From Apple Donuts to Reindeer: Pick. Sip. Wander.

What do apple donuts, blueberries, alpacas, and Christmas reindeer have in common? One month you’re watching maple sap boil into syrup. A few months later, you’re standing between rows of blueberry bushes filling a bucket. By fall, you’re hunting for the perfect pumpkin, and before Christmas, you’re standing face to face with a real reindeer. It’s called agritourism, but around Mansfield, that can mean anything from walking an alpaca and cutting your own flowers to sipping blueberry wine beside a fire overlooking the blueberry fields. You can find them all around Mansfield and Richland County, Ohio!

Spring: Maple Syrup and Alpaca Encounters

Spring starts with something sweet at Malabar Farm State Park in Lucas. The annual Maple Syrup Festival gives visitors a chance to watch sap become syrup and discover a tradition that has been part of Ohio farming for generations.  There’s much more to Malabar Farm than maple syrup. Explore the working farm once owned by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Louis Bromfield, visit the farm animals and tour the Big House, where Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall were married in 1945.  Before you leave, stop in the Malabar Farm Gift Shop. Take home a bottle of maple syrup, a piece of their famous homemade fudge or a book by Louis Bromfield. You’ll also find Ohio-made gifts, locally crafted items and even beef raised right on the farm. It’s a chance to bring a little piece of Malabar home with you.

For an entirely different kind of farm experience, visit Alpaca Meadows in Mansfield. Ever taken an alpaca for a walk? Here, you’ll meet your own four-legged walking companion, learn a little about its personality and head out for a leisurely stroll around the farm. Or pack a picnic and settle into the pasture while the alpacas graze nearby. You can even practice yoga under a shady tree beside the old red barn, with alpacas wandering around you during select classes.  Before you leave, browse the Farm Store for incredibly soft alpaca socks, scarves, sweaters and gifts. Want to try something different? Sign up for a needle-felting class and learn how to turn animal fiber into something handmade. Alpaca walks, picnics and guided tours require advance reservations, so check the farm’s schedule before visiting.

Summer: Blueberries, Wine and Bouquets

Imagine spending the morning picking blueberries and the evening sipping blueberry wine overlooking the very fields where they grow. At The Blueberry Patch in Mansfield, you’ll find 37 acres of blueberry bushes and more than 27 varieties to pick from during the summer season. Grab a bucket and head into the fields, then reward yourself with one of their homemade blueberry donuts. Browse the gift shop, grab a coffee or settle in for lunch.

But don’t leave just yet! At 1285 Winery, right on the property, order a wood-fired pizza and a glass of their Blueberry Bliss wine. Find a spot on the patio overlooking the blueberry fields, and when the fire is going, settle in beside it with your wine. It’s a pretty special way to end a day of blueberry picking.

1285 Winery is also one of 11 stops on our Wine & Ale Trail, where you’ll find everything from a winery in a vintage bank vault to a brewery inside a former mortuary. It’s another way to taste what’s being made right here in Mansfield and the surrounding communities.

And the fields aren’t finished showing off when blueberry season ends. Evelyn’s Sunflower Patch begins blooming in mid-August, bringing another reason to return with your camera.

At Walker Flower Farm near Lexington, imagine walking through thousands of colorful blooms with a pair of scissors and the freedom to create your own bouquet. Pick your favorites from rows of sunflowers, zinnias, cosmos, snapdragons and more. The best part? You get to be the florist! Fill your cup with freshly cut flowers, then take home a bouquet that’s entirely your own.

But there’s more happening among the flowers than picking! Bring your camera for beautiful photos surrounded by blooms, or watch for special events like dog yoga, where you can stretch and pose among the flowers with four-legged participants. With different flowers blooming throughout the season, no two visits have to look quite the same.

Fall: Apples, Pumpkins and Corn Mazes

You know fall has arrived when the smell of apple donuts fills the air, pumpkins start appearing on porches and cornfields become places to get lost!

At Apple Hill Orchards in Mansfield, grab a bag and head into the orchard to pick your own apples. But don’t rush home with your harvest! Stop at the bakery for their famous apple donuts, made with apples and cider from the orchard. Visiting on a Friday? Get there early for their specialty apple fritters, which often sell out. You can even fill your own jug with fresh apple cider straight from the tap.  Make time to explore a little more. Climb aboard a weekend hayride through the orchard, meet the resident goats, chickens and ducks, or let the kids play on the farm’s tractor playground. With the smell of fresh donuts drifting from the bakery, you might find yourself staying longer than planned.

In Shelby, J&J Rietschlin Farm offers two very different ways to experience a cornfield. During the day, bring the family to navigate the themed corn maze, take a hayride, play games and find a pumpkin to take home. But when darkness falls, the farm takes on a completely different personality! For those who enjoy a good scare, the farm’s Field of Screams sends visitors on a haunted hayride and into a corn maze and wooded trails filled with unexpected frights. Whether you prefer a family afternoon or a spooky night in the corn, this Shelby farm has both.

And here’s something you might not expect at a country market during the fall. At Wayne’s Country Market in Mansfield, kids can zip line, swing on a rope, race down giant slides and explore the straw play area inside the barn. The best part? The barn activities are free!  While the kids play, browse the expanded deli for Amish Country meats and cheeses from Walnut Creek and Troyer’s. Pick up an Amish-made fried pie, a loaf of fresh bread or a jar of Ohio honey or maple syrup. Add pumpkins, colorful mums and locally grown produce to your basket. And don’t miss their impressive beer and wine section, featuring craft beers from Mansfield’s Phoenix Brewing Company and a large selection of Ohio wines.

Winter: Christmas Trees and Real Reindeer

Ever stood face to face with a real reindeer? At Kleerview Farm in Bellville, you’ll find 14 of them, including two born in 2025! And that’s just the beginning of a Christmas visit to this family-run farm.  Walk among the Christmas trees to find your favorite, then cut it yourself or have the farm do the work. They’ll even shake, wrap and load it for you. But before you head home, make time to meet the reindeer and visit Santa’s Barnyard Express, where Jack Frost the miniature donkey, Snowball the rabbit and a flock of noisy ducks are waiting to meet visitors. Kids can also explore Santa’s Elf Playground, complete with animated elves riding a Ferris wheel and merry-go-round.

Stop inside the Christmas House to browse ornaments and gifts before heading home with your tree. After all, how often does a trip to pick out a Christmas tree include meeting Santa’s reindeer?

The Christmas celebrations continue at Malabar Farm State Park, where Candlelight Holiday Tours invite visitors inside the beautifully decorated Big House on select dates each December.

And just like that, we’ve gone from picking blueberries in the summer to meeting reindeer at Christmas. Along the way, we’ve walked alpacas, cut our own flowers, tasted fresh apple donuts and found our way through corn mazes. Who knew getting your boots a little dirty around Mansfield could be so much fun?

Blueberries, alpacas, apple donuts and reindeer are just part of the story. Our Get Your Boots Dirty page (coming soon!) brings these places together in one spot. And the fun doesn’t stop there! Our Calendar of Events is packed with more reasons to get out and experience the area.

Jodie Snavely