Growing up in Northern California, one of my favorite months of the year was October, as that meant making a fun day out of going to a pumpkin patch to pick out the best pumpkins for carving Jack o’ Lanterns. That tradition continued with my own kids, where we’d have fun searching for places with all sorts of activities like farm animals to pet, hay rides, and corn mazes, in addition to great pumpkins and the chance to take advantage of great photo ops. If you’re looking for one of the best pumpkin patches in California to score your own, you’ll want to head to one of these.
Pastorino's Farm - Half Moon Bay
Pastorino’s Farm is located a little over 30 miles south of San Francisco in beautiful Half Moon Bay. It may be internationally renowned for Mavericks, the surf break featured in the movie “Chasing Mavericks,” but it’s often referred to as the pumpkin capital of the world. Throughout the month of October, Pastorino’s offers a seasonal pumpkin farm with a field of pumpkins, hay rides, train rides, ponies, farm animals to pet and feed, giant slides, and jumpers. On the weekends, there’s face painting and a haunted house too. After your visit, you might head to the Half Moon Bay Art and Pumpkin Festival, which offers four stages of entertainment: costume contests, pie-eating contests, pumpkin beer and foods, a parade, a haunted house, and more.
Official Website
Dates: TBA
Bobby Dazzler's Pumpkin Patch & Christmas Trees - Woodland
Located northwest of the California capital in Woodland, Bobby Dazzler’s Pumpkin Patch has been around for four decades, maintaining the old-fashioned feel of a traditional pumpkin patch. It boasts the largest variety in the area, with all pumpkins grown by the owners in local fields or right here at the patch. Many activities can be enjoyed too, including horse rides, a cow train, a petting zoo, face painting, a bounce house, a maze, and more.
Official Website
Dates: September 23-October 31, 2023
Petaluma Pumpkin Patch - Petaluma
Located in picturesque Petaluma, about an hour north of San Francisco in Sonoma County, Petaluma Pumpkin Patch is run by fourth-generation Petaluma Farmer Jim, featuring sustainably grown pumpkins that can be picked right from the field. It’s one of the oldest patches in the region, with families visiting for over 30 years, and it also offers a corn maze that’s been rated one of the world’s best by Readers Digest, with a new one created every year. There are farm animals, pony rides, a huge straw mountain with over 500 straw bales to climb, a maze for tiny tots, a sandbox, face painting, a carnival fun slide, and more. Plus, the food and drink menu includes chicken and gyros along with carnival-type fare like corn dogs, kettle corn, cotton candy, and hot chocolate.
Official Website
Dates: Opens September 21, 2023
Jack and Noel's Pumpkin Patch - Redwood Valley
Open on weekends in eastern Mendocino County, Jack and Noel’s offers a patch with five different varieties so you’ll be sure to find a pumpkin that’s the right shape, size, and color. It also includes a free Kids’ Zone for all ages with free activities that include carnival games, climbing structures, old western forts, and more. Hay rides are enjoyed on what’s more like a fall-themed float rather than hay seats on a trailer, and there are duck races that involve two people racing their bath ducks down a “U” shaped course by pumping water into it using an old-time hand pump.
Official Website
Dates: Opens September 30, 2023
The Solvang Farmer - Solvang
It’s worth planning a trip around a visit to The Solvang Farmer. It’s located just five minutes outside of downtown Solvang, which looks like it should be in Denmark, complete with Scandinavian half-timbered buildings, Danish foods, including bakeries with Danish pastries, a Danish-style trolley, and a Hans Christian Andersen Museum. Head to the farm before or after exploring at all, which offers traditional pumpkins in all sizes, from miniature ones to giant-sized. There’s also a 10-acre corn maze and a corn maze for the kids, along with various types of farming equipment that provide great photo ops.
Official Website
Dates: TBA
Borchard Farms - Salinas
Located in Salinas, just a short drive from the coast and Monterey Bay, Borchard Farms is a family-run operation that’s been here for decades. Open to visitors from mid-September through Halloween – it offers a wide variety of pumpkins and gourds along with a 5-acre corn maze that can be navigated after dark for those looking for a more challenging adventure. There are all sorts of birds to see, including peacocks, pheasants, turkeys, ducks, geese, and chickens. If you’ve worked up an appetite, hot dogs, tacos, burritos, sandwiches, and beverages are available too.
Official Website
Dates: Mid-September – October, 2023
Vista Ranch - Merced
Open daily throughout the month of October, Vista Ranch is located east of Merced on 20 acres of Bear Creek Ranch which includes a vineyard, tasting room, and outdoor picnic area. It offers many different varieties of pumpkins along with Indian corn, gourds, and more. The fabulous fall harvest decor provides numerous photo ops, and parents will be able to sample wine produced from Cabernet, Primativo, and Pinot Noir varieties. There’s a corn maze, hay ride, games for the kids, Bocce courts, and delicious wood-fired oven pizzas too.
Official Website
Dates: October 1-31, 2023
Rickey Ranch Pumpkin Farm - Granite Bay
Family-owned and operated, Rickey Ranch Pumpkin Farm is located in Granite Bay, about 30 minutes northeast of Sacramento. It’s a popular place to spend time outdoors, home to Folsom Lake and a number of nature preserves, making it easy to enjoy an entire day out by visiting the lake and the pumpkin farm, which offers a wide variety of pumpkins and lots of activities for the kids. Skeletons are scattered about on old farming equipment for some outstanding photo ops, and there’s a hay pyramid for the kids to climb on, hayrides pulled by a tractor, and farm animals, including sheep, pigs, goats, and chickens.
Official Website
Dates: October 1-31, 2023
Oma's Family Farm - Lakeside
Located about 24 miles northeast of San Diego, Oma’s Family Farm offers a pumpkin patch and a wide range of activities from late September through most of October. The family-owned operation provides fun and educational experiences that include a behind-the-scenes tour of the farm via a wagon ride that will bring you to see the farm animals, and there’s also an interactive petting zoo so you can get up close. The seasonal market offers all kinds of local products like jam, honey, and kids’ toys, and the OmaGoodness Cafe has a menu of tasty eats along with specialty coffees and seasonal drinks.
Official Website
Dates:
Nipomo Pumpkin Patch - Nipomo
Located in San Luis Obispo County on California’s central coast about midway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, the Nipomo Pumpkin Patch brings the chance to enjoy the area’s stunning natural beauty with orchards, fields of flowers, lush vineyards, and rolling dunes. Open just after the official start of fall through the month of October, visitors will find a wide variety of pumpkins, big and small, with over 50 different types grown here. It’s particularly known for its giant pumpkins – they’re so big they can weigh up to several hundred pounds, so if you’re looking for one of those, you’ll need a truck or an SUV with lots of room.
Official Website
Dates: September 23-October 31, 2023
Rodoni Farms - Santa Cruz
Enjoy all the fun Santa Cruz and its beautiful beaches have to offer and then head to Rodoni Farms, located right along the coast off Highway 1. It opens up the pumpkin fields right around the start of fall, with row after row of pumpkins to choose from and many different varieties, including miniature Jack-Be-Little pumpkins, sugar pumpkins for baking, white polar bear pumpkins ideal for decorating, and large Jack-o-lantern type pumpkins. If you want to pick up organic fruits and veggies, flowers, or locally made items like honey and soap, you can do that too. Plus, there’s a 5-acre corn maze.
Official Website
Dates: September 23-October 31, 2023
Prancers Farm - Santa Paula
Located in Santa Paula among the orchards of the Santa Clara River Valley just 20 minutes from Ventura and gorgeous beaches, Prancers Farm Pumpkin Patch is open throughout the month of October. The 30+ acre farm has more than 10,000 pumpkins to pick right from the vine and visitors can also enjoy U pick for strawberries, watermelons, and veggies. Sunflower picking is available too. Plus, there are countless other activities and attractions like a petting zoo, a wagon ride, a hay pyramid, a barrel train, axe throwing, and pumpkin bowling. On weekends, there will be various foods on offer and live music is hosted as well.
Official Website
Dates: TBA
The Pumpkin Patch - San Luis Obispo
The Pumpkin Patch is a family-owned farm that’s been in operation for five generations with dozens of different varieties. Visitors can come early in the season to create their own custom scarred pumpkins, which involves making small cuts in the pumpkin’s surface to create a design or a saying like “Happy Halloween.” As the pumpkin grows, the cuts leave scars. In addition to pumpkins, there are climbing trees for kids to play on, a rope swing, and a corn maze.
Official Website
Dates: Opens September 1st, 2023
