It’s time for pumpkin-picking in Pittsburgh! Have fun at these 9 farm festivals in our region

Photo above courtesy of Hozak Farm.

Feel that nip in the air? The season for pumpkin-picking in Pittsburgh has returned at last! We’re ready for hayrides, corn mazes and the search for the perfect pumpkin.

These Pittsburgh-area farms have a long tradition of welcoming families to their pumpkin patches with annual festivals celebrating the season. You’ll find kid-friendly activities like hayrides, corn mazes, face painting and pumpkin decorating. And don’t forget about seasonal treats like caramel apples and freshly pressed apple cider from the local harvest.

Here are 9 fun-filled farm festivals you can explore this fall for great pumpkin-picking in Pittsburgh and the surrounding region:

Triple B Farms Fall Festival

Pumpkin-picking opened Sept. 24 at Triple B Farms Fall Festival. A $15 ticket (free for ages 2 and younger) includes activities for kids and grownups to enjoy together. New this year are the Scootin’ Scooters, Grain Bin Basketball and Singing Chicken Show. Fave attractions like the Rope Maze, Pumpkinland Barnyard Carnival and Giant Slides continue to excite visitors. Work up an appetite and 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 operates from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through Oct. 30. Head to 823 Berry Lane, Monongahela.

Soergel Orchards Fall Festival

Soergel Orchards Fall Festival welcomes pumpkin-pickers on weekends from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. through Oct. 30. Expect tractor rides, games and other activities, plus lots of great food.

During the week, pumpkin picking is scheduled from noon-5 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays and until 7 p.m. on Fridays. Catch a Friday Night Hayride beginning Sept. 30 when Soergels fires up the grill for hot dogs and revelers can enjoy pulled pork, nachos and pretzels.  Live music is part of the Friday night pumpkin picking experience with My So-Called-90s-Band scheduled for Oct. 7 and Abbott’s Cross on Oct.14. Fall Festival admission is free. Soergel Orchards is located at 2573 Brandt School Road, Wexford.

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. 23. Admission is free but some activities require additional costs. A $10 advance ticket (free for ages 2 and younger) is good for the hayrides to the pumpkin patch and access to the three-acre corn maze. Catch a train ride that’s perfect for younger kids ($3), accept a dare for bungee jumping ($6) and show your skills at rock climbing ($6). You’ll also find live music and great eats from food trucks. And don’t skip tempting treats like fried Oreos, funnel cake and freshly popped kettle corn. Point your car to Trax Farms, 528 Trax Road, Finleyville.

Cheeseman Farm Pumpkin Festival

Cheeseman Farm Pumpkin Festival is another great spot for pumpkin-picking in Pittsburgh’s viscinity. They welcome pumpkin pickers on weekends 11 a.m.-5 p.m. through Oct. 30, as well as Monday, Oct. 10. 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.

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. 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. 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 Zimmerman’s Farm Concessions.

The Harvest Valley Farms Fall Festival operates from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays through Oct. 23. Admission is free. Harvest Valley Farms is located at 125 Ida Lane, Valencia.

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, Marshall Township, a six-generation family farm — another longstanding spot for pumpkin-picking in Pittsburgh. The pumpkin patch is open seven days a week throughout October. The hayride to the pumpkin patch is $5 for ages 3 and older, or $2 to take the half-mile scenic walking trail (strollers and wagons are welcome!).

Along with pumpkins, you can buy fall decorations such as corn stalks, straw bales, decorative gourds, “fairy tale” pumpkins and decorative corn. A terrific lineup of food trucks is scheduled on weekends. Find Shenot’s Farm & Market at 3754 Wexford Run Road, Wexford.

Simmons Farm Fall Activities

Fall activities, including apple- and flower-picking, are open seven days a week at Simmons Farm in McMurray. Hayrides out to the pumpkin field are available, but families can also walk to the fields for pumpkin picking. Entertainment includes a petting zoo, rubber duck races, a human hamster wheel, plus the new 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.

A wristband for the full roster of fall activities is $15, free for kids measuring less than 33 inches. Or add in the hayride or walk on the harvest trail and any size pumpkin for $19. It’s all happening at Simmons Farm, 170 Simmons Road, McMurray.

SpringHouse Great Pumpkin Weekends

SpringHouse is a third-generation family dairy farm and old-fashioned country store and restaurant in North Strabane Township, Washington County, where tractor rides to the pumpkin patch are offered from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. on weekends through Oct. 30. 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. Head to SpringHouse, 1531 Route 136, Washington.

Hozak Farms Fall Festival

The annual fall festival is happening at Hozak Farms from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays throughout October, as well as 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday, Oct. 10. Beat the 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 with farm animals. Refreshments are available 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, Clinton.

Along with pumpkin-picking in Pittsburgh, want more fall fun? Check out our big fall events guide and our guide to great local farms for apple picking!