It’s almost fall y’all and that means the season’s most stunning blooms are on their way in the Garden State. One of our favorite places to celebrate the change in seasons is Holland Ridge Farms in Cream Ridge. The farm’s annual Fall Flower Festival doesn’t start until September 13, but tickets go on sale in two weeks.
What can you expect at this gorgeous spot? The Holland Ridge Farms Fall Flower Festival has yellow, red, white, and bicolor sunflowers, dahlias, gladiolus, calla lilies, and mums (the mums are not for picking). The team at Holland Ridge spends the better part of summer making sure the flowers will be ready for the fall festivities.
“The work begins as soon as the sunflowers end,” says Patrick Marini, Holland Ridge’s creative manager. “We start prepping the fields and planning the layout of the flowers for the fall event. The field crew spends the entire summer planting, watering and mowing to keep the fields in pristine condition.”
Holland Ridge is known for its epic photo backdrops and is a go-to in our area for social media influencers and families looking to take photos for special occasions like maternity shoots, family portraits, birthday celebrations and more. This season’s photo ops include a giant pumpkin spiced latte, cupcake horse carousel, and mini Cinderella carriage. In-house photographers will be on site; photo packages are available.
An expanded Kids Area includes a hay maze, a corn pit, swings and giant slides.
There will be a pumpkin patch, food trucks, a tractor-pulled hayride shuttle around the farm, and a petting zoo.
On the weekends there will be pony rides, horse and carriage rides, live music, and a farmers and makers market. You can reserve a private gator service for up to four people – you’ll get your own personal driver for two hours.
Here are a few things to know if you’re planning a visit to the fall festival:
–The fall flower festival is open daily from September 13 to October 14. Tickets are $15 per person. Kids younger than 3 are free. You can purchase your tickets starting August 29. New this year: you can change the reservation of your ticket if needed.
–If you’re coming with a group of 20 or more, consider a field trip, guided group tour or group discount.
–Parking is free. There are multiple entrances and exits for visitors to enter the farm and check out with their flowers.
— New this year, you can hop on a bus from NYC to get to HRF! Through a partnership with Megabus (Suburban-Coach USA), you can buy a ticket for a coach bus ride from Port Authority Terminal in New York on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. The bus leaves NY at 9:30 am and arrives at 11 am; then departs the fields at 3 pm for an expected 4:30 pm arrival back in New York. The cost is $19.99 plus fees each way, per person.
–Wear comfy shoes since you’ll be doing lots of walking.
–If you visit on a weekday, stems are only 50 cents each.
To see video of the flowers head to our Instagram!
Holland Ridge Farms is located at 86 Rues Road in Cream Ridge. Follow the farm’s latest updates @hollandridgefarms on Instagram.
- Jennifer Amato contributed to this story.
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