Schilter Family Farm Offers Fall Fun During Harvest Festival

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With fall officially settling in and Halloween looming, there are a plethora of activities for people of all ages to enjoy in the greater Yelm area, including the Schilter Family Farm’s Fall Harvest Festival. 

Schilter Family Farm invites people of all ages to attend their farm to enjoy two pumpkin patches, a five-acre corn maze, and over 20 family-friendly activities. There are also seasonal gift shops, homemade food and drinks, and farm market produce available for customers.

The farm’s Harvest Festival is set to run until Monday, Oct. 31, and then the farm will close for several weeks. They will later reopen the day after Thanksgiving for the sales of Christmas trees. 

Jeff Schilter, the owner of the farm, is pleased with how the 2022 harvest turned out. 

“It’s been a good year. We’ve had some great weather which has helped us tremendously,” Schilter said during an interview with the Nisqually Valley News. “The harvest itself turned out good, and we were worried about that because of the weird spring, but we’re fortunate to have had a good harvest.”

Schilter is happy to see some normalcy return to the farm after dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“It’s good to see people out again. We’re hearing people say this is the first time they’ve been back here since COVID started,” Schilter added. “That’s two seasons that they’ve missed and we’re just happy to have them back.”

Schilter described the 2022 season as a unique year. He said the spring season was a wet one, which left the farm worried about the yield of pumpkins they would see this season. As the season transitioned from late summer to early fall, the weather stayed dry, making for a perfect fall harvest season on the farm. Schilter called the dry weather a highlight of the fall harvest season.



“We also tried something new this year by having live entertainment on the weekends,” Schilter said. “Typically we’ve had live music or a magician come in for a few hours, and that adds to the entire experience here at the farm.”

Schilter Family Farm has been a staple in the Nisqually Valley for over 80 years. Farm founders, Grandpa and Grandma Schilter as noted on the website, immigrated from Switzerland and began a dairy farm where they raised their family. 

Jeff Schilter and his wife, Stephanie, eventually took over the daily operations, and in 1997, they turned to agriculture tourism as a new venture.

“Our farm presents a great family opportunity and a great family experience,” Schilter said. “Our farm allows for some pretty great experiences to be created with families.”

Tickets to the Fall Harvest Festival can be purchased online at schilterfamilyfarm.com. Wristband admission includes wagon rides, both corn mazes, baby animal viewing, a giant bounce pillow, two children’s playgrounds, a hay pyramid, zip swings, an outdoor trike track and more, according to their website.

The website also said the farm offers paintball shooting, pumpkin blasters and pony rides. 

The farm is located at 141 Nisqually Cut Off Road SE in Olympia.