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Social Distancing at Lake Metroparks Farmpark

Blog Date
Author(s)
Julie Smith
Stuart O. Smith, Jr.
Tags
Lake Metroparks
Farm Park

Mike, Julie, and Stuart at the 2020 Lake Metroparks Farmpark Corn Maze
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We had been seeing tweets by @LakeMetroparks mentioning how they had made a special corn maze for 2020. "Double-wide paths" for their "three-acre corn maze at Lake Metroparks Farmpark" would allow for social distancing while in the maze. In 2020, we have limited the events we have been attending due to the coronavirus crisis. With the Lake Metroparks Farmpark making physical safety adjustments for COVID-19, requiring masks when indoors, and moving all activities outdoors, we decided to visit on Sunday, September 20, 2020, with our son, Mike. (See the Lake Metroparks website for COVID-19 updates.)

From our winter visit in January 2020 (pre-coronavirus) for the Lake Metropark Ice Festival, we knew that there was a lot to do at the Farmpark outdoors. Learn more about the Ice Festival at the Farmpark in our blog post:

Here is a video and tweets that we saw that sparked our interest in visiting the corn maze and seeing all the other attractions at the Lake Metroparks Farmpark:

Fox 8 News Video: Take a tour of the Lake Metroparks corn maze

 

 Our Twitter account @sos_jr retweeted the following:

 

 

Corn Maze

Here are our @sos_jr tweets with photos of the corn maze:

 

 

Lake Metroparks Farmpark

Farmpark provides a connection to our agricultural roots, helping people understand where our food and clothing come from.​ The park is open 9 am to 5 pm on Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays with modified schedule and offerings. All demonstrations and animal encounters are outdoors. Indoor exhibits closed to the public. Restrooms are open. Food available for purchase.

After the corn maze, we visited the rest of the Lake Metroparks Farmpark. We took our time and stayed right up to closing time to truly take in everything.

 

 

Pony Rides

PONY RIDES
Beginning September 12, pony rides will resume at Farmpark. Rides will take place near the Hilltop Courtyard on Saturdays and Sundays from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm. Cost is $5 per ride (cash or credit cards accepted); rides last approximately five to seven minutes. Saddles will be cleaned between riders and ponies will have a leader. All riders ages three and older must wear facial coverings (unless a medical condition prohibits doing so). Please observe all precautions listed below and follow posted signs during your visit.

 

 

Horses

Driving demo: See how horses “pull their weight” on the farm. Learn about various styles of driving and how different breeds serve different needs.

A park staff member gave a very detailed talk about the workhorses, and answered many questions from visitors. We learned interesting new things about the horses and how they are used on the farm.

 

 

Cows

It's past-ure bedtime: Watch our dairy staff round up the cows for their evening walk up to the pasture, where they eat and relax until morning.

Meet the different breeds of dairy cows behind the Dairy Parlor (in the dairy yard).

We were introduced to several cows, including Maggie, who is expecting a calf in February, and the new mother of two-month-old calf, Éclair. Éclair is a heifer, which is a "young female before she has had a calf of her own." We watched them eat as we learned about them and about the amount of milk they produce.

 

 

The Barnyard

Barnyard tour:  Sheep, pigs, cows and more! Visit on your own or meet a staff member for a more in-depth tour.

THE BARNYARD
Visit and learn about animals on the farm including sheep, pigs, cows, goats, alpacas, and more. Farmpark interpreters will be on location to discuss each animal’s job on the farm.

 

 

Gardens

Scratch 'n sniff garden tour: Enjoy a guided tour of the gardens and raised beds surrounding the Plant Science Center while learning about our sense-sational plants.

PLANT SCIENCE CENTER
Enjoy a guided tour of the gardens and raised beds surrounding the Plant Science Center while learning about sense-sational plants. Restrooms available.

Although the Farmpark Plant Science Center building was not open, we took the time to explore the gardens next to and behind the building. There were also solar panels on a hill next to the building, and a pumpkin patch down the hill from there.

 

 

Thank You, Lake Metroparks Farmpark!

 

 

While we were at the Lake Metroparks Farmpark, we wondered about the corn used to create the corn maze. Here is a 2013 video from the park that explains "What happens to the corn from the 3-acre corn maze at Farmpark?"

Watch for yourself as a Farmpark staff member demonstrates the use of the single row New Idea corn picker attached to the 1966 John Deere 4020 tractor. The stalk is pulled through rollers that separate the ear from the stalk and then removes the husk from the ear.  A conveyor carries the ear up the chute and drops it onto the wagon. The corn is then stored in our corn crib drying out until next years Fall Harvest weekends, when it will be shelled and ground by you!

 

The day after visiting the Lake Metroparks Farmpark, we watched the Fox 8 News video Take a tour of the Lake Metroparks corn maze again. It was fun to see the flyover view to remind us of the fun we had getting lost in the maze.

 

When we were leaving the Lake Metroparks Farmpark, Stuart asked about the status of their annual Halloween event. The Farmpark staff member told us that they were planning a special "Drive Thru Halloween" that would provide a safe, social distanced event. She recommended watching for an upcoming announcement. As we were getting ready to publish this blog post, we saw the following on Twitter:

 

Related Blog Posts

We always like to list related blog posts so you can learn more about a place we visit or an activity we attend. Our blog posts about Lake Metroparks from before the COVID-19 crisis include:

Most of the venues that we write about in our sosAssociates.com/Blog are currently closed. The following are our "Social Distancing Series" blog posts, which we write to try and capture the activities we are able to do at this time. You can see that we have visited a lot of parks, and are very grateful for the several northeast Ohio park systems that we have been visiting during this time. Once the coronavirus crisis is over, it will be interesting to read these to see the contrast between these times and "normal life."

Please see the an asterisk (*) before those blog posts which include information about visiting the Lake Metroparks.

We expect to continue to practice social distancing for at least the rest of 2020, so please come back to read more and...

Stay well!