Bauman's Fall Festival 2026: Dates, Prices, and Real Family Tips

Bauman's Harvest Festival in Gervais runs September 19 through October 31, 2026, closed Mondays, with hours of 9am to 5pm and ticket sales cutting off at 4pm (source). Pricing is split into weekday and weekend tiers, and honestly, that difference matters a lot more than people expect once you're buying for a family of four or five.

We've been going to Bauman's for years now, back when my girls were little enough to need a wagon and now that they're old enough to run the corn maze without me. This is my real, lived-in guide: what's actually worth the extra weekend dollars, what to skip, how stroller-friendly the farm really is, and how to stack it with other Marion County fall stops so your drive out from Salem or Keizer feels like a full day, not just a quick pumpkin grab.

When Bauman's Fall Festival Is Open in 2026

The 2026 Harvest Festival dates are locked in at September 19 through October 31, and the farm is closed on Mondays throughout the run (source). Gate hours are 9am to 5pm, but keep in mind ticket sales stop at 4pm, so showing up at 4:30 hoping to squeeze in an hour just isn't going to work.

You'll find the farm at 12989 Howell Prairie Rd NE, Gervais, OR 97026, which is roughly a 20 to 25 minute drive from Keizer or North Salem depending on traffic (source). It's an easy trip, and one of my favorite things about fall around here is that you really don't have to plan a whole weekend trip to get a full farm experience. Similar to how I feel about the Marion County Fair, it's close, it's local, and it doesn't require an overnight bag.

What It Actually Costs This Year

This is where families get tripped up, because Bauman's uses two-tier pricing depending on the day you go.

• Weekday (Tuesday through Friday): $20 for ages 3 to 25, $15 for ages 26 to 99
• Weekend (Saturday and Sunday): $30 for ages 3 to 25, $20 for ages 26 to 99, and this pricing includes access to all activities
• Friday, October 9 uses weekend pricing, so don't assume every Friday is the cheaper option
• Kids 2 and under are free with a paying adult

All of that comes straight from the farm's own pricing page (source), and I'd double-check it yourself before you go, since farm pricing can shift year to year.

Doing the Math for Your Family

Here's the formula I'd use before you buy tickets: take your number of visitors ages 3 to 25, multiply by the age-appropriate ticket price, then add your visitors ages 26 to 99 multiplied by their price, and add any Cider Maze add-ons if you're 21 and up and want that option.

Say, purely as an example, you've got two adults and two kids ages 5 and 9, and you're going on a Wednesday. That's 2 kids x $20, plus 2 adults x $15, which comes out to $70 total for the day. Go on a Saturday instead with that same family and you're looking at 2 x $30 plus 2 x $20, or $100. That $30 swing is exactly why I'd think hard about a weekday visit if your schedule allows it.

I built a quick Bauman's Family Ticket Cost Estimator tool for this site where you can plug in your own group size, pick weekday or weekend (with October 9 flagged automatically), and see your total before you leave the house. It's a good place to start if you're trying to budget a visit for a bigger group. And no matter what number it gives you, I'd still confirm current pricing directly on Bauman's site before you buy, just in case anything's changed since this was written.

What's Included in Admission

The nice thing about Bauman's setup this year is that admission bundles in most of the farm rather than charging per attraction. Your ticket gets you into the Sunflower Field, the Hay Ride, the Corn Maze, and the rope maze (source). With more than 30 activities on the property total, including mazes, obstacle courses, rides, and farm animals, you genuinely don't need to add much to have a full day (source).

The signature stuff is worth knowing about ahead of time. There's an apple cannon that shoots and explodes apples (a huge hit with my kids every single year), plus a giant hay pyramid slide alongside the winding corn and rope mazes (source). If you're only picking three things to prioritize with young kids, I'd say the apple cannon, the hay pyramid, and the sunflower field for photos are the ones that actually get remembered.

The Pumpkin Patch, Market Stand, and Extras Worth Budgeting For

The pumpkin patch itself is part of the experience, and most families end up leaving with at least one pumpkin from the field. There's also a market stand on site with apple cider, cider donuts, and farm produce, which is honestly one of the better parts of the whole visit if you ask me. I'd budget a little extra cash specifically for the bakery stand, because that's not something bundled into your ticket price.

If you're 21 or older and want to add the Cider Maze, it does require ID, and it includes admission, a keepsake cider glass, and five tasting tickets (source). This one is genuinely for the grown-ups. If you're coming with little kids in tow, I'd skip it for this particular visit and maybe come back for a date-night version another weekend.

I've also seen mentions online of a cider festival weekend at Bauman's, but I couldn't verify a specific date for that on the farm's own site as of this writing (September 2026). Rather than guess and send you out on the wrong weekend, I'd call the farm directly or check their site before planning around it.

Our Real Tips: Best Time to Go, What's Worth It, What to Skip

A few honest notes from years of doing this with three kids:

• Best time of day: We've always had better luck going right at opening, especially on weekends. By early afternoon the parking lot fills up and the corn maze lines get longer.
• Weekday vs. weekend: If your schedule allows any flexibility at all, a Tuesday through Friday visit is both cheaper and noticeably less crowded. Worth checking out if you've got a preschooler or a work-from-home Friday.
• Stroller and wagon reality: The main paths between attractions are packed dirt and gravel, which strollers handle fine. Once you get into the corn maze or out toward the pumpkin patch itself, the ground gets uneven, so a wagon works better than a stroller if you've got a toddler who tires out fast.
• What's genuinely worth lingering over: The apple cannon and the hay pyramid slide, hands down. Kids will ask to do both multiple times.
• What to breeze past with young kids: The rope maze and full corn maze are more fun once kids are old enough to actually navigate them independently. With toddlers, I wouldn't spend much time here.

Bring layers. Farm mornings in late September and October can be cool, and by afternoon you'll want that jacket tied around your waist instead of on.

Pairing Bauman's With Other Marion County Fall Stops

Not every fall day trip needs a packed itinerary. Sometimes the best plan really is: grab coffee on the way out of Keizer, spend the morning at Bauman's, and stop somewhere for a late lunch on the drive back. That's one of my favorite things about living out here, honestly. You don't have to drive to Portland to fill a Saturday.

If you want to make a bigger loop out of it, this is a good season to also check out a local park on the way home so the kids can burn off any remaining energy, or plan around one of the region's other big fall gatherings, like the Oregon State Fair, if your fall calendar has room for more than one farm outing this season.

Questions people ask

Where are the best pumpkin patches near Salem-Keizer?

Bauman's is one of the go-to options for families in this area because of the sheer number of included activities and its proximity to Salem and Keizer. I always tell people to check a farm's own site for current-year dates and pricing before heading out, since these details shift from year to year.

Where can we see Christmas lights and Santa photos later this year in Salem-Keizer?

I haven't published this year's holiday lights and Santa photo guide yet, so I don't have confirmed 2026 details to share here. Once local businesses and venues release their winter schedules, I'll put together a dedicated guide rather than guess at dates that might change.

Fall around here really does sneak up on you in the best way. One weekend you're wrapping up Labor Day plans (my Labor Day weekend guide has ideas if you're still catching up on late-summer outings), and the next you're standing in a sunflower field with cider donut crumbs on your kid's jacket. That's kind of the whole point of living here. You don't need a big production to make a good memory, just a short drive and an afternoon with nowhere else to be.

If you're new to the area and still figuring out which fall traditions are worth your Saturdays, feel free to reach out anytime. No pressure, just information, whether it's about the farm scene or anything else about settling into Salem or Keizer.

Find me on Linktree or visit SalemKeizerLiving.com for more local guides.

Hannah Fouts-Sparks

Broker, Sparks Property Group at SMI Real Estate. Licensed in Oregon. Serving Keizer, Salem, and the Willamette Valley.

Hannah@SparksPropertyGroup.com · 971.218.6225

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