A Visit to the Louisburg Cider Mill & Pumpkin Patch

September kicks off apple and pumpkin season in our house and that can only mean one thing... our annual visit to the Louisburg Cider Mill! We love Louisburg Cider Mill - watching at cider is made from scratch, enjoying fresh apple cider donuts, and playing at the pumpkin patch and finding our way through the corn maze.

The Louisburg Cider Mill produces thousands of gallons of fresh squeezed cider annually and you can watch the process first hand on a visit. After visiting the Cider Mill, we enjoy playing in the pumpkin patch and exploring the real 10-acre corn maze (my favorite attraction at the patch!).

Key things to know:

• The Cider Mill and Country Store are open year-round, but they're most exciting and interesting in the fall. There is no charge to visit the mill or the store, except that the alluring scent of cider donuts and the experience of watching fresh cider as it is pressed is sure to entice you to purchase some delicious goodies to enjoy. They also sell autumn decor, pumpkin and apple butter, jellies, soup mixes, and their Lost Trail sodas in the shop. Country Store (open year round) Hours: 8am-6pm, Mon-Sat, 9am-6pm, Sundays.
• The last weekend of September and the first weekend of October are the annual Cider Fest, a fun-filled festival celebrating everything autumn. This popular event is a tradition for many families and thousands attend every year. If you want a fall festival and a beautiful setting, this is the event for you. If you'd like to explore the mill without the crowd, visit on a non-festival day during September or October.
• They do not grow apples on the grounds and they do not offer apple picking. The mill produces such a huge quantity of cider, they would be unable to grow all the apples they need, so they are purchased from local Missouri and Kansas farmers.
• There is an additional fee for the pumpkin patch and corn maze. This year's corn maze is the Ghost of the Corn Maze and the Louisburg Cider Mill offers one of our absolute favorite corn mazes in the area. The maze includes a word scramble puzzle as letters are hidden through the maze - find all the letters and unscramble them to enter a prize drawing. Also, bring your smart phone as you'll find "Moogle" clues throughout the maze helping you know which direction to go. When you find a Moogle, you scan a QR code for corn trivia, Bible trivia, a riddle, or scouting trivia. If you answer the clue correctly, it tells you which way to turn.
• Picnics ARE welcome (I LOVE LOVE LOVE this!)! And, you'll also be able to purchase food from Food Trucks on weekends!

​Louisburg Cider Mill Pumpkin Patch Hours & Admission

• Pumpkin Patch & Corn Maze Hours: Monday through Thursday 10 am to 5 pm (weekday discounted ticket $6, no hayrides or jumping pillow during the week). Fridays & Saturdays 10am – 10 pm,  Sundays 10 am – 6 pm. Open September 16th through October 31st

• Admission: $9 Admission (children 3 & under free) Ticket includes: 10 acre Corn Maze, Hay Wagon Rides, Straw Fort, Farm Animals, Jumping Pillow, Teepees & access to our Pumpkin Patch! Pumpkins are sold separately, $3-$15. SAVE on Admission Mon-Thurs when tickets are just $6 (no hayrides or jumping pillow).

• Special Events at the Pumpkin Patch: 

  9/16 – 9/18: Scout Weekend! Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Brownies & Daisies get $2 off admission when you wear your uniform or show your badge

  9/16 – 9/18: Add your homemade scarecrow to our field display to receive $5 off admission!!

  9/24 – 9/25: Sat & Sun, Ciderfest at the Cider Mill

  10/1 – 10/2: Sat & Sun, Ciderfest at the Cider Mill

  10/7 – 10/9: As our way of saying “Thank You!” to all community service workers, all teachers, firefighters, first responders, EMTs, nurses and doctors will receive $2 off admission to the Corn Maze & Pumpkin Patch with a valid ID badge.

  10/14 – 10/16: College weekend!! College students receive $2 off admission when you show your student ID!

  Saturday 10/15:  6:30 pm to 10 pm Zombie Forest Night! Dress up for this fun night of spooks and thrills! Live music, bonfire, hayrides and more! Bring your flashlight to go through the maze in the dark! Zombie Forest is a fundraiser for our local Paola High School Robotics group.

  Saturday 10/22: 8th Annual Burning Scarecrow Event at 7:00 pm. Live music, bonfire, hayrides and more! Bring your flashlight to go through the maze in the dark! Zombie Forest continues!!

  HALLOWEEN!! October 31st: Wear your costume for $1 off your ticket and some Halloween fun!!

​

Burning Scarecrow Event (Scheduled for 10/22/16)

We LOVE the Louisburg Cider Mill Because...

Every year, it is a tradition to take my girls to Louisburg to watch cider making and donut making and snack on the tasty fall treats. We then head over to the pumpkin patch and corn maze for more fall fun!

The Cider Mill and Country Store are always FREE to visit. In the summer, you can watch as they bottle the company's Lost Trail Rootbeer. We love watch-it-made tours and this is a must-see. Read our blog: Watch Cider Making at the Louisburg Cider Mill for information on the cider making tour.  

Washing Apples

Inside the Cider Mill Barn - note the signs that explain the entire process from start to finish.

I love many things about Louisburg Cider Mill but one of the favorites is the family who owns it. Clea Barry, granddaughter of the original owners (it has been in the family since 1977), takes us on a tour each year. Her enthusiasm for the family business and her community are contagious! I love listening to her tell of their relationships with neighbors (one neighbor owns planes and takes the aerial corn maze photos each year, another drives the hay rides, and others own nearby pumpkin patches and they partner their businesses) and the family history behind the delicious label. Every year, 7 million lbs of Kansas and Missouri apples are converted into 500,000 gallons of delicious cider (some of it used to make warm and tasty cider donuts). 

At Louisburg Cider Mill you'll enjoy country hospitality where visitors are welcome to bring their own picnic (as a mom on a budget I love that!), and take lots of photos to capture family memories in front of the beautiful red cider mill and wandering through this year's Ghost of the Corn Maze.

Donut Making (this is from last year - we missed donut making this year - but still enjoyed eating donuts)

Things You'll Enjoy at Louisburg Cider Mill Pumpkin Patch 2016:

Begin your pumpkin patch adventure at the entrance barn. You may purchase your pumpkins (picked from the real pumpkin patch off the vine), some pumpkin carving tools and decor, apple cider, snacks, and bottled water. (The original Country Store near the Cider Mill sells many more items than the barn if you crave fall shopping.) Outside picnics are welcome (which is unusual at local patches). I recommend bringing bottled water or purchasing it in the barn before you embark on the corn maze adventure. 

The REAL 10-acre Pumpkin Patch! My girls enjoyed exploring the patch on a hunt for the perfect pumpkin. We were there early in the season (before the first fall freeze). We found a variety of pumpkins in all shapes and sizes - and the prices were very reasonable and comparable to our local grocery store, but they were fresh off the vine and we were supporting a local business (a win-win in my book). 
 

This shows 2016 pumpkin prices: $3, $6, $9, $12, and $15 for largest. 
 

The 10-Acre Ghost of the Corn Maze... with a GAME to play inside! Every year the Louisburg Cider Mill team plans a new corn maze and this year's is the Ghost of the Corn Maze. The Corn Maze is included in the price of admission to the pumpkin patch and it is one of the largest and prettiest mazes in the area. As you go through the maze, you can play a game to help find your way. Bring your smart phone to play Moogle. Throughout the maze you'll find Moogle signs. On each sign there are QR Codes to scan or numbers to text for riddles to solve. Solve the riddle or trivia question and then you'll be told which way to turn in the maze. (There are enough signs to add to the fun, but not enough to solve the entire maze for you.) Also, hidden in the maze, visitors will find letters that you can unscramble to create a word. Tips: Make sure everyone uses the restroom before you start the maze (it takes 30-60 minutes). Bring bottled water in the maze (it was a warm / hot day for us and we were grateful for water). Wear tennis shoes or rain boots (depending on recent rainfall, it may be a bit muddy). Stick with your group. And, use #LouisburgPumpkinPatch when uploading photos to social media! 

The Sunflower Hill Slide! This large slide is big enough for the entire family to enjoy! My girls LOVE LOVE LOVE this slide!
 

The Jumping Pillow. Jumping Pillow (only open on weekends and when school is out for holidays like Columbus Day) . 

The Jack-O-Lantern Corn Crib. Playing in dried corn is definitely a favorite feature at local pumpkin patches and the Jack-O-Lantern is a great touch!
 
 

The Learning Barn. This little barn features old farming equipment (including an old cider press) and great educational information on apples, corn, and farming.

Animals. The girls enjoyed watching the goats play.

Kid-Size Maze. Kids enjoy this maze (and mom can watch easily) as they wind through the rainbow pallets.
 

The Play Space. Lots of creative Country Themed play spaces are fun for young children, including the NEW Trike Track, Sand Pit and Bridge, and Spider Web! The girls really loved the spider web.
 

The Wagon Ride. What an authentically fun autumn tradition! The tractor pulled hayride is really fun.
   

Fun Photo Ops. Painted signs make a fun photo op!
 

Tips before You Visit Louisburg Cider Mill & Pumpkin Patch:

• Read the Louisburg Cider Mill Pumpkin Patch Listing for complete details, hours, pricing, and map!
• Bring bottled water and some healthy snacks, or plan to purchase snacks at the Country Store or the Pumpkin Patch barn. You may bring your own lunch - we love this option! Or bring money and buy concessions there on weekends.
• We spent 4.5 hours at the patch, getting lost in the corn maze, and visiting the Cider Mill. 
• Read our Pumpkin Patch tips for what to bring, what to wear, and more!
• Bring money for the goodies at the Country Store. Apple Cider Donuts and fresh cider are some of autumn's tastiest traditions!
• They offer group tours and discounts if you lead a school group, play group, or church group!
• Louisburg Cider Mill is close to wherever you are: Twenty miles south of metro Kansas City via US Hwy. 69 to the Louisburg exit (Hwy. 68), then three miles west. Approximate Driving Distances: Overland Park, Kansas — 25 miles. Country Club Plaza Kansas City, Missouri — 29 miles. Downtown Kansas City, Missouri — 39 miles. Leawood, Kansas — 23 miles. Olathe, Kansas — 20 miles. Lenexa, Kansas — 24 miles.

Louisburg Cider Mill Pumpkin Patch is a favorite fall tradition for our family! I love supporting local family owned businesses and I love autumn traditions, so this is a favorite fall tradition for our family.