Some of the best Cam and Dad Adventures don’t need a tank of gas or a map. This one was just a few miles from our house, at Butterfield Farm Market on Oxford Trenton Road, right on the edge of Oxford. I’ve driven past that green-and-cream building more times than I can count, but Cam had never been inside. So on a gray, drizzly fall afternoon, we finally pulled in, and we left with an apple slushy, a new Bigfoot buddy, and two pies we’d only heard rumors about.
The Sunflowers Won This Round
Our timing was a little off. The Butterfields had just harvested the corn for their corn maze, so the maze was done for the year, and we’d hoped to make up for it with a walk through the sunflower field. Then the rain beat us there. The main path between the rows had turned into a long, shallow pond, with the sunflowers reflected in the water and the Oxford Kennel sign peeking over the fence across the road. It was pretty to look at, but not something you walk through in sneakers.
Cam didn’t mind. He found a dry spot at the edge of the field, planted himself in front of a wall of sunflowers taller than he is, and gave me one of his best smiles of the year. Some photo ops you plan, and some just happen.
Halloween Takes Over the Barn
Inside, the market was in full Halloween mode. Happy Halloween and “BOO!” banners hung from the rafters, a Grim Reaper loomed over a red Butterfield Farm Market wagon loaded with a giant orange pumpkin, and skeletons were hanging out just about everywhere. My favorites were two huge oxen built entirely out of corn husks, with ears of dried corn for horns and hand-lettered name tags: Pop and Hooter. One of them even had a skeleton riding on its back like he’d been out on the trail since the 1800s. Stacks of pumpkins in every shape and color filled the hay bales below, and a pumpkin-headed inflatable stood guard by the door.
Cam took it all in and posed with the skeletons like they were old friends. That’s his way: brewers, park rangers or plastic skeletons, he makes friends with everybody.
An Apple Slushy and a Seat Next to Bigfoot
Cam’s order was easy: an apple slushy. Butterfield’s apple cider slushie is the thing locals talk about every fall, and Cam carried that foam cup around the whole visit like a trophy.
Out front, under the big Butterfield Farm Market letters, there’s a carved bench where the local Sasquatch sits holding a sunflower. Cam sat right down beside him, threw an arm around Bigfoot’s shoulder and kept working on his slushy. They looked like two regulars waiting on a ride. I’m not saying Oxford has a Bigfoot problem, but if it does, he seems pretty friendly.
The Hyde’s Pie Rumor
Then I spotted the sign: Hyde’s Pies. I’d never had one, but I’d been hearing about them for years. Folks around Butler County talk about Hyde’s Restaurant in Hamilton the way beer people talk about a brewery that only sells at the taproom. You hear the stories before you ever get a taste.
We took two pies home: a berry pie with a golden, sugar-crusted crumb top and a second one piled high with a caramel-glazed crumble. By the time I set them on the cutting board for a photo, one of them already had a pretty big bite missing. I’ll let you guess who was responsible. Judging by how fast it happened, the rumors held up.
A Little History: Butterfield Farm Market
Butterfield’s has deep roots on Oxford Trenton Road. Bryan Butterfield’s father started a small farm stand on the same spot back in 1975, less than a mile from Miami University’s campus. Butler County’s tourism office says the market has been selling local goods and crafts like baskets, candles, signs, artwork and wreaths since 1980, and the Oxford Observer reports that the current market, run by Kathy and Bryan Butterfield and their son Branden, opened its doors in 2004.
Today it’s a true family farm market. Besides their own produce, the Butterfields stock local and Amish goods like cheeses, butters, noodles, bacon and sausage, and they supply fresh vegetables to several Oxford restaurants. Over the years they’ve grown into agritourism, adding hayrides where you can hand-feed corn to their cattle, a pumpkin patch, a bigger corn maze, a playground and the photo-friendly sunflower field Cam and I tried to visit. The 2026 corn maze was designed as a tribute to America’s 250th birthday. The market is open seasonally from mid-April through December, and in the fall that apple cider slushie is the number one seller.
Address: 4000 Oxford Trenton Road, Oxford, OH 45056
Website: https://www.facebook.com/people/Butterfields-Farm-Market/100075926226836/
A Little History: Hyde’s Restaurant, Hamilton
Hyde’s story starts with two brothers from a poor coal-mining town in Eastern Kentucky. After World War II, Lloyd “Hub” Hyde and his brother Jim moved to Hamilton looking for work. In August 1946 they pooled their savings and bought an ice cream shop at 130 S. Erie Highway (Ohio 4), and it soon became Hyde’s Restaurant.
The menu grew from hamburgers and ice cream to fried chicken, roast beef, mashed potatoes and fish dinners, and then came the homemade pies. Hub worked at the restaurant until he no longer could, and he passed away in March 2006. His son Mick ran Hyde’s for decades, and in 2005 Mick’s daughters, Amy Hyde-Klaiber and Ashley Hyde-Tuley, started helping out. Today the sisters are the third generation to own the diner, and 2026 marks Hyde’s 80th year.
The pies are still the star. They’re baked twice a day, and there’s a daily cream pie lineup: chocolate on Monday, coconut on Tuesday, butterscotch on Wednesday, custard and peanut butter creme on Thursday, lemon on Friday, and coconut again on weekends. Fruit pies like apple, cherry, peach and strawberry rhubarb are on the menu too. Every year before Thanksgiving, Hyde’s holds its “Pie-palooza,” selling 600 to 800 pre-ordered pies through a drive-through pickup in the back parking lot. Best Things Ohio has named Hyde’s one of the 10 best mom-and-pop restaurants in the state.
As someone who started a small family brewery back in 1989, I have a soft spot for places like this. Keeping a family business going for one generation is hard, and keeping it going for three takes real love.
Address: 130 S. Erie Highway, Hamilton, OH 45011
Website: https://hydesrestaurant.com
What’s Next for Cam and Dad
Now that we’ve had a taste, Cam and I have a new mission: driving to Hamilton, sliding into a booth at Hyde’s and eating pie where it’s made, maybe with a scoop of their ice cream on the side. Cam’s a vanilla guy, so that part’s already settled. And next summer we’re getting back to Butterfield’s when the sunflowers are dry, the corn maze is standing, and Bigfoot is still saving Cam a seat on the bench.
If you’re looking for an easy fall day trip in Butler County, pair the two: get a slushy at Butterfield’s, then follow the pie trail to Hamilton. Just don’t wait until the day before Thanksgiving to order your pie.
