DAY TRIP ITINERARY OPTIONS ON NEXT PAGENOTE: Prices subject to change without advance notice.

Sonya Nash, CTIS | sonya@amishcountry.orgAmish Country of Northern Indiana | 219 Caravan Drive | Elkhart, IN 46514574.262.8161 | 800.262.8161 | AmishCountryTours.org

Experience the best of autumn – vibrantly colored trees, lively hayrides, just-picked juicy apples and freshly pressed cider. Visit Indiana’s oldest continuously operating gristmill set

in a lovely park. It’s the most photographed spot in the county. Travel scenic back roads and learn about handcrafted reed baskets and growing hydroponic vegetables the Amish way.

Be “udderly” amazed at a robotic dairy farm and corn maze.

It’s a day sure to make groups fall in love with fall in Amish Country.

BACKROADS FALL FROLIC ALONG THE HERITAGE TRAIL DAY TRIP SAMPLE ITINERARY

10 a.m. Arrival in Amish Country

10:00 a.m. - 6 p.m. Backroads Fall Frolic [$175 total for guide (tip optional) plus $16 pp for items included] Pack your peck of a bag on this new, fun frolic through Amish Country. Visit a pumpkin patch, an apple orchard, receive the scents and spices of autumn, dip your own caramel apple and relive your childhood memories of bonfires and hayrides. Travel past crimson and golden trees down gravel country roads to experience the best of Autumn in Amish Country.

Additional attractions and admissions included in your day (timing and routing determined by guide):

Amish Hydroponic Farm [no admission fee]Learn about surprising and innovative growing practices at an Amish operated hydroponic vegetable farm.

“Udderly” Fun at Knollbrook Farm [$5 pp for dairy farm, $7 pp for dairy farm WITH corn maze] See plenty of contented cows touring family-operated Knollbrook Farm in Goshen. It’s one of only ten robotic dairy farms in Indiana using cutting-edge technology and sustainable practices in maintaining their herd of more than 100 dairy cows. Watch as their “girls” are pampered relaxing on the regularly aerated compost bedding pack (soft, fluffy, sustainable bedding) and roam freely with no stalls to hamper their movements. Then observe how they line up for their “candy” treat while being robotically milked. And where there are dairy cows there are always irresistibly cute calves. Groups love the chance to get close to these “cuties” to pet and feed them. Great photo op too!

The farm also provides plenty of fun photo ops around the “cow” and “spider” made of hay bales. Come mid-September to October their giant corn maze, pumpkin sling shot and carpet ball are extra sure-to-please activities. Guarantee your group an “udderly” fun day and plan a tour of Knollbrook Farm.

Sonshine Baskets [no admission fee]Weave some fun into your tour with a stop at Sonshine Baskets in Millersburg, an authentic Amish Country handcraft experience. Lovely hand-woven baskets of every shape and for every purpose fill this Amish owned and operated country shop located on the family farm of Calvin & Anna Yoder. Watch as family members demonstrate and talk about the processes of turning plain reed into something of beauty and function. And it seems every family member is involved from weaving to making the fabric liners, from hand-staining to adding the leather handles that adorn many of the baskets. As Anna says, “We weave our way through life one day at a time!” After learning first hand, take time to shop for your own piece of authentic “made in Amish Country” basket.

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NOTE: Prices subject to change without advance notice.

Cook’s Buffalo Ranch Tour & Lunch [$18 pp incl lunch]Get up close and personal with the great American Bison! Take a hay-wagon ride with your local expert guide into the pasture to hand feed bison in their natural habitat. Learn the intricacies of raising, feeding and managing this icon of the “Wild West”. For lunch, enjoy an old-fashioned chuck-wagon barbecue.

Bonneyville Mill [$3 pp incl]This charming barn-red mill has been producing flour for over 150 years. It’s the oldest continuously operating gristmill in Indiana and one of the most photographed spots in the county. Step inside, hear the rumbling of huge millstones grinding grain into flour, and listen to the friendly miller tells all about the mill. Flour is for sale, so take home a bag. The lovely park surrounding the mill is alive with color and perfect for an autumn stroll and striking fall photo.

Sunrise Orchard [$3 pp incl]Step on board for an old-fashioned hayride into Indiana’s largest apple orchard. Learn all about apple varieties, planting and growing then watch the processing for sweet apple cider. Nothing says fall like biting into a juicy, just picked apple and sipping freshly-pressed cider on an autumn day. Enjoy both! A free cup of cider and apple are included for each person with this guided tour.

6 p.m. Say good-bye to your guide and depart for home

OPTIONS:

Shipshewana Flea Market & Auction, Shipshewana [free admission]Known as “the trading place of America”, the Shipshewana Flea Market is the Midwest’s largest outdoor market with over 1,000 vendors covering 60 acres (open Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s only May-October). The antique auction barn, open Wednesdays year-round, has 11 rings going at once auctioning antiques and collectibles. The horse and cattle barn features cattle auctions open to the public on Wednesday’s and horse auctions open to the public on Friday’s.

Homemade Cinnamon Roll Making Demonstration & Tasting at an Amish family farm [$6 pp incl]Take a “breakfast break” at an Amish home. Enjoy a fresh-from-the-oven homemade cinnamon roll plus coffee or tea as you watch Elaine, a gifted Amish baker, demonstrate how she makes her special delicacy. Take home some of the rolls to share with your family or friends. Cost includes a cinnamon roll, beverage, demonstration and rolls for taking home.

Barns and Centennial Farms Step-on Guided Tour [$95 total for guide (tip optional for guide)]From Swiss barns to double-gambrel barns, from hay-slings to hay-mows, view some of the area’s most unique barn architecture. Many farms on this tour have been in the same family for over a century. Your guide explains the differences between hay and straw and tells why barns are so important to a successful farm.

NOTE: Prices subject to change without advance notice.