For farmsList your patch
✓ 2026 dates confirmed on the farm's own site

Paulus Farm Market

📍 1216 South York Street, Mechanicsburg, PA 17055🗓 Opens September 19, 2026 (closing date not published)🏷 From $8.5/person

One of the few farms in south central Pennsylvania that publishes clear current pricing and opens seven days a week - but the cheap November rate lands after pick-your-own pumpkins and the pumpkin cannon have finished for the year.

Paulus Farm Market in Mechanicsburg, PA

What you get for the price

Included with admission

Colossal Corn tentHay play areaMini corn mazeHayridesFarm animalsBalance logsWooden tractorSand pitTubes, tires and tunnelsFarmside Eats lunch counter

Costs extra on top of admission

Harvest Hiccup Pumpkin Chunkin' Cannon (extra fee, October only)Pick-your-own pumpkins (extra fee, October only)

Fall Fun admission $8.50 per person on weekdays and $10.50 per person at weekends; the November 'Late Fall' rate drops to $7.00 per person. The Harvest Hiccup Pumpkin Chunkin' Cannon and pick-your-own pumpkins are an additional fee and are October only.

Rough cost for a family of four: about $34.00 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.

Our take

Paulus does something most farms in this region do not: it tells you the price before you arrive, and it tells you what the price does not cover. Fall Fun is $8.50 a head Monday to Friday, $10.50 at weekends, and $7.00 once the November Late Fall rate begins. Everyone pays the same rate regardless of age, which simplifies the arithmetic considerably.

The money, and the trap inside it

For two adults and two children, that is $34 midweek, $42 at a weekend, and $28 in November. The weekday saving is real money for a modest change of plan, and if you have any flexibility at all it is the obvious choice - it also buys you the quieter version of the same farm.

The November rate looks like the best deal on the page, and for some families it is. But read what November excludes. The Harvest Hiccup Pumpkin Chunkin’ Cannon and pick-your-own pumpkins are both October only, and both carry an additional fee on top of admission. So the $7 visit is the play-equipment visit: corn tent, hay play, mini maze, hayrides, animals, sand pit, tubes and tunnels. If a child has been promised they will choose their own pumpkin out of a field, November is the wrong month and the discount is beside the point.

The reverse holds too. If your children are three and five and the appeal is somewhere warm-ish to run around for two hours, November at $7 a head with no cannon upsell is a genuinely good deal, and the farm will be far quieter than it was three weeks earlier.

Neither the cannon fee nor the pick-your-own pricing is published, so budget October visits with a margin rather than a figure.

Seven days a week is the real differentiator

Most fall farms in south central Pennsylvania run weekends only, which forces every family in the county into the same twelve or fourteen hours. Paulus opens daily from September 19, and that changes what the visit feels like. A Tuesday morning in early October at a farm built for small children, at the cheaper rate, with the whole hay play area to yourself, is a different experience from the same farm on the second Saturday of the month.

Two scheduling details matter. Sunday opens at 11:00am rather than 9:00am, so that day is six hours rather than eight and the morning slot does not exist. And last admission is 45 minutes before closing every day - arrive at 4:30pm and you will not get in, which is an easy mistake to make on a school-day afternoon.

Who it is actually built for

Look at the list honestly: a Colossal Corn tent, a hay play area, balance logs, a wooden tractor, a sand pit, tubes, tires and tunnels, a mini corn maze. That is a preschool-to-early-primary offering. Farm animals and hayrides round it out. It is a well-judged set for the age group and there is nothing wrong with it, but a twelve-year-old will have exhausted it in an hour, and the maze is described as mini for a reason.

Farmside Eats, the on-site lunch counter, runs during Fall Fun weekends with burgers, fries, chicken and fresh lemonade. If you are visiting midweek for the cheaper rate, check whether the counter is open on your day or bring lunch.

One last thing

Do not confuse this farm with Mt Airy Orchards in Dillsburg. They are connected by family and the older name still circulates, which sends people to the wrong address every autumn. Fall Fun is at 1216 South York Street, Mechanicsburg.

Planning your visit

Best time to go

Fall Fun opens Saturday September 19, 2026 and runs daily: Monday to Saturday 9:00am to 5:00pm and Sunday 11:00am to 5:00pm, with last admission 45 minutes before closing. A weekday morning is both the cheapest and the quietest option. Sunday opens two hours later than the rest of the week, which shortens that day considerably. No closing date is published, though the existence of a November rate means the season runs past October 31.

How long to budget

Two to three hours. The attraction list is broad but the individual pieces are small - a mini corn maze, a hay play area, a sand pit, balance logs - so this is a morning or an afternoon rather than a full day.

Crowds

Seven-day operation spreads demand better than the weekends-only farms nearby, so the midweek difference here is real rather than marginal. October Saturdays are the peak and cost two dollars more a head as well. Sunday's 11am opening squeezes that day's visitors into six hours.

Parking

Not published. This is a farm market site on South York Street rather than a remote field, but assume unpaved overflow parking on busy October weekends and soft ground after rain.

Strollers and accessibility

Not published. Most of the attractions are ground-level play rather than rides, which generally helps, but hay, sand and a corn tent are not smooth surfaces. Ring 717-697-4330 if that matters.

What to bring

  • Socks, and a spare pair - corn pits and sand pits get into everything
  • Closed shoes for the hay play area and the mini maze
  • A separate budget for the cannon and pick-your-own if you are visiting in October
  • Layers for a late-October visit; a 5pm close is close to dusk by then

How to spend less here

  • Go Monday to Friday. At $8.50 rather than $10.50 a head, a family of four pays $34 instead of $42 - an $8 saving for choosing a different day
  • The November Late Fall rate drops to $7.00 a head, so a family of four pays $28. Understand the trade first: the pumpkin cannon and pick-your-own pumpkins are October only
  • Arrive early rather than late. Last admission is 45 minutes before closing, so a 4:30pm arrival gets you nothing at all
  • Decide about the Harvest Hiccup cannon before the children see it. It is an extra charge on top of admission and is exactly the sort of thing that gets asked for twice

Who it suits

Good for

  • Younger children, roughly 2 to 9, which is squarely what the corn tent, sand pit, tubes and tunnels, balance logs and wooden tractor are built for
  • Families who cannot do weekends, since this is one of the rare farms open every weekday through the season
  • Budget-conscious groups, because $8.50 a head midweek is at the low end for a staffed fall attraction
  • Anyone who wants a lunch on site rather than packing one, thanks to the Farmside Eats counter

Skip it if

You are bringing teenagers looking for a serious corn maze - the maze here is explicitly a mini one, and the play equipment skews young. Skip the November window if pumpkin picking is the point of the trip, because pick-your-own and the cannon are October only.

Worth pairing with

Mechanicsburg sits in Cumberland County within easy reach of the Harrisburg area, and because a visit here runs two to three hours it pairs naturally with a market shop or lunch rather than needing a second attraction.

Common questions

How much is admission to Paulus Farm Market Fall Fun?

Fall Fun admission is $8.50 per person on weekdays and $10.50 per person at weekends. The November Late Fall rate is $7.00 per person. The Harvest Hiccup Pumpkin Chunkin' Cannon and pick-your-own pumpkins carry an additional fee and run in October only.

When does Fall Fun open in 2026?

Saturday September 19, 2026. It runs seven days a week thereafter: Monday to Saturday 9:00am to 5:00pm and Sunday 11:00am to 5:00pm, with last admission 45 minutes before closing. No closing date is published, but the November rate confirms the season continues past Halloween.

Is pumpkin picking included in admission?

No. Pick-your-own pumpkins cost extra and are available in October only, as is the Harvest Hiccup Pumpkin Chunkin' Cannon. Everything else on the attraction list is covered by the gate price.

Is this the same as Mt Airy Orchards in Dillsburg?

No, though the two are connected by family. Paulus Farm Market is at 1216 South York Street in Mechanicsburg. Mt Airy Orchards, formerly Paulus Orchards, is a separate site in Dillsburg with different hours, different attractions and a different ticketing setup.

When is Paulus Farm Market open in 2026?

Opens September 19, 2026 (closing date not published). Daily. Hours: Monday-Friday 9:00am-5:00pm, Saturday 9:00am-5:00pm, Sunday 11:00am-5:00pm; last admission 45 minutes before closing.

How much does Paulus Farm Market cost?

Admission starts at $8.5 per person. Fall Fun admission $8.50 per person on weekdays and $10.50 per person at weekends; the November 'Late Fall' rate drops to $7.00 per person. The Harvest Hiccup Pumpkin Chunkin' Cannon and pick-your-own pumpkins are an additional fee and are October only.

Where is Paulus Farm Market?

1216 South York Street, Mechanicsburg, PA 17055, in Cumberland County. It is one of 4 patches we track in South Central PA.

How Paulus Farm Market compares in South Central PA

We track 4 patches in South Central PA, 1 of which are free to walk into. At $8.5 a head this one sits right on the regional median of $8.5.

What sets it apart locally: it has hayrides, farm animals, which most South Central PA patches on our list do not.

Other patches near Mechanicsburg

There are 5 other patches we track in Cumberland County. All South Central PA patches →

Quick facts

SeasonOpens September 19, 2026 (closing date not published)
Days openDaily
HoursMonday-Friday 9:00am-5:00pm, Saturday 9:00am-5:00pm, Sunday 11:00am-5:00pm; last admission 45 minutes before closing
AdmissionFrom $8.5
CountyCumberland County
RegionSouth Central PA

Directions

Open in Google Maps ↗

Map pin is set to the town centre. Navigate to the street address above, not the pin.

Sources

paulusfarmmarket.com · pumpkinpatchesandmore.org

Checked August 2026.