Fall into autumn spirit with a trip to Barn Stahl in Wellsburg

Fall is officially in full swing and many people are celebrating Halloween and the changing of the seasons. Though not all the leaves have changed yet, quite a few trees are turning gorgeous shades of red and orange in Grundy county. About a half hour drive from Cedar Falls, there is a fourth generation family farm just east of Wellsburg, and every year the Stahl farm hosts open hours for all sorts of fall fun.

Barn Stahl is at 16519 185th Street, Wellsburg. Open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, and are open Fridays from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Open from Aug 27 to Oct. 31, the farm event happens annually every fall where there are animals to feed, small rides to enjoy and corn mazes to explore. 

When guests first walk, they pay a fee of $8 per person, and only $5 dollars on Fridays. Those two years and under get admission for free and credit cards are accepted. 

Once inside, guests get animal food to feed the variety of over 33 different animals. Barn Stahl has a wide variety of animals, from exotic animals to cows and horses, even camels and zebras live in their fenced-in areas. There are signs to show which you can feed and which you cannot, and some will even let you pet them and get close. There are multiple barns on the land, and you can walk inside them and find even more animals, and don’t forget hay. 

There are lots of pumpkins around the play areas, and you can purchase them and pick them out for yourself. There is a slide made from a tube that comes from a stand outside of the main barn, and inside that barn there are many play areas for small children. To go down the slide, you get in the barn and climb a lot of stairs and then take a small round sled or a sack and slide down the very tall slide. 

There is also a small play set with swings and areas to climb up, along with a human-sized hamster wheel on a track, seesaws, and two different levels of corn mazes. There is an easy course where anyone can just walk through the rows of corn and find the finish with no dead ends. 

The advanced corn maze is very long and has multiple dead ends and loops. There are four emergency exits within the rows so that people can leave and walk back around to the entrance.

So, Barn Stahl is inexpensive, close enough to go on a tank of gas, has concessions, a wide variety of animals, rides and things for kids to play on, and pumpkins and corn.