By Kayla Anderson
Sparks Tribune
Zombie paintball, a Creepers Corn Maze, turkeys, camels, barrel train rides, capybaras, porcupines, food trucks, and pumpkins galore, the Andelin Family Farm in Sparks is the place to be this October as it has activities that appeal to people of all ages. A general admission ticket gives one access to jump pads, a sand dig area, mini ziplines, rabbit hole slides, hay rides, a small hay maze, pumpkin shooting range, corn sheds, the Bunny Barn, the farm store, and people-sized hamster wheels.
The Andelin Family Farm in Sparks is open through October for its annual pumpkin patch complete with a corn maze and other Halloween fun.
On a recent midweek afternoon, groups of elementary-school kids on field trips were leaving the farm, full of energy and mini pumpkins in hand.
Inside, a little girl had a wide grin on her face as she rode the barrel train and pet the goats. A young boy got into a small tank with Periwinkle, a Holland lop rabbit who was napping amongst some hay. Kids were gem sluice mining camp and dads drove wheelbarrows with 10-lb. pumpkins in them, pigs and cows rested contently in their pens. The Farm Store sold Andelin syrups, sauces, and jams, along with clothing, soaps, lotions, pumpkin bread, and pumpkin cheesecake mixes.
In another area of the farm, a 5-acre corn maze was grown in the shape of a Nevada prospector and his burro.
“Every year we come up with a design as a family that resonates with the community and this year we focused on Nevada’s history,” says Owner Cameron Andelin. “It makes a great field trip for the fourth graders,” he adds.
Andelin hires a company called MazePlay that plants the corn in the final design, and then they watch it grow. “It saves the seed rather than planting the whole field and trying to cut a lot of it out. And it usually comes out close to perfect, from what we see from the aerial images we take from our drones,” he says.
This year, the Andelins also implemented a scavenger hunt inside the five-acre corn maze with 10 checkpoints. Cameron’s son created the scavenger hunt, and couples, teenagers, families, and friends were in there trying to find the checkpoints. One can pull up the Maze Map on their phone to see where six of the checkpoints are and the rest are a secret. It’s a way for people to learn the history of Nevada mining while exploring the maze. For instance, I never knew that time zones were created from the railroad system.
“We add new activities every year,” Cameron says. “We try to think about what would be nice for the customers. For instance, this year we added a diaper changing area which is kind of like a mother’s lounge. We’ve tried to add activities that appeal to all senses.”
After spending an hour in the corn maze, I stopped by the Treats Trailer for an Autumn Harvest drink- consisting of half vanilla soft serve ice cream and half apple cider slushie served in a color-changing commemorative cup. It was incredible. As it got later in the day, people continued to file into the farm and the corn maze (or out of it with gigantic pumpkins), everyone happy and relaxed. The Andelin Family Farm and its Harvest Festival has become a gem of Northern Nevada, getting better every year.
The Andelin Family Farm is closed on Sundays and Mondays (and on Halloween) through October. Tickets can be purchased at the farm or online in advance to save a bit of money. For more information about the Andelin Family Farm, visit https://andelinfamilyfarm.com/.
