Corn Mazes

When thinking about fall, two activities immediately come to mind: apple and pumpkin picking. A unique alternative to these common activities is finding your way through a corn maze.

Usually open from the end of august until the end of Halloween, mazes are the perfect fall activity for friends and families of all ages.

Though you won’t realize it while you navigate the maze, most mazes are shaped into pictures of iconic people or things.

This year, Mike’s Maze, located in Sunderland, Mass., is constructed into a Campbell’s Soup can.

Years past mazes have been shaped to look like the Mona Lisa, King Tut, and Charles Darwin.

“It’s amazing that they can make the maze into a picture,” said Angela Halliday, 22. “It makes it that much more fun.”

The maze is named one of 1000 Great Places To Visit In Massachusetts, according to Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism, and received the 2009 “Best Bargain” award from Yankee Magazine.

Mike’s Corn Maze is an affordable, interesting, and exciting attraction that’s right in our backyard!

Admission for children under 13 is $6, while all other others pay $9. Students and senior citizens receive a $1 discount.

Mike’s Corn Maze at Warner Farm is located on 25 South Main St. in Sunderland, Mass.

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Atkins Farms

When fall starts to set in, Atkins Farms is the perfect place to go on the weekend to satisfy all of your autumn cravings.

This country market offers a full service deli, bakery, produce and meat department, as well as your standard grocery needs.

The bakery serves up fresh treats and drinks that visitors can sit down and enjoy in their dine-in section. The perfect fall meal to enjoy inside Atkins are their delicious cider donuts and hot apple cider.

You can bet that these apple-made products taste as fresh as ever. “Atkins Farm has been growing apples for over 100 years” with the first McIntosh tree planted in 1887, according to the Atkins Farms website.

After having a snack, venture outside to choose a pumpkin or build your own scarecrow. For $16.50, customers can use the build your own scarecrow station to create a unique scarecrow with clothes of one choice and stuff it right then and there.

As well as the bakery inside the main building, around the corner is Atkins’ Orchard Run ice cream. This stand offers fresh ice cream, hot dogs and cold drinks to enjoy.

If all of the products offered at Atkins have you itching to make a meal but need some guidance, Atkins’ Savory Suppers is your solution.

“Savory Suppers is meal preparation service designed to take all the work and worry out of preparing dinner,” according to the company’s website. “We do all the menu planning, shopping, ingredient preparation and clean up.”

All you have to do is go to Savory Suppers, select what meals your want, and prepare them at a 2-hour session using Atkins’ farm fresh ingredients and supplies. At the end of your session, take them home and place them in your freezer until your ready to finish off the baking in your home oven.

Atkins Farms is truly the best place to stop and enjoy every season; Hot drinks for the winter, ice cream for summer, and donuts, apples and cider for the fall. The farm is a one-stop market that offers it all.

Atkins Farms is located at the corner of Route 116 and Bay Road in South Amherst.

Flayvors

When the sweltering Amherst heat has got you down, or the changing color of the fall leaves tempts you to give a last hurrah to summer, Flayvors has got you covered.

Well known for their ice cream, Flayvors offers 24 choices of the perfect treat.When autumn rolls around, the store offers seasonal flavors such as chai, county fair, and back-2-school, among others.

Jordan Huskins, a UMass senior, cautiously asked for a scoop of their pumpkin ice cream but upon first taste was glad that she did.“It has a nice light pumpkin flavor,” she said. “It tasted very fresh.”

For those who aren’t looking to venture outside of their comfort zone, every one will be able to find a flavor they love among the 24, as well as an assortment of frozen yogurt and frappes.

All the ice cream is made fresh of cow milk from the adjacent Cook Farm. The farm makes Flayvors not just a place to pick up a quick cone, but to enjoy nature as well.

Picnic tables are aligned right next to the fence where cows often graze, making it the perfect spot to enjoy your dessert and observe the cattle.

Flayvors not only offers up delicious ice cream, but freshly made sandwiches, wraps, and salads. During the winter months diners may sit in their cozy post and beam style dining room.

Flayvors is located at 1 E. Hadley Rd. in Hadley, Mass. and open year round.