From pies to lattes, the season of pumpkins has arrived in Montgomery County and the best way to celebrate is with a visit to the pumpkin patch.
Whether you’re looking for a fun family day or are ready to carve the scariest face into an orange winter squash, there are plenty of places to pick out your favorite pumpkin.
Here are five local options:
Butler’s Orchard
Butler’s Orchard, at 22222 Davis Mill Road in Germantown, is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday for pumpkin picking. No reservations are required Tuesday through Friday but they are required on the weekends.
Weekend reservations cost $3 per person online and $5 person at the gate. Pumpkins are priced at 75 cents per pound.
In addition to pumpkin picking, Butler’s 42nd annual Pumpkin Festival runs through Oct. 30. Festival hours are 1 to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Festival activities include hayrides, live music on the weekends, a twisted corn maze and corn hole games. Online tickets are $10 per person for weekdays and $15 per person on weekends. Tickets purchased at the gate are $12 per person for weekdays and $17 per person on weekends. Kids under 2 are free.
The festival is weather dependent, so attendees are advised to visit the website before traveling to the orchard.
Gaver Farm
The fall season at Gaver Farm, at 5501 Detrick Road in Mount Airy in Carroll County, runs through Oct. 31. The pumpkin patch is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. Pumpkins cost 65 cents per pound for those over 5 pounds, $3.50 each for pumpkins weighing 2 to 5 pounds and $2 each for those under 2 pounds.
Hayrides to the pumpkin patch are free.
Garver Farm offers its Fall Fun Fest from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily through Oct. 31. Some of the event’s activities include a corn maze, jumping pillows and feeding farm animals.
Fall Fun Fest admission is $12.50 per person on weekdays and $19.75 per person on October weekends.
Homestead Farm
At Homestead Farm in Poolesville, pumpkin picking season runs through Oct. 31. The farm at 15604 Sugarland Road is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, rain or shine.
There is a $3 admission fee to the farm; children aged 1 or under are free. Pumpkins cost 75 cents per pound.
Rock Hill Orchard
At Rock Hill Orchard in Mount Airy, fall activities including visits to a pumpkin patch run through the last weekend of October. All pumpkins cost $10 each.
Other fall activities include a 15-acre corn maze, a pumpkin cannon and opportunities to visit calves and watch cows being milked.
Rock Hill Orchard at 28600 Ridge Road is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends. Fall activities are only offered on weekends.
Sharp’s at Waterford Farm
Sharp’s at Waterford Farm, at 4003 Jennings Chapel Road in Brookeville, offers free hayrides to its pumpkin patch on weekends. The farm is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends until Nov. 6 and admission is free. Carving pumpkins are 79 cents per pound, kid-sized/cooking pumpkins are $6, Baby Boo pumpkins are $1.50 and Jackie Little pumpkins are $1.