On Clarksville Pike, just outside of Ellicott City, lies Clark’s Elioak Farm.
Clark’s Elioak Farm, as it is known today, began in the early 2000s, shortly after the closing of the Enchanted Forest theme park 1995. The original Enchanted Forest sat on a total of 52 acres and attracted up to 300,000 visitors during its peak summer seasons. The Enchanted Forest featured a plethora of attractions and rides, including a safari-themed ride and a tugboat named Little Toot. Guests could visit the homes of nursery rhyme characters, such as Hansel and Gretel’s gingerbread house and Cinderella’s castle.
The park operated for over forty years before it was sold to JHP Development in 1988, which transformed the land into the Enchanted Forest Shopping Center in Ellicott City.
Many of the statues and structures on the property were forgotten and left to decay. The Friends of the Enchanted Forest organization raised money to try and reopen the park, but these efforts proved unsuccessful.
Martha Clark, current owner of Clark’s Elioak Farm, began acquiring the statues and structures of the Enchanted Forest in 2004, starting with the orange Cinderella pumpkin. Over the next 10 years, the 100 remaining pieces from the theme park were moved to Clark’s Elioak Farm and restored. They are well looked after and remain there to this day.
Today, many of the statues from the former theme park reside in the Enchanted Forest Pine Maze, or around the grounds of the farm. Scenes featuring statues from the original park have been recreated at Clark’s Elioak Farm, and figures once used for transportation, such as the six blind mice that pulled Cinderella’s Pumpkin, have been repurposed as slides and statues.
However, the Enchanted Forest attractions are not the only thing Clark’s Elioak Farm has to offer potential visitors.
Another main attraction of the farm is its petting zoo. The zoo features an array of friendly farm animals such as goats, cows, horses and pigs, as well as poultry birds, rabbits and an emu. Guests are able to feed the goats by purchasing feed bags at the entrance or from dispensing machines set up along the goat’s enclosure.
Guests can enjoy many other activities at Clark’s Elioak Farm, including hay rides, gem mining, pony rides and more. The farm also hosts events, such as storybook readings, pumpkin picking in the fall, birthday parties, educational field trips and tours, and the upcoming 70th anniversary celebration of the Enchanted Forest.
“My dad used to take [me and my sister] there when we were little,” junior Charlotte Burns said. “The old fairy tales and the animals make it really fun.”
Clark’s Elioak Farm is open from April 1 to November 5, and is open every day except Monday. Tickets can be bought in-person for $8.
