Things to Do With Kids Near Kansas City: Farm Play Zones, Corn Maze and Petting Zoo

Historic Weston Orchard & Vineyard spreads its farm attractions over 50 acres in Weston, Missouri, 35 minutes north of Kansas City. One admission covers every one of them, all day. No tokens, no wristbands, no paying again at each stop.

The fall zones are open right now on top of the regular ones. The two-acre corn maze, hay mountain, the corn crib, the apple cannons and the zinnia garden are all open too. New this year: pedal karts and a tire mountain.

Open every day, May through November

• Jumping pillow, ziplines and the giant slide
• Treehouse village, low-ropes course and the spider web
• Petting zoo, barnyard sports village and grain bin basketball
• Rat racers, farm ski ball and spinny chairs

Fall weekends add more

Hayrack rides out to the pumpkin patch, the Apple Express and the carousel run Saturdays and Sundays only, and the candy cannon fires at 1pm sharp both days. Plan around that if the kids have their hearts set on a ride.

Every age in the car has something. It's one of the easier family activities to pull off near Kansas City. The petting zoo, the corn crib, the Apple Express and the carousel keep the under-5 crowd going. Ziplines, the jumping pillow, hay mountain and the corn maze wear out the big kids. The Bakery & Market is steps away with cider donuts and slushies, and the Cider Barn pours wine and hard cider for the grown-ups.

Fall admission

• Weekdays, ages 3 to 64: $9.99
• Weekends, ages 3 to 64: $17.99
• Seniors 65 and over: $7.99 weekdays, $14.99 weekends
• Active military with ID: $14.99 weekends
• Children 2 and under: free
• Parking: free

Apple picking runs through Oct. 31 and the pumpkin patch is open daily through October, both on the same ticket. The fruit you pick is priced by weight on the way out.

Good to know: the zones are outdoors on real farm ground, so closed-toed shoes and layers make the day better.

Historic Weston Orchard & Vineyard is at 18545 County Road H, Weston, MO 64098, about 15 minutes from Platte City, 25 from Parkville and 40 from St. Joseph. Open daily, 9am to 5pm. Buy tickets at westonorchard.com/tickets/ or call (816) 640-4013.