Sunflower Festival & Family Fun at Barton Orchards

Parents are always asking where they can escape the city with their kids to pick apples, see farm animals, wander through a field of sunflowers or corn maze, indulge in fresh apple cider donuts, or take a hayride and go pumpkin picking. There are an overwhelming amount of farms you'll see pop up on a Google search, but I'm here to give you my family's 10 thumbs up on such a family-run destination we just visited yesterday: Barton Orchards! 

Disclaimer: Tickets were provided in exchange for this review but all thoughts and opinions are completely my own. We're no sell outs - quite honestly, this place was amazing!!

Barton Orchards is a 175-acre apple orchard and vegetable farm located in Poughquag, NY (Dutchess County), run by the Barton family for over 40 years. While many pick-your-own fruit spots offer only that, Barton Orchards goes above and beyond, providing a variety of activities that are fun for all ages, most of it included in admission. For the full experience, be sure to watch our video highlights here and read on for more details about our trip to their 2nd Annual Sunflower Festival and what you can expect on your visit!

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Sunflower Festival
2020 was Barton Orchard's 2nd Annual Sunflower Festival. It's quick, held over just 2 weekends in August so you better pencil it in now for 2021 so you don't miss it! You can walk to the field but it's much more fun to hop on their complimentary hayride to the 5 acre sunflower field which was simply spectacular! They give you cutters (based on your ticket type you either get 1 flower or a vase with 6 flowers, and pay for extras picked) and a plastic bag. You wander through the field, taking a million photos and at least a handful of selfies, am I right!? You pick your flower, put it in the bag, and fill it a bit at their water station, tying it off with a rubber band hoping it doesn't leak on the trip home. Our kids were REALLY into the super big job they each had to pick out their own sunflower. It was such a special time watching them wander, considering what makes the perfect sunflower, deciding which one to choose and take home. There's no storage so I recommend doing like we did, saving the sunflower picking for the last activity before you head home, otherwise you'll be carrying them around (and likely a couple of bees will be your companions while doing so).

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The Kids' Fun Park
I was expecting a generic playground, but what we found was so much more! A tractor-drawn children's train, rope climbing, a hay chute slide, pedal go carts, barrell pong, a swing, rock maze, hop balls, mini golf, and probably some other things I'm forgetting. My kids (and us parents) had an absolute blast, even in the rain!

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Live Music & Entertainment
They have 4 stages for live music, there was a band going in the food court area which was nice while we scarfed down the (most amazingly soft and delicious) apple cider donuts! There was also a band playing in a gazebo up at the sunflower field, which really added to the ambience! But what really blew us away was the Bubble Bus, blowing bubbles and foam across an entire field. You really have to watch my video to see how cool this was, my kids could have played and danced there all day!

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The Food
Whether you are looking for a meal, a snack, some booze, or treats to take home, you'll find them in abundance at Barton Orchards! After seeing their unique sundaes on social media, we decided to get the Apple Cider Donut Sundae and a half-dozen box to share of Apple Cider Donuts ($1 each but half dozen was the minimum purchase - we saw many people buying 3 dozen!!). I will say, hands down, one of the best donuts I've ever had! They were SO fresh, soft, simply scrumptious!!! Do not miss out on these when you visit!! They also have the Tap Room with lots of great beer and hard cider on tap, but due to covid, the system of ordering alcohol is a bit tricky. You're required to purchase with food, so basically you buy your food and tell them how many drink tickets you want, and purchase all together, then you bring your drink ticket to the Tap Room and get your drink. Not too much run around, but I had never experienced the new covid drinking-with-food rules before so it was new to me!

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Petting Zoo
They had lively goats, curious llamas, a huge peacock, a couple of bunnies, a duck, and more! We didn't spend too much time here but did enjoy seeing all of the animals, petting some, and getting a surprise tongue bath by one LOL!

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Other Family Fun:
In September and October they have pumpkin picking and a haunted house, "Rotten Core Manor". Their website also mentions a dog park, a corn maze, 120 acres of pick-your-own veggies and apples starting from end of July (see what's available for picking now), and Tree Tops Adventures ropes course!

Notes for those with strollers & babies:
There were gravel paths around, which don't scream stroller-friendly, but it is completely doable and wouldn't deter me from making a visit with a stroller or wagon, though you  may want to consider also bringing a baby carrier to wear your baby in the fields and less accessible areas. There were porta-potties with hand sanitizers, a handwashing station in the foot court area, and we saw a changing table by the petting zoo.  

Visit their website to learn more and don't drag your feet, go ahead and plan your family's visit now! You won't regret it!!