the farm had not posted fall dates, hours or admission rates beyond that. One dated fall event is confirmed: a Cider Donut Fall Festival on September 26, 2026. If your priority is the maze rather than the pumpkins, a late-summer or early-September visit is quieter and, on the prior season's pattern, cheaper.
Half a day. Five acres and more than two and a half miles of path is a serious maze — an hour or more on its own if you work the clue system properly — and the animal encounters, wagon rides, picking and food outlets sit on top of that. The winery and brewery push it further for adult groups.
Ronks sits in the middle of the Lancaster County tourist corridor, which is busy in October for reasons that have nothing to do with pumpkins. Combine that with a nationally recognised maze and the last three weekends before Halloween are the heaviest. The July-to-early-September window is the genuine escape, and the Flashlight Maze shifts you out of the daytime peak.
Not published. Lancaster County farm parking is generally on grass or gravel and October is wet here, so plan for soft ground rather than assume a hard surface.
Not published. A five-acre maze with bridges is inherently demanding; the wagon rides, animal encounters and food areas are the gentler part of the property. Call 717-687-6843 if this decides the trip.
You need to know the date and price before deciding. As of late August 2026 the farm had published neither, only that fall tickets go on sale September 9. Skip the full maze with small children too; two and a half miles of path with bridges and a clue system is a lot of walking for short legs, and the fall gate price is the same whether or not they finish it.
Ronks is in the heart of Lancaster County, so the farm sits within a short drive of the county's markets and back-road scenery — which also means October weekend traffic on those roads is heavy, and the drive deserves a buffer.
Not published when we checked. The farm's own ticket page said fall tickets go on sale September 9 but printed no fall rate. Discover Lancaster listed the prior 2025 fall season as starting at $24.95 online and $30.95 at the gate; treat those as last year's figures.
July 1 in 2026, which is much earlier than most Pennsylvania mazes. The 2026 design is called Let Freedom Ring, marking the United States' 250th anniversary.
Five acres with more than two and a half miles of path, plus bridges and a clue system. It has been named among USA Today's top ten mazes.
Yes. There is a winery and a brewery on site alongside the family attractions, plus live music and food and drink outlets.
2026 dates had not been published when we last checked. Check with the farm before driving out.
Admission pricing was not published when we last checked. The farm's own 2026 ticket page says fall tickets go on sale September 9 but publishes no fall rate. Discover Lancaster listed the prior 2025 fall season at 'starting at $24.95' online and 'starting at $30.95' at the gate - treat those as 2025 figures. Season passes went on sale April 29, 2026.
150 Cherry Hill Road, Ronks, PA 17572, in Lancaster County. It is one of 6 patches we track in Lancaster & Berks.
We track 6 patches in Lancaster & Berks. The farm has not published a gate price, so it cannot be compared on cost — call before you budget.
What sets it apart locally: it has a market, bakery or taproom, which most Lancaster & Berks patches on our list do not.
One caveat worth repeating: this farm had not published its 2026 dates when we last checked, while 2 of the 6 patches we track in Lancaster & Berks had. Treat any date you see elsewhere as last year's until the farm confirms it.
There are 5 other patches we track in Lancaster County. All Lancaster & Berks patches →
Map pin is set to the town centre. Navigate to the street address above, not the pin.
cherrycrestfarm.com
Checked August 2026.