Sure, it is easy to head down to the local Whole Foods Market to pick up a pumpkin for the upcoming Halloween and Thanksgiving holidays. But wouldn't you rather head a bit farther afield to experience corn mazes, haunted barns, and pumpkin pyramids while picking out your perfect jack o' lantern? Of course you would, because pumpkin picking is just the type of adorable agrarian experience that we all crave. To help you out in your search for the perfect pumpkin patch, we've put together a list of 11 of the Bay Area's best.
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Eleven Adorable Spots to Go Pumpkin Picking in the Bay Area
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Clancy's Pumpkin Patch
Since 1979, Clancy's has been offering up pumpkins, hay rides, and decorative corn stalks for city dwellers. They are open every day between now and Halloween from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m.
Arata's Pumpkin Farm
Half Moon Bay is famous for its Pumpkin Festival, but the area also has pumpkin picking nonstop leading up to Halloween. Arata's also hosts Minotaur's Labyrinth Hay Maze, a haunted barn, a gladiator ring made out of hay, and a children's train ride. Beware the seasonal "pumpkin traffic" around Half Moon Bay.
Nicasio Valley Farms
Pumpkins are accompanied by barbecue, a Peet's coffee truck, slides, trains, and more at this Marin patch. Children are very welcome but dogs are not allowed.
Bay Street Pumpkin Patch
Over in Emeryville there are pumpkins aplenty at Speer Family Farms. The offerings also include a zipline and giant orb balls, but the most exciting thing for kids looks to be the farm's giant sinking boat slide. Open from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m. every day through October 31.
Great Peter Pumpkin Patch
There are plenty of pumpkin farms near Petaluma, but this one on a cheese farm offers the most tantalizing treats to accompany the pumpkins. Visitors can milk a cow, dig for potatoes, and taste homemade ice cream and cheese after picking the perfect pumpkin.
Lemos Farm
Lemos Farm hosts a laser tag set all year round and adds to it at Halloween with two haunted houses (one for kids and one for adults) and a ghost train. There are also pony rides, a playtown, and a petting zoo.
Perry Family Pumpkin Patch
This East Bay pumpkin patch is part of J.E. Perry Farm, an organic produce grower. The pumpkin patch includes the chance to see a real, working organic farm that harvests many different crops.
Clayton Valley Pumpkin Farm
It may be a bit further afield in Contra Costa County, but this pumpkin farm has a barnyard with Duck Races, bowling and a Barn Ball Toss. There is also a Plumpkin Playland filled with a straw tunnel made with more than 650 straw bales.
Farmer John's Pumpkin Patch
A giant teepee surrounded by pumpkins is the major draw at Farmer John's. Farmer John is in fact a real person, and he's lived on the Half Moon Bay Coast for his entire life. Dogs are welcome!
Uesugi Farms
This place has so many attractions that it's practically a pumpkin amusement park. There are pumpkin blasters, a honey hut filled with live bees, a pyramid made out of 4,000 pumpkins, a cow train, and a butterfly valley.
The Godmothers' Pumpkin Patch
Our final patch pick sends all of its proceeds to the Timothy Murphy School at St. Vincent's for orphaned boys. The farm where the patch sits is used as a learning farm for the students throughout the year. It's open from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. every day.
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