Beautiful Fall weather is finally here in NOVA and you may be wondering if there is somewhere close by where you can go pick apples, pick pumpkins, pet farm animals, and eat apple cider donuts next month. Maybe you are even looking for a corn maze! Perhaps it is Spring and you are looking for the perfect place to pick your own strawberries with your kids. We’ve crowd-sourced a list of Family-Friendly Farms in Northern Virginia for every occasion.
We also have a list of flower fields in Northern Virginia if you want to keep exploring!
Apple Farms in Northern Virginia
Apple picking in Northern Virginia is a great activity to enjoy with kids of all ages. No matter which farm you decide to visit, make sure to check the website for closures and availability of apples.
Great Country Farms has always been one of our family favorites. It is ginormous and well-organized to keep crowding to a minimum. You can ride in a wagon up to the apples and pick to your heart’s content. Before picking your apples you can visit animals, play on numerous play structures, visit the dog park with your furry pet, and more. Ride a hay-ride wagon to the apple trees and back. Pay for your apples and buy all kinds of amazing goodies including apple cider donuts in the store before you depart. See more under pumpkin patches – this farm has it all.
Hartland Farms is another great apple-picking location with trees are purposely pruned so that the fruit is lower to the ground which makes for easier picking.
Stribling Orchard Farm has always been a big family favorite as well. Plan ahead to schedule a farm tour to learn about the farm’s history and visit the animals. This farm is mostly about the apples in the Fall and peaches in the Spring, but the store at the end is the best ever and includes apple cider donuts and the most delicious apple cider ever.
Pumpkin Patches on Farms in Northern Virginia
Great Country Farms. In October, weekend shows include a dinosaur that crushes the pumpkins! This is a dog-friendly pumpkin patch in Northern Virginia as well. Dogs must be on a leash except in the fenced dog play area. Water bowls for doggies are provided just outside the restroom area. Military members and their dependents get in free at Great Country Farms with any valid military I.D. (including dependent IDs).
Homestead Farms in Poolesville MD is a great place to pick pumpkins. On a weekday afternoon, you might practically have the place to yourself, but you will have to settle for pre-picked pumpkins are in the market area. On weekends, you can take a hayride out to the field to get a pumpkin. In addition to pumpkins, they have animals to visit: goats, chickens, and pigs. Throughout the growing season, this farm has cherries, blueberries, peaches, blackberries, apples, and pumpkins to pick. In the Fall they have hayrides on the weekend.
Hidden Gems Farm VA started up during the pandemic. They are a small family farm with pumpkins, donuts, goats, and goat milk products.
Perhaps the most popular pumpkin experience in Northern Virginia, Cox Farm is not really a pumpkin patch at all. It’s a fantastic Fall playground covered in Halloween decorations and complete with giant slides build from hay, swinging ropes, a petting area, and amazing food on the weekends. Cox Farm can be pretty crowded on the weekends though, so I do recommend visiting on a weekday when prices are cheaper and crowds are fewer and further between. It’s been described as Disney-esque crowds during October weekends! Search Google for coupons to get a better price. On the way out, everyone gets to grab a pie-sized pumpkin included in the price of admission.
Leesburg Animal Park is open year-round but in the Fall they add a Pumpkin Village. This place is actually a zoo with African Serval Cats, White-Handed Gibbons, Zebras, Lemurs, Camels, Sloth, Llamas, Donkeys, Goats, Sheep, Pigs, Cows, Bunnies, Ducks, and many more animals.
Braehead Farm. A fun family farm in Maryland, just a short drive from Northern Virginia, in the Fall this farm has Fall festivals every weekend with a large family playground and pumpkins to pick or buy. You will also find a corn maze, hayrides, and fun slides. In the market, you will want to check out the kettle corn, pumpkin ice cream, and all kinds of goodies. This farm also has sunflowers and all kinds of produce for picking.
If you’d rather visit a Northern Virginia pumpkin patch with fewer crowds, try Burke Nursery, or Nalls Produce.
U-Pick Strawberry Farms in Northern Virginia
Braehead Farm. We had so much fun picking strawberries at this farm. You will find plenty of beautiful strawberries in the Spring. You’ll also see farm animals the littles will enjoy and can feed, a kitchen with delicious sandwiches, a place where you can picnic on tables or under trees, a market with delicious strawberry ice cream, and more.
Best Farm to See Sunflowers from Northern Virginia
Summers Farm in Frederick, Maryland has an Annual Sunflower Festival with lots of stuff for kids and adults of all ages. Your family will enjoy two corn mazes, a Right Turn Only Maze, farm animals, huge pillow trampolines, slides, a mini zip line, and a wagon ride to the gorgeous Sunflower field where you cut your own bloom to take home. In the market, you can purchase pre-cut sunflower blooms and more!
Corn Maze Farms in Northern Virginia
Corn Maze in the Plains is a fun day, especially for younger kids.
Belvedere Plantation is well known for a fun corn maze, however, you will find lots of kids’ activities including a jumping pillow, a rope swing, a petting zoo, a wagon ride to pick your own pumpkins, food, and more. This farm is much less crowded and has more space than some of the more popular pumpkin patches, with the added benefit of a corn maze challenge.
As mentioned previously, Braehead Farm does have a corn maze.
Farm Parks
Frying Pan Park. This park is maintained by Fairfax County Park Authority and is free to the public. The farm has animals for petting, tractor rides, a playground, and more. Some activities come with a fee.
Kinder Farm Park. Dog-friendly and really close to Buster’s Ice Cream. Make a day of it in Annarundel County, MD.
Farm Fall Festivals in Northern Virginia
Here is a complete list of farm festivals in Northern Virginia.
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