Best Pumpkin Patches Around Pittsburgh
Fall is harvest time and Halloween time, and pumpkin picking combines the best of both. It's a great time to be outside in crisp, cool air; to walk through farm fields and cornstalk mazes and to eat some tasty pumpkin pies and apple cider. Here are my top picks for a perfect day of pumpkin picking this fall.
Soergel Orchards
2573 Brandt School Road
Wexford, PA 15090
(724) 935-1743
Hours: Market, Bakery, and Deli, Mon to Fri - 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.; Sat to Sun - 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Reviews, Directions & More Info
Website: www.soergels.com
Soergel Orchards is a North Hills tradition for their annual festival celebrating apples, pumpkins, and all things fall. Stop by on September and October weekends for children's activities, enjoy apples in all its tasty forms—apple cider, apple pie, caramel apples, and more—and, most importantly, do some pumpkin picking and painting. There's even a pumpkin catapult!
The Fall Festival takes place every Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., September 24 to October 31. It includes family activities, pumpkin painting, a cornstalk maze, and hayrides to the pumpkin patch. Get there early because they really pack them in for the festival.
Trax Farms
528 Trax Road
Finleyville, PA 15332-9605
(412) 835-3246
Hours: Mon to Sat - 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Sun 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Fall Harvest Tour (hayride) Hours: Mon to Fri - 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Cost $7 per person.
Price: $8.00 adults/$6.00 children 4-12 years old/children 3 and under free (hayride, maze, and pumpkin patch shuttle)
Reviews, Directions & More Info
Website: www.traxfarms.com
Trax Farms holds its Fall Festival on weekends from September 17 to October 30. Take a scenic hayride, pick your own pumpkin, and visit the 2.5 acre cornstalk maze. That's right, 2.5 acres! Trax also offers midweek Fall Harvest Tours from September 26 to October 31 that are perfect for classes and other groups looking for a day out to experience the gorgeous fall weather. The scenic hayride tours the fruit and vegetable fields around the farm for approximately 25 minutes and tells a brief history of the farm. The tour includes an apple, a sample of cider, and a small pumpkin; you can also purchase a box lunch in advance as part of your trip. Register in advance online.
Triple B Farms
823 Berry Lane
Monongahela, PA 15063
(724) 258-3557
Hours: Wed to Fri (starting October 5) 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.; Sat to Sun - 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Reviews, Directions & More Info
Website: www.triplebfarms.com
If you're looking for a fall festival mixed with a carnival check out Triple B Farms this fall. Their festival includes standards like a pick-your-own pumpkin patch and hayrides on the farm, and adds some fun but unexpected activities like the Liberty Tube and Squirrel Hill Tunnel Slides, a haunted barn, and more. The Fall Family Apple & Pumpkin Festival takes place September 24 to October 31 and you can find pumpkins in all its forms for cooking, eating, stewing, carving, and decorating. In addition to the pumpkins, the festival also includes Storybook Pumpkinland, the Big Blue Boo Barn, hay and pony rides, two tube slides, the Children's Farm Playground and much more to entertain festival-goers of all ages.
Laurel Highlands Adventure
Christian W. Klay Winery
Highlands Harvest Festival
412 Fayette Springs Road
Chalk Hill, PA
(724) 439-3424
Special Events All Month Long
Reviews, Directions & More Info
Website: www.cwklaywinery.com
Bedford Fall Foliage Festival
Bedford, PA 15522
October 8 to 9, 2011
Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Website: www.bedfordfallfestival.com
Fort Ligonier Days
Ligonier
120 E. Main St.
Ligonier, PA 15658
(724) 238-9701
October 14 to 15, 2011
Hours: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
October 16, 2011 - 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Price: $8.00 adult/$5 children 6-14 years old/children 5 and under free (Fort Ligonier admissions); $5 parking
Website: http://ligonier.com/fld.html
Finally, an option for the scenic crowd—take a weekend to drive out through the Laurel Highlands. You'll enjoy the fall foliage while traveling to your choice of Saturday country farm markets and local fall festivals along the way. Somerset, Labtrobe, and Vandergrift all offer weekend farm markets. Some of the local festivals include the Bedford Fall Foliage Festival, and Fort Ligonier Days, which features a living history encampment and reenactments at the fort, a community parade, and many food and craft booths. The Christian W. Klay Winery has a weekly music series and a Halloween Murder Mystery Dinner Theater every Saturday night in October. Check out the Laurel Highlands Visitors Bureau website for a full list of fall activities and events: www.laurelhighlands.org/Event.
Sara Petyk loves showing off the city of Pittsburgh and the Great Allegheny Passage. Her tours of Pittsburgh and bike tour services for the Great Allegheny Passage can be found at www.youractivecity.com and www.Bike-the-GAP.com .
