Ahhh, fall in Wisconsin. There is nothing quite like it! The smell of fresh-cut hay in the air. The farmers working hard in their fields harvesting for the season. The windy country roads with trees in bold colors of red, yellow and orange. Pumpkin patches and apple orchards around every corner, no two are alike.
So let’s hit the road! Here are a just a few of my family’s favorite pumpkin patches and apple orchards in southwest Wisconsin. We are still on our journey visiting all we can on our fall bucket list before old man winter comes bearing his breath.
BURES BERRY PATCH
Bures Berry Patch offers a large pumpkin patch and an array of gourds and squash. At family-friendly Bures, you’re encouraged to bring a blanket and picnic and stay awhile to enjoy the giant pumpkin patch, a small corn maze and fresh eggs and fresh produce. After a stop at Bures, in Barneveld, you can take in glorious fall foliage views on the way to historic and artful Mineral Point, where you can enjoy a pasty and visit many eclectic shops, or Mt. Horeb’s “trollway” for a great shopping experience — grab a Wisco T-shirt from Kella and a coffee, tea or lunch.
SUTTER’S RIDGE FARM
If you prefer to pick your own apples, then Sutter’s Ridge Farm is the place for you! Grab a wagon and pull your children through the seemingly endless rows of apple trees! There is something about hanging out in an apple orchard that feels magical, but the fun doesn’t stop there. Energetic children will love to pedal a toy tractor around a paved loop, or hop aboard a real tractor pulling wagons to and from the pumpkin patch. There is so much to see and do here at this Mt. Horeb farm, from playing in a giant sand pit with trucks and toys to climbing a mound of hay bales, feeding goats, exploring a child-size maze, shooting hoops and slinging apples. But my favorite part is the best hot and fresh apple cider doughnuts!
PECK’S FARM MARKET EAST
Get into the H-A-L-L-O-W-E-E-N spirit at Peck’s Farm Market in Arena. Peck’s is a great place to shop and visit year-round but fantastic throughout fall and Halloween with several little haunted houses, plus and a giant pumpkin house and a house made of pumpkins! Whoever decorates these houses has spook-tacular talent! You’ll also find fresh vegetables, sweet corn, fruit, Wisconsin cheese, Amish candy, gourmet specialty foods, pumpkins, a gift and craft shop and horse-drawn wagon rides, plus a farm featuring deer, pot-bellied pigs, pheasants, swans, ducks, pygmy goats, llamas, bunnies, buffalo and elk. A brat stand is open on the weekends and there’s a large variety of baked goods to take home!
APPLEBERRY FARM
At Appleberry Farm in Cross Plains, there’s a treat to satisfy everybody’s taste buds, including ice cream that you can eat on the front porch of the farm store. But this is the place to enjoy all things applelicious — apple cider doughnuts, hot apple cider and even hard apple cider for the adults to warm their toes. You can even purchase applewood for your BBQ smoker at home. There’s so much to do here, from picking your own apples and pumpkins to stopping for photo ops with the kiddos in the big beautiful rows of pine trees.
GAYS MILLS APPLE ORCHARDS
If incredible bluffs with picturesque views for miles and peaceful fall country drives are what you’re after, then Gays Mills is the place for you! Choose among Sunrise Orchards, Kickapoo Orchard, West Ridge Orchard and Fleming Orchards (where my kids love the petting zoo with ponies).
Gays Mills area is a place that holds many memories for me since I visited Gays Mills as a child every year with my parents and grandparents! But it’s not just the beauty that still brings me back to Gays Mills yearly. It’s also the one-stop shopping for fresh produce and baked goods — including fresh, still-warm apple donuts eaten while overlooking the endless hills. Whatever it is you choose to do, you will leave here with a full tummy and even fuller heart!
Photos by Alexis Phillips.
Alexis Phillips is an aspiring photographer and writer, a mom to two energetic littles — Lydia and Leo — and a wife to her high school sweetheart Steven. She is a born and raised Wisconsin girl and now lives in the Driftless Region near her husband’s third-generation family farm, where she loves to celebrate life, from the little moments to the special occasions.