articles

The 10 Best Pumpkin Patches

By Lisa Barry-Gofberg September 9, 2014
School has just started yet my kids are already discussing what they want to be for Halloween. And while I love summer, there is something so awesome about fall. It's a time to build traditions, enjoy the fall weather before the cold winter nights arrive, dig out your favorite baking recipes and of course, pick out and carve pumpkins once Halloween rolls around.

This year, we searched high and low and found the 10 best pumpkin patches across the country so you can have plenty of time to plan a visit and enjoy their festive fall activities. It's about more than pumpkins these days!

Butler’s Orchard located in Germantown, Maryland, has been in business for 60 years so you know they have this whole pumpkin thing down. As part of their Pumpkin Harvest Days, kids can head home with a pumpkin all their own and learn about the life-cycle of a pumpkin and how food is grown on the farm. An educational experience AND a pumpkin? Yes, please!

Lakes Regional Park, Fort Myers, Florida, is hosted by Wheel Fun Rental so at this patch you can ride around in a “creepy carriage,” also known as one of Wheel Fun’s surreys. They decorate them up and you can cruise around the park as a family. Plus, with traditional fall games, bounce houses, train rides and more, you’ll make some fall memories in the Sunshine State.
 
Mapleside Farms in Brunswick, Ohio, (known as America’s Most Beautiful Farm) transforms every fall into Pumpkin Village where kids and grown-ups can pick a pumpkin from a huge patch and get lost in the 7-acre corn maze. But the fun doesn’t stop there. Don’t leave without heading down all 311 feet of “America’s Longest Slide.” 

Underwood Family Farms in Moorpark, California, has been celebrating fall for almost two decades with their annual Harvest Festival. With a new theme every weekend, thousands of families visit each year for live music, a tractor parade, and its own version of touch-a-truck. This, plus all the traditional fall fun events and acres of pumpkins makes Underwood a perfect pumpkin patch to put on your list! (Celebrity sightings are common here too!)

Amazing Acres Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch, located in Edwardsburg, Michigan, sort of says it all in its name! Of course, there are pumpkins but there’s quite a maze too! You can explore over 18,000 feet of corn maze during the day or get really adventurous and navigate at night via flashlight!

Bolton Spring Farms in Bolton, Massachusetts, offers over 30 varieties of pumpkins so you and your kids are bound to find the perfect pumpkin here. Bolton Spring Farms is also known for its apple picking so be sure to set aside some extra time to enjoy both during your visit. Plus, don’t forget to stop by the on-site bakery known for its fresh hot apple dumplings! Yum!!

At Uesugi Farms Pumpkin Park in San Martin, California, come and watch some of the biggest pumpkins on the West Coast compete in the annual Giant Pumpkin Weigh Off – world records have been broken here! Don’t leave until you blast a pumpkin at 90 miles an hour and take a ride on their Enchanted Hayride!

At The Pumpkin Patch at Sauvie Island near Portland, Oregon, you will wander through over one million pounds of pumpkins. Visit with the animals in the Big Red Animal Barn and climb the giant hay pyramid. Plus, their corn maze turns into the Haunted Maize on certain nights – great fun for older kids!

Freeman Farms in Chino Valley, Arizona, mixes tradition and new technology at their farm. Here you will find pink pumpkins that Freeman Farms has grown in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month and a portion of proceeds are donated toward research. And don’t worry, they still love the classic fall fun as well – kids’ train, horse shows, petting zoo and lots of pumpkins.
 
Bengtson’s Pumpkin Farm in St. Homer Glen, Illinois, is packed with pumpkins and packed with fun! You’ll find two GIANT corn boxes (think sand boxes made of corn – you can make your own corn angel!), pig races, rides, and more. Take the kids to Bengtsonville Kids Village where the kids can roam around and play in this mini-town play area, complete with its own fire station, school house and kids “jail.”