A favorite fall attraction in East Tennessee is located just over the hill in Corryton. Oakes Farm is a successful family business, entertaining families for 19 years.
The farm has been in Corryton for three generations of the Oakes family, beginning with the growing of tobacco and raising of beef cattle. In the 1970s the family branched out into growing daylilies as a hobby. That business began to thrive and is now an extremely popular nationwide mail order nursery business.
Nearing the turn of the century, some of the family members visited a local pumpkin patch, and developed a dream to start one on their farm. In 2001, Oakes Farm was born and is a very high demand agritourism venue with visitors from across the region. The farm is a favorite field trip site for thousands of students, as well as their teachers and parents each year, providing fun, educational activities.
The farm has a nine-acre corn maze which helped put the venue on the map with creative works of art for each year's maze (as well as haunted mazes, which are no longer hosted).
The maze is designed in a way that partakers have the opportunity to spend as much or as little time as they like in the maze. It could take an hour or two to find all the checkpoints on the map, but if you do not want to spend that long, who says you can’t step on out and head over to the Back Forty to play.
A popular attraction is the hayride and pumpkin patch where kids can take home their own pumpkin to carve, which in itself is a whole other fun, family-engaging activity! The Corn Box is a giant box of corn kernels that children can dive into to experience some farm free play. There is an extremely popular petting and feeding zoo that even incorporates a little farm animal education. Kids and parents enjoy the oversized Jumping Pillow as well. Other activities include pedal carts, oversized sand boxes, tire swings, steer roping, tug of war, sunflower fields and so much more, including gorgeous photo props decorated to perfection and readily available all around the farm.
It can be an all-day event with the delicious fixings available for lunch or dinner onsite at the Farmers Grill, Pappy’s Fry Shack, Grammy’s Sweets and Treats, Kettle Corn, including hamburgers, hotdogs, chicken, homemade treats, and many more delicious options. You can even schedule a time for a birthday party or larger event in the facilities.
Don’t forget to stop by the store on the way out to take home pumpkins, gourds, straw bales, scarecrows, wreaths and anything else possibly needed to get some fall festiveness in your home or on your porch.
The 2019 season is coming to a close (last day Nov. 3) for Oakes Farm, but it is a must-visit for many families each fall. Generally, the farm opens mid-September thru early November, so mark your calendar for next year and get ready to have a fun day on the farm.
The Daylily Festival is held each June at the farm as well and is a spectacular, colorful event. The farm is located at 8240 Corryton Road, Corryton, TN and staff can be contacted at 865-688-6200 or info@oakesfarm.com.