One turn off the road in Chester leads to 20,000 square feet of greenhouses, where orchids bloom beside trays of herbs, vegetable starts, and seasonal flowers. That is only one side of Stony Hill Farms.
A few minutes away, the same family-run operation shifts from garden center to full-fledged farm stop, complete with pick-your-own fields, a bakery counter, homemade ice cream, and a fall maze big enough to make adults question their sense of direction.
Stony Hill is spread across two nearby locations in Morris County, and knowing the difference is the key to planning a good visit.
The Gardens on Route 24 are where plant lovers can browse the greenhouses. The Farm Market, U-Pick fields, and Maze Fun Park are at 15 North Road.
Together, they make an outing that can be as simple as buying a warm donut or as ambitious as tackling ten acres of corn with the whole family.
Meet Stony Hill Farms in Charming Chester
Stony Hill Gardens began in 1988 with a focus on cut orchids. More than three decades later, orchids remain part of the farm’s identity, but the operation has expanded into fruits, vegetables, flowers, baked goods, pick-your-own experiences, and a busy lineup of seasonal events.
The farm sits in Chester, a Morris County town where the rural setting is not window dressing. This part of North Jersey still has working fields, winding roads, and farm stands within easy reach of a Main Street lined with independent shops and restaurants.
Stony Hill fits naturally into that landscape, but it is not one small roadside stand. Visitors need to choose between two addresses depending on what they want to do.
Stony Hill Gardens is located at 8 Route 24, also marked as Route 513. This is the stop for greenhouses, orchids, annuals, perennials, herbs, vegetable plants, hanging baskets, and garden advice.
The Farm Market at 15 North Road is home base for produce, baked goods, local specialties, pick-your-own crops, and the seasonal Maze Fun Park. The two properties are close, though they have separate entrances, schedules, and phone numbers.
That split setup actually works well. Serious gardeners can take their time at the Gardens without weaving through a festival crowd.
Families headed for apples, pumpkins, or the corn maze can go straight to North Road. Anyone who wants the complete Stony Hill experience can visit both and still leave time for a walk around downtown Chester.
The farm is family-operated and strongly tied to New Jersey agriculture. Much of the produce at the market is grown on-site; when Stony Hill does not grow an item, it sources from another New Jersey farmer.
The result feels less like a themed attraction built around a farm and more like a working farm that happens to give visitors plenty of reasons to stay awhile.
Wander Through the Greenhouses at Stony Hill Gardens
Open the greenhouse door in spring and the first impression is sheer volume. Rows of familiar bedding plants share space with less-common varieties, while herbs and vegetable starts wait for backyard gardens across North Jersey.
Across the property, the greenhouses cover 20,000 square feet. Orchids are the specialty with the longest history here.
Stony Hill has grown them for more than 32 years and carries varieties for first-time owners as well as experienced collectors. Phalaenopsis and Cattleya are joined by Vanda, Oncidium, Paphiopedilum, and Miltoniopsis orchids.
That range makes the greenhouse worth browsing even if the only orchid you know is the one that appears beside the supermarket checkout. The selection changes with the calendar.
Spring brings bulbs, annuals, perennials, herbs, and vegetable plants. Mums, decorative cabbage, and kale take over much of the autumn display.
Poinsettias arrive toward the end of the year. Staff members can help shoppers match plants to a sunny patio, shady bed, or indoor windowsill, which is useful when a beautiful impulse purchase comes with very specific ideas about light and watering.
The Gardens operate separately from the farm market. Their 2026 schedule lists daily hours from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. between April 18 and June 18.
From June 18 through October 31, hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, with Sundays closed.
November and December bring another schedule change, so it is smart to confirm the day’s hours before driving over. This is not a greenhouse dressed up as an amusement attraction.
It is a working retail growing space, and that is exactly what makes it interesting. Visitors see what is blooming now, what local gardeners are planting next, and how a farm with deep roots in orchids moves through New Jersey’s seasons under glass.
Find Something Different in Every Season
August smells like sun-warmed flowers. October sounds like apple cannons and wagon wheels.
By December, the focus has moved to poinsettias, wreaths, garland, and Christmas trees. Stony Hill does not offer the same outing twelve months a year, and a visit is better when planned around what the farm is actually doing that week.
The growing season begins with plants and early produce, then expands into berries, summer vegetables, flowers, stone fruit, and melons. Stony Hill uses greenhouses to stretch the availability of some crops into cooler weather.
Its everbearing strawberries can continue producing until the first frost, though weather always has the final say. A rainy spring, heat wave, or heavy picking weekend can change availability quickly.
Flower season brings some of the farm’s most photogenic days without turning the fields into mere scenery. During the 2026 Sunflower Festival, scheduled for August 8, 9, 15, and 16, visitors can pick flowers and take a hayride.
Lavender events have added their own farm-made touches, including lavender lemonade, lavender ice cream, and hard cider from the on-site Rebel Sheep Wine Co. Fall is the loudest season.
Apples and pumpkins are ready for picking, the market fills with mums, gourds, cornstalks, decorative kale, and straw bales, and the Maze Fun Park opens at 15 North Road. The farm then changes gears again for Thanksgiving pies, holiday turkeys, trees, boxwood, wreaths, and poinsettias.
That rhythm matters because the farm is not fully open year-round. The Farm Market’s posted 2026 season runs from June 2 through December 23, generally from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, with several holiday closures.
The Gardens follow their own schedule. Crop conditions and event dates can move, so checking the farm calendar before leaving home is more useful than relying on last year’s routine.
Pick Fresh Produce and Take On the Fall Attractions
The biggest challenge at Stony Hill is not carrying a bag of apples back from the orchard. It is finding the exit from a 10-acre corn maze designed with twisting paths, elevated bridges, activity stations, and a new theme each year.
For 2026, the maze celebrates “NJ 250,” connecting the country’s 250th anniversary with New Jersey history. The giant maze is the centerpiece of the fall Fun Park, but younger visitors do not have to commit to ten acres.
A one-acre mini corn maze offers a gentler first attempt. Elsewhere, a rope maze leads to a pirate-ship deck and bell, pedal trikes turn family members into instant rivals, and the Noah’s Ark playground has ladders, slides, and a lookout deck.
On select festival weekends, the farm adds a 150-foot tube slide and long-range apple cannons. Gemstone mining uses a water sluice and screen-bottom box to wash away dirt and reveal stones.
Both the cannons and mining cost extra, while the availability of individual attractions depends on the event schedule. Weekend hayrides travel around the farm and can connect the main activity area with the pumpkin patch.
The quieter side of North Road is found in the fields and orchard. Depending on the harvest, visitors may pick strawberries, flowers, vegetables, apples, or pumpkins.
Picking windows are seasonal, and the farm recommends checking what is ready before arriving. Posted picking hours are generally 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with the last ticket sold at 4 p.m.
There is one practical detail families should not skim past. The Fun Park has rugged ground and stairs on bridges inside the maze, so its attractions are not considered handicap accessible.
Strollers are permitted but difficult to push; the farm recommends carriers instead. Comfortable shoes are not a cute rural accessory here.
They are the difference between enjoying the maze and spending an hour wrestling small wheels through uneven soil.
Browse the Farm Market for Local Treats
Time a market visit correctly and you may see donuts coming off the machine while they are still hot. The flavor follows the farm calendar: blueberry in summer and apple cider in fall.
It is a small detail, but it explains why locals who came in for tomatoes somehow leave with a paper bag of donuts. The bakery at 15 North Road makes cookies, breads, muffins, donuts, and pies fresh on the farm.
Pies are sold by the slice, half, or whole, which is helpful for anyone unwilling to choose between Dutch apple and peach praline. The selection runs from standards such as blueberry crumb, cherry, pumpkin, and pecan to combinations including apple cranberry, peach blueberry, strawberry-rhubarb, and very berry.
Seasonal availability varies, and special orders generally require at least 24 hours’ notice. Then there is the ice cream freezer.
Stony Hill makes its own ice cream in flavors that range from vanilla, coffee, and mint to Peach Sixty Grit, Sweet Cream, Blue Moon Cherry, and My Butter Half. It is available by the scoop, pint, or quart.
Seasonal flavors also appear through the year, including strawberry, apple, pumpkin, maple, peppermint, and eggnog. The produce side stays deliberately local.
Shoppers will not find bananas or other tropical imports. The shelves hold Jersey-grown fruits and vegetables from Stony Hill or other farms in the state.
That may mean strawberries and leafy greens early in the season, peaches and sweet corn in summer, then apples, winter squash, and cool-weather vegetables in fall. The market also carries meat, cheese, eggs, honey, coffee, tea, candy, snacks, plants, décor, and gifts from regional producers and makers.
Griggstown Farm pot pies, shepherd’s pies, and chicken sausage are among the savory options, while Springhouse Creamery supplies milk and farmstead cheese. It is possible to assemble dinner, dessert, and tomorrow morning’s coffee without setting foot in a chain grocery store.
Plan the Perfect Family Day Trip to Morris County
Start with the address, not the attraction name. Greenhouse shoppers should enter 8 Route 24 for Stony Hill Gardens.
Produce buyers, pickers, and Fun Park visitors belong at 15 North Road. Mixing them up is not a disaster—the properties are nearby—but it can waste time on a busy fall weekend.
A spring or early-summer visit works best as a two-stop outing. Browse orchids, vegetable starts, and hanging baskets at the Gardens in the morning, then head to the Farm Market after it opens for the season.
By midsummer, pick-your-own crops and flower events can fill more of the day. In fall, reverse the priorities: reserve enough time for the orchard or maze first, then shop for produce, cider donuts, and pie before leaving.
The Farm Market is scheduled to open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. between June 2 and December 23 in 2026. The Maze Fun Park season is posted for August 29 through November 7, with operating details varying by date.
Hayrides run on weekends, the concession stand opens on festival and event days, and some attractions appear only on select weekends. Tickets purchased online in advance can also cost less than walk-up admission during maze season.
Fall crowds change the pace considerably. Arriving near opening gives families more breathing room in the orchard and maze, while later October visits can involve heavier traffic around Chester.
Outside food is not allowed on fall weekends and holidays. The farm accepts cash, major credit cards, checks, and mobile payments at the market, but admission rules and add-on fees should be checked when booking.
Downtown Chester makes an easy second chapter rather than an afterthought. Its Main Street shops and restaurants are only a short drive from the farm, giving muddy shoes time to dry before the ride home.
After greenhouses, apples, a maze, and a still-warm donut, that compact stretch of Morris County feels like a full day without requiring a full tank of gas.