Pumpkins, apples and corn mazes, oh my!
Fall is in full swing around the D.C. area. With the weather cooling down and October nearing, it’s the perfect time to get outside for some harvest season fun.
Grab your favorite scarf and check out these spots in Maryland and Virginia!
Virginia
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Cox Farms Fall Festival
📅 Thursdays to Mondays through Nov. 6, plus Tuesday, Nov. 7.
📍 15621 Braddock Rd., Centreville, Virginia
💲 $10-$25
🔗 Details
Located less than 40 minutes from downtown D.C., you could spend hours at Cox Farms exploring the attractions, hearing live music, snacking on apple cider doughnuts and browsing the farm market. Apples and pumpkins are available for sale.
The Scene
The most fun things to do and places to be in D.C., Maryland and Virginia
The Cornundrum is a corn maze meets fun house with pirates, caves, jungles and other surprises. Kids will love all the themed slides while any animal lover can feed a goat or learn to milk a cow.
For anyone ready to fast-forward to spooky season, don’t miss the Fields of Fear! It’s already open and cheaper to visit early in the season.
Pumpkin Village at Leesburg Animal Park
📅 Through Nov. 7 (closed Tuesdays)
📍 19246 James Monroe Hwy, Leesburg, Virginia
💲 $17.95-$22.95 (depending on when you visit)
🔗 Details
Fall festival fun gets a little wild at Leesburg Animal Park. Admission includes access to the animals, plus access to festival activities: giant slides, a hay maze, moon bounces, wagon rides, animal petting and a train ride.
There’s even more fun to find on the weekends, including face painting, live entertainment and a kiddie zip line.
On Wednesdays, admission is discounted to $14.95 per person. There are also value weekends in September, plus Nov. 4 and 5.
Great Country Farms
📅 Through Nov. 5
📍 Bluemont, Virginia
💲 $12-$18 (save by buying online in advance)
🔗 Details
You could easily spend a whole day at Great Country Farms, picking apples and pumpkins, exploring the farm play area, trying out 18 holes of Cow Pie Putt Putt, mazes, a farm ninja course and wagon rides.
You can even bring your own fishing gear for the catch-and-release fishing pond.
Don’t forget to stop by the bakery before heading home.
September brings the Fall Apple Harvest + Corn Maze, plus the Family Flashlight Corn Maze Nights, while the month of October is all about pumpkin picking and adult corn maze nights (but you can pick both apples and pumpkins during the last week of September!).
After Halloween, bring your jack-o-lantern for some messy fun on Pumpkin Chunkin’ Weekend.
Maryland
Gaver Farm Fall Fun Fest
📅 Through Oct. 31
📍 Mount Airy
💲 $18
🔗 Details
With a 7-acre corn maze, giant slides, farm animals and pick-your-own fields for pumpkins and apples, it’s easy to fill a day with fall fun at Gaver Farm. It’s open daily (including weekdays) from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
You don’t need a festival ticket to visit the farm for its market, Donut Hut, Barn Grill, hayrides, pumpkin patch or apple orchards. Hayrides to the pick-your-own areas are free!
Butler’s Orchard
📅 Wednesday through Sunday through Oct. 29, plus Monday, Oct. 9
📍 Germantown, Maryland
💲 $10-$17
🔗 Details
Jump from a hayloft, take a hayride, get lost in a twisted corn maze and take a dip in a corn pool during Butler’s Orchard's 43rd annual Pumpkin Festival, a 35-minute drive from downtown Silver Spring.
Pick-your-own pumpkin admission is included, but pumpkins cost 75 cents per pound.
Purchase your tickets in advance because they do sell out. Save on admission by going on a weekday or purchasing tickets online.
Private campfires are also available for rent — a great option for city dwellers who want to roast s’mores without going camping!
Magnolia Meadow Farms
📅 Through Oct. 29
📍 Thurmont, Maryland
💲 $15 (online)/$17 (at the gate)
🔗 Details
Boasting Maryland’s Largest Corn Maze alongside apple cannons, giant slides, mini ziplines, farm animals and pedal carts, this working farm is a great choice if you want to get a taste of country life.
Take a hayride to pick your own produce; Magnolia Meadow offers pumpkins, gourds, sunflowers and flowers when the season is right. Or, buy produce at the farm market, along with local meats and apple cider doughnuts.
Don’t miss the Moonlit Maze nights on Oct. 7 and 28, when you can try to find your way through 5 miles of trails in the corn maze after the sun goes down.
Magnolia Farms also does private campfire rentals.
Maryland Corn Maze
📅 Through Nov. 5
📍 Gambrills, Maryland
💲 $15.95
🔗 Details
The superhero-themed corn maze is open for the season. Check out Flashlight Nights for some after-dark fun, plus this calendar for discounts and special days.
You can also pick up pumpkins and explore the farm yard with a hay pyramid, petting zoo, jump pad and more.
Miller Farms
📅 Saturdays and Sundays through Oct. 29
📍 Clinton, Maryland
💲 $14.95 online, $16.95 at gate ($2 more on peak dates, Oct. 14 and Oct. 21)
🔗 Details
Scenic hayrides with wacky scarecrows, an "enormous" corn maze, giant slides and family photo ops are just some of what you'll find at Miller Farms, located about a half-hour from downtown D.C. and Old Town Alexandria. Stop by thefarm market for apple cider doughnuts, locally-grown applies , pumpkins, mums and more.
Montpelier Farms
📅 Through Nov. 5
📍 Upper Marlboro, Maryland
💲 General admission is $19 on weekends and $14 on weekdays
🔗 Details
You don't have to go far to find a pumpkin patch, farm activities and more.
A 7-acre, alien invasion-themed corn maze (including in haunt-free Flashlight Nights), plus a smaller version for kids, hayrides, giant hill slides, animal petting, pumpkin bowling pedal karts and more activities are all included with admission.
You must buy a ticket in advance to visit on weekends during October.
They also have private campfires available for rent.
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