From pumpkin patches to corn mazes, fall fun is a new focus for this Bellefonte farm
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- Mountain Edge Farm has new family-friendly activities this fall.
- Those visiting the Bellefonte farm can pick pumpkins, play games and unwind.
- The farm’s owners plan to expand fall activities next year.
Though Mountain Edge Farm is not new to Bellefonte, new activities and events are helping it better connect with Centre County families.
The family-run farm, located at 623 Buffalo Run Road, has recently worked to organize family-friendly activities and open its patches and fields to the community this fall. Following a successful tryout period last year, owners Ashley and Ryan Dunkelberger say agritourism experiences on their land are helping Mountain Edge Farm expand its offerings while bringing in some additional income.
“We are in central Pennsylvania, so farming is not like it is in Illinois or Iowa,” Ryan Dunkelberger told the Centre Daily Times. “So, we’re looking for more ways to grow without having to get more land and all that. We like growing the pumpkins and seeing people come to pick them, hang out with their families and go through the corn maze. It’s all been a fun experience, and we’re planning on continuing it and getting more stuff to add into the mix.”
Mountain Edge Farm raises Angus cattle and grows corn, soybeans, wheat and some hay, but the main attraction for visiting families is its fields of pumpkins and gourds. Guests are welcome to pick their own pumpkins straight off of the vine.
Many pumpkins grown on the farm are used at game stations set up throughout its fields, including boards for checkers and tic-tac-toe. Other stations allow guests to practice roping or shoot basketballs through a few hoops fixed onto the side of a gravity wagon.
“The entire family loves our games,” Ashley Dunkelberger said. “They’re all playing these games together, kids and adults of all ages. It’s fun for us to sit back and watch and see everyone smiling and enjoying themselves. We’ve tried hard to make it an authentic experience, and we want people to feel good when they leave.”
No fall visit to the farm would be complete without checking out the corn maze, which was planted in a specific pattern earlier this year. The Dunkelbergers will eventually harvest the feed corn and sell it on the market or use it to feed their livestock.
After working up an appetite playing farm games or picking pumpkins, guests pick up a snack when at least two or three local food trucks visit Mountain Edge Farm each weekend in October, Ashley Dunkelberger said.
Those who visit Mountain Edge Farm throughout the fall might be lucky enough to meet Flynn, the Dunkelbergers’ dog and the farm’s border collie mascot, whose likeness is featured on signs throughout the farm. The Dunkelbergers even created their own coloring book featuring Flynn and his adventures, which range from running with horses to dressing up for Halloween.
Ashley Dunkelberger said she and her husband felt inspired to create a coloring book featuring Flynn after their beloved dog received an outpouring of affection from friends and family and from users on the farm’s social media pages. After they designed the book online and submitted it to a printing company, each is now available for $4 and “signed” by Flynn himself.
“Everything we do, we try to make authentic — even down to a simple thing like that,” Ryan Dunkelberger said. “You could’ve just faked that, but we try to make everything legitimate and authentic and real with all the stuff we do. He actually individually stamped each book.”
Planning for the future
Though 2025 marks the first year Mountain Edge Farm directly focused on organizing fall activities, the Dunkelbergers say they’re just getting started.
Once the fall harvest is complete, Ashley and Ryan hope to take time to rest over the winter while brainstorming future offerings for their farm. Nothing is set in stone, but they expect their plans to get “bigger and better” each year.
“We’ll sit down, get back to the drawing board and evaluate what worked this year and what could be improved,” Ashley Dunkelberger said. “You could call this our second year, but it’s really our first fall with more publicity and advertisement. Everyone is excited about more to come this year, more to come next year and what we might add in the future.”
“We’ve got our hands full in a good way,” she added.
Mountain Edge Farm’s slate of fall activities continues with pumpkin-picking, farm games, food trucks and the corn maze offered on the weekends of Oct. 11 and 18. Entrance to the pumpkin patch is free, with a $7 per person fee for activities, which includes games and the corn maze. Children under 5 are free. Pumpkin costs depend on size and range from 50 cents to $10.
The farm will host a “glow maze” Oct. 24 and 25 before welcoming local dogs and their owners for a “Pups & Pumpkins” event on Oct. 26.
To keep up with the latest happenings at Mountain Edge Farm, follow its Facebook page.
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