Here, Lindsay swings on a pony tire swing at Daniel's Farm in St. Peters.

This fall and last fall we have gone to two different pumpkin farms -- Thies Farm in Maryland Heights and Daniel's Farm in St. Peters. Which is better? That's a matter for debate.

First, I'll talk about Thies. I've gone to this farm at least once every year since Skyler was little. It's gotten bigger and better each year. This year it boasts two large slides that both children and adults can slide down. The stairs for the slides, especially for the taller one, are pretty narrow. Lindsay and I had to wait several minutes on the stairs of the larger slide. With people above us, and people below, and reckless kids wanting to go around us up and down, I was worried we would fall.

There are ziplines that look like so much fun, but are for kids only. It offers a pirate ship for kids to play in. There are two haybale mazes, both of which are pitch black, yet only one bale high, so extremely hard for adults to crawl and squeeze through. If your little one wants to go through, better bring a flashlight for him/her. (And be prepared to squeeze in and fetch 'em if they get stuck).

One of the haybale mazes goes up to a haybale tower. I've never been up there, but last year Don and Skyler went and both said it was hard to navigate. There are a few tire swings of different types.

Lindsay loved the obstacle course the most this year. It starts with a tightrope walk, then children weave their way through haybales to a couple of slides. There's also a pole for kids to slide down. Lindsay went through the obstacle course three times on our visit. She was pretty timid the first time, but I helped her through. The second time she was much more confident, and by the third time -- look out, here she comes! So it's a great confidence booster, which is a wonderful thing in any outing. We went to this farm on a warm (upper 80s) Saturday and waited about 20 minutes to go on the tractor ride. The tractor ride is included in admission and takes you through the fields. It's fun to see food growing but I would have liked to hear the narration. From our spot in the last wagon, all we could hear was "Garble, garble, garble, brocolli, garble, garble...etc.).

Lindsay and I enjoyed seeing the baby farm animals. There is a straw maze, and navigating it can be tricky. This year we didn't enter.

All in all, Thies Farm is a fun way to spend a fall day. However, I think the admission price is too high for adults. It's $5.50 for children 14 and under, $3.50 for adults. Other than watching your children play, there's not much for adults to do, so not a great value in my book.

Now to Daniel's Farm on Jungerman Road in St. Peters.

This farm has a nice mix of stuff to do for everyone. And it's even good if it's rainy and cold, as some of the activities are covered.

We went there last week with my mom and had a great time. There are adult-sized hay bale mazes to walk through with your child. A nice petting zoo with baby and smaller animals. Outside there are lots of tire swings, and plenty of tire spinners (don't know their official name). There's a little trailer that has a cute display of Halloween miniature train sets. We had fun looking at that. There is a fort, and several tube slides. All of us (mom, Lindsay and I) went down the tube slides. Access to the slides is easy. Nice broad stairs (with no line) on the fort tube slide, and a gentle hill up to the other slides. We all squeezed ourselves onto the barrel tractor ride -- and had a blast. The driver took us to a vacant area then did fast circles. It was like a tame roller coaster. I preferred it over the slow ride through the fields at Thies.

In a large greenhouse, they had several large boxes filled with dry corn for kids to play in. Lindsay spent a lot of time trying to build a castle out of the corn. There also was an area with pedal tractors. Lindsay enjoyed riding one of those. So I really like this farm a lot.

And it's a great value. Children are $5, adults $2, and I had a coupon for free adult with paid kid. The coupon can be printed from their website. The tractor ride was $2 for Lindsay, free for adults (I guess they think most adults won't go on it -- mom and I dispelled that notion!).

Both farms have their own offerings of fall fun, and I think at least one trip to each every fall is the way to go. But if we go to one again this year, it's going to be to Daniel's.