Fall around Washington means a drive, and the honest question is how far. This guide compares every pumpkin patch and fall farm worth the trip — the close-in Northern Virginia festivals in Centreville, Herndon and Burke, the bigger farm days out toward Loudoun and Frederick County, Montgomery County's Butler's Orchard, and the one free pumpkin patch we could verify inside the District itself. Each entry says what a ticket actually buys (some include a pumpkin, some charge by the pound), which farms have posted 2026 dates and which haven't yet, and how long the drive really is.
Washington · One October afternoon — NoMa BID lists October 28; confirm the year · Best for No car, no drive
The only pumpkin patch inside the District we could verify against an official source — free to attend, with free pumpkins, in a park one block from Metro. NoMa BID lists October 28 without stating a year, and no start time is published, so confirm with the BID before you build a day around it.
Free pumpkins · Pick-your-own patch · Live entertainment · Costumed characters · Food
Burke · October 2026 confirmed; exact dates not yet announced · Best for A short trip with little kids
A garden-centre patch rather than a farm drive — genuinely close in for Fairfax and Alexandria families. The nursery confirms it reopens in October 2026 but had not posted dates or prices as of mid-August; pony rides run weekends.
Pumpkins & gourds · Weekend pony rides · Apple cider donuts · Mums & pansies
Centreville · Sept 19 – Nov 8, 2026; closed Tuesdays & Wednesdays · Best for One big day out, ages 1–12
The region's flagship fall festival, and the one that includes a pumpkin in the ticket. Admission is date-tiered ($15–$30 per person in 2026), everyone two and up pays the same price, parking is free, and tickets are sold online only — busy dates sell out. Note the domain: coxfarmsva.com.
Nine giant slides · World-Famous Hayride · Cornundrum corn maze · Foamhenge · Goat Village & farm animals · Kiddie Zone · Imaginature Trail
Herndon · Open year-round, free; Farm Harvest Fest Oct 16–18, 2026 · Best for A free farm morning, ages 1–8
The closest-in free option, and the one to know if you don't want to pay for a farm day. General admission to Kidwell Farm is free year-round; the ticketed extras are the October carnival (parking $10, ride wristbands $23.25 presale) and Halloween on the Farm. It is a working farm park, not a pick-your-own pumpkin field.
Free working farm · Kidwell Farm animals · Farm Harvest Fest & Carnival · Halloween on the Farm · Cider making
Bristow · Sept 26 – Oct 31, 2026 · Best for Families on a budget
The cheap one. There is no gate fee at all: you pay $0.89/lb for pumpkins and $8 per person for an activities wristband if you want the maze, hayride and cow train. Free entry is rare in this market.
Pick-your-own pumpkins · Corn maze · Hay rides · Cow train · Animal exhibits
Fredericksburg · Sept 12 – Nov 7, 2026; Friday evenings 6–10pm · Best for I-95 corridor families
The biggest festival farm south of DC, and the only one here running Friday nights. Per-person admission was not published as of mid-August; what is published is that gate tickets cost $5 more than online, under-2s are free, and the site is fully cashless.
Great Adventure Maize Maze · Jumping pillow · Pedal carts · Pumpkin Mountain · Fun Barn · Wagon rides
Bluemont · Sept 19 – Oct 31, 2026; daily 9am–5pm · Best for Kids who want to run, ages 2–10
A play-first farm at the foot of the Blue Ridge: $14 weekdays, $18 weekends, with pumpkins priced separately at $0.59/lb. October weekends add live music, pig races and cider-pressing demos. Budget just over an hour from downtown DC.
15-acre play area · Two jumping pillows · Wagon rides · Rustic mini golf · Farm Ninja obstacle course · Corn maze
Markham · Apples expected Sept–Oct 2026; call before you drive · Best for Pick-your-own purists
Call 540-364-2316 first. A hard spring freeze severely reduced this farm's 2026 crop — cherries were cancelled outright — and in mid-August it was picking weekdays only, closed weekends. It is also cash and checks only, no cards. A real orchard, not a festival.
Pick-your-own orchard · Farm stand
Bealeton · Fall Fest 2026 confirmed; dates and prices not yet published · Best for Fauquier County locals
A ticketed Fall Fest is confirmed for 2026 and tickets are already linked from the farm's own site, but no dates, hours, prices or attraction list had been posted as of mid-August. Worth a check in September rather than a drive in August.
Fall Fest · Farm market · U-pick flowers
Leesburg · Daily in October; 2026 dates not yet posted · Best for A photo-friendly farm afternoon
The NOVA Parks farm, and the one where your admission has historically included both a pumpkin and cut sunflowers. Its page still showed the previous season in mid-August, so treat the dates and price as unannounced — and note it has run gate-only sales, no online tickets. No dogs.
Pumpkin picking · Sunflower fields · Wagon rides · Farm animals · Slides
Hamilton · Reopens late September 2026 for pumpkin season; dates TBA · Best for A quiet u-pick, no midway
A pick-your-own farm rather than a festival — no rides, no maze, just fields. The farm has confirmed it reopens in late September for pumpkins but had posted no 2026 dates or prices in mid-August, and it has historically sold timed tickets rather than gate admission.
Pick-your-own pumpkins · Pumpkin CSA
Germantown · Sept 19 – Nov 1, 2026; Wed–Sun + Columbus Day, last entry 4:30pm · Best for Montgomery County families
Maryland's answer to Cox Farms, and the closest full festival farm to Bethesda and Rockville. Pumpkins are $0.79/lb on top of admission — 2026 admission pricing had not posted in mid-August. Reserve ahead: weekends sell out and walk-ins get turned away at capacity.
Pick-your-own pumpkins · Hayrides · Jump pads · Hayloft jumping · Corn maze · Pedal tractors · Live music
Poolesville · Fall season not yet posted; open Tue–Sun 9am–4pm in summer · Best for A short Montgomery County drive
The upper-Montgomery pick-your-own standby — but read this before you go: the spring 2026 freeze wiped out both the stone fruit and the apple crop here, so there are no apples this year. Fall and pumpkin details had not been posted as of mid-August.
Pick-your-own fields · Farm stand
Mt. Airy · Sept 4 – Nov 1, 2026; daily 10am–6pm · Best for Big kids & a full day
Sixty-five-plus attractions and the longest season in this guide. Pricing steps up with demand — $14.50 weekdays, $20.50 September weekends, $24.00 October weekends, under 24 months free — but hayrides are free and you can pick pumpkins without a ticket, paying at the market. October weekends can sell out.
7-acre corn maze · Giant slides · Zipline · Jumping pillows · Free hayrides · Farm animals
Middletown · Fall Festival kicks off September 13, 2026 · Best for Frederick-area families
A Frederick-County festival farm whose 2026 season opens September 13. Tickets and prices had not been posted in mid-August. This year's corn maze honors Alex Ovechkin, with proceeds going to pediatric cancer research.
6-acre corn maze · Pick-your-own pumpkins
The big DC-area festival farms open in mid-September and several run past Halloween into the first week of November. Where a farm has confirmed 2026 dates, they're below; where it hasn't posted them yet, the row says so rather than repeating last year's:
| Patch | City | Typical season |
|---|---|---|
| Belvedere Plantation | Fredericksburg | Sept 12 – Nov 7, 2026; Friday evenings 6–10pm |
| Burke Nursery Pumpkin Playground | Burke | October 2026 confirmed; exact dates not yet announced |
| Butler's Orchard Pumpkin Festival | Germantown | Sept 19 – Nov 1, 2026; Wed–Sun + Columbus Day, last entry 4:30pm |
| Cox Farms Fall Festival | Centreville | Sept 19 – Nov 8, 2026; closed Tuesdays & Wednesdays |
| Frying Pan Farm Park | Herndon | Open year-round, free; Farm Harvest Fest Oct 16–18, 2026 |
| Gaver Farm Fall Fun Festival | Mt. Airy | Sept 4 – Nov 1, 2026; daily 10am–6pm |
| Great Country Farms | Bluemont | Sept 19 – Oct 31, 2026; daily 9am–5pm |
| Hartland Orchard | Markham | Apples expected Sept–Oct 2026; call before you drive |
| Homestead Farm | Poolesville | Fall season not yet posted; open Tue–Sun 9am–4pm in summer |
| Messick's Farm Market | Bealeton | Fall Fest 2026 confirmed; dates and prices not yet published |
| NoMa PumpkinPalooza | Washington | One October afternoon — NoMa BID lists October 28; confirm the year |
| Summers Farm | Middletown | Fall Festival kicks off September 13, 2026 |
| Temple Hall Farm Regional Park | Leesburg | Daily in October; 2026 dates not yet posted |
| Wegmeyer Farms | Hamilton | Reopens late September 2026 for pumpkin season; dates TBA |
| Yankey Farms | Bristow | Sept 26 – Oct 31, 2026 |
The big festival farms open in mid-September: Gaver Farm on September 4, Belvedere Plantation on September 12, Summers Farm on September 13, and both Cox Farms and Butler's Orchard on September 19. Most run through Halloween or the first days of November — Cox Farms goes latest, to November 8.
Two, in different senses. Frying Pan Farm Park in Herndon is a free working farm park year-round (you only pay for its ticketed October events), and Yankey Farms in Bristow charges no gate fee at all — you pay $0.89/lb for pumpkins and $8 per person only if you want the activities wristband. Inside the District, NoMa's PumpkinPalooza is free with free pumpkins.
It depends, and it's the single biggest price difference between farms. Cox Farms includes a patch pumpkin with every admission. Butler's Orchard ($0.79/lb), Great Country Farms ($0.59/lb) and Yankey Farms ($0.89/lb) all price pumpkins separately, so budget for them on top of the gate.
For the two anchors, effectively yes. Cox Farms sells tickets online only — there is no box office, tickets are date-specific, and busy dates sell out. Butler's Orchard calls reservations strongly encouraged and turns walk-ins away at capacity on weekends. Temple Hall Farm has historically been the opposite: gate sales only, no online tickets.
Often not. A hard spring freeze in 2026 damaged the crop across the region — Homestead Farm in Poolesville reports no apples and no stone fruit this year, Marker-Miller in Winchester lost most of its apple crop and is not offering pick-your-own from the trees, and Hartland Orchard's season was cut back to weekdays only. Call before you drive out for apples.
Burke Nursery's Pumpkin Playground is the shortest trip with weekend pony rides, and Frying Pan Farm Park's animals suit walking age with no ticket at all. Cox Farms' Kiddie Zone and Great Country Farms' jumping pillows work from about two. Save Gaver Farm's zipline and seven-acre maze for school-age kids.