Go pumpkin picking and celebrate the harvest at these 10 farm festivals around Pittsburgh

As the weather cools, many families in the Pittsburgh region like to wrap kids up in fleece and flannel and head to the farms. It’s pumpkin-picking time, the season when Pittsburgh farms open their doors and fields to visitors with all the activities we love. Corn mazes, petting zoos and hayrides are just a few of the attractions.

Head out to these 10 farm festivals for some terrific outdoor family fun.

1. Simmons Farm Fall Activities

Fall activities, including pumpkin, apple and flower picking, are open seven days a week at Simmons Farm in McMurray. Hayrides to the pumpkin field are available, but families can also walk to the fields for pumpkin picking. There’s a ton of entertainment offered with the hayride wristband price of $16 (free for kids measuring less than 33 inches). The lineup includes a petting zoo, rubber duck races, a human hamster wheel, plus the Farm Combine Slide and Basketball Corn Hopper. Try the two-acre corn maze or the more extreme four-acre maze, if you’re up for a challenge. Fall Activities run through Nov. 5 at Simmons Farm, 170 Simmons Road, McMurray.

2. Triple B Farms Fall Festival

Family fun opens on Sept. 23 at Triple B Farms Fall Festival. Tickets $17 (kids 2 and under are free) include a huge assortment of farmyard activities. Visit the “Famously Frightening Boo Barn,” slip down the Giant Slides and make your way through the corn maze. Hop on a hayride to head to the orchard and fields for apple picking and pumpkin picking – even flower picking. Build-Your-Own Scarecrow returns on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1. Kids get to build a life-size scarecrow with all the materials provided, including clothing, a face and even a birth certificate. A portion of the $35 charge goes to Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.

After all that activity works up an appetite, visit the Food Barn for fall-inspired indulgences like apple cider donuts, apple fries and apple cider slushies along with loaded fries and hot sandwiches.

Triple B Farms Fall Festival, happening at 823 Berry Lane, Monongahela, operates from Sept. 23-Oct. 29 on weekends and select dates. Admission tickets are available online.

3. Soergel Orchards Fall Festival

Soergel Orchards Fall Festival has begun with free admission for all. Expect pumpkin picking, apple picking and flower picking, along with tractor rides and games. Kids will want to spend some time communing with the farm animals at the petting zoo and exploring Tiny Town. A big range of great food will be available for purchase, in addition to Perry’s Scoop ice cream stand.

Soergel Orchards, at 2573 Brandt School Road in Wexford, welcomes visitors to the Fall Festival from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturdays and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sundays through Oct. 29.

4. Trax Farms Farm Festival

Head to Finleyville for Trax Farms Farm Festival, operating from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays through Oct. 22. Admission is free but some activities require additional costs. Hayrides to the pumpkin patch and access to the three-acre corn maze are $12 in advance, $14 at the door, free for ages 2 and younger. Play yard games and visit farm animals. Dance along to live music and great eats from food trucks. And don’t skip tempting treats like fried Oreos, funnel cake and freshly popped kettle corn.

Hops & Hayrides run Friday nights offering families a food truck dinner and Brew Gentlemen serving craft beer to grownups. Everyone will enjoy an evening hayride and partake in the maze and pumpkin picking. Non-festival hayrides to the pumpkin patch are available from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Fridays through Oct. 27, in addition to Columbus Day and Halloween weekend.

Point your car to Trax Farms, 528 Trax Road, Finleyville.

5. Cheeseman Farm Pumpkin Festival

Cheeseman Farm Pumpkin Festival is another great spot for pumpkin picking and well worth the drive north. Pumpkin pickers are welcome on weekends 11 a.m.-5 p.m. through Oct. 29, as well as Columbus Day. Kids can talk to the animals in the farm petting zoo, bounce on the Hay Jump and find treats at the concession stand. A hayride out to the pumpkin patch is $5 per person, free for ages 2 and younger. Pumpkins picked in the patch will be brought to the barn and weighed to determine the price. Grownups filled with autumn design spirit will find their fill of decorative pumpkins and gourds, hay bales, corn stalks and Indian corn.

For families with older kids, Cheeseman’s features the super-scary Fright Farm. Expect a frightening haunted hayride populated with actors, a corn maze and walk-through attractions on weekend nights during October. The genuinely jarring mayhem begins at dark and is geared toward teens and adults. Kids 12 and younger must be accompanied by an adult.

Chase your thrills at Cheeseman Farm, 147 Kennedy Road, Portersville.

6. Harvest Valley Farms Fall Festival

This Valencia family farm is a classic spot for pumpkin-picking in Pittsburgh. They’ve been celebrating the fall season in a big way for more than three decades with the Harvest Valley Farms Fall Festival. October weekends transform the working farm into a fun-filled, pick-your-own pumpkin festival. Kids will be entertained with the straw tunnel, hayrides and cornstalk maze. They can jump into the corn pit and check out pumpkin carving kits. Their grownups will enjoy the live music, craft beer from Conny Creek Brewing and shopping for crafts. You’ll find plenty of festival eats, too, like caramel apples, baked goods and selections from Mars Farmhouse Cafe.

The Harvest Valley Farms Fall Festival, located at 125 Ida Lane in Valencia, operates from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays Sept. 30 through Oct. 22. Admission is free with fees for some activities.

7. Shenot’s Farm & Market Pumpkin Patch

Hayrides to the pumpkin patch and corn maze are popular attractions this time of year at Shenot’s Farm & Market, a six-generation family farm — another longstanding spot for pumpkin picking in Pittsburgh. The pumpkin patch is open seven days a week from Sept. 30 to Oct. 29. Hayrides to the pumpkin patch are available from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays for $5 for ages 3 and older. Or take the half-mile scenic walking trail – strollers and wagons are welcome – for $2. Along with pumpkins, you can buy fall decorations such as corn stalks, straw bales, decorative gourds, “fairy tale” pumpkins and decorative corn. We can’t resist a stop in the Fudge Room, where more than 20 flavors are offered, along with sweet treats like fudge-dipped apples and fudge pops.

Expect a smashing time following Halloween, too. Shenot’s Pumpkin Smash on Nov. 4 and 5 invites guests to bring their jack-o-lanterns to the farm where they can roll them and wreck them on the farm.

You will find Shenot’s Farm & Market at 3754 Wexford Run Road in Marshall Township.

8. The SpringHouse Great Pumpkin Weekends

The SpringHouse is a third-generation family dairy farm and old-fashioned country store and restaurant in Washington County, where tractor rides to the pumpkin patch are offered from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. on weekends through Oct. 29. Along with pumpkin picking, you can explore the Big Folks’ Corn Maze and the Kiddie Korn Maze, climb up Bale Mountain, fly down the farm’s tube slide, and play games on top of the hill. The cost for all this fun is $18 for pickers and $14 for non-pickers. Kids ages 2 and younger are free. All that activity is likely to work up an appetite that will take the family to The SpringHouse Market and Restaurant. The tempting menu includes a Happy Harvest Platter, August Hog Roast Sampler and Smoked Brisket, along with kid meals.

Head to SpringHouse, 1531 Route 136, North Strabane Township.

9. Hozak Farms Fall Festival

The annual Fall Festival is happening at Hozak Farms from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays from Sept. 30 through October, as well as 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Columbus Day. Beat the weekend crowds from 2-6 p.m. weekdays with free hayrides to the pumpkin patch. Kids can try their hand at pumpkin painting, jump in the straw pile and visit farm animals in the petting zoo. Pony rides are a special feature, weather permitting. Weekend eats are available from Highland Homestead Farm to Table Food Truck, Bubba’s Kettle Corn, Uncle Sonny’s Ice Cream and Mudpuddles Coffee Truck. Or bring your own picnic basket for a relaxing lunch on the farm’s picnic tables.

Head to Hozak Farms at 488 Anderson-Hozak Road in Clinton.

10. Freedom Farms Fall Festival

It’s the biggest event of the year for Freedom Farms. Their Fall Festival runs from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. weekends from Sept. 30 through October, as well as Columbus Day. The $10 admission, free for ages 3 and younger, includes tractor rides, a challenging corn maze, corn pit, hay mountain, petting zoo and pick-your-own sunflowers. Additional fees are required for activities like pony rides and face painting.

Special events include Military Appreciation Day on Oct. 28 with free admission for active-duty military, veterans, police officers, fire fighters, and EMS workers and their families. On Oct. 29, moms get their due with free admission for mothers. Truck or Treat is also planned for Oct. 29.

Aim your car to Freedom Farms, 434 Overbrook Road in Valencia.