Fall Activities for the Whole Foodie Fam

Feeling those annual end-of-summer blues? Well, you can forget ‘em! Fall is all-out awesome in Virginia, especially for those of us who love a good meal (or two.) The Harvest season means there’s a smorgasbord of good stuff coming out of farm and field this time of year. Harvest festivals are pretty common, but we think that Virginia has something special when it comes to getting out there and celebrating the season. There’s nothing quite like picking out your pumpkin and sipping warm apple cider while laughing kids race through corn mazes. Ahh.. fall.

Harvest festivals abound this season all across Virginia. If you’re raring to spend some quality time in a pumpkin patch or a corn maze, check out our list of awesome spots for doing just that this season.

Pumpkin Patches & Harvest Festivals Around Virginia

Now, keep in mind this list does not cover nearly everything; you can browse through a more comprehensive lineup of Commonwealth pumpkin patches and harvest festivals right here. But the following state-spanning options should give you something to start with.

Owen Farm Pumpkin Festival (October 5-28 in Danville VA)

This fun-filled fest, complete with plenty of family fun and live music, kicks off the fall season at Owen Farm, with u-pick pumpkins (plus hayrides, corn mazes, ziplines, etc.) on October weekends.

Great Country Farms Fall Pumpkin Harvest Festival (September 30-October 31in Bluemont, VA)

Pick-your-own pumpkins are available from 9 AM to 5 PM but if you want to make a day out of it, try to go on a festival day: they’re jam-packed with activities like weekend wagon rides, pig races, bonfire marshmallow roasts, and a whole lot more.

Crab Orchard Corn Maze & Pisgah Pumpkin Patch (Sep. 14-Oct. 27 in Tazewell, VA)

How’s your punkin’-chunkin’ aim? Test it out at with the mighty slingshot at the Crab Orchard Corn Maze & Pisgah Pumpkin Patch on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. You can also hunt out objects from the Crab Orchard Museum inside the Corn Maze (the theme of which this year is “Butterfly Metamorphosis”), take a wagon-ride circuit around the pumpkin patch, and take after-hours flashlight tours on Friday and Saturday nights.

Layman Family Farm Fall Festival Corn Maze & Pumpkin Patch (Sep. 21-Nov. 9 in Blue Ridge, VA)

Will you brave the eight-acre corn maze? (Don’t worry: It’s patrolled by “Corn Cops” and there are some navigation-aiding scarecrows strategically positioned throughout.) Will you brave the 40-acre pumpkin patch? (The only thing scary about it is the variety of gourds.)

Holly Fork Farm Pumpkin Patch (Sep. 28-Oct. 31 in Barhamsville, VA)

Choose amid quite the autumnal arsenal of pumpkins, sweet potatoes, jams, relishes, and more at Holly Fork Farm, which also offers hayrides, pumpkin-launching, a straw-bale maze, and more during fall. The third Saturday of October is the all-day Harvest Hoedown with live bluegrass, square-dancing, face-painting, and heaps of good eating.

Berkeley Plantation Corn Maze & Pumpkin Patch (Oct. 1-Nov. 30 in Charles City, VA)

Hit up the Berkeley Plantation’s history-drenched grounds along the James River—where William Henry Harrison came into this world and where “Taps” was composed, among other things—and try to pick your way through the corn maze. The pumpkin patch’s easier to navigate.

Bristol Pumpkin Palooza (Oct. 27 in Bristol, VA)

Decorate some pumpkins with the fam and enjoy trick-or-treating among downtown businesses at Bristol’s annual Pumpkin Palooza.

Lee-Fendall House Halloween Pumpkin Hunt (Oct. 26—613 in Alexandria, VA)

Get spooky and seek out some toy-packed pumpkins with elementary-age kiddos at the Lee-Fendall House Museum & Gardens’ sixth annual Halloween Pumpkin Hunt.

Bonus Fall Festivities

Speaking of fall soirees, we’d be remiss not giving a big old shout-out to the 62nd annual Urbanna Oyster Festival in the first weekend of November. It’s a celebration of what some call the “pumpkin of the sea”—well, OK, nobody calls oysters pumpkins of the sea, but these magnificent mollusks are a signature flavor of Virginia and you should make every effort to hit up this shellfish soiree, which was designated the state’s “Official Oyster Festival” back in 1988 and includes the crowning of the Oyster Shucking Champion.

Maybe instead of stumbling in circles through corn mazes you’d rather just sip some vino? No shame, there, and something magnificently pursued at Powhatan’s Festival of the Grape on Saturday, October 5th, which musters more than 25 Old Dominion wineries and live bands for the proceedings.

Be a Fall Foodie

So as ya’ll can see, Virginia has so much to offer to cure your end-of-summer blues. From u-pick pumpkin patches and corn mazes, to harvest festivals and wagon rides, the Commonwealth has got it all. So put on your favorite sweater, sip some cider, and get your fall on!