Do you want to visit McLadke Orchards for some fall fun? This adorable family farm in Seneca, SC, only an hour from Greenville, SC, has pumpkins, a hay ride, maze, apple slingshots, and adorable animals. We are here to tell you all about it!
I was tripping over myself as soon as I opened my car door at McLadke Orchards in Seneca, SC because I saw an adorable piglet running in front of the farm store. I could not get out of my car fast enough to try to catch this adorable animal. I nearly melted into a puddle. Then I saw the cute little calf named Romeo just waiting for some treats and pets next to the farm store. What was this place?!
Well, it’s a family farm and it is so cute. They’ve opened up the farm for visitors for the first time this fall and I honestly would have been there sooner if I had known about the cute little piglet, which doesn’t even have a name yet. Visitors can write a name and drop it in a bowl for the grand naming at the end of October.
McLadke Orchards is the perfect place for a day trip to enjoy a hayride, pumpkin patch, that cute little piglet, feeding animals, slingshotting apples, and making those precious family memories we are all after.
About McLadke Orchards
Luke McLadke took me on a tour of the orchard, which is around 27 acres in total and I was surprised at so many things.
The property is home to an abandoned gold mine first of all. Who has an abandoned gold mine on their property? The McLadke family apparently. The land is full of neat history like that. There’s an old bridge that you’ll see when you take the hayride that was built in 1902 after a flood, which overflowed the nearby creek. The land was also used as a huge cornfield, which is hard to believe after riding through the woods to the creek.
The family has been growing their own apples, summer squash, blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries for a few seasons now and the daughters sold the produce at a roadside stand until recently when the little farm store was built. This farm store is a throwback to what similar places must have looked like in the 1950s and 60s with 10-cent candy, an old weighing contraption, scuffed-up floors, and coke bottles for sale. I loved it. Plus, the little piglet hangs out here unless he is following Luke around.
You can go to the farm store during the week to purchase fresh produce and fruit during the spring, summer, and fall seasons. If you get lucky, you’ll see the little piglet there to greet you! Romeo the cow is right at the store and you can feed him treats for $1 a cup.
Fall Fun at McLadke Orchards
McLadke Orchards has opened up their farm for the first time to the public this fall with lots of family activities, from pumpkin picking to a hayride to shooting apples with a slingshot.
Once you arrive at the farm and park in front of the farm stand (follow the signs), you’ll get the opportunity to jump on the hayride and get a short tour of the farm and learn about the history – and the cool gold mine on the property – plus just enjoy the relaxing ride through the forest that surrounds the farm. You’ll get dropped off on the other side of the road at the pumpkin patch where you will have the opportunity to shoot a few apples in the slingshot, which is extraordinarily fun!
There are also adorable donkeys and cows you can feed and my very favorite – goats. You can purchase feed for $1/cup or just get in the enclosure with the goats and play with them. They are super friendly, as are the resident pig and chickens in the same space. They somehow all get along, unlike my kids at times. There is a vendor with funnel cakes and other goodies at this area of the farm if you want to grab something sweet.
There is also a small ship playground, water duck racing, and a huge hay bale maze. My kids really loved this and wanted to do it multiple times, which they are certainly welcome to do as your admission ticket includes that. You can pick a pumpkin in the patch while you’re over there as well.
The hayride runs about every 20 minutes or so, and is 20 minutes long, so while you wait after you park, you can see if you can find the adorable piglet with no name, play corn hole, or test your skills roping a steer. Thankfully it’s not a real steer or I’d be in trouble but I had a lot of fun trying out my non-existent roping skills.
There are no standalone bathrooms on-site but they do have a clean outhouse near the farm store.
Best Ages for McLadke Fall Fun
My kids are 11 and 8 and they had a lot of fun, especially in the hay bale maze, shooting the apples in the slingshot, and feeding the animals. And we all fell in love with the piglet and thought about kidnapping (pignapping?) him. I do think that smaller kids, probably ages 10 and under will have the most fun just given the kinds of activities available but really, I’m an adult (most of the time) and I had a blast, as did my 11-year-old. Luke told me that families usually spend a couple of hours there.
McLadke Orchards is very laid back and relaxed. Luke wanted to create a space where families can come and enjoy each other and the fall season. They are having a huge Trunk or Treat on October 29th as a way to bring the community together. It’s just that kind of place.
Photography
McLadke Orchards works with talented photographer Kaycee James and her company, Heart of Dixie, for families to come to the farm for photos. They had several of her shots of families, maternity photos, and cute kid shots. If you’d like to have professional photos at the farm, she’s the photographer you’ll work with. You can see her work here and contact her through her Facebook page.
Visiting McLadke Orchard
The farm is open for fall activities Friday, Saturday, and Sunday 11:30 am – 8 pm and the farm store is open Tuesday – Friday from 11:30 am – 8 pm and during the fall festival, which runs now through November 15th.
Admission is $10/person and ages 2 and under are free. The ticket includes everything but your pumpkin, extra apples for slingshotting (you will get a few apples to slingshot with your ticket) and extra feed for the animals.
McLadke Orchards also does field trips during the week so if you’re interested, give them a call.
McLadke Orchards
350 Old Oak Drive, Seneca
864.523.0123
McLadke Orchards Facebook page