We Midwesterners might not all choose the approaching winter as our very favorite season, but we can all agree that there’s something magical about fall in Northern Wisconsin. As the fall colors bloom across our woodlands and the geese honk their way south, we look forward to cozying up for baking and hunting seasons, plus we get to decorate for Halloween!
Kids and adults love the trappings of fall: warm sweatshirts, comfort food, and PUMPKINS. These are the things that warm us up before winter’s first blast. Here in Shawano Country, we’re lucky to have some super family-friendly pumpkin patches that not only let you pick your own favorite pumpkin but have a lot more to offer in the way of autumn entertainment!
Porter’s Patch
W4314 WI-156, Bonduel, WI 54107
Ph: (715) 758-8162
It’s hard to find a Shawano Country family that hasn’t made at least one trip to Porter’s Patch, whether in the fall to pick a pumpkin or in the spring and summer for asparagus and berries galore.
Porter’s offers décor shopping for the season: colorful mums, tons of squash and gourd varieties, pumpkins (of course) of all shapes and sizes, corn shocks, and golden straw bales.
Activities and games that are fun for the entire family are more than we can list, here, because Porter’s has their games on point. You can try your hand at Pumpkin Bowling, take a hayride, make your own autumn bouquet to take home, lose yourself in the corn maze, and chose from more than 20 things to do. Even the smallest child can take part in pumpkin painting or enjoy the petting zoo. In a year without as much fun as many of us would have liked, give your autumn a burst of color and activity by heading out to Porter’s Patch.
This year, Porter’s Patch will remain open until November 1st, 2020 and they’re open every Saturday and Sunday from 11:00 am – 4:00 pm. Porter’s Patch has taken efforts to space their outdoor activities farther apart than usual and picking pumpkins in their huge field is about as socially distant as you’re going to get, outside of your own yard.
Grab your mask and go check it out!
Schairer’s Autumn Acres, LLC
194 Western Ave., Birnamwood, WI 54414
Ph: (715) 573-8397
For those of you looking for some seasonal fun on the other side of Shawano County, we recommend Schairer’s Autumn Acres in Birnamwood, Wisconsin. Schairer’s has a full calendar of special events, including live music, trick-or-treat in their corn maze, and hayride weekends. The kiddos will LOVE the play area!
An event at Schairer’s that caught our eye for its spooky seasonal feels is the Pumpkin Stroll: October 30th and 31st, 2020, from 6 – 9 pm, walk the rustling corn maze and take in over 100 theme-carved pumpkins. This sounds like REAL Halloween to us. If you want to feel like an excited kid again and are ready for some nighttime adventure – but don’t want to be scared out of your wits, haunted-house style – this low-key, cheerfully creepy evening stroll is for you. Bring the kids… or not. 😊 October 17th is the day of the trick-or-treat corn maze, so mark that date for the kiddos.
New for this season is Saturday and Sunday wine tasting, so come and have a sip or three and take in Wisconsin’s golden season.
Schairer’s is open through October 31st, 2020, and has public hours as follows:
Friday: Noon – 7:00 pm
Saturday: 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Sunday: 11:00 am – 6:00 pm
Monday – Thursday: By appointment only
We would be remiss in sending you to a pumpkin patch if we didn’t share our favorite recipe for roasting pumpkin seeds 
, because making a batch or two of toasty, salty pumpkins seeds are half the fun of carving your pumpkins. If you’ve never tried this, trust us when we say it’s worth picking out the seeds (or having kids do it!) and setting them aside for this special fall treat.
Note for all venues and activities: You and your family should follow safe masking and social distancing procedures to help Shawano Country lower our Covid-19 rate and to help keep you, yours, and ours safe and healthy. Please and thank you!