Pumpkin Picking Farms and Corn Mazes on Long Island

Pumpkins, pumpkins, round and fat wait for you, nestled alongside mysterious corn mazes and the occasional haunted orchard.  Some are prepicked and neatly arranged in a “pumpkin patch.” Others are on the vine, which in practical terms means the tough and prickly stem has been cut off the equally tough and prickly vine but the pumpkin has not been moved. Pumpkin patches offer a quick view of all the pumpkins on offer, gathered together into a manageable space. Fields of pumpkins, on the other hand, are more spread out and give you and the kids a good chance to really stretch your legs. All of the farms listed here provide either carts or wheelbarrows to help transport your finds. This year Long Island pumpkin prices range between $.59 and $.69 per pound.

Practical Considerations
Plan to wear sneakers or boots, as furrows in fields and corn mazes create very uneven footing, and if there has been any rain at all things quickly become muddy and quite slippery. Consider bringing a pair of gloves if you need to separate your pumpkin from its vine.

You should leave your dog at home. These working farms cannot allow pets on their properties. There are FDA regulations they must consider, as well as the well-being of their farm animals.

Bring cash or call ahead to see if the farm will accept credit cards. It’s a good idea to call ahead in any case, as weather or unforeseen events can close a farm down for the day.

Choosing & Preserving Your Pumpkins
Make sure your pumpkin has the stem attached, and is free of bruises, cuts, or any soft spots that could let bacteria in and cause your pumpkin to rot. You can keep a pumpkin fresh and ready for carving for months if you give it a quick rinse in a mild bleach solution, dry it thoroughly, and then keep it in a slightly cool, dark, well ventilated area for about a week. This helps cure the pumpkin rind, making it tougher and more resistant to rot. You can keep pumpkins this way for months. I have harvested pumpkins in late July and kept them right up to Halloween.

Carved pumpkins rot extremely quickly. If you gather pumpkins very early, let the kids paint them on one side and then wait to carve them on the opposite side until right before Halloween.

If you want to make a fresh pumpkin pie you will need to look for smaller, sweeter sugar pumpkin varieties that are developed for eating. You can cook a jack-o-lantern pumpkin, but it will not make the best pie. Make sure you ask at the farm if they have pumpkins suitable for eating.

Below is a list of the pumpkin-picking farms we've found. 

The Dees' Nursery
69 Atlantic Avenue, Oceanside
Hours: Saturdays and Sundays in October, 8am–6pm
Pumpkin patch, pony rides, animals; haunted walk (scary)
On weekends in October the nursery runs a “Fall Festival” with a petting zoo, pony rides, face painting and of course a pumpkin patch. They also feature a haunted walk, but it will be too scary for many kids and is best suited to teenagers and adults. For more information call: 516-678-3535

F&W Schmitt's Family Farm

26 Pinelawn Road
, Melville

Hours: Saturdays, Sundays and Columbus Day 9am–5pm
Admission: Free

Pumpkin patch; Robin Hood corn maze; haunted house
The farm has a huge prepicked pumpkin patch, where pumpkins are conveniently arranged by size. It also offers hay rides, slides, a giant straw pyramid, a big playground, pony rides, and farm animals to visit—most for an extra fee. For $8 per person there is a complex interactive Robin Hood– themed corn maze. On October 6th they open a child-friendly haunted mansion for $5 per person. After 5 pm, the haunted house and the corn maze become seriously spooky and are not appropriate for young children. There is a daytime corn maze coupon available on the website here. For more information call: 631-271-3276
.

Albert H. Schmitt Family Farms
6 Bagatelle Road, Dix Hills
Hours: 9am–6pm daily
Admission: Free
Pumpkin patch, hay rides, bouncy house
Activities for the family include a hay ride, animal train ride, pumpkin bouncy house, and John Deere Trike Play area. You can also enjoy some delicious roasted corn, fresh-baked goods, homemade candy apples, and local apple cider. For more information call: 631-549-1159.

White Post Farms

250 Old Country Road
, Melville

Hours: 10am–4 pm Saturdays, Sundays, and Columbus Day Sept 22–Oct 28
Admission: $14.73 plus tax
Pumpkin patch; hay rides; shows; animals; aviary
The animal farm and aviary is open all week, admission is $9.90 plus tax, but pumpkins, hay rides are available only on their special Fall Festival weekends.
The festival includes admission to the animal farm and aviary, bouncers, train rides, sing-along train rides, pony rides, a balloon race game, a chance to play in a whole bunch of straw, and an all-day set of stage shows that include a magic show, a show with trained pigs, and a pirate show. The pumpkins are prepicked and placed in a huge field. This fifth-generation farm provides hours of fun. For more information call: 631-351-9373


Elwood Pumpkin Farm
1500 E Jericho Turnpike, Huntington

Hours: Monday–Friday 3–6 pm
Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays 10 am–5 pm
Pumpkins on the vine; hay ride; small corn maze
This working farm is the closest pumpkin field to NYC. The farm offers a hay ride around the fields and a small corn maze for children. Cash only. For more information, and to be sure they are open, call: 631–368–8626


Brightwaters Farm
1624 Manatuck Blvd, Bay Shore
Hours: Opens September 29th to Halloween
Weekdays 9am–5 pm
Saturday, Sunday, Columbus Day 9am–6pm
Pumpkin patch; hay and pony rides
This working 12-acre farm offers a full farmers' market, pumpkin picking, hay and pony rides, and a chance to feed the farm animals. Pumpkins are .69 per pound and there are ticket fees for feeding the animals and for rides on weekdays. On weekends admission is $5 per person and includes unlimited hayrides, the farm playground, a clown, face painting, and animal viewing. Starting October 1st the farm has a culinary barn serving a variety of delicious foods including turkey legs, pumpkin beer, roasted corn and cider. Coupons are available online here For more information call: 631-665-5411

Colonial Springs Farms
201 Main Street, Wheatley Heights
Hours: Saturdays, Sundays, and Columbus Day 10am–5pm
Pumpkin patch; corn maze; train; Zzip line
This 34 acre working farm offers all of the usual pumpkin picking season fun including a corn maze, a small child corn maze, pony and hay rides, a train with cars that look like cows, a “Little Farmers” playland, a Silo Slide and for kids 3–5 feet tall, a zip line ride. There is also have a glass beehive. For more information call: 631-643-4829

Organics Today

160 Washington Street
, East Islip

Hours:  Daily 9am–6pm until Halloween
Admission: Free

Pumpkins on the vine; hay ride
Have fun seeking the perfect organic pumpkin in this three-acre field. Then relax with a hay ride or delicious homemade pumpkin pies, roasted corn, apple cider donuts, and baked apples. The farm also has an organic market and produces and sells raw honey. For more information call: 631-650-4424


Borellas Farm Stand
485 Edgewood Avenue, St James
Saturdays, Sundays, and Columbus Day in October 10am–5 pm
Admission $10 (includes all activities)
On-the-vine pumpkins; corn maze; hay rides
This 58-year-old family farm offers pumpkins off the vine, a corn maze, bouncers, hay rides, face painting, and music. The farm stand sells the usual delicious treats as well as a full line of 100% natural, vegan friendly, homemade bath products and soaps. For more information call: 631-862-7330

Benners Farm

56 Gnarled Hollow Road
, East Setauket

Hours: 12–4 pm on weekends Sept 29– Oct 31
On-the-vine pumpkins; haunted hay ride; farm animals
Benners is a charming small farm that offers a chance to pick pumpkins from the fields, experience a haunted hay ride, and visit with a friendly menagerie of ponies, sheep, goats, chickens, geese, ducks, turkeys, pigs, and rabbits that like to be fed and petted. The farm also has a wonderful huge oak tree with a great swing. Throughout October it hosts Saturday morning workshops for kids. You can find the schedule here. For more information call: 631-689-8172
.

Woodside Nursery and Garden

134 East Woodside Avenue
, North Patchogue

Hours: 9am–6pm daily from Sept 29th to Oct 30th
Pumpkin patch; haunted tunnel
This is one of the few places that have entertainment for the kids all week long. There are separate prices for each activity. Admission to the 300-foot haunted tunnel is $2.50 per person; admission to the bounce house is $2; additional activities include mining for “gold,” face painting, and constructing a full-size scarecrow. Prices for these activities are listed on their website. The haunted tunnel has some rather scary props and is probably too intense for smaller children. It is not an adults-only haunted display though. The farm has been working for 20 years to produce something that is in their words “not too scary, but not too timid.” They have been improving it for 20 years. There is a buy-two-get-one-free coupon for the haunted tunnel on their website here. For more information call: 631-758-1491
.

Davis Peach Farm
561 Hulse Landing Rd, Wading River 
Hours: Fridays and Saturdays 3–10pm in October
Pumpkin patch; haunted apple orchard
This farm has a pumpkin patch and an apple orchard, half of which is open for picking apples and half of which is haunted by very scary costumed characters who chase after your hay wagon. We did the haunted hay ride in broad daylight and it was creepy. The kids, ages 5 to 10, were not scared to the point of crying but came close. It helps if they have a “weapon” to brandish at the fiends. I gave one nephew who was really petrified my empty Pepsi bottle to threaten the monsters with and that got him through it. The farm also sells fresh cider, and homemade chocolates and has some animals to look at. Call ahead to be sure the famr is open: 631-929-1115.

Finks Country Farm
6242 Middle Country Rd
Wading River 
Hours: Saturdays and Sundays Sept 29th–Oct 28th; 9am–5pm
Admission: $13 per person
Pumpkin patch; corn maze; pumpkin catapult; pig races
On weekends this farm charges admission for a full day of fun. Included in the ticket price are access to the pumpkin patch, unlimited hay rides, the corn maze, pig races, calf roping, animal farm, bouncers, playground, corn box (like a sandbox but with corn), and one turn at the pumpkin catapult. For additional fees, there are pony rides (starting at 10:30am), a corn cannon, face painting, professional Western-themed photos, and additional chances to sling pumpkins high into the air. Saturday nights in October you can tour the maze by flashlight for $9 per person (bring your own flashlight). On October 26th and 27th the maze becomes spooky. On October 28th they have a trick-or-treat maze. Please note that if you only want to pick a pumpkin you must come Monday–Friday 2:30–5pm. Access to the pumpkins on weekends is only with full admission to all events. A portion of the weekend proceeds goes to the Dale Curtis Stolz Foundation, helping families in the local community with ailing children. For more information call: 631-886-2272.

May's Farm
6361 Rte. 25A, Wading River
Hours: 9am–6pm daily
On-the-vine pumpkins; corn maze; hay and pony rides
Pumpkin picking, a corn maze, hay rides and pony rides are all offered on October weekends at this working farm. This working farm grows flowers, fruits and vegetables and has greenhouses full of flowers in spring and summer. For more information call: 631-929-6654.

Fritz Lewin Farms

1989 Sound Avenue
, Calverton

Hours: 9am–4:30pm Wednesday to Monday (closed Tuesdays)
On-the-vine pumpkins; corn maze; pick-your-own veggies
This 1,100-acre family farm does not have a lot of bells and whistles. It has great produce though, and fields of pick-your-own pumpkins and a variety of vegetables in season. Apples, late-summer vegetables, and of course pumpkins are available now. The farm does have a corn maze and delicious roasted corn for sale on weekends. Lewin Farms asks that you call before visiting to be sure they are open: 631-929-4327.

The Milk Pail

1346 Montauk Hwy.
, Water Mill

Hours: Friday, Saturday, Sunday from 10am–5:30pm 
until Halloween
Free admission
Heritage Variety Pumpkin Stand; Pick-your-own apples
This 13-generation family farm and apple orchard offers a huge variety of really interesting pumpkins for sale at their farm stand, including bumpy green ones and ghostly white ones. Pumpkins range in size from half pound to 150 pounds. There is also a large apple orchard where you pay $37 for a bag that you can then fill with about 20 lbs. of apples. The varieties available each week are listed on their website. The growing season is about 2 weeks early this year so do call ahead to see how the crops are going and what is still available. They do not have restroom facilities. For more information call: 631- 537-2565


Hank's Pumpkintown

240 Montauk Highway
, Water Mill
Hours: 9:30am–6pm daily until October 30th
On-the-vine pumpkins; corn maze park; hay rides
Pumpkintown offers vine-grown pumpkins at .65 per pound, a large playground that includes a wooden pirate ship, a farm stand, and $3 wagon rides. For $10 per person the place offers a maze park with several different mazes, unlimited tractor train rides, calf roping, cow milking, hay rides, a 50-foot tube slide, curly slides, and more. For more information call: 631-726-4667

Fairview Farm
69 Horsemill Lane, Bridgehampton NY
(GPS: use Watermill 11976)
Hours: Thursdays to Sundays 10am– 6pm September 1 to November 4
Also open Sept 26 Yom Kippur and Oct 8 Columbus Day
Admission: adults $10; children 4–11 $8; children under 3 are free
Pumpkin Patch; Corn Maze; Corn Cannon (yup, it shoots corn cobs) In addition to a pumpkin patch, farm animals, a country store and a large exciting corn maze, this farm features a Corn Cannon that lets you shoot corn cobs far far away. They also have corn–boxes where kids can dig and roll in corn kernels, and smaller mini hay bale mazes for the tiniest tots. There is an admission coupon online here. For more information call: 631-537-6154 

Stakeys Pumpkin Farm

270 West Lane
, Aquebogue

Hours: Weekdays 12 pm–5 pm
Weekends, Yom Kippur and Columbus Day 9 am–5 pm
On–the–Vine Pumpkins; Corn Maze; Hay and Pony Rides
Stakeys is a fun and friendly destination over 18 different varieties of pumpkins that you can pick off the vine. If you are strong and have long arms you can pay $25 for all the pumpkins you can carry. If your arms are also occupied keeping track of small children you can buy your pumpkins at .59 per pound, which is a very good price. The farm also offers a 3–acre corn maze, hayrides, pony rides, face painting and a small bouncy house. The corn maze includes a trivia quiz where correct answers send you in the right direction and wrong answers can send you in circles. There are fall flowers and decorations for sale and a snack shack offering roasted corn, hot dogs, chicken nuggets, and more. For more information call: 631-722-3467.

Harbes Family Farm
715 Sound Avenue
, Mattituck

Hours: Open daily 9 am–6 pm through October 31

On–The–Vine Pumpkins; Corn Maze; Hayrides; Pig Races
Harbes is another family farm with three locations, all of which offer pumpkins, hayrides and mazes. The biggest venue is on Sound Avenue in Mattituck. During the week, and on weekends, you can field pick pumpkins and enjoy roast corn and all the produce and flowers at their farm stand. Also free are their picnic area, sand box, beanbag toss games and live music. Pumpkins are priced by the pound and there is no fee to enter the fields. On weekends for an extra fee they open up their Barnyard area where kids can enjoy pig races, pony rides, hayrides, a corn maze and a pumpkin field. Across the road is a second field and corn maze where you can simply pay for a pumpkin or the maze. These mazes are not huge and can probably be completed in less than 30 minutes. For more information on any Harbes Farm call: 631-298-0800
.

Harbes Farm & Orchard
5698 Sound Avenue, Riverhead 
Hours: Daily 9am–6pm
Pumpkin Patch; Apple Orchard; Robin Hood Corn Maze; Haunted Night Maze
Just down the road Harbes has a Pumpkin Patch, a 5 acre pick–your–own apple orchard and a huge Robin Hood Themed maze where Robin Hood will teach kids to shoot a bow and arrow and Prince John may challenge them to a sword fight. On Friday and Saturday nights the maze is open from 7 – 10 pm and gets quite spooky. A combined Maze and Hayride ticket costs $9.95 per person during the day and $ 12.95 at night. This farm also has refreshments and some animals to visit. For more information on any Harbes Farm call: 631-298-0800
.

Harbes Western Theme Family Farm
1223 Rte. 25, Jamesport
Hours: Daily 9am–6 pm
Pumpkin Patch; Western Themed Interactive Maze; Hayrides
Over on the middle road is the third Harbes stand with another pumpkin patch and a 7 acre a wild west themed interactive corn maze where a sheriff and outlaws wander around waylaying visitors. There is also a Frontier Adventure Land area with hayrides, and a small–child friendly mini–maze, a playground, and games like potato sack races. There are prices for individual attractions or for various attraction combinations. Please click here for details. Some activities may be closed on weekdays. For more information on any Harbes Farm call: 631-298-0800.


Gabrielsen’s Country Farm
1299 Main Road, Jamesport
Hours: 7 days a week 8am–7pm
Play area Admission: $8
Pumpkin Patch; Corn Maze; Bouncers; Animals
Gabrielsen’s has a huge greenhouse and pumpkin patch which anyone can visit for free. They also have two rather friendly cows who can be visited with no admission charge. For $8 per person you can enter their large play area complete with a complex corn maze, hay rides, bouncers and slides, swings, a play house filled with corn kernels to roll around in, and friendly animals to visit, including a llama. There are rather nice cedar swings for adults to laze about in while they watch the kids. The farm also sells snacks such as fresh lemonade and some of the sweetest local roasted corn I’ve tasted this year. For more information call 631-722-3259.

Please let us know if we've missed a great farm, if there was something you loved that we didn't mention, or if there was—perish the thought—something you did not care for. Now, pack up the car and head out for a day of fresh air, lots of good clean dirt, and a field full of bright cheerful pumpkins. Have fun!