Family farms like Waterdrinker, White Post and Harbes get a boost in summer visitors, owners say

Meghan and Ryan Walter’s three young children literally jump for joy on their summertime visits to Waterdrinker Family Farm and Garden in Manorville.

"My kids love the jump pads," Meghan Walter says, referring to the 30-foot by 70-foot rainbow-hued bouncy pillows that Emily, 9, Penelope, 6, and Benjamin, 1, make a beeline to at the 70-acre agritainment center. 

Walter and her husband, Ryan, who are both 35 and teach public school music and orchestra, have the summers off. "We’re always looking for places to take the kids to explore on summer vacation," she says. Waterdrinker’s Family Farm Adventure offers the Farmingville family a chance "to get out and see how it used to be in summer; to unplug from tech and enjoy nature."

For Long Islanders who like to sample life and entertainment down on the farm, summer offers a less crowded but still fun-filled alternative to the East End’s jam-packed fall festival season. Roasted corn dipped in butter, apple cider doughnuts, hayrides, corn mazes and other festive treats are available at farms open in the summertime too, generally on weekends or during festivals.

A SUMMER BOOST 

"When the kids are off from school, and the parents and grandparents come along, you can really have a nice family outing," says Nancy Gangi, event coordinator at White Post Farms of Melville. Though known for its fall festival which launches in September, the farm is open through the summer with a peck of activities including magic shows, pony rides ($6.95), a kiddie train ($3) and encounters with creatures great and small in its animal farm and petting zoo.

Farm owners say they’re seeing more warmer-weather traffic from parents seeking to draw children away from their electronic devices to the traditional fun offered in rural Long Island.

"People want family time away from the screens, they don’t want to be cooped up if they see the weather looks good on the weekends," says Marc Weiss, owner of Waterdrinker.

Summertime on the farm also boasts its own specialties, such as fresh ice cream made from the summer peach and corn crop and u-pick blackberries and blueberries. This summer is the first at the farm's  Riverhead location, which opened last September.

BEAT THE CROWDS

While visiting Waterdrinker, the Walters play mini-golf, ride tractor pedal cars and hang out with the farm’s tortoises, Nigerian dwarf goats and miniature donkeys. They take an annual family photo amid the sunflower fields and post it on Instagram.

Meghan's  tip on getting the most out of the preseason farm visit: "Monday through Thursday is a great time to go, you get the place to yourself."

Ed Harbes, owner of Harbes Family Farm in Mattituck, says those who visit the farm pre-pumpkin picking season buzz "can enjoy the more leisurely pace in a less attended time of year." 

Harbes' farm features the Barnyard Adventure, which includes a sports zone with baseball, football and basketball tossing games, a Lil’ Farmers Playland for preschoolers, an obstacle course and a hedge maze. New attractions even debut in the summer. This season's additions: the bubble tower, an old fashioned 16-foot tall water tower where visitors can make bubbles with a wand.

"The bubbles are magnificent iridescent colors," says Toni Fenton, a schoolteacher who tried out the tower with her husband, Steve, a lawyer, and their sons, Connor, 8, and Tyler, 4. The couple put Barnyard Adventure season passes in their boys’ Christmas stockings. On a weekend visit in early August, they rode the Trike Track, sang along on the hayride and rooted for the contestants in Harbes’ pig race.

"We generally root for all of them but we’re big fans of Ruby Red," says Fenton, whose family once won a pack of apple cider doughnuts by backing a pig race winner.

SPECIAL EVENTS 

Summer is also prime time for seasonal food-inspired events to take over. Waterdrinker in Manorville hosted pickle, honey and sunflower festivals in July and August, the latter of which Weiss says had a "great turnout." Harbes held a watermelon festival in late August and plans to continue to celebrate the fruit with watermelon eating contests at the farm through early September.

Upcoming festivals encroach into the start of fall, including a Sept. 14-15 garlic festival at Waterdrinker's Riverhead location.