The best pumpkin patches for fall fun in America

Nothing quite spells "fall is here," like a pumpkin patch outing. With an apple cider in one hand, and an orange gourd in the other, it’s one of our favorite ways to welcome autumn. 

Below, nine amazing pumpkin patches all over the country.

Ashland Berry Farm in Beaverdam, Virginia 

Try the property’s doughnut shop as well as the All You Can Carry Pumpkin challenge: You’ll take a hayride out to the 30-acre pumpkin patch and grab hold of as many pumpkins as your arms can handle. Take three steps with them and they’re all yours for $25. 

If you’re into haunted experiences, be sure to check out Terror on the Farm.

Exploration Acres in Lafayette, Indiana

Here, on top of picking a pumpkin from a big and beautiful patch, you can take a pony ride, eat lunch by an open fire pit, take a spin on a pedal car, and fire a three-ear corn cannon salute. Then, the pièce de résistance: Northwest Indiana's largest corn maze, an 18-acre wonderland with 8.8 miles of paths and five mazes. 

Before leaving, embrace your inner kid, or wrangle up your actual ones and dive into a mound of hay. 

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Petaluma Pumpkin Patch and Amazing Corn Maze in Petaluma, California 

In postcard-worthy Sonoma County, you’ll want to fit in a trip to this farm experience (between wine tastings and fall foliage chasing, perhaps?). Here, over 50 varieties of sustainably grown pumpkins by 4th generation Petaluma Farmer Jim Groverman are on offer to pick straight from the vine for all of your cooking and carving (and painting) needs. 

To make your time at Petaluma even more enjoyable, there’s also a four-acre corn maze and straw mountain with 500+ straw bales to climb. Kids will go bonkers at the petting zoo, a corn kernel sandbox, pony rides, a carnival fun slide and more.

The Preserve Sporting Club & Residences Hobbit House Pumpkin Patch in Richmond, Rhode Island

If you’re looking to arrange a festive photo shoot, here’s a spot where visitors can reserve a half-hour time slot. Check out the Hobbit House and take as many photos as you'd like. Priced at $200 per group (up to four people), the excursion doesn’t come cheap, but the setting is outfitted with hundreds of carefully arranged pumpkins inside and out, making it an ideal backdrop for family photos. 

If you’d like to take a bit of the fall magic home with you, you can buy a pumpkin for $20 each.  

HEAD TO THESE ORCHARDS TO GO APPLE PICKING THIS FALL

Studt's Pumpkin Patch & Corn Maze in Grand Junction, Colorado

Once you’ve recovered from the concessions — we’re talking homemade pumpkin bread, caramel apples, cotton candy, cookies, popcorn, kettle corn, and apple cider — there’s a 12-acre pumpkin patch with 45+ pumpkin varieties to explore. 

After you’ve selected a pink, red, brown, yellow, white or orange pumpkin to take home, there are massive pumpkin trampolines, pedal cars in a straw bale track with carts for all ages, a zipline, corn mazes, pumpkin bowling, corn cannon target, a barrel train ride, a petting zoo, a horse-drawn carriage hayride, a story trail (read to youngsters while strolling along the path) and more.

HOW TO ROAD TRIP WITH KIDS, FROM PARENTS WHO LIVE IN A BUS YEAR-ROUND 

Pond Hill Farm in Harbor Springs, Michigan

Perched along the scenic Tunnel of Trees route by Lake Michigan, fall welcomes "Pumpkin Weekends on the Farm," complete with giant pumpkins, pumpkin bowling down the vineyard’s hill, apple baseball, pumpkin smashing and a gnome house scavenger hunt through the woods (the mile-long hike leads you to gnome houses and unlocking the secret code gets you a prize). 

For grown-up fun, throw back a homemade pizza with farm-grown ingredients on Fridays along with a hard cider, beer or wine from the property’s winery or brewery. The grounds also have animals and fish to feed, hiking trails, and a market with canned goods.

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Beck’s Harvest House in Spokane, Washington

Venture to Beck’s Harvest House, a must-see attraction in the Green Bluff collective of family-owned farms — and you’ll find yourself at a marvelous fall retreat. Expect a giant corn maze, pumpkin doughnuts, and a chance to pick the perfect pumpkin. 

Through Halloween, there’s also live music that we hear pairs really well with their fresh apple cider and sweater weather.

Cheekwood Harvest in Nashville, Tennessee

You won’t want to miss this annual six-week harvest festival that runs through Halloween, providing fall fun with the "Pumpkin Village" pumpkin patch with two life-sized pumpkin houses, children’s art activities, live music, food trucks, and more. 

There's also a beer garden and art and garden workshops for adults. In the Turner Seasons Garden, swing by to see this year's visual artist-themed scarecrows for a feast for your eyes. Frida Kahlo and Jackson Pollock fans definitely won’t want to miss journeying to Cheekwood.

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Fifer Orchards Pumpkin Patch in Camden-Wyoming, Delaware

It’s a U-Pick oasis at Fifer Orchards, where in addition to moseying around the pumpkin patch, you can take on the six-acre corn maze — this year’s theme is Scooby-Doo — or head to the park or hop on a tractor train ride with little ones. 

When all is said and picked, sip on some apple cider slushies and spoon up the homemade ice cream, before buying a pack of apple cider donuts for the road. 

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