Image courtesy of www.kykerfarmscornmaze.com.

If you think a trip to the farm means pumpkin picking, crisp weather, wagon rides, corn mazes, imaginative playgrounds and farm animal petting zoos, you’d be right. However, that’s just the tip of the cornstalk in Tennessee.

Agritourism farms across the state are a prime destination for all sorts of special events and outdoor adventures not traditionally associated with farms. Farmers look for ways to keep visitors coming back to their operations year after year. As agritourism matures in Tennessee, options at farms keep expanding.

Admission to pumpkin patches, farm retail shops and playgrounds are usually covered with a single fee, but for an extra fee, visitors may be able to experience all sorts of outdoor recreation. That may include riding a zipline, racing a pedal car around a track, taking on a climbing wall or ropes course, or mining for gemstones. Weekend special events like dog agility demonstrations, music festivals and antique car shows have become regular daytime fare for Tennessee fun farms. Many farms offer concessions so visitors can enjoy an entire day.

Some farms offer outdoor movie nights and fireworks displays, but night time is still fright time for most places with corn mazes, woods, or even orchards. Haunted hayrides, zombie paintball games, and terror-themed trails of all kinds have become part of Tennessee’s Halloween traditions. When Halloween is over, leftover pumpkins become ammunition for outlandish “punkin’ chunkin’” cannons and catapults at some end-of-season celebrations.

Savvy farmers also make it easy for potential visitors to find a deal. Many offer discounted admissions prices for different days or events, for military families, group visits, and even Groupon coupons.

To find one of the 700 agritourism farms near you, visit the Pick Tennessee website at www.PickTNProducts.org or use the free Pick Tennessee mobile app.

Now in its 30th year, Pick Tennessee Products is the Tennessee Department of Agriculture’s program to connect consumers to farms, farmers and farm products.