How many times have you driven Schofield Road past the hand-painted farm signs and thought you would stop in on the way home some Saturday?
At Southern Hill Farms that plan stopped working a while ago. The 11th Annual Fall Festival runs September 26 through November 22, 2026, and the farm says it plainly on its event page:
"Admission tickets are required for all guests ages 3 and older and must be purchased online before arrival. Admission tickets are not sold at the farm."
Watermark sits off Seidel Road near Summerlake Grove Street, where Orange County has sited its planned Watermark Park. That makes the farm at 16651 Schofield Road one of the closest seasonal draws in southwest Winter Garden. Living close only helps if you use it on the days the farm leaves open. Weekends are booked in advance, with timed arrivals. Weekdays aren't, and the nearby household gets the most out of them.
The calendar splits into two kinds of days
Thursday and Friday tickets are general admission, and you can arrive any time between 11 a.m. and closing. Saturday and Sunday tickets come with an arrival time you choose when you buy, and entry opens 15 minutes before that time and runs until the farm closes.
Here's how the remaining season breaks down as of October 13, 2026:
| Day | Hours | Ticket type | Dates still ahead |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday | 11 a.m. – 7 p.m. | General admission | October 15, 22, 29 |
| Friday | 11 a.m. – 8 p.m. | General admission | Every Friday through November 20 |
| Saturday | 9 a.m. – 8 p.m. | Timed arrival | Every Saturday through November 21 |
| Sunday | 9 a.m. – 7 p.m. | Timed arrival | Every Sunday through November 22 |
The only Thursdays the farm has published are October 8, 15, 22 and 29. The first one has passed, and so has the one-off Monday, October 12 date. That leaves three Thursday evenings, plus the Fridays, as the only untimed visits left this season.
The weekday food schedule fits this pattern. On Thursdays and Fridays, the bakery and the farm's food trucks open at 11 a.m. along with the gates. On weekends, the bakery opens at 9 a.m. and the trucks at 10 a.m. A late-afternoon Thursday visit after school pickup lines up with a full kitchen and the 7 p.m. close. Out-of-town visitors planning a whole Saturday can't easily fit that window.
Buying the night before saves a dollar a head
Price follows the same advance-booking logic. Admission is $29.94 plus sales tax and card processing fees if you buy by 11:59 p.m. the day before your visit. From midnight on the event date, the price is $1 higher. Children 2 and under get in free, but they still have to be listed in the "Children 2 & Under" section of an adult's order.
For a family of four with everyone age 3 or older, the night-before price comes to $119.76 before tax and fees. The day-of price is $123.76. The farm also warns that popular dates can sell out. On a weekend, the bigger risk is losing your arrival time. The extra $4 is minor next to that.
What the ticket covers, and what you pay for once inside
Admission covers more of the day than most people expect, and it also leaves out the things families tend to take home.
Included with admission:
- Fun Zone attractions
- The 5-acre corn maze
- Petting zoo and wagon rides
- Yard games and live music
- Access to the flower fields and the pumpkin barn
Paid separately:
- Any flowers you cut, at $1 per stem or $16 for an all-you-can-fit jar
- Pumpkins
- Food, drinks and merchandise
- S'mores kits
Walking into the flower field costs nothing beyond the ticket. Each stem you cut is extra. The fall festival listing names sunflower, zinnia and seasonal cut-flower fields, and the farm's flower page lists zinnias for spring and fall. Flowers in a working field change week to week. A neighbor who goes on an October Thursday and again in mid-November may well see two different fields.
Bring a card and leave the dog home
The farm is cashless, and pets aren't allowed. If you have questions about service animals, ask the farm directly before your visit. Every guest enters through Gate 4 and parks in a grass field. The farm points out that it is a working farm with no paved lot, so expect uneven ground.
The drive in has improved. The farm's directions page, updated in October 2026, says "Schofield Road is now paved." Anyone who remembers the old surface on the last stretch to the gate will notice the difference.
The year after November 22
The fall festival is one stop in a calendar that runs almost all year.
December. The 3rd Annual Christmas Festival is scheduled for December 5, 6, 12, 13, 19 and 20, from 1 to 8 p.m. The farm marks December 13 as tentative. The listing includes snow showers, fire pits, the Merry Market for holiday shopping, flower fields open until sunset, and a holiday movie on the lawn at 6:30 p.m. each night, so bring a blanket or folding chair. Tickets are required. The event page shows $28.95, but its ticket link still points to the 2025 page, so 2026 pricing isn't live yet.
Winter. The farm's FAQ lists strawberries, vegetables and sunflowers as winter crops.
Spring. Blueberries, peaches, zinnias and sunflowers are the spring crops, and the farm says blueberry harvest generally runs mid-March through May. In 2026, the farm billed June 7 as its final spring u-pick weekend, with blueberries, blackberries, sunflowers and seasonal vegetables.
The crops depend on weather in ways the festival calendar doesn't show. In February 2026, the Orange Observer reported that a freeze took at least half of the farm's blueberries and at least 35% of its strawberries, and that the farm hoped to recover by spring. That was a midwinter snapshot, not a forecast for this year. It's a good reason to check the farm's crop updates before promising anyone a bucket of berries.
Where December 5 may get crowded
Hamlin's events page lists Christmas at Hamlin for Saturday, December 5, from 5 to 9 p.m. at the Lake District green space, 14111 Shoreside Way, with tree lighting and caroling at 6 p.m. and Santa photos. That's the same day the farm's Christmas Festival opens at 1 p.m. If the listing holds for 2026, an afternoon on Schofield Road followed by the tree lighting in Hamlin is possible in one day. The farm's 6:30 movie and Hamlin's 6 p.m. lighting overlap, though, so families would need to pick one for the evening.
The same page lists Flavor Fest Horizon West for Saturday, November 14, 5 to 9 p.m., at the Shoreside Way green space. That date falls on the second-to-last weekend of the fall festival. Hamlin's page doesn't give a year for these listings or an update date, and some entries look carried over from earlier years, so confirm with the organizers before building a weekend around them.
For the fall festival, the farm's own rules settle it. Buy online the night before, and plan your visit around October 15, 22 or 29 or any Friday through November 20, the only days you can arrive whenever you like.
At Pristine International Realty, we follow the same Winter Garden calendars our clients live by, from farm festival dates to Hamlin's holiday nights. If you have family visiting this fall or winter and want help planning their stay around these dates, send us a message on WhatsApp in English or Português.
