Brand Farms Fall U-Pick Apples Activities & Hayrides

Brand Farms in Farmington began as a family dairy farm bought by German immigrants Anton and Marie Brand and is now worked by the fourth generation. These days the name is best known locally for free-range eggs and a U-pick apple orchard, including University of Minnesota varieties. On fall weekends a hay wagon carries visitors out to the orchard and an activities field packed with bounce pads, hay bales to scale, giant hamster wheels, apple cannons and a paintball gallery, with a food truck for snacks.

Our take: Stop at the Brand Barn on the way out for a dozen of the farm's free-range eggs and a bag of apples; it's open every day, even when the activity field isn't.