Waterdrinker Family Farm

Description

Waterdrinker Family Farm is located at 663 Wading River Road, Manorville, NY. Parking is all on gravel or grass. There are two accessible spaces near the brewery. Walking is on gravel or dirt, which is often uneven. There are more than fifteen porta-sans located throughout the farm. There is a greenhouse, gift barn, many kid-friendly activities, and at this time, a Sunflower Maze. We were told that food-trucks are open later in the day.

Checklist

Attraction Type:  park, kid-friendly
Surface of lot:  gravel, grass farther away
Distance to venue:  depends on where you have to park
Transportation to venue offered:  no
Terrain:  uneven
Places to rest:  a few benches and some picnic tables and benches
Paths and walkways:  all are gravel or dirt
Doors:  na
Number of floors:  na
Elevators:  na
Ramps:  na
Steps and staircases:  none
Width of aisles:  most are wide, Sunflower maze is somewhat narrow
Places to sit:  a few benches, picnic tables and benches
Location of restrooms:  porta-sans in several locations
Type of restroom:  porta-sans
Ease of entry and exit:  OK
Baby changing station:  no
Available food services:  food-trucks set up later in the morning
Friendliness of staff:  extremely friendly and helpful
Notes:  * The two accessible spaces we found are close to the brewery. There may be others we did not see

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A Newsday article about sunflower viewing on Long Island piqued our interest. We had heard a bit about Waterdrinker Family Farm in Manorville previously, and the idea of a sunflower maze was enough to get us into the car early on a hot Saturday morning to check it out. 

Happily, early on a Saturday (8:15 am) there was no traffic on the LIE. Manorville is before Riverhead  (Exit 69). so we didn’t have to contend with any East End traffic. Our aim was to arrive when the farm opened at 9:00. We wanted to avoid any crowds that might arrive later and also be gone by the height of the heat. We were successful on both counts. After talking with Abbey (in the gift shop)  we would suggest that going early is the thing to do if you don’t want your children to have long waits for the many activities here.  There is plenty of parking. All of it is on gravel. We found two accessible spaces near the new brewery, which is also close to everything.  

Our first stop was the Sunflower Maze. Know that wherever you go you will be walking on gravel, or dirt, which is uneven in many places. The few people with baby carriages we spoke with said that it was not difficult. One couple even took their carriage into the maze. Abbey told us that her sister, an electric scooter user, has no difficulty getting around. 

The Maze is great! Know that the aisles in here are uneven and somewhat narrow. As we made our way through, we found signs with interesting sunflower facts. Such a nice touch! I did not know that sunflowers come in colors other than yellow, or that the tallest sunflower was more than 30 feet tall? We won’t tell you what else we learned ! As we came to a dead end, we found two chairs just waiting for us to sit down and figure out which way we wanted to go from there. Fun!

After finding our way out of the maze we walked around to look at the many activities the farm offers for kids. We found two, mini golf courses, barnyard animals, tractor pedal cars, a bull-riding pen, an obstacle course, jumbo jump pads (the largest I have ever seen), a wooden play land, and jumbo Jenga games. I have probably left some things out. Photo opportunities abound. Since we were here quite early, there were not any food opportunities. We understand that food trucks set up later. There are some picnic tables as well as a few benches. Another plus is that the farm is pet-friendly (on a leash.)  The families that we saw at the early hour we were there were clearly having a great time. They were able to go from one activity to another with no wait to do anything. We think that early in the day is the best way to have the best time.

Porta-sans are located in several locations throughout. Unfortunately, none of them are accessible. We hope that they will consider adding several to make things easier for many. 

As we made our way back to our car, we stopped to have a look at the new Long Island Brewery which has just opened. It was too early in the day for it to be open, but we took a peek through the window. Looks like a really nice place. We will return to check it out.

There is a large greenhouse and a gift barn with some lovely locally made items.

All in all, we loved Waterdrinker Farm and look forward to returning with our granddaughter, or even without her, when it is corn maze time!

As always, we at Destination:Accessible, advise you to visit a venue’s website, http://www.water-drinker.com">www.water-drinker.com, when planning a visit, to “know before you go.”

Location

Nearby