Kuipers Family Farm spells fall fun with apple orchard, pumpkin patch

MAPLE PARK – An afternoon might not be long enough to spend at Kuipers Family Farm in Maple Park this fall. Plan for a day trip.

Apple picking is limited to weekends and holidays, and the apple variety that's ready to be picked will vary from week to week, so it’s good to call ahead. Kim Kuipers said she is hoping there will be apples to pick through October, but it will depend on the crowds.

To purchase from a variety of more than 20 types of apples already picked, there’s the Orchard Shop and Bakery, where, in addition to apples, visitors can taste the apple cider donuts the orchard is famous for, as well as home-baked pies and fudge, caramel apples and freshly-pressed and pasteurized apple cider.

The barn wood, antiques and farm decor provide a country feel while browsing for one’s own home or for gifts. There is also a large variety of specialty foods from the store’s sample kitchen.

But don’t linger too long, because there’s plenty to do across the road at the pumpkin farm.

Naperville residents Yan and Feng Zhou’s 5-year-old daughter Emily was playing hide and seek with her friend at Kuipers’ fort, a grouping of straw piles and tubes, on Oct. 9. Yan said they had come out to pick apples and then noticed the pumpkin farm.

What’s Emily’s favorite? “Everything,” she said with a laugh.

Tim and Marie Puttkammer were shepherding their 4-year-old niece Christy through the petting zoo. Tim said he grew up the area and graduated from Kaneland High School, so he’s been familiar with Kuipers for years.

They said Christy’s favorite aspect is definitely the animals.

“She’s having a great time feeding them,” Marie Puttkammer said.

Geneseo-based Miller’s Petting Zoo owner Kelly Rushing said this is the fifth year they have been bringing their 40 or so animals to Kuipers for fall weekends. There are goats, sheep, an alpaca named Chip, chickens, ducks, pot-bellied pigs, giant rabbits and a 20-year-old donkey named Pedro. The youngest animal is a 4-month-old calf named Norman.

“The kids can see all of the animals here that they’ve only seen in books before, and more types than they would typically see at a farm,” she said.

“We interact with them right from birth so they’re friendly,” Miller’s employee Connie Hayes said.

Randy Irwin was lining up the piglets for their big race. From Springfield, Irwin said the pigs are here for six weeks for the season.

“People love pig racing,” he said.

The crowd proved him right, as the contestants raced by. Cheers were heard for racers Kevin Bacon, Pork Chop, Jessica Porker and Lindsay Loham. Pork Chop won, and Jessica Porker stopped for a snack, so she came in last.

The young people can try their hand at roping wooden bulls, play pitchin’ games, climb on Charlotte’s web, or simply crawl around one of the huge boxes filled with corn kernels, like Franklin Park resident Paul Sutfin’s 6-year-old daughter Sarah and 7-year-old son Jake were doing. Sutfin said they also enjoyed the slides and bouncing pillow.

The Kuipers seemed to have thought of everything, as a young mother was able to step into the Colt’s Corral Nursing Station. There is also a diaper-changing booth.

The pumpkin patch where family members can pick out their own pumpkin and the rest of the activities is open through Oct. 30.

Come back to the farm as Christmas approaches, for a freshly-harvested fir or evergreen tree, available from Nov. 1 through Dec. 18.

Wade and Kim Kuipers had a vision back in 1998 “of offering a farm experience to their customers that is as close to what you might really find on a Midwest farm as you can get without having to get dirty,” including “…running, climbing, adventure, fresh air and kid-powered fun,” their website states.

The smiling faces and the squeals heard this weekend would say they have succeeded.

If you go:

Kuipers Family Farm apple orchard and pumpkin patch

When: 9 a.m to 5:30 p.m. Saturdays; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays; through Oct. 30

Where: 1N318 Watson Road, Maple Park

Cost/Info: Call 815- 827-5200 ext. 1 or visit www.kuipersfamilyfarm.com for information.