Charlotte: Where Are the Pumpkin Patches?
Now is the time of year when we all start to think about pumpkin patches. If you have little kids, pumpkin patches are a delight. I remember when my kids were little, most of our family photos were taken at a pumpkin patch.
Pumpkin patches could be so much fun and can even have a carnival atmosphere. There are the mom-and-pop, pumpkin fields, and the family farms that have thousands of pumpkins out in their fields. Then, after all the pictures are taken and all of the family had a good time, you take your pumpkin (or pumpkins) home and you start to create your jackal lantern.
There are so many designs for jack-o’-lanterns. You can have a Carrie Underwood jack-o’-lantern or Darth Vader, or anything you can think of that they give you a template to put on the pumpkin to carve.
After your design is all done, it’s fun to put your pumpkin with a candle in it on the front porch. It’s gonna be a while until it rots, but for now, it’s beautiful, and hopefully, it’ll make it all the way to October 31 so you can welcome those trick-or-treaters with style.
If your pumpkin goes for a while without rotting, you can even put it on the Thanksgiving table. Pumpkins are relevant all autumn long, and they work for Thanksgiving as well Halloween. You can get a lot of uses out of the visit to the pumpkin patch, whether your kids are young or old.
Here are some of the best pumpkin patches in Charlotte.
Hodges Family Farm
Hodges Family Farm is recognized as a well-preserved early 20th-century farmstead associated with a prominent local family and an essential contributor to Mecklenburg County’s agriculture industry. Built by Eugene Wilson “E.W.” Hodges in the early 1900s, the Farmhouse was the centerpiece of the Hodges family’s large parcel of land.
The pumpkins come in all shapes and sizes, and there are hay bales for the kids to climb on and barnyard animals for the kids to visit with. There are also photo opportunities and picnic areas.
This pumpkin patch opens on Saturday (9/27) and runs through October 31. Hours: Daily, 9 am – 6:00 pm.
Wise Acre Farms
Aside from a pumpkin patch, Wise Acre Farms has playgrounds, and kids can visit and feed the chickens. There are also rabbits, goats, and pigs. There is access for photographers right in the pumpkin patch, and a bunch of flowers. The only thing about Wise Acre, is you do have to make reservations before you go.
Stop by to enjoy ice cream, Tacos by Maria, beer & wine, and a small store with pumpkins and limited local goods.
Hunter Farm
The Hunter Farm has been in the same family since 1868. Farmer Nancy’s great-grandmother was raised here, and the farm has been passed down on her mother’s side since.
Today, the Hunter Farm serves as a small-scale agritourism business, offering a space for the community to reconnect with the land and its animals and experience a seasonal, working farm.
The Hunter Farm pumpkin patch is open Tuesdays through Sundays from 9 AM to 7 PM. It already has opened for the season. Not only can you pick up pumpkins, but you can have a wagon ride. Wagon rides need to be reserved on the website.
