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Pick-your-own pumpkin farms and festivals
Spend a day in the country picking your own pumpkins, vegetables and fruit with family and friends
Halloween is just around the corner and the countryside scenery is rich with tones of fiery reds, oranges and yellows. What better time to spend a day enjoying all that fall has to offer? Call up your friends or bring the family along to your nearest open farm offering "u-pick" pumpkins, fruits and vegetables of the season. Here's a coast-to-coast listing to get you started.
**BRITISH COLUMBIA**
**The Applebarn Pumpkin Barn Ltd.**
333 Gladwin Road
Abbotsford, BC (604) 853 3108
applebarn.ca Apples and pumpkins, there are plenty of both for you to choose from. When you’re done making your selection, check out the other attractions available from hay rides, pony rides and the petting barn to the “Jumping Pillow”, Trike Town and the Live See Through Glass Beehive. Adult admission is $2.50, $6 for kids on weekends and holiday, $4 for weekday hayrides. Open Monday to Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. to 5:0 p.m from September 1 to October 31. **McMillan Pumpkin Patch**
1 - 3690 Berard Road
Kelowna, BC (250) 448-2336
mcmillanfarms.ca Spend a day wandering their pumpkin patch to harvest your own and find your way through the sunflower maze (with a smaller one for the kids). Hop on the tractor-pulled hay ride and then cap off the day with a stop at their snack stand and a trip to their gift shop. For a bonus Halloween kick, take a walk through their own Sleepy Hollow. The family-run farm covers 100 acres of land along Mission Creek. Open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m beginning October 4. **Chilliwack's Cornfield Maze**
41905 Yale Road West
Chilliwack, BC (604) 819 6203
chilliwackcornmaze.com The pumpkin patch offers various varieties including the white Ghost Rider, with apple picking, hayrides, and a petting zoo. Test your knowledge in the hay bale mazes with trivia questions, what’s not to love? Plan ahead and reserve a fire pit for a roaring fire to cozy up to after a long day of fun at the farm. Open Thursday and Friday 6 to 9 p.m., Saturday 1 to 9 p.m., Sunday and holidays 1 to 6 p.m. and Halloween night 6 to 9 p.m. **ALBERTA** **Prairie Gardens and Greenhouses**
56311 Lily Lake Road
Bon Accord, AB (780) 921-2272
prairiegardensandgreenhouses.com A must-see Halloween attraction for the whole family, the crew at Prairie Gardens and Greenhouses turn the spooky celebration into a real treat. The storytellers, costumed characters, corn maze, plenty of festivals, and the pumpkin patch is plenty to pack in a full day of fun. Selecting your own pumpkin in their vast field is one thing, but their Haunted Pumpkin Festival ($9 per person with discounts for families and groups of five or more, open weekends in October 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.) complete with a pumpkin cannon, enchanted forest, haunted house, wagon rides and scarecrow stuffing, is truly another. Open weekdays 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. for booked tours and 2:30 to 4:30 for pumpkin sales. **Robinpick Berry Farm & Lethbridge Cornmaze**
20 minutes northwest of Lethbridge
Shaughnessy, AB (403) 381-3775
lethbridgecornmaze.com In addition to their ready-to-be-picked pumpkins, Robinpick Berry Farms offers plenty of seasonal fruits and vegetables, gourds, jellies and jams for visitors to buy. For a day of fun, find your way through their selection of three mazes (with one for the kids), hitch a ride on their tractor-pulled hay rides on Saturdays or check out their petting zoo. Open Monday to Thursday 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m and holiday Mondays 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. Check website or call for directions. **SASKATCHEWAN** **Dutch Growers**
685 Reid Road
Saskatoon, SK (306) 249 1222
dutchgrowers.ca
Pumpkins are available for purchase in the market and kids will have a great time searching for theirs through a straw bale maze. Dutch Grower’s 6th Annual Pumpkin Maze has pumpkins of all shapes and sizes hidden throughout the mazes for kids to find. Entrance into the maze is free. The maze is open Monday to Saturday in October from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. and until 9 p.m. on Thursdays. Dutch Growers is known in Saskatoon as a source for perennials and annuals, shrubs and evergreens making it an ideal location for picking out your holiday Christmas tree. **MANITOBA** **Peters Vegetables**
20 minutes west of Hwys 75 and 14
Plum Coulee, MB (204) 829 3801
llew@mts.net The farm offers corn as well as pumpkins pre-picked or ready for visitors to select in the field with horse-drawn wagon rides taking visitors to and from the field. There is also a fire pit available onsite for a hot dog roast (visitors must bring their own food supplies). Call ahead to confirm pumpkin availability. Open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. from Monday to Saturday. Call or e-mail for directions to the farm. **ONTARIO** **Nauman’s Pumpkins Galore and More**
3250 Hessen Strasse
St. Clements, ON (519) 699-5524
naumanfarm.ca Nauman’s Farm offers a variety of fresh seasonal produce that visitors can pick or buy in their market. Their pumpkin patch has a wide selection of over 20 varieties leaving plenty to choose from to accent your fall holiday event. Just in time Halloween, their farm market stocks up on spooky decorations as well as corn stalks, wheat sheaves and straw bales perfect for outdoor decorating. The kids will have a blast finding their way through the corn maze, a contender in the Ontario Farm Fresh Corn Maze contest. Open from Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday to Sunday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. **Pingle’s Farm Market**
1805 Taunton Road East
Hampton, ON (905) 725 6089
pinglesfarmmarket.com Accessible from Toronto, Pingle’s Farm opens their doors to visitors both young and the young at heart. Boasting a petting zoo, a giant checker board and trike track in addition to their wide pumpkin patch, there’s something for everyone. Their pumpkin patch offers not only the traditional bright orange specimen but white-skinned Ghost Riders as well. Wagon rides deliver visitors straight to the patch and pick them up when they’re done. Their corn maze is spooked up in time for Halloween for adults and kids ages 12 and up at $5 per person. The whole family can get involved with scarecrow making (at $20), pumpkin painting ($3 per pumpkin) as well as face painting, pedal cart track, straw jumping and a mini corn maze for the kids. Open on weekends from the last weekend in September to October 26 from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. **QUEBEC** **La Magie de la Pomme**
925 Chemin Fresnière
St-Eustache, QU (450) 623-0062
lamagiedelapomme.com Pumpkins, apples and squash galore. A trip to La Magie de la Pomme is not only fun but educational where kids can learn about the different uses of the pumpkins and apples they’ve just harvested. With fun characters and different shows throughout the day, the farm is a perfect day for a family outing. Horseback riding, face painting, workshops on creating scarecrows and decorating pumpkins and a corn labyrinth are also available onsite. Open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. for pumpkin and apple picking, Monday to Friday under reservation and weekends to the public. **Shouldice Berry Farm & Market**
3451 Richmond Road
Nepean, ON (613) 838 2129
shouldicefarm.com Being located between Baseline and Bayshore makes Shouldice Berry Farm accessible for residents in Quebec. Along with pumpkins, available in the farm market and ready to be picked, there are a wide assortment of crops perfect for a harvest dinner, potatoes, sweet corn, apples, and squash just to name a few. Open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. in September and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in October. **NOVA SCOTIA** **Dempsey Corner Orchards**
RR #3
Aylesford, NS (902) 847 1855
dempseycorner.ca Pre-picked and u-pick pumpkins are available as well as corn, apples, squash and pears from their orchards. Bring the kids for the day as they’ll receive a guided tour of the orchards that is both fun and educational. The kids can learn about the animals on the farm, the empty beehive, they can pick their own fresh fruit from the orchards and then gather to select their own pumpkins from the patch. On October 21st and 22nd, check out their annual Pumpkin Festival with live entertainment, horse and ox-drawn wagon rides, pony rides in addition to their u-pick fruits and veggies and pumpkin selection. Finish the day with a unique menu of pumpkin delicacies. $5 per child for the guided tour, open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. **RiverBreeze Farm Market**
660 Onslow Road
Truro, NS (902) 895 5138
riverbreeze.info There’s plenty to do at RiverBreeze Farm aside from simply collecting your own pumpkin from their patch. The main attraction: Atlantic Canada’s largest corn maze (at 12 acres), large enough to navigate for hours and haunted especially for Halloween. After successfully completing the maze and with your pumpkin in hand, check out the other fun-filled activities including a Wild West town, pig races, a giant swing set, an outdoor laser tag field and a bee observation hive. Entrance to the haunted corn maze is $8.50 with website coupon. Open seven days a week, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Corn maze open weekends and holiday Mondays 12 p.m. to 5 p.m until November 2. **PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND** **Arlington Orchards**
1309 rte 131
Arlington, PE (902) 831 2965
Arlington Orchards Known for their wide variety of apples, pears and plums, Arlington Orchards brings out an equally wide variety of pumpkins just in time for the fall holiday season. From pumpkins ready for pies and carving, they also have unique Cinderella pumpkins, white pumpkins and the Jarradale, a smooth-skilled blue-gray specimen perfect for an autumn centerpiece with an exotic twist. Arlington offers a full day of family fun with free weekend and afternoon hayrides to the patch, straw jumps, a children’s playhouse and musical entertainment on Sunday afternoons. Open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. To find more u-pick pumpkin farms in your area, visit pumpkinpatchesandmore.org
(continued below)
333 Gladwin Road
Abbotsford, BC (604) 853 3108
applebarn.ca Apples and pumpkins, there are plenty of both for you to choose from. When you’re done making your selection, check out the other attractions available from hay rides, pony rides and the petting barn to the “Jumping Pillow”, Trike Town and the Live See Through Glass Beehive. Adult admission is $2.50, $6 for kids on weekends and holiday, $4 for weekday hayrides. Open Monday to Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. to 5:0 p.m from September 1 to October 31. **McMillan Pumpkin Patch**
1 - 3690 Berard Road
Kelowna, BC (250) 448-2336
mcmillanfarms.ca Spend a day wandering their pumpkin patch to harvest your own and find your way through the sunflower maze (with a smaller one for the kids). Hop on the tractor-pulled hay ride and then cap off the day with a stop at their snack stand and a trip to their gift shop. For a bonus Halloween kick, take a walk through their own Sleepy Hollow. The family-run farm covers 100 acres of land along Mission Creek. Open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m beginning October 4. **Chilliwack's Cornfield Maze**
41905 Yale Road West
Chilliwack, BC (604) 819 6203
chilliwackcornmaze.com The pumpkin patch offers various varieties including the white Ghost Rider, with apple picking, hayrides, and a petting zoo. Test your knowledge in the hay bale mazes with trivia questions, what’s not to love? Plan ahead and reserve a fire pit for a roaring fire to cozy up to after a long day of fun at the farm. Open Thursday and Friday 6 to 9 p.m., Saturday 1 to 9 p.m., Sunday and holidays 1 to 6 p.m. and Halloween night 6 to 9 p.m. **ALBERTA** **Prairie Gardens and Greenhouses**
56311 Lily Lake Road
Bon Accord, AB (780) 921-2272
prairiegardensandgreenhouses.com A must-see Halloween attraction for the whole family, the crew at Prairie Gardens and Greenhouses turn the spooky celebration into a real treat. The storytellers, costumed characters, corn maze, plenty of festivals, and the pumpkin patch is plenty to pack in a full day of fun. Selecting your own pumpkin in their vast field is one thing, but their Haunted Pumpkin Festival ($9 per person with discounts for families and groups of five or more, open weekends in October 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.) complete with a pumpkin cannon, enchanted forest, haunted house, wagon rides and scarecrow stuffing, is truly another. Open weekdays 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. for booked tours and 2:30 to 4:30 for pumpkin sales. **Robinpick Berry Farm & Lethbridge Cornmaze**
20 minutes northwest of Lethbridge
Shaughnessy, AB (403) 381-3775
lethbridgecornmaze.com In addition to their ready-to-be-picked pumpkins, Robinpick Berry Farms offers plenty of seasonal fruits and vegetables, gourds, jellies and jams for visitors to buy. For a day of fun, find your way through their selection of three mazes (with one for the kids), hitch a ride on their tractor-pulled hay rides on Saturdays or check out their petting zoo. Open Monday to Thursday 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m and holiday Mondays 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. Check website or call for directions. **SASKATCHEWAN** **Dutch Growers**
685 Reid Road
Saskatoon, SK (306) 249 1222
dutchgrowers.ca
Pumpkins are available for purchase in the market and kids will have a great time searching for theirs through a straw bale maze. Dutch Grower’s 6th Annual Pumpkin Maze has pumpkins of all shapes and sizes hidden throughout the mazes for kids to find. Entrance into the maze is free. The maze is open Monday to Saturday in October from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. and until 9 p.m. on Thursdays. Dutch Growers is known in Saskatoon as a source for perennials and annuals, shrubs and evergreens making it an ideal location for picking out your holiday Christmas tree. **MANITOBA** **Peters Vegetables**
20 minutes west of Hwys 75 and 14
Plum Coulee, MB (204) 829 3801
llew@mts.net The farm offers corn as well as pumpkins pre-picked or ready for visitors to select in the field with horse-drawn wagon rides taking visitors to and from the field. There is also a fire pit available onsite for a hot dog roast (visitors must bring their own food supplies). Call ahead to confirm pumpkin availability. Open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. from Monday to Saturday. Call or e-mail for directions to the farm. **ONTARIO** **Nauman’s Pumpkins Galore and More**
3250 Hessen Strasse
St. Clements, ON (519) 699-5524
naumanfarm.ca Nauman’s Farm offers a variety of fresh seasonal produce that visitors can pick or buy in their market. Their pumpkin patch has a wide selection of over 20 varieties leaving plenty to choose from to accent your fall holiday event. Just in time Halloween, their farm market stocks up on spooky decorations as well as corn stalks, wheat sheaves and straw bales perfect for outdoor decorating. The kids will have a blast finding their way through the corn maze, a contender in the Ontario Farm Fresh Corn Maze contest. Open from Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday to Sunday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. **Pingle’s Farm Market**
1805 Taunton Road East
Hampton, ON (905) 725 6089
pinglesfarmmarket.com Accessible from Toronto, Pingle’s Farm opens their doors to visitors both young and the young at heart. Boasting a petting zoo, a giant checker board and trike track in addition to their wide pumpkin patch, there’s something for everyone. Their pumpkin patch offers not only the traditional bright orange specimen but white-skinned Ghost Riders as well. Wagon rides deliver visitors straight to the patch and pick them up when they’re done. Their corn maze is spooked up in time for Halloween for adults and kids ages 12 and up at $5 per person. The whole family can get involved with scarecrow making (at $20), pumpkin painting ($3 per pumpkin) as well as face painting, pedal cart track, straw jumping and a mini corn maze for the kids. Open on weekends from the last weekend in September to October 26 from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. **QUEBEC** **La Magie de la Pomme**
925 Chemin Fresnière
St-Eustache, QU (450) 623-0062
lamagiedelapomme.com Pumpkins, apples and squash galore. A trip to La Magie de la Pomme is not only fun but educational where kids can learn about the different uses of the pumpkins and apples they’ve just harvested. With fun characters and different shows throughout the day, the farm is a perfect day for a family outing. Horseback riding, face painting, workshops on creating scarecrows and decorating pumpkins and a corn labyrinth are also available onsite. Open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. for pumpkin and apple picking, Monday to Friday under reservation and weekends to the public. **Shouldice Berry Farm & Market**
3451 Richmond Road
Nepean, ON (613) 838 2129
shouldicefarm.com Being located between Baseline and Bayshore makes Shouldice Berry Farm accessible for residents in Quebec. Along with pumpkins, available in the farm market and ready to be picked, there are a wide assortment of crops perfect for a harvest dinner, potatoes, sweet corn, apples, and squash just to name a few. Open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. in September and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in October. **NOVA SCOTIA** **Dempsey Corner Orchards**
RR #3
Aylesford, NS (902) 847 1855
dempseycorner.ca Pre-picked and u-pick pumpkins are available as well as corn, apples, squash and pears from their orchards. Bring the kids for the day as they’ll receive a guided tour of the orchards that is both fun and educational. The kids can learn about the animals on the farm, the empty beehive, they can pick their own fresh fruit from the orchards and then gather to select their own pumpkins from the patch. On October 21st and 22nd, check out their annual Pumpkin Festival with live entertainment, horse and ox-drawn wagon rides, pony rides in addition to their u-pick fruits and veggies and pumpkin selection. Finish the day with a unique menu of pumpkin delicacies. $5 per child for the guided tour, open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. **RiverBreeze Farm Market**
660 Onslow Road
Truro, NS (902) 895 5138
riverbreeze.info There’s plenty to do at RiverBreeze Farm aside from simply collecting your own pumpkin from their patch. The main attraction: Atlantic Canada’s largest corn maze (at 12 acres), large enough to navigate for hours and haunted especially for Halloween. After successfully completing the maze and with your pumpkin in hand, check out the other fun-filled activities including a Wild West town, pig races, a giant swing set, an outdoor laser tag field and a bee observation hive. Entrance to the haunted corn maze is $8.50 with website coupon. Open seven days a week, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Corn maze open weekends and holiday Mondays 12 p.m. to 5 p.m until November 2. **PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND** **Arlington Orchards**
1309 rte 131
Arlington, PE (902) 831 2965
Arlington Orchards Known for their wide variety of apples, pears and plums, Arlington Orchards brings out an equally wide variety of pumpkins just in time for the fall holiday season. From pumpkins ready for pies and carving, they also have unique Cinderella pumpkins, white pumpkins and the Jarradale, a smooth-skilled blue-gray specimen perfect for an autumn centerpiece with an exotic twist. Arlington offers a full day of family fun with free weekend and afternoon hayrides to the patch, straw jumps, a children’s playhouse and musical entertainment on Sunday afternoons. Open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. To find more u-pick pumpkin farms in your area, visit pumpkinpatchesandmore.org
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