The Hayride Business: How to Start Farm Rides That Pay (Real Prices, Real Costs and the Crashes to Learn From)

4 days ago

20 min read

Tractor pulling a hayride wagon of families along a flat farm lane at golden hour, a picture of a safe hayride business

Randy Bates doubted his family's 60 tillable acres in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania, could survive on row crops. So he charged $2 a head for a 15-minute hayride. He made about $300 that first year.

He kept going. In 1996 he added a haunted "motel" to Arasapha Farm. By its 33rd season, 60,000 people came. "This business has saved our family farm," he told Ambrook in 2023.

So can a hayride business pay? Yes, but rarely on its own. The ride is the hook. The money comes from what it carries people to, and from pricing it like an experience. And it only lasts if you run it so safely that you never make the news.

The Short Answer: Real farms charge about $5 to $11 per person for a 10 to 15-minute ride, or fold it into admission. Themed, haunted and horse-drawn rides charge far more. Purpose-built people wagons have been priced from about $6,000 to $10,450. At $9 a ticket you need roughly 670 to 1,200 paid riders just to pay for the wagon. The crashes in the news come back to the same causes: hills and brakes, speed on turns, and people near moving wheels. Many US states don't inspect hayrides, but Pennsylvania now does. Call your insurer before you buy anything.

Green tractor pulling a hayride wagon full of visitors past a tall cornfield under a blue sky — Illustrative photo, not a specific farm in this article. Photo: Isabella SP on Unsplash.

Why Farm Rides Deserve a Serious Look

Agritourism is no longer a sideline. US farms earned $1.26 billion from agritourism in 2022, up 12.4% from 2017 after inflation, according to USDA's Economic Research Service. About 57% of US counties reported some agritourism income.

Rides sit at the heart of many of those farms. A wagon moves families from the parking field to the pumpkins. It shows off land that visitors could never walk. And it gives a farm one thing a supermarket can't copy: a memory.

Look at how the big names use rides. Cox Farms in Virginia lists its "World-Famous Hayride" as one of its fall festival attractions. Pennywell Farm in Devon includes its tractor and trailer ride free with every admission ticket. Billings Farm & Museum in Vermont includes its roughly 10-minute horse-drawn rides with general admission too.

Notice the pattern. Many of the best farms don't treat the ride as the product. They treat it as the glue that makes the whole visit feel worth the ticket. If you want the wider picture first, see how much agritourism farms really make and our page of agritourism statistics.

The Six Kinds of Farm Rides (and Which One Fits Your Land)

Not every ride suits every farm. Your slopes, your soil, your animals and your season decide more than your wish list does.

Ride type	What pulls it	Real price example	Watch out for
Classic hay wagon	Tractor	Linvilla Orchards, PA: $9 online, $11 at the farm (15 min)	Slopes, brakes, loading
Barrel train or tractor train	Lawn tractor, ATV, small tractor	Cars sold at about $899 each (Magic Cars)	Small riders, tipping, state ride rules
Horse-drawn wagon or sleigh	Draft horses	Billings Farm, VT: $5 public sleigh ride; $450 private 30-min ride	Animal welfare, weather, equine law gaps
Haunted hayride	Tractor	Fear Farm, Ontario: C$59.99 for a night of 7 attractions (2025)	Actors near wheels, darkness, crowds
4WD or safari-style ride	Pickup, 4x4 or all-terrain trailer	Bloopy Durians, Malaysia: US$9 incl. entry and tour	Seating, rough tracks, vehicle rules
Private or premium ride	Horses or tractor	Back of Beyond, Ontario: C$180 for the first two people (2026)	Booking, staffing, weather refunds

Classic hay wagon behind a tractor

This is the ride most people picture. A flat wagon, straw bales or benches, a tractor up front.

Linvilla Orchards in Pennsylvania sells timed tickets for a 15-minute ride through its fields. It costs $9 online for ages 5 and up, or $11 if bought at the farm. Its page is honest that the ride "does not stop at a pumpkin patch." It sells the view, not a destination.

Barrel trains and tractor trains

Barrel trains are strings of cut-open plastic barrels on wheels, towed behind a small tractor, lawn tractor or ATV. Small children love them.

They are cheap to start. One seller, Magic Cars, lists cars at $899 each, with a seatbelt and bench seat. It says they can be towed by a tractor, lawn mower, ATV or golf cart. Five cars come to about $4,495.

Cheap does not mean unregulated. In Pennsylvania, small trackless trains of 27 horsepower or less fall outside the hayride standard but still count as amusement rides that must be registered. Ask your own state before you buy.

Horse-drawn wagons and sleigh rides

Hoofbeats sell. But horses add a living, thinking engine to your ride.

Billings Farm in Woodstock, Vermont, runs public sleigh rides of about 10 minutes for $5 per person, ages 2 and up, on top of admission, according to its partner hotel, the Woodstock Inn. Its private 30-minute sleigh rides cost $450 per ride, booked two weeks ahead, December through March. When snow is thin, a wagon replaces the sleigh. The hotel's page also notes that wagon rides are sometimes pulled by a tractor instead, because of conditions and animal safety.

That last line is a lesson. A good horse farm plans for the days the horses shouldn't work. If you already offer riding, our older piece on horseback rides on the farm covers the visitor side.

Horse-drawn carriage crossing an open farm field at sunset, an example of a horse-drawn farm ride — Illustrative photo, not a farm named in this article. Photo: Gen Pol on Unsplash.

Haunted hayrides

Haunted rides are where the big ticket prices live. An industry estimate from America Haunts, quoted by Ambrook in 2023, puts the US haunted attraction business at over 1,200 attractions and about $300 million a year in ticket sales.

For its 2025 season, Fear Farm in Bright, Ontario, sold its night of seven haunted experiences, including its Haunted Hayride, at C$59.99 online, or C$99.99 with a fast pass. Tickets were online only, and it was aimed at ages 16 and up.

But haunted rides also show up again and again in the crash reports below. Darkness, crowds and actors near wheels are a dangerous mix.

4WD and safari-style rides

Some land is too rough, wet or steep for a hay wagon. That is where a 4x4 or an all-terrain trailer earns its keep.

The Agrodome in New Zealand tours its 350-acre working farm in an all-weather, all-terrain tractor trailer. It runs four tours a day and sells them with its farm show on one entry. In Wiltshire, England, Helen Browning's Eastbrook Farm offers farm safaris on its 1,500-acre farm, sold as an activity of its Royal Oak pub and hotel.

Private and premium rides

Here the ride becomes the whole product. Back of Beyond Equine Centre in Huntsville, Ontario, sells a maple-season horse-drawn wagon or sleigh experience. For its 2026 season (March to April), it cost C$180 for the first two people, C$35 for each extra adult and C$28 per child aged 3 to 12, plus HST. The wagon ride runs about 35 minutes, inside a 1.5-hour visit that ends at a campfire with hot chocolate sweetened with local maple syrup.

Same horses, same trails. Very different price, because the farm sold an afternoon instead of a ride.

Field-Tested Play: Pick your ride from your land, not from Pinterest. Walk your planned route with a notebook. Mark every slope, ditch, soft spot, low branch and overhead wire. If you can't find a mostly flat, dry loop, start with a barrel train on level ground or a guided walk, and add a wagon later.

What to Charge: Four Pricing Models That Real Farms Use

Farms with rides tend to use one of four models. Pick the one that fits your goal.

Bar chart of hayride and farm ride prices per person at real farms: Billings Farm sleigh ride US$5, Linvilla Orchards hayride US$9 online and US$11 at the farm, Bloopy Durians 4WD ride US$9, Fear Farm haunted night C$59.99, Back of Beyond horse-drawn wagon experience C$90 — What real farms charge per person for a ride. Sources: farm websites and Curiocity, checked 8 November 2026.

Model No. 1: The ride is included in admission. Pennywell Farm and Billings Farm both do this. It makes the gate price feel generous, and it moves people to where they spend money. It works best when you run a full day out.

Model No. 2: The ride is an add-on ticket. Linvilla Orchards sells its hayride on its own. Note the $2 gap between online and at-the-farm prices. That nudges people to book ahead, which helps you plan staff and wagons.

Model No. 3: The premium private ride. Billings Farm's $450 private sleigh and Back of Beyond's maple wagon experience sell time, privacy and a story. These suit couples, families and company groups.

Model No. 4: The event ride. Haunted hayrides, Christmas light rides and harvest nights sell a theme. Fear Farm bundles its hayride into one C$59.99 night. The ride is one piece of a bigger show.

Field-Tested Play: Sell timed tickets online and charge a little more at the gate. Linvilla charges $9 online and $11 in person for the same 15 minutes. Timed slots spread your crowd, stop long lines at the wagon, and tell you how many drivers you need before the day starts.

For the full method on setting a price, read how to set entry fees and ticket prices.

What It Really Costs to Start a Hayride

Old farm advice throws out wide ranges like "$25,000 to $75,000." That isn't much help. Here is what real listings say.

Bar chart of hayride equipment costs: barrel train car $899, five-car barrel train $4,495, 16-ft People Hauler wagon about $6,000 (2021), new people wagon $8,300, wagon with options $10,450, used 40-60 hp tractor about $10,000, new tractor from $22,000 — What the ride hardware really costs. Sources: Magic Cars, Farm Show, Zimmerman Farm Service listing on Fastline, Fastline tractor guide; checked 8 November 2026.

Item	Real price	Source
Barrel-train car	$899 each	Magic Cars product page
16-ft "People Hauler" wagon on 6-ton running gear	about $6,000 (2021)	Farm Show 2021 profile of A-A Carriage-Wheel Shop, New Holland, PA
New 2025 Stoltzfus 8.5x20 people wagon, side entrance	$8,300	Zimmerman Farm Service listing
Center bench seat (option)	$850	Same listing
Hoop and tarp cover (option)	$1,300	Same listing
Used 40-60 hp tractor	about $10,000	Fastline tractor cost guide
New 40-60 hp tractor	from $22,000	Fastline tractor cost guide

A few details are worth noticing. The Pennsylvania-built People Hauler uses torsion axles and leaf springs for a smoother ride. The Stoltzfus wagon weighs 3,650 lbs empty, and the dealer offers a rental option. Renting a wagon for your first season is one way to test demand before you buy.

If you already own a sound tractor with enough weight and braking for a loaded wagon, the wagon is your main buy. If you don't, the tractor costs more than the wagon.

Reality Check: The cheapest tow vehicle is often the most expensive mistake. The Maine haunted hayride that killed a teenager in 2014 was pulled by a 1979 Jeep that prosecutors said had numerous safety problems. Budget for a tow vehicle that is built and braked for the load, and for a full service before every season.

Repairs add up fast on older machines. See what farms are paying in farm machinery repair costs.

The Break-Even Math Nobody Shows You

Here is a simple test. Divide what the hardware costs by your ticket price. That's how many paid riders you need just to get your money back.

Hayride break-even chart showing paid riders needed to recover equipment costs at $9 and $11 tickets, from 546 riders for a $6,000 wagon to 2,034 riders for an $8,300 wagon plus a used tractor — Paid riders needed to pay back the hardware, at Linvilla Orchards' $9 online and $11 gate prices. Simple illustration only.

At $9 a ticket, an $8,300 wagon needs 923 paid riders. Add the bench and cover and it's 1,162. Buy the plain $8,300 wagon plus a $10,000 used tractor and it's 2,034.

That ignores insurance, fuel, straw, drivers, attendants, upkeep and card fees. All of those push the number higher. So the honest question is not "Will people ride?" It's "Will enough people ride, often enough, at a high enough price?"

This is why so many farms bundle the ride. A $9 ride alone is a slow payback. A ride that carries a family to a pumpkin patch, a corn maze, a farm shop and a cider stand pays back through everything else they buy. See how to start a pumpkin patch and how to start a corn maze for the attractions that rides usually serve.

Field-Tested Play: Before you buy, write down three numbers: your ticket price, your realistic riders per day, and your number of operating days. Multiply them. If that figure doesn't cover the wagon, insurance and labour in one or two seasons, change the plan. Raise the price, bundle the ride, or rent the wagon first.

What Goes Wrong: Real Hayride Crashes and What They Teach

Most farm owners skip this part. Don't. Every one of these stories happened at a farm or event that thought its ride was safe.

Timeline of hayride accidents from Maine 2014 to New York 2026 showing repeated causes: brake failure on hills, wagons tipping on slopes, speed on turns and people falling under wagon wheels — Hayride crashes in the news, 2014 to 2026. Sources listed at the end of this article.

Maine, 2014: the crash that changed the conversation

On October 11, 2014, a haunted night ride at Harvest Hill Farm in Mechanic Falls, Maine, went wrong. Brakes failed. The wagon, towed by a 1979 Jeep, rolled out of control downhill, crashed and flipped. Seventeen-year-old Cassidy Charette was killed and more than 20 others were hurt.

What followed should frighten every operator. The farm pleaded guilty to a driving-to-endanger charge and was fined. A manslaughter charge was dropped, a grand jury declined to indict the owner, and the driver was acquitted. The family's wrongful death suit was settled in 2017 for an undisclosed sum. The farm filed for bankruptcy and was sold at auction.

At the time, Associated Press found Maine had no statutes regulating hayrides. A 2016 state working group then decided new rules weren't feasible, because inspectors would need to judge a huge range of farm equipment. It estimated Maine has 250 to 400 motorized farm rides a year.

Wisconsin, 2024: a slow tractor and a hill

On September 18, 2024, a school field trip went wrong at an apple orchard near Lafayette, Wisconsin. One of two wagons pulled by a single tractor tipped sideways and rolled going downhill. About 25 children and adults were hurt, three critically.

The sheriff said the tractor was moving at low speed. That matters. Slow is not the same as safe on a slope.

Haunted hayrides, 2023 and 2024: people near the wheels

The Pacific Northwest Agricultural Safety and Health Center gathered recent cases in late 2024. In Rhode Island in 2023, a 14-year-old scare actor fell under a wagon's rear wheels and was critically hurt. She survived, and OSHA fined the employer.

In October 2024, two boys died in separate incidents. In St. Augusta, Minnesota, a 13-year-old volunteer scare actor was run over by a tractor-pulled wagon. In Chattanooga, Tennessee, a boy tried to jump onto a passing hayride trailer and fell under the wheels.

New York, 2026: a rollover on a turn

On Sunday, October 4, 2026, near Wellsburg, New York, a John Deere tractor was pulling a hay wagon with 19 people aboard, mostly children, at a weekly youth event. The Chemung County sheriff said the tractor was going at high speed when it tried to turn at an intersection, and it flipped. The wagon came loose. Fourteen people were hurt, three critically, including the 16-year-old driver.

This case is still under investigation. No official finding of cause had been released in the reports we checked, so treat it as a warning about turns and speed, not a verdict on anyone.

Reality Check: Put these stories side by side and three causes keep coming up: brakes and hills, speed on turns, and people close to moving wheels. Rutgers Extension's hayride fact sheet says plainly: never use more than one wagon per tractor, and drive at about a walking pace. None of that costs much. Ignoring it can cost the farm.

The Hayride Safety System: Route, Wagon, Driver, Riders

You don't need a big budget to run a safe ride. You need a system, written down and followed every day. The best free guides are Rutgers Cooperative Extension's fact sheet FS1145 and the UK Health and Safety Executive's sheet AIS36.

Hayride safety checklist flow chart with five checkpoints: before the season, every morning route check, every wagon hitch, every ride, and after any incident — The hayride safety loop. Built from Rutgers FS1145, HSE AIS36 and Pennsylvania's hayride rules.

The route

Plan a loop that avoids overhanging branches, wires, irrigation heads, sharp turns, uneven ground and poor drainage, says Rutgers. Keep road travel to a minimum, and make sure an ambulance can reach every part of the route.

Drive the route every morning. Never allow an unplanned detour. If it rained overnight, look again at every slope.

The wagon and the tow vehicle

Rutgers recommends a tractor with a roll-over protective structure (ROPS) and enough power, weight, traction and braking for a loaded wagon. Service it fully before the season. Check tires, fuel, oil, drawbar, lights, brakes and hitch pins every time you hitch up.

The UK guidance adds hard numbers that make a good build spec anywhere. Guard rails should sit 920 to 1,070 mm above the floor, with a middle rail at 460 to 535 mm. The lowest step should be no more than 550 mm off the ground. Seats should have back support and be fixed to the floor. Brakes should be on at least one axle and worked from the tractor. When carrying young children, fill the sides with mesh.

Diagram of a passenger hayride trailer showing HSE AIS36 safety dimensions: top rail 920-1070 mm, middle rail 460-535 mm, toeboard at least 75 mm, lowest step no more than 550 mm — The UK passenger-trailer checklist from HSE AIS36. Not to scale.

The driver and the attendant

Train drivers for the hayride itself, not just for tractor work, says Rutgers. They should start and stop smoothly and rehearse the route in daylight and in the dark.

Put a second person on the wagon. HSE says a responsible person, separate from the driver, should ride with passengers, and school groups need farm staff aboard, not just the teacher. Use two-way radios or a clear stop signal. The driver doesn't move until the attendant signals.

Hiring teenagers for the season? Check your labour rules first, and think hard about who you put behind the wheel.

Loading and the safety talk

Rutgers suggests two separate loading and unloading areas on flat ground, with staff helping and a handrail or helper for children and people with limited mobility. Post the rules where people queue: stay seated, arms and legs inside, no horseplay, no smoking or lighters.

Nobody stands between the tractor and wagon while it moves. Nobody rides on the wagon tongue. Nobody climbs on or off while it's rolling. For more on welcoming every guest safely, see improving accessibility on your farm.

Extra rules for haunted rides

The recent deaths involved actors and visitors close to moving wheels. Keep scare zones well back from the wagon path. Never let actors climb on or chase a moving wagon. Brief every actor, including volunteers, on where they may and may not stand.

The ASTM hayride standard covers "attendant and actor safety" as its own topic, which tells you how seriously the industry now takes it.

Field-Tested Play: Write a one-page ride sheet and laminate it on the tractor: the route map, the stop signal, the maximum number of riders, the emergency number, and the exact spot where an ambulance can meet you. Then rehearse an emergency once before opening day. Our guide to writing a risk management plan shows how to build the rest.

For weather calls, such as when to stop rides in wind, rain or lightning, borrow from these bad-weather policy lessons. And for the wider list of risks on a working farm, see farm hazards for visitors.

The Legal Questions: State Laws, Standards and Insurance

This section gives you questions to ask, not legal advice. Rules change, and they differ by state, province and country.

Many US states still don't inspect hayrides

When Associated Press checked in 2014, it found most states didn't regulate hayrides. Rhode Island appeared to be the only state that explicitly required a permit, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. South Carolina and Texas laws mentioned permits without clear rules. That list is from 2014, and Pennsylvania has since added its own rules, so check your state's rules today rather than relying on it.

A decade later, reporting suggests little had changed in many places. After the 2024 death in Minnesota, the Star Tribune reported that the state doesn't inspect hayrides. The Department of Labor and Industry's ride inspections don't cover them, and the Agriculture Department doesn't regulate them. After the Tennessee death, a Sinclair report said Tennessee has no rules for seasonal Halloween attractions.

Pennsylvania is the big exception

Pennsylvania now treats hayride attractions as amusement rides. Here is what the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau says operators face:

Register the ride with the state Department of Agriculture before operating. Registration itself is free, though inspections cost money.
Have a qualified inspector inspect it before the first operating day and every 30th day after that.
Carry at least $300,000 in general liability insurance.
Report any accident that injures staff or guests within 24 hours.

The state used 2022 for outreach, and mandatory compliance was expected from the 2023 season. Pennsylvania also requires an operator's manual and a detailed inspection checklist with your submission. Even if you farm elsewhere, those are good habits.

The industry standard: ASTM F3168

ASTM F3168, the Standard Practice for Hayride Attractions, covers design, operation, maintenance and inspection of hayrides used for entertainment or agritourism. The latest version listed on ASTM's store is F3168-23 (Pennsylvania's page still cites the 2019 edition). It covers driver training, driving speeds, loading, inspections, emergency response and actor safety.

It excludes animal-powered wagons, small trains of 27 hp or less, and parade floats. So a horse-drawn wagon sits outside this standard, even though the risks are real.

Agritourism liability laws: helpful, not a shield

Over half of US states have statutes that address agritourism, according to the National Agricultural Law Center. A 2019 Center fact sheet counted 31 states with agritourism immunity laws, and 28 of them required warning signs, mostly with set wording and placement.

These laws protect against inherent risks only. Common exceptions include negligence, known dangerous conditions you didn't disclose, and failing to inspect equipment. Oregon's law, for example, doesn't protect an operator who provides equipment without reasonable inspection. A hayride with bad brakes is not an inherent risk of farming.

Start with our agritourism laws by state guide, then read where to post agritourism warning signs and whether liability waivers protect your farm.

Horses bring their own law

Forty-seven states had equine activity liability acts as of a 2015 American Farriers Journal review; California, Maryland and New York did not. But the same review warns that some of these laws have been read as not covering passengers hurt on horse carriage rides, and states differ. Don't assume your horse sign covers your wagon.

In the UK

HSE's AIS36 covers carrying passengers on farm trailers off the public highway. It warns that carrying passengers on a public road may be an offence, and tells farmers to consult the police. In June 2025, ahead of Open Farm Sunday, HSE reminded farmers that trailer rides carry their own risks and pointed them back to AIS36.

Questions to ask your insurer

Tell your insurer exactly which rides you plan to run, as Farm Credit East advises for every agritourism activity. Then ask these before you buy a wagon:

Does my policy cover passengers on a towed wagon, a barrel train or a horse-drawn vehicle? Which ones are excluded?
Are haunted or night rides covered, and are actors and volunteers covered?
Do I need a minimum liability limit? (Pennsylvania requires $300,000.)
Are rides on public roads, even short stretches, covered?
What inspections, logs or training records do you want to see?
Does it matter who drives, and how old they are?

If your insurer says no, see what to do when you can't find agritourism insurance and our overview of agritourism insurance coverage.

Make the Ride the Best 15 Minutes of Their Visit

Safe is the floor, not the ceiling. The farms people drive hours for turn a ride into a story.

People at an autumn pumpkin patch with a hayride, a typical farm ride setting — Illustrative photo, not a farm named in this article. Photo: Janylah Etienne on Unsplash.

Give the driver a script. Three short stories about your farm beat ten minutes of silence. Where the family came from. What grows in this field. Why that old tree is still standing.

Stop at something worth seeing. A field of pumpkins. A calf barn. An orchard in bloom. Linvilla's ride doesn't stop at a pumpkin patch, and it says so. Be just as clear about what yours includes.

Theme it by season. Harvest rides in fall. Light rides at Christmas. Sleigh rides when snow falls. Blossom rides in spring. Our guide to Christmas on the farm shows how winter rides fit a holiday business.

Sell to groups. School field trips love a wagon ride to the learning stops. See how to run farm field trips. But follow HSE's advice: farm staff ride with every school group.

Ask for the review at the end. A happy family stepping off a wagon is your best chance at a five-star review. Here's how reviews turn farms into destinations.

A Lesson From a Durian Farm in Malaysia

My own farm, Bloopy Durians in Bentong, Malaysia, sits at the end of a bad, bumpy, muddy road. It can only be reached by 4WD, and most visitors don't have one.

So the problem became the product. We offered a ride in on our own 4WD and charged US$9 per person. That covered the ride, farm entry and a farm tour. Durians were sold separately by weight.

Some people refused to pay the extra and stayed away. Surprisingly, others didn't mind at all. To them it was an extra adventure. The $9 worked as a filter. The people who did come wanted the adventure. They were happier and friendlier, and more five-star Google reviews came in.

And the surprise? Children became some of our best customers. To them the bumpy open-air ride was like a roller coaster. You can read the full story in how a 4WD adventure ride brought revenue to my durian farm.

Today the farm welcomes visitors from all over the world, and many companies send their staff and management. It has been featured in Bloomberg News and Asahi Shimbun.

Field-Tested Play: Don't apologise for your ride price. Bundle the ride with entry and a short tour, state it clearly on your website, and let the price attract the visitors who want what you offer. Whatever vehicle you use, ask your insurer and local authority whether carrying guests in it is allowed and covered.

Your 30-Day Hayride Launch Plan

Days 1 to 3: Walk the land. Map a flat, dry loop of 10 to 15 minutes. Mark every hazard.
Days 4 to 7: Call your insurer and your state. Use the six insurer questions above. Ask your state agriculture department whether hayrides or barrel trains must be registered.
Days 8 to 12: Price it. Choose your model: included, add-on, premium or event. Run the break-even test.
Days 13 to 18: Source equipment. Compare a purpose-built people wagon with renting one for the first season. Get your tow vehicle fully serviced.
Days 19 to 23: Write the system. Route map, daily route check, hitch checklist, rider rules, stop signal, emergency plan.
Days 24 to 27: Train and rehearse. Drivers practise loaded runs, by day and at dusk. Attendants practise the safety talk and the stop signal.
Days 28 to 30: Soft launch. Invite friends, neighbours or a local group. Time the loop. Fix what you learn. Then open timed online booking.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much do farms charge for a hayride?

Real examples range widely. Linvilla Orchards in Pennsylvania charges $9 online or $11 at the farm for a 15-minute hayride. Billings Farm in Vermont charges $5 for a public sleigh ride of about 10 minutes, and $450 for a private 30-minute sleigh ride. Many farms, like Pennywell Farm in Devon, include the ride in admission.

How much does a hayride wagon cost?

A new Stoltzfus 8.5x20 people wagon was listed at $8,300, or $10,450 with a center bench and a hoop-and-tarp cover. In 2021, Farm Show profiled a Pennsylvania-built 16-foot "People Hauler" at about $6,000. Barrel-train cars sell for about $899 each.

Do I need a license or inspection to run a hayride?

It depends on where you farm. Pennsylvania requires registration, inspections by a qualified inspector before the first day and every 30th day after, and at least $300,000 in liability insurance. Many other states have no hayride inspection rules. Ask your state agriculture department and your insurer before you open.

Does my state's agritourism law protect me if someone is hurt on a hayride?

Usually only against inherent risks, and only if you post the required signs. Most laws exclude negligence, known dangers you didn't disclose and poorly inspected equipment. Talk to a local attorney and your insurer, and don't treat the law as a replacement for safety.

What is the safest speed for a hayride?

Rutgers Cooperative Extension says drivers should go slowly at all times, generally at a walking pace. But speed isn't everything. In the 2024 Wisconsin crash, the sheriff said the tractor was moving at low speed when a wagon rolled going downhill. Avoid slopes and sharp turns too.

Can I pull more than one wagon behind one tractor?

Rutgers' hayride fact sheet says never use more than one wagon per tractor. In the 2024 Wisconsin crash, the wagon that rolled was one of two pulled by a single tractor.

Are horse-drawn wagon rides covered by equine liability laws?

Not always. Most states have equine activity liability acts, but a 2015 review noted some have been read as not applying to passengers hurt on horse carriage rides. Horse-drawn wagons are also outside the ASTM hayride standard. Ask your insurer exactly how horse-drawn rides are covered.

Ready to Plan Your First Paying Season?

A hayride works best as part of a full, well-planned season. The First-Season Profit Plan is a 39-page workbook for your first paying season. It helps you set a budget and a break-even number before you spend, prepare insurance and permit questions, and fill in a one-page emergency plan and a bad-weather policy card.

Get The First-Season Profit Plan

Not sure your farm is ready for visitors yet? Take the free quiz and find out where you stand.

Take the Farm Readiness Quiz

Want more ideas like this? My free ebook, 150 Ways to Unlock Hidden Wealth From Your Farm, puts 150 ideas in one place. Use it to spot the few that fit your land, your time and your budget.

Get the Free 150 Ways Ebook

P.S. Randy Bates's first hayride made about $300. He didn't quit, and three decades later the attraction that grew from it had, in his words, saved the family farm. Your first season may be small too. Make it safe, price it like an experience, and let it grow.

Stephen Loke of AgritourismSuccess.com, whose farm is featured in Bloomberg News and Asahi Shimbun. This article is general information, not legal, tax or insurance advice.