By: Charles Romans
Carter County Times
Aquatic Adventures is bringing the screams to Olive Hill the entire month of October. During the summer there are balloons on the water and other things to enjoy, but come October the farm is all about Halloween. They have a pumpkin patch to enjoy during the day on Saturday and Sunday throughout the month but Friday and Saturday nights usher in the creepy.
“We have partnered with Midnight Malice, and we do the haunted trail,” owner Jamie Piper said.
The farm is run by her and her husband Chuck Piper, who is an Olive Hill native.
“It’s a 45-minute trail, so we try to keep things moving as much as possible.”
Aquatic Adventures is located 1.5 miles from the entrance to Carter Caves and is the first farm on Wolf Road. The Pipers have been officially running the farm for about three years, Piper said.
“It’s starting to really kick in,” she said. “People are learning that we are there and what we do.”
Part of what they do at Aquatic Adventures is welcome school groups to the pumpkin patch during the week.
“The schools will come and bring their classes,” Piper said. “And churches will come for their events. So, we are open to groups during the weekdays. And weekends are open to the general public.”
Pumkin Patch admission is five dollars per person, Piper said. The swimming and the trail admission are both ten dollars per person.
Swimming at Aquatic Adventures is in a pond, Piper said, and everyone wears a life jacket while swimming.
“We have a trampoline and a ten-foot slide on the water,” she said, explaining that they can be a workout.
“It takes a lot of upper body strength and a lot of energy,” she said of the water activities. “But it is a lot of fun.”
Piper said one of the reasons they decided to provide so many different options was because they felt the Olive Hill area needed more outdoor activities.
“And we are trying also to accommodate some of the people from Carter Caves,” she said. “We offer things that they don’t offer, so we try to go hand in hand with Carter Caves to increase the number of activities available.”
The hope is that the activities are cumulative – making the area more attractive for folks considering a visit to the park.
“We aren’t competing for any of their business,” she said. “We are just trying to add to it.”
In addition to the activities, the farm has pumpkins, fodder shocks, and mums available for sale.
Getting back to the spookier offerings during the month of October, Pipe said that Midnight Malice is the brainchild of Jeff and Mike Tucker from the Ashland area. The volunteers working the Haunted Trail, 31 in total, are from all over the area, she said. And if anyone is interested in volunteering, she said to just reach out on their Facebook page because they are always in need of volunteers.
“And we have gotten the local schools involved, too,” Piper said. “A lot of them need community hours, and volunteering counts toward that both at the pumpkin patch and the haunted trail.”
“With the Haunted Trail you start in the barn,” Piper explained. “You will go through three rooms in the barn and then you actually go on a trail in the woods.”
Piper said one “stop” along the trail is through one of the primitive cabins they rent on the property, then down and around along the trail where scary things “menace” the patrons.
“It is a physical trail,” she said. “So, you want to make sure you wear good shoes made for walking trails.”
The Haunted Trail opens at dusk (around 8pm), she said, and the last ticket is sold at 11 pm.
Because even “monsters” want to go home before 2 or 3 am, she said.
For more information or to volunteer, Piper encourages everyone to visit her Facebook page or the Facebook page of Midnight Malice. They also do a Facebook Live meeting every week for Midnight Malice that everyone can jump in on for free. People can also feel free to call 606-255-6326.
Piper said that people wanting to come to the Haunted Trail don’t need to buy advance tickets, and in fact it is better to buy them when they show up at the farm.
“As long as you are there between 8 and 11 pm we will get you through,” Piper said.
Contact the writer at charles@cartercountytimes.com
