Stow, Mass – Our annual trip to Honey Pot Hill apple orchard is one of our longest-standing fall traditions, which Daddio and I initiated well before we had kids. When the twins were little, we went for the farm animals and the hayrides. When they got a little older, they liked the mini monster hedge maze. And during the height of Covid, apple picking was a perfect activity for a pandemic field trip. Since then, the focus of our outings to Honey Pot Hill has shifted to the Big Green Monster Maze. At 1.5 miles long, this is supposedly the largest hedge maze in the country, with six bridges and a gazebo at the center. Can you get lost in there? You bet you can!
Last year, we went with two cars full of kids and set them loose in the maze, where they played a marathon game of tag. (Yes, the twins are 13, and yes, they still play tag. Teenagers are full of surprises.)
This year, we only had one extra kid with us, so tag was not in the books. Also, the maze was super muddy due to the incessant rain this fall. Instead of tag, we challenged each other to races to the various bridges. It seems like running kids would have an unfair advantage over walking adults. BUT Daddio and I “cheated” by using the map, so we did score a few wins.
It’s worth noting that Honey Pot Hill always ranks among the “best” apple orchards in the state, and it is always busy on weekends (which is the only time the Big Green Monster maze is open). Our friends tried to go yesterday afternoon, but they never made it through the massive traffic jam, which started about a mile away from the parking area (!) With this in mind, today we arrived when the place opened and went straight to the maze to beat the crowds. After that, we headed to the orchards, which are big enough and spread out. We managed to fill our 20-pound bag and we didn’t have to fight over apples.
But the farmyard was zoo (as it were). And we had to forgo buying anything at the farm store, because the line was miles long. For this reason, we left Honey Pot Hill without eating lunch, which was a big mistake. We then had a backseat full of hangry tweens. And at that point, you know they were not interested in eating the snack we had on hand. (Apples.)
