"At McKinley's we are still open for a few more weeks with the remainder of our fall items!" That was the farm market's update on October 2, 2026, and it is the closest thing Old 41 has to a closing-time notice.
Drive north from Bruceville to Oaktown this month and the fall stands can look like a string of separate businesses. Most of the food on their tables comes out of the same Oaktown fields, though. With about four weeks left in the season, each stand has settled into its own role. One sells the corn maze and pumpkin patch outing. One sells apples, pears and porch mums. One runs on the honor system. Knowing which is which keeps you from driving to an apple stand when you wanted a corn maze.
Bruceville's Big Peach Is an Oaktown Farm With a Corn Maze
The Big Peach sits at 7738 N. Old US 41 in Bruceville. Most people know it for the fall setup: a giant corn maze, pumpkin and flower picking, tractors to climb, farm games, and the Corn Kernel Bus, which the stand's own site calls "famous."
What fewer people may know is where the produce comes from. The Horrall family has owned The Big Peach since 2020. The family has been serving fresh Knox County produce since 1976 as Melon Acres in Oaktown, and most of what The Big Peach sells is grown at that family farm in Oaktown. So the southernmost stand on this stretch of Old 41 is selling food from the north end of the same road.
For 2026, the stand's online shop lists a "2026 Fall Activities" ticket at $10.50 to $12.50, with a regular price and a price for groups of four or more kids. The listing doesn't say exactly which activities the ticket covers, so ask at the counter before you assume it includes everything. A $10 school field trip package that included the corn maze and pumpkin and flower picking was showing as sold out.
The Big Peach's site gives the store season as May through October 31. Daily hours are harder to pin down. Visit Indiana's listing says the stand is open daily through October 31 but also lists hours of Thursday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Those two can't both be right, so call before a weekday visit.
The biggest night of the season is already on the calendar. The Big Peach Trunk-or-Treat is Saturday, October 24, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Admission is free, there will be candy, and vendors can set up at no charge.
In Oaktown, the Stands Sell What You Take Home
Head north toward Oaktown and the activities drop away. The stands there sell food and fall decorations.
McKinley's Farm Market, on Old 41 in Oaktown, has kept the same fall hours through September and into October.
Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, noon to 5 p.m.
The October 2 post lists five apple varieties: Honeycrisp, Macintosh, Gala, Golden Supreme and Jonathan. There are also Bartlett pears, jack-o'-lanterns, specialty pumpkins in several colors and sizes, and small, medium and large gourds. The mums come in yellow, white, pink, orange, red and tricolor. The market said in mid-September that a mum pouch and a hanging basket were new for 2026.
Compare the two posts and you can see the season closing. On September 15, McKinley's still listed tomatoes and squash next to the apples, pears and pumpkins. By October 2, the list was down to pumpkins, gourds, mums, apples and pears. If you want a specific apple, go sooner. The post promises a few more weeks, not a set closing date.
McKinley's also runs a Saturday restaurant, but the published hours don't agree with each other and none of them cover October. Call ahead for that one.
Prairie Acres, at 14387 North Old Highway 41 in Oaktown, is the third kind of stand. On September 1 it announced mums and green Golden Surprise apples, alongside the last of its watermelons, tomatoes, cucumbers and squash. The same post said the stand was moving to self-service. No October hours have been posted. The newest update is from early September, so treat a stop here as a bonus on the way to McKinley's, not the main reason for the drive.
Four Saturdays Left, and One of Them Is Crowded
Today is Monday, October 5. Four Saturdays remain before October 31, and they aren't equal.
- Saturday, October 10. The start of fall break weekend. Lark Ranch in Loogootee, the closest big corn maze outside the county, is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. that day. It also has extra Friday fall break hours on October 9 and 16, noon to 9 p.m.
- Saturday, October 17. Same hours at Lark Ranch. The Oaktown stands should still have apples, based on McKinley's "few more weeks" estimate from October 2.
- Saturday, October 24. The Big Peach Trunk-or-Treat runs that evening, and Lark Ranch has scheduled a Colts Fall Fest for the same day. Lark's details were still "to be announced" when we checked.
- Saturday, October 31. The last day of The Big Peach's posted season and Halloween itself. Lark Ranch is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Weather can also change plans. Lark Ranch closed on October 2 because of weather, so check before you drive anywhere with a field attached.
Where the Old 41 Produce Shows Up in Vincennes
If you can't get out of town, the Farmer's Market of Historic Vincennes at the Riverfront Pavilion on 2nd Street runs from Memorial Day weekend through the end of October. It sells local produce, arts and crafts, with food and entertainment.
The state's event listing gives Saturday hours of 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Wednesday hours of 4 to 8 p.m. The visitors bureau's market page lists 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday and 4 to 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday. If you plan to shop at either end of the day, arrive inside the shorter window. That leaves four Wednesdays, October 7, 14, 21 and 28, and four Saturdays in October.
Lark Ranch and Apple Hill, With a Few Caveats
Lark Ranch, at 3145 Killion Mill Road in Loogootee, is in Martin County, but the operator markets it as a day trip for the Vincennes area. Its 2026 fall season has a corn maze, pumpkin patch access, a hayride, a mile-long train, animals, rides, food and apple cider slushies. Admission is listed at $17 or $22, and the page doesn't say which price applies on which days. Everyone age 3 and up needs a ticket, and a season pass is $40. For a family of four, that is a larger outlay than The Big Peach's $10.50 to $12.50 ticket. The trade-off is more attractions and later evening hours.
Apple Hill Orchard on North Ford Road in Bruceville held its annual fall festival on October 4, 2025. That event had lunch, children's activities, baked goods, donuts and a caramel apple station. We couldn't find a 2026 date or current hours, so call before you build a Saturday around it.
One Trip North on Old 41
For a single afternoon that covers both kinds of fall outing, the stops line up from south to north:
- Start at The Big Peach in Bruceville for the corn maze and pumpkin picking. Confirm the day's hours by phone first.
- Continue north into Oaktown for McKinley's Farm Market before its 5 p.m. close. That's where you'll find apples, Bartlett pears, gourds and mums.
- Check Prairie Acres on the same stretch of North Old Highway 41 for whatever is left on the self-service stand.
The order matters because McKinley's closes at 5 p.m. every day, while The Big Peach's hours are less certain. Do the activity stop first and buy the apples on the way home.
The land that fills these stands is part of what makes Knox County what it is, and every October it shows up as bins of Honeycrisp and pallets of pumpkins along Old 41. If you own a home or acreage along this corridor and want to know what it's worth before next season, Klein Real Estate can give you a straight answer. Get an Instant Home Valuation.
