8 places to pick pumpkins in central Iowa

With my intense love for fall comes a natural love for all things fall-related, and that includes pumpkin patches. When I was a kid, one of my uncles bought the family farm from my grandparents and started growing pumpkins. He has acres and acres of pumpkins, and every fall my whole family would get together for a big party to help him pick them and then celebrate with tons of delicious food. It is one of my favorite childhood memories to this day.

We don’t do the parties anymore, but I still make at least one trip out to the farm every year to pick pumpkins and just to be around the atmosphere I’ve loved for so long. Farms come to life in the fall with all the harvests, and even for a self-proclaimed city girl like me, there’s just nothing that quite compares to the beauty of harvest season.

That being said, I thought it would be nice to make a list of some of the best-known pumpkin patches and apple orchards in central Iowa. Because can you really call it fall unless you’ve picked pumpkins and apples? I didn’t think so ;)

1. Center Grove Orchard in Cambridge has a 4-acre corn maze, farm animals, apples, pumpkins and infinite kid-friendly activities to keep you busy all season long.

2. Geisler Farms in Bondurant. Check out the Fun Zone for family-friendly fun, hit up the 10-acre corn maze and then switch holiday gears and pick out your Christmas tree.

3. Howell’s Pumpkin Patch in Cumming. Birthday parties, bonfires and hayrides are only a few things that make Howell's one of the must-see fall venues to experience.

4. The Pumpkin Ranch in Winterset is home of "Iowa's mega corn maze," with checkpoints and a mystery game. It's also got special discount days, horse rides and a full calendar of events.

5. Wills Family Orchard in Adel. Pick apples and pumpkins at this 60-acre farm, which also peach trees, winter squash, gourds, strawberries, a corn maze and laying hens.

6. Iowa Orchard in Urbandale has moved from summer strawberry picking to fall apple picking. Don't forget to check out the cider and all the yummy apple treats.

7. Appleberry Farm in Marshalltown has a special place in my heart because it was my very first apple picking experience, and the gift shop is so sweet and filled with cute homemade crafts and treats.

8. Upah’s Pumpkin Patch in Toledo. OK, it's an hour away from DSM, but you know I had to! The best pumpkins around, plus Indian corn, gourds, mini pumpkins, homemade honey, crafts and the most beautiful farm you've ever seen. Not that I'm biased ;)

Do you love visiting pumpkin patches/apple orchards? Where are your favorite places? 

P.S. My fall bucket list, fresh starts of fall and my family pumpkin patch