We left the house early on Saturday and pulled into Cherry Crest Adventure Farm in Lancaster right as the gates opened. That early start turned out to be the best decision of the day. We beat the crowds, grabbed a great parking spot, and had first pick of everything before the lines started forming.

Getting the Most Out of Hog Wild

We splurged on the Hog Wild tickets, which got the kids into the Battle Zone, paintball shooting, gem mining, and apple shooting, plus their choice of a souvenir cup or kettle corn. We went with three souvenir cups and one kettle corn, and it turned out to be the right call.

Here's a tip worth saving: if you're strategic about it, you can fill that souvenir cup with a slushie right at the start. Their apple cider slushie is incredible. After that first fill, refills of soda, water, or Gatorade are free the rest of the day. It's a small detail, but it made a real difference by the afternoon.

There's genuinely so much packed into this farm that a single day barely covers it. We spent close to an hour on the hill slides alone. The hog races ended up being more of a fun bonus than the main event. They split the crowd into sections, pick a few kids as hog leaders for each race, and if your pig wins, you get a little pig nose to wear for the rest of the day, which was somehow a bigger deal to my kids than I expected.

Honestly, a few other things stole the show even more. The jumping pillows had them bouncing nonstop, and the giant Lincoln Log style cabin builders kept them building and rebuilding far longer than I thought they would. There are picnic tables that double as swings, which turned lunch into its own little adventure, and a full outdoor playground that saw just as much use as anything else on the property. If you're looking for something for the grown-ups, The Barn and Grill has a drink for that too.

A Little Retail Therapy to Close It Out

We rounded things out with a drive to the Lancaster outlets. I'll take any excuse to walk through a Pottery Barn or West Elm outlet, and the furniture deals this time were genuinely good. Even when we're not buying anything specific, hunting for a deal is half the fun.

Some day trips are worth the drive, and this was one of them. Between the early start, the slushie strategy, and a pig nose won fair and square, Cherry Crest earned its spot on our summer favorites list.

Shannon Hall is a REALTOR® with Coldwell Banker Realty specializing in Blue Bell and the surrounding Montgomery County communities. She is a mom, a lifelong Montgomery County resident, and someone who genuinely loves helping families find their place in this community. Contact Shannon at homewithhall.com.