Nothing quite says fall like sipping on fresh apple cider, taking a trip to the pumpkin patch, or watching the leaves change color. With ample cornfields and a whole lot of rolling hills, Wisconsin is a great backdrop to enjoy the fall months. In order to make the most of the season, we’ve compiled a list of Madison-area farm stands, corn mazes, orchards and pumpkin patches you should check out.
KEY 🎃 = Has pumpkins 🌽 = Has corn maze 🌸 = Has flowers 🍎 = Has pick-your-own apples and apples for sale 🍩 = Has cider donuts and cider 🍴 = Has concessions/food 🐐 = Has farm animals 👻 = Has haunted house
🍎🌽🎃🍩🐐 Alpine Ridge Orchard Every week, the apple varieties at Alpine Ridge Orchard vary with over 47 choices. Every Thursday, the orchard makes fresh-pressed apple cider. After you find your way through the orchard’s corn maze, you can enjoy an apple cider doughnut while browsing a selection of new products, including goat milk soap and lotion. 5610 Alpine Road, Brooklyn, 608-219-9208, alpineridgeorchard.com
🎃 Anderson’s Pleasant Patch Pumpkins Anderson’s is a one-stop shop for pumpkins and gourds of all sizes. This self-service pumpkin stop makes picking out your yearly decorations and soon-to-be jack-o’-lanterns as easy as pumpkin pie. 2313 Koshkonong Road, Cottage Grove, 608-219-0860, pleasantpatchpumpkins.com
🍎🍩 Appleberry Farm Apple season is in full swing at Appleberry Farm. This small family farm offers its visitors the opportunity to roam the orchard and pick their own apples. During summer berry season, the orchard also also you to peruse small fields of strawberries, red raspberries and blueberries. After a day of picking, stop by the farm store for cider donuts from Lane’s Bakery or fresh apple cider made from a blend of five or more apple varieties. 8079 Maurer Road, Cross Plains, 608-798-2780, theappleberryfarm.com
🎃🌽🌸🍩 🐐 Busy Barns Adventure Farm Spend the day in the field at Busy Barns Adventure Farm with over 40 interactive activities. Make sure to fit in a walk through the sunflower fields. Peak bloom time is expected to last through Oct. 12, so get your camera ready. W7675 UWS-12, Fort Atkinson, busybarnsfarm.com
🎃🌽🐐🍴🍩 🌸 Creek Bed Country Farmacy Strawberries, peaches and corn — oh my! Make your way from front to back at this Poynette destination. Start at the peach orchard, then make your way through the corn maze before you get to the pumpkin patch. Check out the cornzebo or hay bale theater along the way. Creek Bed Country Farmacy also offers the option to place special orders for its very own farm-to-fork beef. N2767 Mountford Road, Poynette, 608-635-8798, creekbedcountryfarmacy.com
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🍎🐐 Door Creek Orchard Door Creek Orchard opened its doors in 1984 on two sites in the middle of what once was a Norwegian-American dairy farm dating back to the early 1800s. Owned by the Griffith family and less than 10 minutes from Madison, this orchard offers its customers a quiet palace to “enjoy nature, a harvest experience and an escape from the pressure of fast-paced urban life.” The Griffiths have always been committed to using few chemicals and respecting the farm’s ecosystem as a whole through their Integrated Pest Management system. In addition to raising sheep, Door Creek Orchard grows more than 80 varieties of apples as well as grapes, pears and other fruits. Make sure to sign up for a time slot to pick your own apples on the weekends. 3252 Vilas Road, Cottage Grove, 608-838-4762, doorcreekorchard.com
🍎🎃🍩🌸🐐 Edwards Apple Orchard in Poplar Grove, Illinois Every fall, many Wisconsinites make the trek to Edwards Orchard in Illinois just over the stateline. This place is well worth the visit just for fresh apple cider doughnuts. With over 100 acres of apple trees, pumpkins, squash and more, this fourth-generation family farm welcomes families from all over to celebrate the arrival of fall. Don’t leave without a picture on the bench in front of that year’s Edwards Orchard sign — it’s tradition. 7061 Centerville Road, Poplar Grove, 815-765-2234, edwardsorchard.farm
🎃🌽🎃🌸🍴Enchanted Valley Acres Enchanted Valley Acres sports its very own big red barn as a hub for fall fun. Through Oct. 30, discover the 8-acre corn maze or zip down a 200-foot slide. Browse the patch for pumpkins (starting at $1.50 each) for carving or painting, and pick up a few corn shocks, squash and hay bales, too. What piqued our interest about Enchanted Valley Acres? Two unique experiences: gemstone mining and egg excavation. 5047 Enchanted Valley Road, Cross Plains, 608-628-2435, enchantedvalleyacres.com
🍎🎃 🍩 Eplegaarden In the late ’80s and early ’90s, Vern and Betty Forest bought the land that is now Eplegaarden and planted thousands of apple trees. Today, farm managers Rami Aburomia and Tom Griffith have continued the legacy of running a local favorite for friends and families to enjoy a day at an old-fashioned orchard farm. Take the trip south this fall to pick at the peak time. And did we mention Eplegaarden has horse-drawn hayrides? 2227 Fitchburg Road, Fitchburg, 608-845-5966, eplegaarden.com
🐐🍎🌽🎃🌸👻 Eugster’s Farm Market Eugster’s Farm Market is every fall-fanatics dream destination. The farm features a 15-acre petting farm (with optional animal feeding), a pick-your-own apple orchard, a 2-acre corn maze for the kids and a more challenging 8-acre maze. Make sure to grab tickets to Orchard Days Weekends on the farm beginning Sept. 17. And don’t miss this year’s Fall Festival, set to begin Oct. 1 and continue through the weekends. Take a wagon ride through the beautiful countryside or stop at the pumpkin patch and hand-select your carving canvas for a jack-o’-lantern. The 3D haunted house is kid friendly, and your brave little one might like the Screamy Scary Silo. 3865 WI-138, Stoughton, 608-873-3822, eugsters.com
🍎 🍩 🐐 Pleasant Springs Orchard Pleasant Spring Orchard is an expert on anything and everything apple-related. It’s not a pick-your-own orchard, but you’ll likely find the apple variety you’re looking for. Find a chart on the orchard’s website that includes each of its 74 apple varieties with helpful descriptions and ripening times. Who knew the Ashmeads Kernel variety was heirloom and russet-like? 2722 Williams Drive, Stoughton, 724-972-1729, pleasantspringsorchard.com
🎃 Heise Pumpkin Patch Heise Pumpkin Patch is a residential lawn set-up with pumpkins for $1, $2, $4 and $5 — plus corn bundles and hay bales. 4950 High Road, Middleton, facebook.com/HeisePumpkinPatch
🎃 Kalscheuer’s Pumpkin Patch Kalscheuer’s is located on a working family dairy farm and offers pumpkins of all shapes, sizes and colors. (That includes red white and blue pumpkins.) 7054 County Road K, Middleton, 608-836-3592, kalscheuers-family-pumpkin-patch.business.site
🎃 🌸 🍎🍩🍴🐐 Lapacek’s Orchard Lapacek’s Orchard rates high in the family-friendly category with playgrounds, decorations and guided tours. But there’s some fun for the adults, too — The Lapacek family has a YouTube channel, “Cider After Dark” instructing viewers on ways to create cocktails that incorporate Lapacek’s homemade cider. N1959 Kroncke Road, Poynette, 608-635-4780, lapaceksorchard.com
🎃🌸🐐 Peck’s Farm Market East Each season brings new adventures to Peck’s Farm Market. Open year-round, this award-winning farmers market is worth a stop, especially this season. This fall’s specialties include mini straw bales, corn shocks, maple syrup, mums, gourds, Indian corn and more. But the farm animals continue to be a main attraction. They include pot-bellied pigs, pheasants, swans, ducks, pygmy goats, llamas, bunnies, buffalo and elk. 6445 US Highway 14, Arena, 608-588-7177, pecksfarmmarketeast.com
🎃🌸 Picker’s Place This farmers market and garden center has tons of side-of-the-road charm and offers an extensive selection of organic and fresh produce, as well as flowers, plants, popcorn, candy and more. The Sauk City market is particularly well known for its Amish canned goods which often sell out quickly. 7552 US Highway 12, 815-291-0142, pickersplacewi.com
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🌽🍩🎃🌸🍎🐐👻🍴 Schuster’s Farm Schuster’s has it all: a cornfield maze, apple cannons, pig races, hayrides, caramel apples, concessions stand goodies, a haunted forest and even cozy bonfires. This sprawling farm with a 14-acre pumpkin patch includes 40 barnyard attractions just 20 minutes from Madison. 1326 US-12, Deerfield, 608-764-8488, schustersfarm.com
🌸🌽🍎🍩 🎃 Skelly’s Farm Market The fall season at Skelly’s Farm Market means business. With two 6-acre corn mazes and an “impossible” 9-acre challenge), Skelly’s probably has what you’re looking for (even if you get lost). The bakery is loaded with homemade apple crisps and donuts. And don’t worry — those apples aren’t the ones you just saw floating through the air courtesy of an apple cannon. 2713 S. Hayner Road, Janesville, 608-757-1200, skellysfarmmarket.com
🎃🍎🌽🐐 Sutter’s Ridge Farm An apple orchard, pumpkin patch and a corn maze? Sutter’s Ridge Farm has the fall trifecta. It’s an ideal place for family and friends to enjoy a day celebrating the arrival of autumn. Stop by the activity area for some interactive fall fun which i ncludes a tractor track, pedal go-kart track, mini-maze, human rat racers, yard games, duck races, tire park and sand pile. No worries if you need a break from the excitement, as there are tons of picnic tables to relax and recoup. 2074 Sutter Drive, Mount Horeb, 608-832-6445 , suttersridge.com
🌽🎃🐐 Treinen Farm You can’t visit Treinen Farm without taking the trip through one of its award-winning corn mazes. Each year’s set of mazes is created around one cohesive theme and designed with multiple levels of challenge. And there are prizes! W12420 State Road 60, Lodi, 608-622-7001, treinenfarm.com
🎃 🌽 🍩🍴🐐 Waldvogel’s Farm Waldvogel’s is Wisconsin’s largest pumpkin farm covering over 90 acres of land. We would definitely consider it something of a child’s wonderland because of its pumpkin carriage, pirate ship, shooting gallery and rat racers. N7416 County Road I, Juneau, 920-557-4553, waldvogelfarm.com
Did we miss a good one? Email Zehra Topbas and we’ll consider adding it to the list!
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