Pumpkin Harvest Festival at Great Country Farms

Great Country Farms Fall Pumpkin Harvest Festival

Great Country Farms sits at the base of the Blue Ridge in Bluemont, about an hour west of the Beltway, and the Fall Pumpkin Harvest Festival is the farm at full tilt: wagon rides out to the pumpkin patch, the Oinkintucky Derby pig races, a cow train, five mazes, big slides, rope swings, and P-Rex, a dinosaur that eats pumpkins. That last one sounds odd until your five-year-old refuses to leave.

Two things separate it from the closer-in patches. First, you pick pumpkins off the vine in a real field, not from a pre-cut pile arranged on a lawn. Second, the 12-acre play area means the pumpkin part is maybe a quarter of your visit, so budget three to four hours. Weekday admission is cheaper than weekends, kids 2 and under are free, and September is still apple and cider season out here, which means fresh cider donuts.

Parent Tips 💡

• ✓Go on a weekday if you can: Admission is several dollars cheaper per person and the play area is close to empty. Weekends bring the pig races but also the lines.
• ✓Grab the day's schedule at the gate: Pig races, cider pressing, and other happenings run at set times on weekends. Knowing the times saves you a sprint across the farm with a toddler under one arm.
• ✓Budget for the pumpkins separately: Admission covers the activities and the wagon ride, but the pumpkins you pick are paid on the way out. Decide the pumpkin budget before your kids decide it for you.
• ✓Closed-toe shoes for everyone: It is a working farm with dust, gravel, and mud after rain. Sandals lose this fight.
• ✓Pack a change of clothes: Between the slides, the dust, and the occasional puddle, kids leave happier and dirtier than they arrived. A towel for the car seat is a veteran move.
• ✓Do the patch before snacks: Wagon lines build through the afternoon. Ride out to the patch early, then reward everyone with cider donuts on the way back.