Riverview Farms Fall Festival at Robb’s Farm

Cut to the chase. Take me to the Momsense.

PLEASE NOTE: This post was written in 2018, and while it should still give you a good overview of the activity, it may also contain some outdated information. Please visit the Riverview Farms website for the most current information.

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2018 Post:

Thank you to Riverview Farms for providing my family with complimentary admission to the Fall Festival for the purpose of writing this post. All opinions are 100% my own.

As is required of all native New Englanders, I harbor a deep and enduring love for all things fall: apples, picturesque foliage, all things pumpkin spice, and a crisp, cool bite in the morning air. It sets my heart a flutter. There are various fall traditions my family enjoys in the ever-shorter days following Labor Day, but there’s one little festival in particular I hold near and dear to my heart and, since it has been seven years since the original Out and About Mom post, it seemed high time to revisit the Riverview Farms Fall Festival at Robb’s Farm in Glastonbury!

We actually headed out on this fall adventure a few weeks ago when the festival first opened for the season (but don’t worry, you still have 3 more weekends to check it out for yourself!).

Robb’s Farm is located in South Glastonbury.

A little bit of background in case you’re not familiar with Robb’s Farm: Robb’s is well known by Glastonburians (is that what we’re called?) as the local place for ice cream during the summer months. Then come fall, Riverview Farms hosts their annual fall festival there (and yes, you can still get ice cream!).

I’ll start off by saying that a lot of what Mandy originally posted back in 2011 (incidentally, on this very same day in October!) still holds true today.  There still is/are:

• Ample parking
• An authentic hayride, complete with a sugar pumpkin to take home
• A pumpkin bounce house (though it does appear to be a different one)
• A corn maze (more on that later!)
• AMAZING apple fritters
• Ice cream
• Abundant cute photo opps

One important difference to note, however, is that the petting zoo that was previously there went by the wayside back in 2016. There are still animals to visit with at a distance, including a sweet baby donkey…

…and baby chicks to hold!

There are also pony rides available some Saturdays and most Sundays from 1-4pm provided by Galloway Farms!

The schedule is a little fluid, though, so if you’re counting on making a pony ride part of your family’s experience I would suggest calling the farm ahead of time (860-657-9197) to see what the schedule looks like for the coming weekend. I called with some questions myself on a weekday and was able to speak with someone without having to leave a message and wait for a call back. In this day and age, I consider that a rarity! It was refreshing, truth be told.

All of this is to say that, even though the petting zoo experience is no longer a part of the Fall Festival at Robb’s, there are still plenty of opportunities to check out some farm animals.  However, if you really had your heart set on feeding the animals, Riverview Farms does also operate a petting zoo out of the Old Cider Mill in Glastonbury at this time of year, so you can always visit them at that location as well.

As can be expected, pricing for the festival has also changed over the years, so be sure to check out the Momsense for a full cost breakdown. In short, there is now a low, per-family entrance fee. You can then add on whatever activities you’d like to enjoy a la carte or, if you’re game for all that the festival has to offer, there are family day passes available at a bit of a savings.

Another major difference between my experience and Mandy’s from 2011 is the age of our kids and, therefore, the activities that were the highlight of the trip. While reviewing her post before writing mine I couldn’t help but smile when I saw the grown-ups enjoying fritters and ice cream and adorable pictures of littles crawling amongst pumpkins and perched atop tractors. Now don’t get me wrong – fritters were had and cute pictures were still attempted, but I feel like bringing a four-year-old to such an event is much different than bringing a one-year-old (which I did also do). The food, hayride and pumpkins are all fine and good, but the bounce house and corn maze were the main attraction. And since those parts of the festival didn’t get as much attention in the first post, I figured this was a great opportunity to highlight them!

Upon entering the festival through the gift shop, the giant pumpkin bounce house is prominently featured in the middle of a large field overlooking sweeping views of South Glastonbury’s rolling hills and on a clear fall day like the one we had, it’s breathtaking! However, nothing is a more welcome site to Bug’s eyes than an ENORMOUS bounce house. He had his shoes off and was inside before I could even ask him what he’d like to do first.

The late September day that we went wasn’t particularly busy, so Bug had his fill of jumping around and around the huge pumpkin. It’s possible that on busier days a time limit is imposed on jumpers, but the only limits set on Bug were by his dad and I. He had a blast.

After convincing Bug there was more to see and do than just the bounce house, we decided it was time to make our way over toward the boarding area for the hayride. On the way there were several tractors to check out, a very old dairy delivery truck to play in, and those huge industrial tubes that are inexplicably fun for small children to play in.

There’s plenty to keep restless little bodies busy while waiting for the next hayride, though my guess is that you won’t be waiting all that long. Starting at 11:30am on weekends, hayrides depart on a roughly hourly basis and, beginning at 1pm, they leave closer to every 20-30 minutes.

Once the hayride and pumpkin picking portion of our trip was complete it was time for the corn maze. Typically these things make me fairly nervous. I don’t like the idea of being trapped in any space (even a fairly open one) without a surefire escape route. This uneasiness is only amplified by having children for whom I am responsible who may or may not need a bathroom/diaper change or snack at a moments notice. And since busting your way through the stalks is generally frowned upon at these types of things, we had only our innate sense of direction to rely upon. And since my own spacial awareness really isn’t the best, it was up to Bug to save us.

I kid, of course. His dad was there helping navigate too. I really am helpless when it comes to getting my direction bearings though. If it had been up to me it likely would have taken us hours to complete the modest 2 acre maze.

Fortunately it wasn’t really all that hard though. Even moving at a leisurely pace and allowing Bug to call most of the shots determining our path, it only took us about 15-20 minutes to complete.

I haven’t done a lot of corn mazes, but compared to some of the truly enormous and challenging mazes out there (like at Fairweather Acres or Lyman Orchards), this one was perfect for a “minimally stressful but still exciting” experience for a pre-k to kindergarten-aged kid. It was small enough to be manageable but big enough that it was still an immersive experience (you couldn’t easily see the route to the exit when you stood at the entrance, in other words).

Our successful completion of the corn maze obviously called for some victory fritters.

Food offerings at the Fall Festival this year are limited to ice cream, apple crisp, and apple fritters (no hot dogs or soup from Robb’s), but the fritters are out-of-this-world good and always served warm. My mouth is watering just thinking about them.

Let us know if you wind up checking out Riverview Farms Fall Festival at Robb’s! I personally think you’ll decide to make it an annual tradition too.

Riverview Farms Fall Festival at Robb’s Farm

91 Wassuc Rd, Glastonbury, Connecticut

Phone: (860) 657-9197

Email: rvfparty@gmail.com (for party inquiries)

Find them on Facebook!

Hours (2018):

Fridays noon-6pm and Saturday & Sunday 10am-6pm through the first weekend in November

Pricing (2018):

Entrance fee – $5.00 per family

A la carte add-ons (unless otherwise noted, listed prices are per person):
Corn Maze (under 5 free) – $6.00
Corn Maze Family Pass (up to 6 people) – $30.00
Hayride (includes sugar pumpkin; under 5 free) – $6.00
Hayride Family Pass (up to 6 people) – $30.00
Additional Hayride Sugar Pumpkins – $3.00
Pony Rides – $8.00 (paid CASH directly to the staff person Galloway Farms coordinating the rides)

Family of 6 Day Pass – $50.00
Includes $5.00 family admission fee plus hayride, corn maze, and unlimited pumpkin bounce house for all; additional children are $5.00 per person

Details:

Stroller Friendly: YES (but I’d suggest a baby carrier; there are quiet a few areas that would be tough to navigate with a stroller, though possible)
Coffee Mug Friendly: YES
Restroom: YES (port-a-potties)
Baby Changing Station: NO
Parking: YES
Food for Sale: YES (though it is limited to ice cream, apple fritters, and apple crisp)
Outside Food Allowed: YES
Cash Required: YES and NO (Riverview Farms does accept credit cards for admission and any of the above “add-ons”, but cash is required for pony rides and food. There is NOT an ATM on site, so I’d suggest coming prepared, though the word on the street is that Riverview does offer cash back in the farm store where you pay for admission.)
Dress Code: Dress for play! Robb’s is a working farm, so it’s a good idea to wear shoes, in particular, that you don’t mind getting dirty.

Age Recommendation: All ages.
Evening/Weekend Hours: YES

Birthday Party Venue: YES. More info here.
Discounts: If you have a family of four or more where everyone is over the age of 5 AND you plan on participating in all of the festival activities, the Family Day Pass does offer a little bit of a savings. Group rates are also available (like for school groups or birthday parties) but you must call ahead and make a reservation.

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