‘County Line U-Pick’ in New Athens Is Much More Than a Backyard Operation
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County Line U-pick offers a unique experience for the Ohio Valley.
Located in the yard of Aaron and Micaela Drewett's house in New Athens, County Line U-pick is far from a small backyard operation. Offering corn mazes, a nine-hole miniature golf course, hay rides, a pumpkin patch, concessions, a petting zoo, a gravity wagon basketball hoop, Jenga, Yahtzee, and a corn pit that is basically a large sandbox filled with corn instead of sand, the experience ends with "Toy Story 3" projected on a massive screen.
Aaron Drewett said that in previous years, they would have multiple bonfires where people could cook hotdogs and roast marshmallows but due to Ohio Fire Marshal Kevin Reardon implementing a burn ban for the entire local area, the bonfire plans went up in smoke.
Micaela said she grew up spending a lot of her childhood at Rockwell Orchard in Barnesville and realized that there aren't too many places in the Ohio Valley that offer fall activities for people of all ages, but they mainly aim to entertain children. She said she pitched the idea of a pumpkin patch to Aaron, and he said that he was more than happy to till a patch. In 2021 the idea became a reality.
At first it was only a pumpkin patch but each year the Drewetts have expanded, adding more and more activities for people of all ages to enjoy. This year's addition is the nine-hole miniature golf course completely designed and built by Aaron. He said he plans on making the course a full 18 holes for the next season.
County Line U-pick is more than just a pumpkin patch - in the summer season it offers berries, and leading into September it rolls out its fall produce.
"We do school field trips during the daytime and are usually open one to two days during the weekend. We try to do a flashlight corn maze twice a season," Micaela said.
This past weekend it kicked off the spooky season with the first flashlight corn maze event. All of the activities were included in the price of admission and could be done as many times as participants wanted. The flashlight corn maze is a large corn maze the patrons have to make their way through with only a flashlight in the dark. The maze is not a haunted maze; Aaron said that several people have asked to make a haunted maze, but they want to keep it family oriented.
"We don't want to have to deal with the liability and finding actors. We just want to keep it family oriented and something fun. You can come out and go through the maze and do the other activities," he said.
Other activities that U-pick offers throughout the year are a velcro dartboard, sack racing, ring toss, bowling, horse lassoing, small craft workshops, and for an additional cost an apple slingshot.
"We just appreciate everybody's support," Micaela said. "Everybody has been really fantastic in every aspect, and we appreciate everybody that has given us suggestions along the way and who have helped us and continue to keep supporting us."
The best way to find out when County Line U-pick is open is to follow its Facebook page. The Drewetts said that they post regularly on the page to inform the public when they will be operating and what events will be taking place.