Pumpkin season is here! When fall arrives, you can never go wrong with a trip to the pumpkin patch. We’ve partnered with Keryn Means of Walking On Travels (and current DC-area resident) to find out what makes a great pumpkin patch and where to find them around Washington, D.C.
Pumpkin picking is an art form; at least it is in my house. My husband is our resident pumpkin carving master, and he takes his pumpkins very seriously. He’s been strategizing what theme he will carve this year. Will it be a mom and dad pumpkin with a few babies running around (or in our case, the dad holding a baby pumpkin in his mouth the year our son was born and the mom screaming), or should it be one of his favorite characters from the classic Nickelodeon cartoon, Invader Zim?
The choices are endless, but when our boys were born, the process of finding a great pumpkin became even more complicated and higher powers have sometimes needed to be called in. There are many questions you need to ask yourself outside of “is his pumpkin bigger than his brother’s, and will that start a fight on the way home?” After years of practice, I now know the answer to this timeless question …
How Do You Find the Best Pumpkin Patch?
Are the Pumpkins Still on the Vine?
This seems like such an easy answer, but too many pumpkin farms cut the pumpkins from the vine but leave the pumpkins in the field for families to take their photos before purchasing their perfect pumpkin. Go for the farms with the pumpkins still on the vine whenever possible. It looks prettier in photos and you know someone else hasn’t been touching your gourd.
Is There Anything Else to Do at the Pumpkin Patch?
Picking pumpkins is great, but if you are going to drive more than 30 minutes to buy a pumpkin, you need to have a reason to stay for a while. Generally if you live in the city, you will drive 30-60 minutes to find your perfect pumpkin patch. Read up on whether there are carnival rides, pumpkins being shot out of a cannon, tractor pulls, pony rides, and hay bail or corn mazes before you set your heart on one farm. Many farms have gotten wise to the fact that families are making a day trip out of their pumpkin picking. They are setting up activities to make you stay (and spend your money with them) for the entire day.
Are There Apple Cider and Fresh Apple Cider Donuts?
This is a no-brainer for me. This is why I go to pumpkin patches. I need something warm and sugary to sustain me as my husband and boys trudge up and down the pumpkin fields, sometimes squishing through a whole lot of mud, picking up pumpkins and discarding them as they go. Everyone is happier if mom is fed and the kids have something sweet in their bellies to chase away hunger, which for parents means you have just chased away the whining, meltdowns and tantrums, too. Toddlers invented the word “hangry” after all.
Where are the Family-friendly Pumpkin Patches Around Washington, D.C.?
After an exhaustive search, my family has agreed that these are the best pumpkin patches in the DC-metro area.
Butler’s Orchard, Germantown, Maryland
When it comes to apple cider donuts, it is hard to beat Butler’s Orchard, especially when they are coming right out of the fryer. This farm has pumpkin and apple picking, giant slides, a twisted corn maze, a straw maze, pedal tractors, and barnyard buddies to visit. Just north of Washington, D.C., this farm makes for an easy morning or afternoon trip on the weekends, but it does get crowded, so pick your time wisely and make reservations for the activity zone.
Larriland Farms, Woodbine, Maryland
If you love hayrides, you don’t want to miss the one at Larriland Farms. This is not your average tractor pull. This hayride lasts 20 minutes and brings you through the farm, across a stream and into the woods, which are decorated with ghouls and goblins for the season. A straw maze and (not-too-scary) Boo Barn are also offered for families who want to get the most out of their visit.
Summers Farm, Frederick, Maryland
Get up close and personal with your farm friends at Summers Farm. Get your face painted, watch the giant pumpkin cannon show or a pig race, and enjoy live music on stage. The Farm Barnyard is where you meet the local residents, including pygmy goats, miniature donkeys, piglets, ducks, chickens and geese. Best of all, the pumpkin cannon turns into a candy cannon on the weekends, shooting hundreds of pieces of wrapped candy into the sky for kids to grab as it lands.
Cox Farms, Centreville, Virginia
If you like to be scared, Cox Farms has you covered. Fields of Fear is eagerly anticipated by fright lovers across the Washington, D.C. metro area. Watch out though, these fields are not recommended for children under age 12. It’s that scary. The Fall Festival on the farm is better for the little ones, where they help with farm chores, taste local food, pet the animals, and take a hayride through the old west, a jungle and the enchanted barn.
Great Country Farms, Bluemont, Virginia
Virginians don’t have to trek up to Maryland to enjoy apple cider donuts in the field. Great Country Farms encourages visitors to grab a few donuts before they go on the hunt for their perfect pumpkin or get lost in the corn maze. Kids will love feeding P-Rex, the pumpkin loving dinosaur, and watching the pigs race in the annual Oinkintucky Derby Pig Races.
Just don’t forget your pumpkin. All this fun may make you forget the real reason you visited the farm!
Keryn Means of Walking On Travels
Keryn Means
Latest posts by Keryn Means (see all)
- How to Spot a Great Pumpkin Patch - September 16, 2018
- 9 Things You Should Pack For A Cruise (and What You Really Can’t!) - June 20, 2018
- 7 Tips for a Stress-Free Trip to Disney with Young Kids - June 14, 2018
Travelocity compensates authors for their writings appearing on this site; such compensation may include travel and other costs.
