Fall fun: Ellis’ Harvest Home offers a variety of activities for the entire family
Ellis’ Harvest Home, located in Goshen County, has been growing and selling pumpkins for over 20 years, offering a wide variety each season.
From large and small pumpkins to white and warty varieties, the Ellis pumpkin patch promises fun for the whole family as they explore fields in search of the perfect pumpkin to pick right off the vine.
But the excitement doesn’t end there. Each year, Ellis’ Harvest Home creates a new corn maze and adds various attractions, providing families from near and far with a range of activities suitable for all ages.
Additionally, students can spend the day on the farm, playing and learning about agriculture during scheduled field trips.
The farm also offers fall decorations, including straw bales, corn shocks, gourds and ornamental corn, alongside a selection of pumpkins to choose from.
The family farm
“My folks bought the farm in 1959. A short time later, I was born in 1960,” Ellis’ Harvest Home Owner “The Pumpkin Man” Dan Ellis states. “In 1979, I bought and moved to my own farm. Then, I moved back to the home place in 2007.”
Today, Ellis’ Harvest Home has three partners – Dan’s wife Cheryl Ellis, “The Snack Queen,” and their son Zack Ellis, “The Pumpkin Whisperer.”
“Ellis’ Harvest Home started in 1980 when I planted two hills of pumpkins for fun,” Dan adds. “I gave the pumpkins to my nieces and nephews, and the next year I grew a few more.”
“Then I planted a row 100 feet long, and it grew to one-eighth of an acre, then three acres,” he explains.
In the beginning, Dan started selling a few pumpkins out of their farmyard, and it continued to grow until it was big enough they needed to end it or make it a business.
“I guess we made it a business,” Dan chuckles.
“We started the corn maze in 2008, and we’ve grown quite a bit over the past 17 years,” he adds.
Ellis’ Harvest Home now grows around 12 acres of pumpkins and has greatly expanded and added various activities for families to enjoy.
As the business continues to grow, they employee 10 or more individuals every fall to help out.
Something for everyone
In 2024, Ellis’ Harvest Home celebrated its 17th corn maze and is known as Wyoming’s longest-running pumpkin patch, offering over 50 varieties to choose from.
“We began offering an adult night with live music, food and a beer garden,” Dan explains. “We also added flower-picking festivities, where individuals can pick their own sunflowers and zinnias while enjoying food specials.”
The farm features a variety of attractions, including a hay maze for young explorers to climb and run through, as well as corn boxes for splashing around in.
Visitors can venture out to the petting zoo, where they can get up close and personal with the farm’s pigs, chickens, goats, alpacas and more.
Kids of all ages can test their aim at the grain cart basketball hoop or at the football toss. Another farm favorite is the jumping pillows, where visitors can enjoy some bouncing fun.
After climbing on the spider web or the tire tree, guests can gather at the feed bunk to satisfy their appetites and quench their thirst.
Ellis’ Harvest Home offers a wide variety of menu items and can accommodate any requests while satisfying a sweet tooth, as they are known for their famous homemade cinnamon rolls and caramel apples.
Gather up the whole family this fall and visit Ellis’ Harvest Home pumpkin patch and corn maze, which opens on the last Saturday in September and closes on Oct. 31.
For more information, visit ellisharvesthome.com or call 307-532-1686.
Melissa Anderson is the editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.
