Three Cedars Farm — Attraction in Salem Township

I really wasn't going to bother with this, but the more I think about how it has ruined the last remaining weekend of Halloween for us, the more I think it's well deserved.

I booked a hayride and bonfire online, which happened to pop up on an event finder website after having browsed Fall events. Not realizing that it was a third party event organizer, as I've never been to this place ever, nor to Northville, I assumed it was akin to the drastically overpriced Wiard's orchard at which you take a hayride and get off and have a little cider and donut by the fire. At $15 per person vs $25, it sounded like quite a deal. Boy was I wrong.

Upon entrance, we were ushered a good mile to the back forty to park, with no directions and only young teenagers waving flags. I rolled down the window to ask where the party was taking place and he knew nothing. By the time we reached the front where the donut shop and country store were, we saw a ton of empty spaces. I asked one of the young workers what the deal was and he said the front lot was handicapped parking. My mother, who is 76 years old, would have appreciated parking there rather than walking all over. We had cider and donuts. The sign outside said hotdogs - somewhere, but I saw no evidence of any real food. $11 for a dozen and $9 for a half dozen. Seriously? I handed a 7 year old behind the counter (which I found neither cute nor legal) a $20 bill for the donuts and 2 coffees,and she flung the $5 in change back at me. No alternative for coffee, just plain white sugar. I ended up throwing the rest of the donuts away because they were so hot when they put them into the bag that they just flattened into a doughy pile of mush in the outside cold.

They women at the store had no clue what I was talking about and began asking who organized our event, as if I was supposed to know that. She then checked a list of events and found that ours was upstairs, which my mother was unable to climb. I went up, by that time it was at least 7 and the event had started at 6. Over loud music, the event planners told us we were the first ones there and that if we wanted, we could go on the hayride at our leisure. Why was I not surprised.

The hayride, which required walking back to the parking lot we could have parked in, consisted of several hard-as-rocks packed bales of hay as opposed to the loose, soft hay that would normally be on a wagon, combined with the driver plowing ahead at full speed, lasted probably 10 minutes at best. People were flying up off the hay and were commenting on how awful it was. No view, no decor, just a boring hayride to a corn maze and back. As we walked back toward the store, the parking lots in front were even more empty with plenty of non handicapped parents and kids heading to their cars. Skipping the bonfire, I stopped back in the store to speak with the only two adults they had on premises. No apology, not even feigned interested. She tried to blame the event planner. When I suggested she put up signs directing people where their event is, she said "we can't possibly keep up with all the events..." even though she literally had a list of events in her hand. Not hard to put a sign up that says "Bonfire party starts upstairs".

So I paid $45 for 4 donuts, 2 coffees and a hayride. These people are money makers. They do not care if you have a good time, and frankly, that goes for most of the surrounding orchards and...

I went to Three Cedars Farm this past weekend with a group of about 60 that I organized. We all really enjoyed the outing!!

I love corn mazes after dark (non-haunted). For this reason, I was specifically looking for one still open after daylight savings time. Three Cedars was the only one I could find in my general area (we drove an hour to get here). I appreciated them staying open a little longer than the others. We also really liked that while the business officially closed at 8:00, they allow you to sit around your bonfire until 10:00. We took advantage of the nice balmy night. Very nice!

Our group was mostly adults but the kids really enjoyed the farm animals and the other kids activities. The cider and donuts are very good!! The grounds were very clean. And the staff is super friendly!!!! From the owners, to the hay ride drivers, everyone was really nice!

The 6 bonfires are spaced very nicely. Our group of 60 had plenty of room to stretch out. We played music and they’re spaced far enough apart that you can’t hear those around you or the music at adjacent fires. We had no problem getting wood for our bonfire, the staff brought it freely. It was nice to have hay bales around the bonfire for seating. And having a picnic table available was great for snacks and food we brought with us.

The corn maze was a lot of fun. We’ve been to others where, in true maze fashion, there is an entrance and exit. I prefer that set up. However, even with only one entrance/exit the corn maze here was still a blast. We had a great time trying to find all the trees to punch our cards. And the maze is quite large which added to the fun. Plus, we did it with our flashlights after dark. We loved it!! :-D

Only a couple things could have made our visit better…

First, We went on the last day of the regular season and the general store was closed. :-( For many of us, this was our first visit to this farm and many were bummed that it was closed as they were looking forward to visiting it (including myself). And getting some nostalgia and old fashioned goodies. It would have been nice if the Christmas turnover was held off till the next day so that guests could visit the store.

Second, while the bonfire area/space was great, the bonfire itself was small. For a group of 60 it wasn’t large enough for everyone to be close enough to feel its heat. We’ve been to other farms where the circumference of the bonfire is much wider. We were able to build a nice fire, but again the area was too small for our size group. Those on the outskirts couldn’t feel it.

Overall, we really really enjoyed our visit to Three Cedars. We’d visit again and gladly recommend...

One word.. BEES. We went there today and we walked around for maybe 20 minutes before we had to leave because you could not enjoy literally ANYTHING without yellow jackets legit SWARMING and dive bombing you. We did not get cider or donuts. People were constantly trying to run from the bees. I've actually honestly never seen so many bees in my life. I hardly ever write any negative reviews but I really think the owners need to do a major pest control overhaul on the wasps and yellow jackets. Families cannot enjoy their time there when there are so many bees literally everywhere. You are not safe anywhere on the property. We actually went to two other cider mills not far from there (Obstbaum and Plymouth Orchards) and we did not experience any bee issues at all at these two Orchards. Of course at any cider millnyou will likely encounter a bee here and there, but I've never in my life seen so many bees. At least 4 landed on my 1 year old and with my husband being allergic we could not take the chance. I already felt we were risking it just being there for 20 minutes. It's a shame because the place looks really cool but until they figure out the yellow jacket problem, they are going to lose a ton of customers. I wish I would have checked the newest reviews before even going because many people mention how bad...