Fosterfields Is Past Its Season, but Thanksgiving Week in Morris Township Still Opens the Farm Gate

If the grandkids land on Friday and want to see the animals at Fosterfields, can you just drive over to Kahdena Road? Not this week. Fosterfields Living Historical Farm's general season runs April 1 through October 31, with "select programming available in the off-season." In late November, a family can get onto the farm only during a scheduled program. Thanksgiving week 2026 has two of them.

That makes the farm the hardest part of a holiday week to schedule. The other two Morris County Park Commission sites in the township run on looser schedules. The Frelinghuysen Arboretum is open every day. Mennen Sports Arena skips Thanksgiving Day and then adds a session the next morning. If you have guests from Friday, November 20 through Sunday, November 29, book the farm first, because it has the fewest open days, then fill the rest of the week around it.

The week at a glance

Fosterfields has only two dates in that table. Every other day of the week works around them.

Two ways onto the farm, both by registration

The first is for the youngest guests. Little Farm Friends: Turkey Time runs Friday, November 20, from 10:30 to 11:30 am at Fosterfields, 73 Kahdena Road. It's built for ages 2.5 to 5 with an adult. Children meet the farm's turkeys, learn what they do on the farm, feed them and make a turkey craft to take home. Tickets are $10 per child, and the page links to registration. The Park Commission's registration portal listed the program as available.

The second works for everyone. The Hot Cider Walk is Sunday, November 22, with sessions from 11 am to noon and from 1 to 2 pm. Tickets are $5 per person, and it's open to all ages. Fosterfields staff lead a walking tour around the farm, with a cup of apple cider to warm up. The listing says the walk shows "how the farm changes when the weather gets cold."

The Sunday walk costs the same as a regular in-season visit. Fosterfields general admission is $5 per person, with children 3 and under free, "excluding special events." In season, that $5 gets you a self-guided visit starting at the Visitor Center and its "Driving into the 20th Century" exhibition, then a five-minute walk to the farm. In late November, the same $5 gets a staff-led tour of the farm in its cold-weather routine. The difference is that you have to register for one of two time slots on one Sunday.

If your guests arrive after the 22nd, the next farm program on the Park Commission's registration portal is PM Pasture Pals: The Hat Storytime on December 4. It runs 1:30 to 2:30 pm for ages 2.5 to 5 and costs $10.

The Arboretum is open every day, including Thanksgiving

Across the township at 353 East Hanover Avenue, the Frelinghuysen Arboretum lists its hours as daily, 8 am to sunset, and describes itself as "open to the public year-round." It covers 124 acres, with nearly 2,000 specimen trees and plantings, formal gardens, woodlands, meadows, walking trails, a historic mansion and the Great Lawn. It's the one site on this list that works on Thanksgiving morning, and on any morning when plans change. With the farm booked on Friday and Sunday, the Arboretum can fill the open hours in between. The Arboretum's phone number is (973) 326-7601 if you want to check for a weather closure before you go.

The Arboretum's one paid program this week is aimed at whoever is hosting dinner. Classic and Traditional: Williamsburg Arrangement for the Thanksgiving Table runs Tuesday, November 24, from 10 to 11:30 am. It costs $55 per person and is for adults. Participants make a fall holiday centerpiece in the Williamsburg style from fruits, nuts and other fresh seasonal materials. All supplies are provided, but bring a box to carry your arrangement home. The registration listing places the class at the Haggerty Education Center and showed it as available.

Tuesday is a good day for it. It's two days before the meal, so the centerpiece has time to go on the table, and on Tuesdays Mennen runs a 10:30 am to noon skate. One adult can take the class while another takes the kids skating at Mennen.

Mennen closes Thursday and adds a session Friday morning

Mennen Sports Arena's fall public skating schedule runs September 8 through December 24 and follows a fixed weekly pattern. Monday, Wednesday and Friday sessions are 4:00 to 5:30 pm. Tuesday and Thursday sessions are 10:30 am to noon. Saturday and Sunday sessions are 11:30 am to 1:00 pm. Thanksgiving week changes that pattern twice. Thursday, November 26 has no public session. Friday, November 27 adds a 10:30 am to noon session, labeled on the schedule as an "Added Session." The regular Friday session from 4:00 to 5:30 pm stays on the arena's calendar, so there are two chances to skate the day after Thanksgiving. The arena's closure listing confirms Mennen is closed on Thursday, November 26.

The arena's public skating page lists admission at $9 on weekdays and $11 on weekends and holidays, with rental skates at $6. Rental skates come in figure and hockey styles, starting at toddler size 6, and the arena sells discounted public skate passes. The event listing for the Friday, November 27 session shows $9 admission and $6 skate rental. Saturday, November 28 and Sunday, November 29 each have one session, from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm, at the weekend rate.

Mennen fills the gap the farm leaves in the second half of the week. The farm has no more programs for the rest of Thanksgiving week after Sunday the 22nd. Mennen has a session every remaining day except Thanksgiving: late morning on Tuesday, late afternoon on Monday and Wednesday, two sessions on Friday, and midday on the weekend.

Putting the week together

With the farm's two dates set first, the rest of a houseguest week can be arranged around them:

1. Friday, Nov 20. Turkey Time at Fosterfields at 10:30 am for preschoolers, then the 4:00 pm skate at Mennen.
2. Sunday, Nov 22. Hot Cider Walk at 11 am or 1 pm. The 11:30 am Mennen session overlaps the morning walk, so skaters should pick the 1 pm walk and skate first.
3. Tuesday, Nov 24. Williamsburg centerpiece class at the Haggerty Education Center at 10 am, while others take the 10:30 am skate.
4. Thursday, Nov 26. Arboretum grounds from 8 am, before the oven needs attention. No skating.
5. Friday, Nov 27. The added 10:30 am Mennen session, or the regular 4:00 pm one if the morning runs long.
6. Saturday and Sunday, Nov 28–29. Mennen at 11:30 am, with the Arboretum open until sunset for a walk afterward.

After Sunday the 22nd, the farm has no more programs during Thanksgiving week, so register for the Hot Cider Walk early if your guests are in town that weekend.

Hosting relatives often turns into talk about where everyone might live someday. Ryan Dawson keeps track of Morris Township's calendar along with its market. If a family visit this month starts a conversation about a home closer to Fosterfields and the Arboretum, schedule a free consultation and Ryan will walk you through what's available around East Hanover Avenue.