Stuckey’s Goes in Search of the Sincerest Pumpkin Patch in America

“Each year, the Great Pumpkin rises out of the pumpkin patch that he thinks is the most sincere.”

– Linus Van Pelt

It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown (1966)

It’s that time of year again when families look forward to going on fall road trips to watch the season’s foliage explode with color. Others might go apple picking and drink warm cider as the weather starts to grow a little crisper.

However, nothing really says “Welcome Autumn” quite like a trip to a local pumpkin patch to pick out just the right one that’ll make the perfect jack-o’-lantern. Here are just a few from around the country that just might be the perfect spot to wait for the Great Pumpkin.

Pumpkin Hollow / Piggott, AR

There’s so much Halloween fun for the whole family packed into Pumpkin Hollow, you might want to make it a weekend getaway because one day won’t seem like enough. During the day, you’ll find pony rides, pig races, a corn maze, and of course, piles and piles of pumpkins – but beware! As the sun goes down, like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Pumpkin Hollow becomes Horror in the Hollow, a terrifying evening of zombies and monsters and ghosts! (Oh my!)

Fifer Orchards Pumpkin Patch / Camden-Wyoming, DE

Every autumn, Delaware’s Fifer Orchard’s adds pumpkins to its list of “U-Pick” crops that also includes strawberries, blueberries, peaches, apples and even sunflowers. For over 15 years, autumn at Fifer’s also means it’s time for the annual corn maze which features a new theme each year. Past themes have included superheroes, the Wizard of Oz, Delaware and even a visit from the Great Pumpkin in 2016. This year there’s a super fun Scooby Doo “Mystery Maze”. The maze is full of clues to help you figure out which monster took Boots, Scooby’s canine cousin. While you’re there picking out the perfect pumpkin or solving mysteries with Shaggy and Scoob, be sure to treat yourself and the young’uns to their famous apple cider donuts. 

Exploration Acres / Lafayette, IN

Not only is Exploration Acres home to northwest Indiana’s largest pumpkin patch, it’s also home to the area’s largest corn maze too! Pumpkin picking, pony rides, pedal cars and the pièce de résistance – 18 acres of mazes with nearly nine miles of maze pathways! Get your family together for a game of corn hole or just sit around and make some s’mores by their open fire pit. If all of that doesn’t sound like some wholesome Halloween family fun, well, then you can go jump in a pile of hay. Literally. In Exploration Island’s play area, there’s a mound of hay in Exploration Acres’ play area where kids and kids at heart can jump in, throw some straw in the air or bury their friends.

Ashland Berry Farm / Beaverdam, VA

Ashland Berry Farm may be a working farm, but even they know that all work and no play makes for a dull time. In Central Virginia, pumpkin picking doesn’t get much more fun than it does at Ashland Berry Farm. Kids and adults alike love taking an autumn hayride out to Ashland Berry Farm’s 30-acre pumpkin patch and take the “All You Can Carry Pumpkin Challenge” –  grab as many pumpkins as you can carry in your arms, take three steps without dropping any and they’re all yours for $25.  Besides pumpkin hunting, be sure to take your kids to Fort Pumpkin for some real a-maze-ing fun or the not-too-scary 3-D Boo House.  If you like a little bit more fright in your night, however, check out Terror on the Farm – if you dare!

Pond Hill Farm / Harbor Springs, MI

Pond Hill Farm’s “Pumpkin Weekends on the Far” is so much more than a place to pick out a great pumpkin. From pumpkin bowling to smashing pumpkins (the activity, not the popular 90s alt-rock group), there are so many things you can do with pumpkins than you can shake a stick at. And speaking of shaking a stick, just in time for the World Series, there’s also Apple Baseball where you can smack an apple as hard and far as you can just like the big leaguers do. Don’t miss out on the food while you’re there including apple cider donuts and pizza made from ingredients frown right there on the farm. There’s also a brewery and winery on the farm, so if you are, indeed, a grown-up, you can wash it all down with an adult beverage of beer or wine. By the way, Pond Hill Farms sits just off of Lake Michigan’s Tunnel of Trees Scenic Route, which also makes getting there half the fun.

Cool Patch Pumpkins / Dixon, CA

With the acres and acres of “You Pick” edible and non-edible gourds available, Cool Patch Pumpkins sure makes it easy to choose just the right pumpkin for your Halloween jack-o’-lantern or Thanksgiving pies. However, what people really come to Cool Patch Pumpkins to see is the corn maze. At 60 acres, it’s the world’s largest corn maze. It’s so big in fact, that people have called 911 asking for help in getting out with one saying she and her family were looking for an exit for nearly four hours. Maybe you better grab some of their tri-tip sandwiches and a couple of beverages to take with you, just in case!

So, there you go – some of the best pumpkin patches in America that may be just sincere enough for the Great Pumpkin this Halloween. Guess you’ll have to grab your blanket and wait and see.

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