Looking for some fresh air? Craving some festive fall fun? Pumpkin picking is synonymous with the season and Long Island offers many farms for you to enjoy this time of year. After selecting your favorite gourd, indulge in other favorite pastimes of autumn. We’re talking about all things hay (bales, rides), corn (roasted cobs, mazes) and apple (picking, cider donuts). As the sun begins to set earlier and earlier each night, the spooky season is among us. Stick around the farm after nightfall for ghostly thrills and spine-chilling entertainment.
Don’t know where to head first? We’ve got you covered. We’ve compiled a list of some of Long Island’s best farms and patches for pumpkin picking this season. Bonus corn mazes and hayrides as well!
Benner’s Farm, East Setauket
With a variety of activities each weekend, this family farm is fun for the whole family. Benner’s has a half-acre plot of pumpkins for you to search through to find your favorite gourd. With your pumpkin in tow, you can hop on a hayride, create your own cider, or enjoy live music. Families can also book a private tour of the farm, including a viewing of the farm animals.
56 Gnarled Hollow Road, East Setauket; bennersfarm.com
Harbes Family Farms
Harbes Family Farms offers three locations for all of your fall festivitie. Visitors can pick their pumpkins in one of the farm’s multi-acre plots. Pumpkins are sold by the pound and come in many different varieties. For more seasonal fun beyond the pumpkin patch, Harbes hosts hayrides and themed corn mazes. Thrill-seekers will particularly enjoy the spooky night maze - you’ll never know what creepy character you may run into as you dart between the stalks.
715 Sound Ave, Mattituck; 1223 Route 25, Jamesport; 5698 Sound Ave, Riverhead; harbesfamilyfarm.com
Stakey’s Pumpkin Farm
Run by Farmer Jim since 1976, this family-owned and operated acreage on Long Island's East End is open seven days a week for all the season’s best outdoor activities. Scour through the spacious 26-acre patch for your favorite pumpkin. Stakey’s offers eighteen different varieties of pumpkin for pumpkin pickers to choose from. After working up an appetite in the field, bite into a sugary sweet apple cider donut, baked fresh daily onsite. Visitors can also enjoy the country house and flower house for post-pumpkin picking shopping. Other activities on the farm include hayrides, corn mazes and arm painting.
270 West Lane, Aquebogue; stakeyspumpkinfarm.com
Borella’s Farmstand
With eight acres of pumpkins for you to browse and various other autumnal activities including corn mazes and hayrides, Borella’s Farmstand is truly an all-day excursion. The farmstand has been growing for fifty years and its Fall Harvest Festival has established itself as a local family tradition. The family-owned business offers classic seasonal fun for all ages: face painting, live music and plenty of photo opps for you to take your next Instagram photo!
485 Edgewood Ave, St James; borellasfarmstand.com
White Post Farms of Melville
White Post Farms is a top destination for autumnal outdoorsy fun. The farm boasts acres of pumpkin patch for you to pick your favorite one (the pumpkin field also makes for a great Insta pic.) After you’ve selected your pumpkin, enjoy a hayride (available through November 11 and included with your admission). White Post also features a petting zoo and allows visitors to hand and bottle feed the farm animals. For other animal experiences, visitors can visit the monkey barn with dozens of primates swinging about, or the giraffe observation deck where they just might get an opportunity to feed a treat to the long-necked herbivore. Before leaving for the farm, be sure to buy tickets online and select the time slot of your visit.
250 Old Country Road, Melville; animalpettingzoo.com
Krupski Farms
Enjoy 50+ acres of farmland at this Long Island destination this fall. Krupski Farms is a one-stop shop for all things seasonal produce. Pick your favorite pumpkin from the dozens of gourds that the farm grows onsite. Other seasonal fall produce offered includes apples, broccoli, cauliflower, and winter squash. For some fresh air, you can hop on a hayride or, in the evenings, take a haunted barn tour or haunted corn maze (with live actors!) for some spooky fun.
38030 Rte 25, Peconic; (631) 734-7841
Photography by: MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images / Contributor
