October 2018 – It’s pumpkin patch season!

Pumpkin patches that we’ve been

Lemos Farms, Half Moon Bay 9am-5pm

Lemos Farms is the Big Dog of pumpkin patches on the Peninsula. They have it all: a train ride, a hay ride, goat petting zoo, pony rides, pumpkins… the list goes on. However, in my mind Lemos Farms is a victim of its own success. The traffic on Highway 92 to get to the farm can be incredibly slow it completely destroys the experience. And then, once you get there, you have to find parking and wait in line for everything. It’s pure insanity and having done their pumpkin patch once I’m done. Go to Lemos for a birthday party any other time of year – all the rides will be operating, traffic will be lighter, and you will have a chance to enjoy yourself.

Webb Ranch Pumpkin Patch, Portola Valley/Palo Alto 9am-5pm

Webb ranch is my new preferred pumpkin patch. It’s almost immediately off of 280 at the Alpine road exit. This patch is definitely popular but the traffic isn’t anywhere near the disaster zone that is Half Moon Bay. It is much smaller and the prices are a higher than Lemos farms (it is Palo Alto after all…) but it is much less stress. If your schedule is flexible I recommend arriving late-ish in the afternoon when the parking lot loosens up a little and the crowds dissipate. They have a “train” ride that’s a tractor that pulls a series of rain barrels that have been cut to have seats for little kids. My son’s favorite last year was the reptile petting zoo – we probably spent 90 minutes in the tent looking at 20 or so different snakes and lizards. The handlers are knowledgable about the animals and are willing to allow the kids to handle a variety of snakes. Big thumbs up.

Grandpa Kevin’s pumpkin patch, San Bruno Tanforan mall. close around 5pm

The mall pumpkin patch is underwhelming and very expensive. That said, these people are trying to make a living so I’ll enjoy it for what it is: a convenient place to pretend like we care about Halloween. They have a few bouncy houses and a bunch of small overpriced pumpkins. The staff can be kind of mean about the jumpers but like I said they’re trying to make a living and if you pay for 15 minutes of jumpy house you get 15 minutes not 16 minutes. The good thing is they are next to the mall so you’re not going out of your way to let the kids bump around and burn some energy. If I recall they sell a season pass for the bouncy houses. Maybe I’ll do that this year.

Half Moon Bay Highway 1

Just start at Pacifica and drive south down Highway 1. There’s a bunch of pumpkin-sellers along the highway. I’m sure the farms have names but I don’t know them. While you’re buying pumpkins you can also buy farm fresh produce like orange cauliflower and brussel sprouts still on their stalks.

Interesting pumpkin patches that i want to see

Uesugi farms, San Martin/Morgan Hill/Gilroy. 9am-dark.

This place looks bigger than Lemos farms with a Disneyland atmosphere. They go all out here: bands every weekend, contests, wild west shows, wow… There’s charge a $7 fee for parking on the weekends. It’s a 1 hour drive from San Bruno but maybe it’s worth a look. Just go there and hit up the Gilroy outlets before or after. Looks like they have a mini steam train too. That’ll be a hit with the kids.