Our vision:
"Connecting the community to the farm through the influence of faith, family and fun."
2023 hours of operation: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday and Columbus Day.
Please review our Farm Safety Guidelines
Illinois Agritainment at its finest
The variety of activities available at Rader Family Farms continues to be part of what keeps families coming back year after year. It's been exciting work and we hope farm visitors will enjoy the enhancements we've added this year. Your paid admission grants you access to most activities. There is an additional fee for the Apple Blasters and face painting (both open only on weekends).
- NEW IN 2023: 250-foot slide: You'll need to hang onto your hat as you zip down our 40-foot hill. You must be 42 inches tall to ride.
- NEW IN 2023: Pedal karts: With adjustable seats, these karts are designed to fit ages 6 and up.
- NEW IN 2023: Litte Village: With a diner, post office, house, market and bank, our new village builds on what already was one of the most popular spots on the farm for kids ages 6 and under.
- Low-ropes course: 17 obstacles combine to test your skills. Great for team-building and challenging your friends.
- Konk a Crow: The crows are lined up and ready to steal our corn. Konk them with a ball to send their feathers flying.
- Crop Circle: Stroll through the Crop Circle to see and learn interesting facts about the eight largest and most common crops grown in Illinois. This display is adorned by the Illinois flag.
- Hitchin' Post snack shop open in the School House on weekends.
- School House: Visit the school house and learn about how important bees and other pollinators are to the foods we eat.
Digging sandbox: Use the scoop to dig your way to the bottom!
- Feed the goats: Purchase goat food cups for the fun of feeding our dozens of goats. They get excited when they see the red cups!
- Tire Tower: Climb up, over and on big combine tires while playing in a bed of sand.
- U-Pick Pumpkins: Journey out into more than six acres of U-Pick pumpkins to find the perfect one!
- Rat Rollers: Roll yourself along a track in an oversized tube.
- Roller Bowler: The aim of this game is to bowl your ball along the runners at just the right speed so it comes to a rest in the dip. It's trickier than it seems!
- Double Barrel Chute: Shoot through the 40-foot barrel slide. Be ready for a quick ride!
- Bucket Ball: She shoots, she scores! Shoot the ball into the bucket, where it will drift around until it exits one of the funnels. Where it stops….nobody knows. But try to catch it when it falls.
- Skee ball: We converted a livestock trailer into a skee ball game for your bowling pleasure. The livestock have no complaints.
- Giant bubbles: You are never too old to enjoy making and watching giant bubbles, and we've got two stations to double the fun. .
- Chalk Truck: Be creative, and draw or write on the sides of this truck.
- Duck Races: Hand pump the lever to move your duck through the water trough and win the race.
- Jumping Pillow: Put plenty of bounce in your step as you jump on a pillow of air.
- Apple Blasters: Shoot apples at targets at about 300 mph. Challenge your friends and family to a shooting competition. Hit the Chick-fil-A target and receive a gift card for a complementary menu item from Chick-fil-A. Apples for the Blasters are sold separately.
- Tether ball: You and your opponent engage in a frantic battle to grab, smack, and throw the “tethered” ball in opposite directions.
- Giant Jenga: The Jenga stacking challenge gets more intense when it’s done on a bigger scale!
- Wall ball: Carefully pull the strings to move a golf ball to the top of wall without falling into a hole along the way.
- Tram Ride: Take a fun-filled ride around the farm to learn about this working farm and about the family that works it.
- Barnyard Ball Throw: Challenge your family member, co-worker or friend to the ultimate duel! Test your ability to shoot hoops, pitch a strike and throw a touchdown! May the best one win!
- Combine Slide: Take a seat inside the cab of our combine, then race your friends to the bottom.
- Tractor Tire Swing: Go for a spin on a large tractor tire.
- Tug of War: Ready? Pull! Challenge your friends and family with this classic test of strength.
- Rodeo Roundup: Roping is not as easy as they make it look on TV. Climb up in the saddle and try your hand at roping the steer.
- Wild Horses: Swing high while riding the wild horse swings.
- Straw Castle: Oversized straw bales create an exciting castle tower that is fun to climb and explore.
- Corny Bins: Go "swimming" in two feet of corn in our two bins, each of which holds about 400 bushels of corn.
- Critter Cart: For our smallest friends.... Come climb aboard and enjoy a tractor-pulled ride!
- Shoot the Moon: Carefully move the bars to guide the ball toward you and drop it into just the right spot.
- Pumpkin Checkers: Challenge someone to a big checkers game with miniature pumpkins.
- Animated Talking Corn Show: Take a seat and enjoy the funny talking corn! Sponsored by The Corn Crib.
- Who's Your Pumpkin: Ask your opponent questions to see who can identify the other person's pumpkin first.
- Corn Ball: Challenge your friends to a volleyball match over a net of straw bales.
- Picture Perfect Spot: Arrange your group around our 1951 Chevy pickup truck for a great photo of the kids or the entire family. Capture those memories of your trip to the farm, just on the edge of Normal. Remember to put #RaderFamilyFarms in your posts!
- Selfie Scavenger Hunt: Grab your camera and put your 'SELF' in the fun capturing memories on the farm.
- Face Painting: Come see our wonderful artist... The Zoo Lady, and choose your favorite design for your face! Face painting is available on Saturdays and Sundays, at an additional cash cost.
- Cattle Chute: We’re betting that people who climb this chute and jump onto the pad enjoy the chute much more than the cattle did.
- Spider Web: Climb around and even get caught in our giant spider web.
