Like most Midwestern kids, the Adventure Kids enjoy lots of fun-filled activities during the fall. Most of these activities revolve around the many pumpkin patches in our area.
If you’re looking for which pumpkin patch around Indy might be best for you and your kids, then we’ve got a rundown for you of our 4 favorites. We’ve also included special recommendations for each.
Lark Ranch
This ranch, full of fall fun, has two locations. We’ve visited the one in Greenfield, which is about 30 minutes east of Indy. They also have a location in Loogootee, which is about 1 hour and 45 minutes southwest of Indy. The information in this post will be referring to the Greenfield location.
Lark Ranch is open on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays in September and October. Everyone ages 3 and older will need a ticket to enter.
Tickets are either $9.99 or $11.99, depending on which day you visit. Just check their website’s calendar for daily pricing.
All of these activities are included in your ticket price:
- pumpkin patch
- train ride
- corn maze
- hayride
- slide mountain
- jumping pillow
- corn cannon
- animal farm
- kiddie zipline
- life-size bird houses
- slides
- antique tractors
- corn box
- sand box
- pedal go karts,
They also have pony rides and gem mining available for additional costs. There is a TON to do here. Food and drink vendors are located around the property as well.
Our Recommendations for Lark Ranch:
- Buy tickets online ahead of time so you can skip the line to enter.
- Come as close to opening time as you can.
- The Adventure Kids think this is the best train ride around, so prepare to ride it multiple times if you can. The train chugs along a little over one mile worth of track past faux towns and real animals. It’s fantastic!
Piney Acres
Piney Acres is so named because it is also a Christmas tree farm, but during the fall, they have lots of activities and pumpkins for families.
It is located about 40 minutes east of Indy in Fortville. It’s actually only about a 7-8 minute drive from Lark Ranch, so if you wanted to get super wild, you could do both in the same day.
General admission for Piney Acres is around $12 per person for those ages 3 and up and $5 per child for those under age 3 who can walk. That admission price includes:
- 7 acre corn maze
- hayrides
- unlimited play in the kids explore area which has TONS to do
- bounce zone
- barnyard twister
- cow train
- pedal carts
- games
- barnyard animals
- rope maze
- straw mountain
- kid’s corn maze
- emerald and fossil dig in the gem mine area.
The general admission price does not include food, which is sold inside in a heated/cooled large dining area with tables, chairs and clean bathrooms.
Admission also does not include some of the gem mine activities, pumpkins, or the apple/pumpkin cannon which you might want to check out as well.
If you have older kids, there are several haunted activities that you all can try out; just check their website for times and details.
Our recommendations for Piney Acres:
- Make sure the kids are wearing clothes that can get dirty as there are lots of areas for them to play in sand, dirt, gem mining water, mud holes, hay, etc. Mess-lovin’ kids like the Adventure Kids will dig all of that.
- Also, be sure to read the pricing options online before you get up to the counter to pay; there are several options for buying experiences a la carte that might make sense for your family and might also confuse you if you wait until you get to the counter to pay.
- Finally, although some of the treats there are definitely worth trying, don’t plan to buy and eat an entire meal in their dining area.
Waterman’s Family Farm
This farm has two locations. One is on the southeast side of Indy and the other is in Greenwood.
The Indy location is the pumpkin patch that I grew up visiting with my family, and it has lots to offer in addition to a real pumpkin patch. The following information is for the Indy location, but the Greenwood location has similar offerings. Check their website for more specifics.
The admission fee for Waterman’s ranges from $5 to $8 per person depending on the day and age of the guest (check their website for current pricing). All of these activities are included in the price of admission:
- hayride to and from the pumpkin patch
- watching a robotic dinosaur eat pumpkins
- cornfield maze
- straw mountain
- straw bale maze
- bounce houses
- combine slide
- giant sandbox
- spinning pumpkin
- pumpkin bowling
- farm animals
- farm playground
If you plan to pick and take home pumpkins, those are priced per pound. There are also some activities that you can purchase separately, such as:
- pony rides
- camel rides
- make-and-take scarecrows
- walk-through giant inflatable dragon
- small train ride
- bungee jumping
- concessions
- bird experience
Some of the extra experiences are only open on weekends, so make sure you look at the Waterman’s website to plan what you’ll see.
Additionally, there is a farm store on the property that is open year-round, and there are opportunities for u-pick produce throughout the growing seasons as well.
Our Recommendations for Waterman’s:
- First, this pumpkin patch can be very busy. If possible, go during the week rather than the weekend.
- The Adventure Kids LOVE watching the dinosaur named Tyranny chomp up pumpkins, so make sure you don’t miss out on that!
- They also love to get dirty, and there are many places to do that here, so we recommend wearing play clothes and shoes when visiting this pumpkin patch.
- You should also bring cash along if you plan to pay for any of the extras.
- Finally, when you go out to the patch, it might be a good idea to only have the kids pick their pumpkins there. When you get back to the store, you’ll be able to purchase bigger ones there. This way, you won’t have to lug the big pumpkins onto and off of the hayride while also helping the youngsters on and off.
The Apple Works Orchard
This orchard is located about 45 minutes south of downtown Indy in Trafalgar, Indiana. The land is beautiful.
During the last weekend in September and throughout October, people from Indy flock here to pick pumpkins and enjoy seasonal treats. One of the reasons it’s a favorite is because there is no admission fee.
They have a big red barn that serves as a country store where you can sample up to 50 varieties of apples, purchase jams, pies, breads, and fudge, or enjoy some ice cream or apple slushies. The store is packed with goodies.
Activities available for a small fee include:
- train rides on The Apple Express
- pony rides
- wagon rides out to the 20 acre u-pick pumpkin patch
- playground area with a zipline, climbers, and tunnels
They also offer live music every weekend in September and October.
Our Recommendations for The Apple Works:
- Make sure you check their website or call ahead to see if there are any special events taking place on the day you plan to attend.
- Bring cash; there is not an ATM on property.
- You should also plan to spend a few hours here as there is lots to see and do. If you’re there during busy times, there will be lots of others waiting in line with you for their turn to ride the train or tractor, so take your time and enjoy.
Do you know of an Indy-area pumpkin patch that you think is even more perfect than these? If so, let us know in the comments so we can check out your recommendation. We’re always up for another pumpkin adventure.
