Fall, my favorite time of year, has arrived. Fall means beautiful foliage, cooler air, sweaters and boots, and of course, apples and pumpkins. Pumpkin and apple picking are my absolute favorite activities to do in the fall. I asked local moms from our Central Mass Mom community for some of their favorite pumpkin patches in Central Mass.
Here are the top recommendations for pumpkin patches in Central Mass:
1| Tougas Farm in Northborough, MA
This is the top recommendation I received and this is my favorite place to go as well. It has a great pumpkin patch with a variety of sizes, textures, and colored pumpkins. There are also fun props to take photos in the midst of the pumpkins. They have a cute farm store that sells ice cream, cider donuts, apple cider, and other yummy treats. They have a playground for the littles to run around and play on. There are farm animals that you can feed. Tougas Farm also has an apple orchard with a large variety of apples and also a tractor ride that brings you around the orchard.
2| Rota Spring in Sterling, MA
I love the pumpkin patch at Rota Spring. You hop on a tractor and they bring you up to a field with a huge selection of pumpkins. There is row after row of pumpkins. Big ones. Little ones. Bumpy ones. Oddly shaped ones. There is also a full ice cream stand with a large assortment of flavors. The ice cream is DELICIOUS if I do say so myself. They even offer some food items such as meatball subs. Rota Spring also has a few animals such as goats and cows that you can pet. This is a great place to go if you are interested in getting a variety of different pumpkins.
3| Houlden Farm in Grafton, MA
Houlden Farm was another top recommendation. They offer an abundance of pumpkins to select from, and they have animals for kids to pet as well. They also have “Houlden’s Sunflower Shanty” which has live music, a food menu, and beer/wine as well as ice cream. This could be a full day out with the family pumpkin picking and sounds enjoyable. I definitely have this place on our list to check out this fall!
4| Stowe Farm in Millbury, MA
Stowe Farm has a weekend apple festival that began at the beginning of September. They offer an array of activities for children such as a bounce house, mechanical bull, and horseback riding. There are train rides from their train station called “Stowe Station” available too. In addition to pumpkin picking, they also have apple picking and a BBQ food truck on site on the weekends. Stowe Farm also offers obedience training for your dogs, summer camps for children, and horse riding lessons. This location sounds like a blast and I can’t wait to visit it this fall. It sounds like fun for the whole family.
Bonus| Staehly Farm in East Haddam, CT
This bonus location may be outside the Central Mass area, but if you are feeling adventurous and would like to take a drive this place was offered as a recommendation. They offer pumpkin and apple picking as well and have a quaint little farm store. There is a winery right onsite that offers wine and cider tastings for the adults. This farm sounds like it could be a full day of fun for everyone in the family.
Are any of these pumpkin patches on your favorite list? Are there any we should add to the list? What do you love about the pumpkin patches you visit?
