Bob's Corn & Pumpkin Farm — Attraction in Maltby

Edit: I am giving four stars for their excellent tasting sweet corn and great farm store. I previously gave one star for the sunflower festival—details below.

We visited today for the sunflower “festival;” I was surprised when we were charged full admission price for my two-year-old but figured they must cater to toddlers during the experience if we’re paying $25 for him to get in. I guess they call it a festival because there is a food stand selling chicken tenders, nuggets, pizza, roasted corn and lemonade. There was absolutely nothing else that stood out to qualify this as a festival.

We got an email saying we had been rebooked because the flowers hadn’t bloomed. This was a non-issue and we were willing to be flexible—however, when I called and expressed concerns about not arriving precisely at our reservation time due to my toddler’s nap, they said they could allow us to enter as long as we came within 15 minutes of when we scheduled. It was as if we were to offer maximum flexibility while expecting none in return.

The sunflowers were beautiful and did not disappoint. Our $50 admission (with taxes and fees) included one stem for each of us. The tractor pull to the field was very rough and alarming to a smaller toddler that joined us. At the field, there were some inflatable cows that appealed to the toddlers. Otherwise, they played with corn hole bean bags and checker pieces that were lying around. Nothing about the flower experience itself was geared toward a two-year-old.

We went back to the farm looking forward to the playground. Most of all, my son wanted to ride the tricycles and play in the corn crib. The corn crib was not open. The tricycles were open until around 5:00 when they closed the area an hour before we expected. We saved them for last and my son could not wait to ride the miniature tractor—sadly we left without having the chance.

Speaking of tractors—his favorite thing of all during farm visits is sitting on the big tractors. There was a beautiful green John Deere in the front lawn with a sign posted asking to stay off—fine and understandable. On the playground, he eagerly approached a tractor he could touch only to find it full of cobwebs with bird poop all over the seat.

When I asked to use the restroom, I was directed to a porta-potty. I clarified that I needed to change my child’s diaper and they pointed me to a nursing shed near the playground. Nice—that sounded like a generous accommodation! It was about 110° inside with no fans or air circulating, random trash cans lying around, corners full of dead leaves and cobwebs.

My son left a toy at the sunflower field. Considering there were no other passengers on the last two to three rides from wagon to farm because it was 90°—I thought maybe the store associates could walkie to see if anyone found it before we road all the way back to the field on a very bumpy road (lifting our stroller up and down the stairs each time). “We’re not sure about that,” was the response I got. We are used to Andrew’s Hay where every single person on the farm meets you with a smile—not here. People clearly have jobs to do and they are not in customer service.

The lemonade was excellent and our chicken tenders and fries were good. My son was ecstatic over seeing the farm vehicles. The store had excellent variety of canned jams, salsas, etc. There are many lovely farms around the area. We will gladly return our business to Andrew’s Hay where admission is free and your money buys local meat, giant pumpkins, toddler-friendly activities and...

The grounds are beautiful, and there are many activities for children.

This is a great place for families with young children, but it is also enjoyable for friends. Although they advertise a variety of food options, they only offer sugared doughnuts and cider, which was disappointing..

The pumpkins that were on the grounds were a little bit pricey. I've definitely been to nicer locations with lower prices. However, inflation it affects everyone. In order to keep this as a generational family oriented place, I'm sure they have to keep up with the demands financially. Tickets are more expensive, but staffing is low, and the staff that they had working on the day I was there were not very helpful at all. They didn't exactly tell us where to go or what activities to participate in. You typically have to walk around and discover the activities for yourself. I didn't have any maps or anything available.

One of the staff members even physically grabbed my arm and informed me that dogs are not permitted on the premises. However, there was a stray dog without a collar running around the grounds and approaching people at random. My animal is a service animal that serves as an extension of myself. Perhaps the staff should familiarize themselves with how to recognize a service dog vest, which clearly states "Service Animal" in bold red letters. If they required documentation for my licensed and certified animal, I would have gladly provided it. However, according to the ADA law, I am not obligated to inform them or answer any questions; the vest my animal is wearing is sufficient. It is against the law and could be considered discrimination if they insist otherwise. I am certain that if my service animal's presence was a concern, the staff member at the front entrance would have informed me. However, it appears that this particular staff member assumed that we, as the only black individuals present, had somehow managed to sneak my animal in while it was wearing a service dog vest. This assumption is incorrect. On a scale from 1 to 10 with 1 being the least comfortable and 10 being very comfortable, I would say we were at about a 4, since she behaved in an unexpected manner. Since we did receive quite a few stares (as if we do not belong, or people simply being uneducated or uninformed about people of color occupying these spaces and activities too) it's a 4. Attention: Please be mindful and respectful of all individuals, regardless of their race or ethnicity. Engaging in behaviors that make others feel uncomfortable, such as staring, is not only inappropriate but also detrimental the environment that your trying to create. Let's foster an inclusive and welcoming environment for everyone to enjoy their time without any concerns. Thank you for your...

My roommate decided to celebrate her birthday yesterday at Bob's Corn and Pumpkin Farm and WOW! We had a blast!

It was a rainy/sumny/rainy western Washington October day, so we dressed for rain and mud. This was a good decision, as you can see from the corn maze photo. Lots of slippery mud and puddles, but we were prepared and strolled on through to adventure!

Everyone working there was a complete sweetheart, I really appreciated the enthusiasm and kindness! They were also very careful and great about providing ingredients for those of us with food allergies.

My favorite part was probably the food. Wow. The food! Super super fresh (as in picked four hours ago) corn on the cob which you can have dipped in butter or garlic butter! Roasted acorn and spaghetti squash, with sweet or savory options. Our group got both and oh my goodness they smelled so, so good.

A special place in my heart for the curly fries, though. They make them. Fresh. You can watch a potato being curlified(curlerized?), lightly salted, and deep fried. They are delicious!

Admission for a weekend day was $18 per person (lots of things available without admission if you just want food and pumpkins!) and we also rented a bonfire pit which was $30 for... I think two and a half hour we were there?? FYI, no rain shelters in the fire pit. Wish there were. Oof.

There are two more pumpkin patches for folks who pay admission and you get access to the corn maze and a wonderful area for children! (We played on the slides a little, totally worth it.) I have to say, watching the cow ride was an absolute treat. The kids (and the driver) all had big grins and screamed in delight they were having so much fun.

The corn maze was a lot of fun, especially when the farm's dog Bandit would come and go visiting as he pleased. We were also very impressed that the workers in the maze could somehow teleport ahead of us! The trivia questions helping us along were really fun and were all about the farm! The layout this year was beautiful. We really enjoyed being in the sunflowers and the honeybee parts, especially.

This review is way too long, I'm sorry, we just had such a fun day! Recommended for folks prepared for rain or shine, folks with kids, and folks who love farm fresh food! Maybe bring your own water or hot beverages, though. Water bottles are $2 and I could not drink the cider as it had...