The 10 Best Pumpkin Patches In America Slideshow
We picked the farms with the largest selections of pumpkins so you're sure to come home with a variety of squashes and gourds for decorating and carving. We also took into consideration activities and festivals hosted on site. Walters' Pumpkin Patch in Kansas has a human gerbil wheel for kids to roll in and our number one on the list, Siegel's Cottonwood Farm in Illinois, has a baby chick nursery. Pinch us. Lastly, because food truly is our number-one priority, we made sure all of these farms had plenty of good eats to munch on, because pumpkin-picking works up a serious appetite! Sample apple cider donuts at Craven Farms in Washington and pick up a pumpkin pie from New York's Wright Farm, just for starters.
#10 Linvilla Orchards, Media, Penn.
While you may not be able to pick your own pumpkins, Pumpkinland is what puts this farm on our list. Scarecrows and witches are freckled throughout the 100-ton display of pumpkins and illustrate the history of the harvest. The typical hayride, pony rides, and corn mazes are also offered. Be sure to check the website before you go. You may want to plan your visit around the costume parade or go when the famed Witches' House is open.
#9 Roloff Farms, Helvetia, Ore.
You may know them from the TLC show, Little People, Big World, but the Roloffs have created a perfectly curated farm for the public. With plenty of fall activities for children and an extensive pumpkin patch complete with blue, pink, and even speckled pumpkins we just had to include this Oregon farm on our list.
#8 Walters’ Pumpkin Patch, Burns, Kan.
Children may zoom right past the beautiful pumpkin patch at Walters' and rush straight to the exciting fall activities — among them a pumpkin cannon, a human gerbil wheel, the Farm Scene Investigation, and Graveyard Golf. The bravest of your group will want to head to the Haunted Cannery corn maze, open on weekends until 11:30 p.m.
#7 Wright Family Farm, Warwick, N.Y.
Just an hour north of New York City, this working farm offers nine acres of pumpkins to choose from. The farm stand has a cornucopia of homemade goodies to sample on your journey through the premises. Keep your eyes peeled for the apple dumplings, pumpkin pie, and pumpkin fudge.
#6 Craven Farm, Snohomish, Wash.
Craven Farm suggests blocking off an entire day to explore everything it has to offer. The 20-acre pumpkin patch is home to 30 varieties of pumpkins, so you're sure to find the perfect size, shape, and color for carving or just decoration. Children are welcome to make their own scarecrow, find their way through the 15-acre corn maze, and make friends with farm animals. Don't leave without sampling a homemade apple cider donut.
#5 The Great Pumpkin Farm, Clarence, N.Y.
The Great Pumpkin Farm has plenty of pick-your-own pumpkins to choose from, but it is the fun festival activities that set this fall farm aside from the rest. From regular costume competitions, pig racing, pie-eating contests, and even a zombie mud run, this farm has something fun for every member of the family. The farm's most extensive event is Oktoberfest, September 18 to 20, complete with food, entertainment, and a raffle offering $15,000 worth of cash and prizes.
#4 Jumbo’s Pumpkin Patch, Middleton, Md.
This 131-acre farm was founded in 1970 by the Huffner family and opened to the public in 1994. On weekends, Jumbo's welcomes visitors to its 30-acre pumpkin patch. While at the farm, be sure to stop by the craft attic and market to scour through 3,000 square feet of trinkets, baked goods, and fall decorations.
#3 Baughers Orchards and Ranch, Westminister, Md.
Baughers Orchards and Ranch caters to the entire family. Every weekend in October is the Fall Harvest Festival. Groups can spend the entire day picking pumpkins from their expansive patch, petting farm animals, and tasting from the fruit market and bakery. Baughers even has its own beehive to pollinate the fruits and vegetables on the farm. Don't leave without tasting some of the honey.
# 2 Shady Brook Farms, Yardley, Penn.
You come to Shady Brook Farms for the Pumpkinfest during the day, but stay after dark, for a haunted tour of the farm. Pumpkin-picking abounds along with hayrides, pony rides, inflatables, and a corn maze in daylight. But at night the corn maze comes alive with ghouls and ghosts, and the barn and hayride get "haunted."
# 1 Siegel’s Cottonwood Farm, Crest Hill, Ill.
Patrons can pick from thousands of pumpkins at Siegels's Cottonwood Farm. And while this farm has plenty of the usual farm activities like hayrides and zoo animals; it is the unique kid-friendly activities that shoots this farm to the top of our list. Youngsters can be entertained with the cock-a-doodle-coo puppet choir or take a ride on the train. And the older kids (and adults too!) can try their hand at zombie paintball. Also, there is a baby chick nursery on site. Need we say more?