It’s not unreasonable to expect the state of Maine, which gave the world Stephen King — the unparalleled author of horror, fantasy and suspense novels exploring the supernatural — would have a number of places to celebrate and experience the fall season and, in particular, Halloween.
But surprisingly, Maine — the mention of which is guaranteed to conjure visions of glorious fall foliage and an involuntary shiver against cooler seasonal air — isn’t among the country’s more prolific pumpkin-producing areas. But pumpkin patches in Maine can be found if you know where to look and that’s where we can help!
Read on, and you’ll discover the best places in Maine to visit for pumpkin picking.
Why So Few Pumpkin Patches in Maine?
The latest available statistics show less than 700 acres of Maine farmland are planted regularly with pumpkins. Part of the reason is the narrow window for planting before temperatures drop below 50 degrees, which can devastate pumpkins. The potential for frost before harvest also makes it hard to cultivate pumpkins in Maine.
Additionally, growing pumpkin patches in Maine can require special steps such as covering the patch in black plastic sheeting to warm the soil, adding labor and other costs to the process.
But as you’ll see here, what may be lacking in quantity is more than made up in the quality of the pumpkin patches in Maine. Before visiting any of the places listed here, though, you should check their websites and social media channels for the latest information on hours and activities.
Best Northern Maine Pumpkin Patches
Goughan’s Berry Farm
Caribou, Maine
Located in Caribou, about as far north as you can go in the continental United States, Goughan’s Berry Farm offers one of the most fun experiences in the state in picking out a pumpkin to take home for Halloween.
Like other pumpkin patches in Maine, Goughan’s Berry Farm has a corn maze, but it often comes with an entertaining twist. In 2020, for example, the farm offered two corn mazes — one a silhouette of Joe Biden, the other a silhouette of Donald Trump — to challenge visitors.
There’s also a putt-putt golf course at Goughan’s Berry Farm for you and your family to enjoy, along with a petting zoo and homemade ice cream. The barn is filled with animals that you can pet, and you can also learn all about the process of making maple syrup at this special pumpkin patch in Maine.
C.N. Smith Farm Inc.
East Bridgewater, Maine
In East Bridgewater, C.N. Smith Farm Inc. offers a hayride around the nearly century-old family farm before a stop at its pumpkin patch.
The longstanding farm now comprises more than 90 acres of fruits and vegetables and a variety of pick-your-own opportunities beyond pumpkins throughout the year. In addition to its pumpkins, the farm offers apples, strawberries, blueberries and peaches for pick-your-own fun.
Like many of the family farms that offer pick-your-own opportunities, the Smith family hopes that a trip to this Maine pumpkin patch will give visitors an appreciation for the work being done at all of America’s dwindling number of family farms.
Best Central Maine Pumpkin Patches
Wolfe’s Neck Center
Freeport, Maine
For a truly special pumpkin-picking experience, Wolfe’s Neck Center in Freeport is a must-visit among pumpkin patches in Maine.
Located along Maine’s beautiful coastline, Wolfe’s Neck Center is an educational center for regenerative agricultural practices. Those practices focus on agriculture’s place as a whole in the planet’s ecology, rather than simply benchmarking high crop yields as a measure of success.
As just one seasonal example of the Wolfe’s Neck Center approach to sustainable agriculture, pumpkins that become too ripe for making jack-o’-lanterns or baking pies are fed to the facility’s goats.
The overripe pumpkin flesh helps boost minerals and vitamins in the goats’ diet, while the seeds are a great source of needed nutrients such as zinc and manganese.
Visitors to Wolfe’s Neck Center can take advantage of an oceanfront campground, and a visit during pumpkin season, in addition to a you-pick adventure, includes an opportunity to meet farm animals including calves, sheep, goats, chickens and ducks.
In addition, pumpkin season at Wolfe’s Neck Center includes hayrides, climbing on stacks of haybales, face-painting, digging in the garden and enjoying live music, making for a really good time at one of the best pumpkin patches in Maine.
Treworgy Family Orchards
Levant, Maine
Sure, you can pick your Halloween or fall decorating pumpkin at Treworgy Family Orchards in Levant, but it’s the massive corn maze, now a 21-year tradition, that is the real star at this Maine pumpkin patch.
The design of the maze — the oldest in Maine pumpkin patches — changes every year. The maze started in 2001 in the design of a giant piece of popcorn, and designs in succeeding years have included a sailing ship, Paul Bunyan, a knight fighting a dragon, and an old-time train locomotive.
Visitors who find their way to the center of the maze can sign their name on a Hall of Fame board. Adding to the fun are a series of riddles posted at stations throughout the maze. Answering the riddles and completing the associated puzzle successfully entitles you to a free ice-cream cone.
Here are some fun facts about the Treworgy Family Orchards maze: It covers four acres, requiring the planting of about 60,000 corn plants. Most of the stalks are 10 feet tall, and when the maze season ends, the stalks are tilled back into the ground to improve the soil.
Best Southern Maine Pumpkin Patches
Berry Fruit Farm
Livermore Falls, Maine
Berry Fruit Farm in Livermore Falls offers the you-pick experience for people who want an up-close look at farm life, but it also boasts a retail operation as it works toward its mission of creating a sustainable farming enterprise serving the community.
A century-old family enterprise, Berry Fruit Farm has one of the more unusual pumpkin patches in Maine. Available for picking the in the fields or from a selection displayed along the farm’s entrance are a wide variety of pumpkins.
In addition to the traditional orange pumpkin, when you visit Berry Fruit Farm you’ll find white pumpkins, warted pumpkins and even heirloom pumpkins, some with bright-red coloring, with a botanic heritage stretching back to the early 1900s.
And that’s not all in terms of where the uniqueness of Berry Fruit Farm manifests itself among all the other pumpkin patches in Maine.
As part of its retail offerings, Berry Fruit Farm presents some deliciously baked takes on Halloween and the rest of the fall season. In the recent past, for instance, the farm store has offered pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, pumpkin scones and a lunch menu including pumpkin bisque, giving it a special place among Maine pumpkin patches.
Pumpkin Valley Farm
Dayton, Maine
Located west of Portland and Interstate 95 in Dayton, Pumpkin Valley Farm delivers a full fall festival experience in a Maine pumpkin patch from late September until the day before Halloween.
In addition to picking your own pumpkin, you can wander through the corn maze, have some more fun in the corn pit — like a ball pit, but with corn seed — and meet some friendly farm animals.
And if all that activity should make you a little hungry, Pumpkin Valley Farm has two food options. The Rusty Bucket serves brick-oven pizza and beer, and the Cow Lick Cafe is the place for kettle corn, hot dogs, cotton candy, cider and water.
What to do With Your Maine Pumpkin Patch Haul
While most of the picking done at pumpkin patches in Maine likely is for jack-o’-lanterns, there are other things to do with the autumnal fruit to delight and surprise you and your family.
Eating
Here, for instance, is a recipe for pumpkin alfredo with roasted root vegetables. Or how about this recipe for a chipotle pumpkin vegetarian burger? For even more ideas, check out these additional pumpkin recipes.
But what if cooking isn’t exactly your passion? What else can you do with your haul from a Maine pumpkin patch?
Alternatives to Carving
Well, for a twist on the traditionally messy work of carving a pumpkin, how about coating your pumpkin in chalkboard paint and letting the little ones simply draw faces, or whatever, on the seasonal orbs?
Fun Kids Activity
Or, what about helping the little ones learn a bit of science with a pumpkin volcano?
Crafts, Decorating
There’s also plenty of room for grown-up crafting with pumpkins, such as turning the fruits into planters for succulent plants. Pumpkins can also become creative centerpieces for seasonal holiday tables.
Maine: A Great Place for Pumpkin Season
Sadly, it doesn’t appear any Maine pumpkin patches have chosen to honor native son Stephen King by naming their establishment “The Stand” in homage to one of King’s more memorable novels. However, Maine more than holds its own in offering memorable seasonal experiences as pumpkins ripen on the vine and ghosts and goblins prepare to make their Halloween rounds. Indeed, pumpkin patches in Maine are synonymous with the season and the holiday.
Excited for more pumpkin content? Keep learning all about pumpkin plants to become an expert on pumpkin planting, growing, harvesting, cooking, and more!