Whether you like your pumpkin in a pie or flashing a mischievous grin from the front stoop, now is the time to celebrate the great pumpkin. The best part of this whole Halloween ritual happens on Oregon farms and ranches, where growers let you pick your own pumpkin right out of the patch with added hayrides, corn mazes, games and more. Here are some ideas for visiting festivals, patches and mazes that make the most of the season.
Farm Festivities Around Portland, Mt. Hood and the Columbia Gorge
The Pumpkin Patch on Sauvie Island — roughly 18 miles from downtown Portland — offers a free pumpkin-picking hayride to the fields to find the perfect jack-o’-lantern. Activities run from the end of September to Halloween and include a giant corn “maize,” a miniature train painted like a cow for kids, and specialty food booths. West of Portland in Helvetia, you’ll find Roloff Farms, a 100-acre extravaganza of agricultural entertainment brought to you by the family featured in the reality TV show “Little People, Big World.” On Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays in October, you can pick a pumpkin, pan for gold and take a walk through a spooky forest.
Hoffman Farms near Beaverton grows more than 20 types of pumpkins and hosts a 10-acre corn maze. Your low-cost ticket gets you a mile-long ride through the berry fields on a small-gauge railroad. The train is accessible to all, with a wheelchair-friendly ramp on the caboose. South of Portland in Wilsonville, Yesteryear Farms has an 8-acre corn maze also open at night. If it’s just a pumpkin you’re seeking, Papa’s Pumpkin Patch in Sherwood is the place for you. Head to the patch — which forms part of Wachlin Farms — to find about 50 acres of prime pumpkin-picking turf.
Liepold Farms in Boring adds excitement to the pumpkin patch with a 6-acre corn maze, hayrides and a scavenger hunt, among other attractions. Watch for special events on weekends only; otherwise, the farm is open most of the week and weekends from the end of September through October. Nearby, Bushue’s Family Farm is open Thursday to Sunday during the month of October and offers hayrides, mini-garden growing kits and a free corn maze. Packer Orchards in Hood River holds its annual fall festival during the months of September and October with a corn maze to navigate and farm animals to pet. Mt. View Orchards in Mt. Hood has a pumpkin patch along with U-pick fruit and craft beer and cider to go.
Harvest Festivals in the Willamette Valley and on the Coast
From late September to early November on Fridays and weekends, the Bose Family Farm in Albany hosts its annual Harvest Festival with a 4-acre corn maze and a pumpkin patch with about 35 types of pumpkins. Time your visit for early mornings the first week the farm is open for a tethered hot-air balloon ride — see the website for details. Near Salem, the E.Z. Orchards HarvestFest runs all October, seven days a week, and includes hayrides, horseback riding, a petting zoo, a corn maze and a pumpkin patch. Don’t forget to pick up a dozen of the fresh-made apple cider doughnuts.
In Gervais the Bauman’s Harvest Festival kicks off at Bauman’s Farm & Garden from late September through October. The festivities include a giant pumpkin weigh-off competition and a cider festival. In Junction City near Eugene, swing by Thistledown Farm, where cowboys will take pumpkin pickers in horse-drawn wagons out to the patch on weekends in October.
On the Coast, Astoria’s Blackberry Bog Farm encourages wandering along a pumpkin path or a hay maze in October. There’s also a treasure hunt — find the pirate token and you’ll get a prize. In Tillamook the Kilchis River Pumpkin Patch & Corn Maze on the Hydrangea Ranch runs on weekends from the last week in September and through October; don’t miss the Haunted Maze in October. Mahaffy Ranch on the Millicoma River, inland from Coos Bay, hosts its annual Fall Festival from late September through October with music, food and fun. Navigate a corn maze, sample some cider and hold your ears while the family fires the corn cannon.
Pick Your Own Pumpkin in Central, Southern and Eastern Oregon
Near Bend Smith Rock Ranch in Terrebonne goes big starting the last Saturday of September with pumpkins, a giant pumpkin-shooting cannon, a corn maze and a petting zoo. You’ll also find live music, horse-drawn wagon rides, barnyard putt-putt golf and pony rides. Most activities happen Friday to Sunday. DD Ranch next door matches the fun with pony rides, train rides, a petting zoo and craft vendors, and it adds a paintball shooting gallery into the mix, too. Most activities unfold Friday to Sunday. Well Rooted Produce near Tumalo (not to be confused with Well Rooted Farms, another family farm) sits on 20 acres and grows 25 different varieties of pumpkins and winter squash. Starting the first weekend in October, come out for U-pick pumpkins, tractor-pulled hayrides, and games like corn hole and pumpkin pitch.
In Grants Pass, Fort Vannoy Farms creates an 8-acre corn maze and lets guests fire the pumpkin chucker each October. Pheasant Fields Farm in Medford has a night corn maze, a zombie train ride and a paintball shooting gallery; the fun starts in late September and runs every weekend in October. In Ashland Valley View Nursery has U-pick pumpkins — follow them on Facebook for updates on events.
About 20 miles west of Pendleton, Echo Corn Maze & Pumpkin Patch comes exactly as billed with an 8-acre maze, a smaller hay-bale maze for the kids and, of course, the pumpkin patch. There’s also a zip line. Stay in town and check out the two wineries — Echo Ridge Cellars and Sno Road Winery — while you’re there. Val’s Veggies Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch near Baker City hopes to have its pumpkin patch and activities up and running again in 2024 after a few years off; check the website for updates.
