The newest fall attraction in southeast Saskatchewan has proven to be a popular destination for families.
The Moose Mountain Pumpkin Patch, located on about five acres of land northeast of Carlyle, opened for the first time on Sept. 17. It’s only open on weekends. But when the weather has co-operated, it has drawn a lot of families.
Owner Shane Valentine said they have a corn maze, a zip line, a corn slingshot, haystacks of various sizes for children to play on, a large sandbox, and, of course, lots of pumpkins. The facility is on land owned by the Valentine family.
“My family has seen them around … and we’ve been thinking about it for the last three or four years,” said Valentine. “So, finally we just did it. Last year, we tried to get it going just by planting pumpkins and seeing what they would do.”
But their pumpkin patch was damaged by hail last summer, and the salvageable pumpkins were donated to a preschool in Carlyle.
They tried again this year. Valentine grew about four acres of corn for the maze, and grew about 5,000 pumpkins.
The first two days were really busy, as it was a beautiful weekend and people wanted to be outdoors. They were closed due to rain during the weekend of Sept. 24 and 25, but Oct. 1 proved to be another perfect day for the pumpkin patch.
“The visitors aren’t just from people in town,” said Valentine. “They came from all over.”
The busy days have attracted more people than what they expected.
The only negative comment they have received thus far is regarding the lack of signage. Valentine stressed it is something they’re working on.
“Everyone who has had their kids there has seemed to tell us that the kids sleep well at night,” Valentine said with a laugh, alluding to the fact that the children are pretty busy throughout the day.
The corn maze has been particularly popular thus far, he said, since it’s not a common attraction in the southeast. The young people have also loved the zip line.
“I have a five-year-old son and a two-year-old daughter, so I’m just trying to find stuff that they will like, because those are the ages (we’re appealing to), along with the ages older than them,” said Valentine.
Growing the corn and the pumpkins, and installing the zip line and the other items, were tasks that could be done manually.
Valentine hopes that the pumpkin patch could be an annual attraction in this region. This year’s success has given them the confidence to try it again next year.
“Over the next couple years, we plan to keep growing, so we’ll add a couple more things,” said Valentine. “We’ll try and add a petting zoo, and then every year come up with something new to add, and make it different.”
With Halloween approaching, the pumpkin patch will host Spook Nights on Oct. 7, 14 and 21, starting at 7 p.m. Participants will navigate their way through the corn maze during the dark, which Valentine hopes will create a unique experience. Children are encouraged to wear their Halloween costumes.
The patch will remain open until the final weekend of October, if the weather co-operates.
To reach the Moose Mountain Pumpkin Patch, head east on Township Road 90, which is about 6 1/2 kilometres north of Carlyle. The patch is two kilometres east of the junction of Township Road 90 and Highway 9.
