Weekdays here are both cheaper and an hour longer than weekends, which is the reverse of how farm pricing normally works and makes a Monday-to-Thursday visit the clear winner — just note that Friday counts as a weekend.
Weekdays (Mon-Thu) $8 per person; weekends (Fri-Sun) $12 per person, seniors 65+ $7 on weekends; children under 2 free. Face painting, pumpkin painting and weekend pony rides cost extra.
Rough cost for a family of four: about $32.00 in admission alone at the posted starting rate, before pumpkins, food, parking or any add-on listed above. Most families end up well north of that once they are through the gate.
Almost every farm in this batch charges more at weekends. Patterson does too, but it also opens an hour later on weekdays — 6pm Monday to Thursday against 5pm Friday to Sunday. So the weekday visit is cheaper and longer, which makes the decision unusually easy: if you can go Monday to Thursday, go Monday to Thursday, and stop reading here.
The gap is not trivial. Two adults and two children pay $32 on a Tuesday and $48 on a Saturday for the same corn maze, straw pile, fifty-foot slide, pedal tractors and wagon rides. Sixteen dollars saved plus an extra hour of daylight is most of a lunch.
The farm’s weekend tier is Friday through Sunday. That is not the way most people mentally divide the week, and it is the mistake this listing is most likely to cause. Booking a Friday off work to avoid the Saturday crowd gets you the Saturday price and the shorter Saturday hours. Take a Thursday.
Admission covers the play attractions: the corn maze, the giant straw pile, the racing slide, pedal tractors, tire swings, the corn sandbox, play buildings and wagon rides. Face painting, pumpkin painting and pony rides are separate purchases, and the pony rides only run at weekends.
That last detail compounds the weekday argument. Go on a Tuesday and the single most expensive impulse purchase on site is not available, which removes the negotiation entirely. Go on a Saturday and you are paying more per head for the privilege of being asked.
Patterson is an orchard with a fall festival attached rather than a purpose-built attraction, and the market is part of the visit rather than a gift shop bolted on at the exit. That is worth planning for: bring a bag, and budget for produce as well as admission.
The season runs to November 1, which is late for this region and a real advantage if you leave the pumpkin until the last minute. It is also the point where northern weather takes over the planning. Early-season afternoons are warm; the last week of October and the first of November are not, and a 5pm weekend close by then is close to dusk. The straw pile and the slide are outdoor, uncovered, and no fun in the cold and wet.
Finally, on getting information: the number the farm publishes on this page is its weather hotline. In this part of Ohio that line exists because the farm genuinely does close for weather, which is a useful thing to know in itself. Call it before you drive out on a doubtful morning, but do not expect it to answer questions about pricing.
Monday to Thursday, without much argument. Weekday admission is $8 against $12 at weekends, and weekday hours run 10am to 6pm against 10am to 5pm Friday through Sunday. Cheaper and longer is not a trade-off, it is just better. The 2026 season runs September 16 to November 1 and the farm is open daily, so there is plenty of weekday choice. If you can only come at a weekend, Friday is the same price as Saturday, so there is no saving in taking the day off.
Two to three hours. The list is broad and physical — a corn maze, a giant straw pile, a fifty-foot racing slide, pedal tractors, tire swings, a corn sandbox, play buildings and wagon rides — but it is a play-yard rather than a theme park, and most families will have done it in an afternoon.
Daily opening across six and a half weeks spreads things out, but Chesterland sits within easy reach of the eastern Cleveland suburbs and October weekends fill up accordingly. The weekday pricing is doing exactly what it looks like it is doing: pushing people off Saturdays. Take the hint.
Not described by the farm. Assume grass or gravel, which is standard for a Geauga County fruit farm, and assume it goes soft after rain. Boots after a wet week.
You want a big-ticket, all-day agritourism park. This is a fruit farm running a family fun fest, and the attraction list is modest by Northeast Ohio standards. Skip it too if you were expecting to reach a person on the published number — it is the farm's weather hotline, not a general reception line.
Heritage Farms in Peninsula is roughly 22 miles southwest and gives you free parking and a free pumpkin area if you want a cheap second stop. Derthick's Corn Maze in Mantua is about 18 miles south and runs a night maze until 11pm, which is the natural evening follow-on to a Patterson afternoon.
Eight dollars per person Monday to Thursday and $12 Friday to Sunday. Seniors 65 and over pay $7 at weekends. Children under 2 are free. Face painting, pumpkin painting and weekend pony rides all cost extra.
No. The farm's weekend tier is Friday through Sunday, so a Friday visit costs $12 and closes at 5pm rather than 6pm. If you are taking a day off to save money, take a Thursday.
The number published on the Family Fun Fest page is 440-729-7144, described as the farm's weather hotline. That is likely a recorded line about whether the farm is open rather than a general enquiries desk, so do not count on reaching a person through it.
Yes — the 2026 Family Fun Fest runs daily from September 16 to November 1. Hours are 10am to 6pm Monday to Thursday and 10am to 5pm Friday to Sunday.
September 16 – November 1, 2026. Daily. Hours: Mon-Thu 10am-6pm; Fri-Sun 10am-5pm.
Admission starts at $8 per person. Weekdays (Mon-Thu) $8 per person; weekends (Fri-Sun) $12 per person, seniors 65+ $7 on weekends; children under 2 free. Face painting, pumpkin painting and weekend pony rides cost extra.
8765 Mulberry Road, Chesterland, OH 44026, in Geauga County. It is one of 10 patches we track in Northeast Ohio.
We track 10 patches in Northeast Ohio. At $8 a head this one sits below the regional median of $14, undercutting 4 of the 6 paid patches we track here.
Its season runs about 47 days against a regional average of 45, so it is broadly in line with the rest of the region.
pattersonfarm.com
Checked August 2026.