Enjoy fall to the fullest at local farms where you can: pick apples, race pigs, pick pumpkins, get lost in corn mazes, pick flowers, shoot pumpkins out of cannons, pick up fall-flavored treats, and more.
Baugher’s Orchards and Farms
1015 Baugher Rd., Westminster, Maryland; (410) 857-0111
Distance from DC: About 70 miles.
Pumpkins: $0.65 per pound.
Apples: Call to check varieties, prices by the bag. $12 for a half peck bag, $21 for a full peck bag, $34 per half bushel bag.
Hours: 10 AM to 4 PM on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Kids can jump around in the giant pumpkin bounce house or get their faces painted. Rent a wagon for just $2 to carry your apples (and snap that perfect farm-y Insta). Think there’s no way you’ll be able to use all of your harvest? Find cooking inspo at the on-site bakery offering apple fritters, apple dumplings and homemade apple butter.
Butler’s Orchard
22222 Davis Mill Rd., Germantown, MD; (301) 428-0444
Distance from DC: 29 miles
Pumpkins: $0.65 cents per pound
Apples: Stayman apples. $1.99 per pound.
Hours: 9:30 AM to 6 PM from Tuesday through Sunday.
Admission is $12 a person (free for kids under two). Race pedal tractors, hop into a Cinderella-esque pumpkin coach ride, or get lost in the corn maze. Food-wise, they’ve got hamburgers and hot dogs, as well as turkey and pork sandwiches.
Catocin Mountain Orchard
15036 North Franklinville Rd., Thurmont, MD; (301) 271-2737
Distance from DC: About 66 miles.
Apples: Autumn Gala, September Wonder, Crimson Crisp, Cortland, Jonagold, Cameo. Prices by the bag. $12 for a half peck bag, $19 for a full peck bag, $30 per half bushel bag. Orchard entrance fee is $2 per person.
Hours: Hours vary by day with picking on weekends. Call ahead to check.
Come for the apples, stay for the flowers—pick snapdragons, sunflowers, or Black-Eyed Susans, to sport some Maryland pride. Try the pumpkin nut bread and ginger spice cookies.
Gaver Farm
5501 Detrick Rd., Mount Airy, Maryland; (301) 865-3515
Distance from DC: About 46 miles.
Pumpkins: $0.59 per pound.
Apples: Fuji, Cameo, Blondee Gala, Buckeye Gala, Empire. Prices by the bag. $20 for a full peck bag, $32 per half bushel bag. Each bag covers the cost of orchard admission for four people.
Hours: Pumpkin patch is open Monday to Sunday from 10 AM to 6 PM. Apple picking is open on weekends.
Corn mazes, giant jump pillows, and pedal karts are offered for additional fun ($13.50 on weekends, $9 on weekdays; kids under two for free). Enjoy fall classics like apple cider and sugar-coated cider donuts.
Great Country Farms
18780 Foggy Bottom Rd., Bluemont, Virginia; (540) 554-2073
Distance from DC: About 59 miles.
Pumpkins: $0.59 per pound plus farm admission (weekdays: $8 for children and $10 for adults; weekends: $10 for children and $12 for adults).
Hours: 9 AM to 5 PM on Monday to Sunday.
Who needs the derby when you can race….pigs? Witness a pig race yourself at Great Country: competitions are held every weekend at 11 AM, 1 PM and 3 PM. Afterwards, roast marshmallows on-site.
Homestead Farm
15604 Sugarland Rd., Poolesville, Maryland; (301) 977-3761
Distance from DC: About 24 miles.
Pumpkins: $0.65 per pound
Apples: Aztec Fuji, Enterprise, Sun Fuji. $2.49 per pound up to 20 pounds; $1.99 per pound over 20 pounds; $1.49 per pound over 100 pounds.
Hours: 9 AM to 5 PM on Monday to Sunday.
Cruise through the foliage with scenic hayrides from 9:30 AM to 4:30 PM on Saturdays and Sundays (at $4 per person per ride). Snag some locally-made honey to dip straight-off-the-tree apples.
Larriland Farm
2415 Woodbine Rd., Woodbine, Maryland; (301) 854-6110
Distance from DC: About 42 miles.
Pumpkins: The patch is just a mile north, still on the same property. (Price unavailable.)
Apples: Stayman, Golden Delicious. (Price unavailable.)
Hours: 9 AM to 6 PM on Tuesday to Friday, 9 AM to 6 PM on weekends.
Embrace the supernatural at the “Boo Barn,” where kids ages 4 to 6 can scream at/run away from animated ghosts and goblins. Hayrides are available Saturdays and Sundays from 9:30 AM to 4 PM. Warm apple fritters and a fleet of food trucks roll into the farm during the weekends, too.
Milburn Orchards
1495 Appleton Rd., Elkton, MD; (410) 398-1349
Distance from DC: About 95 miles.
Apples: Variety rotates weekly. $2.19 per pounds
Hours: 9 AM to 5 PM on weekends.
Take advantage of unlimited hayrides and a fun corn maze for $10 per person ($5 for seniors and college students). If you’re fed up with apples, food vendors serve hot dogs, pizza, french fries, and more.
Rock Hill Orchard
28600 Ridge Rd., Mount Airy, MD; (301) 831-7427
Distance from DC: About 36 miles.
Apples: Variety rotates depending on availability. Prices by the bag. $12 for a small bag and up to two guests, $21 for a medium bag and up to four guests, $32 for a large bag and up to six guests.
Hours: 10 AM to 4 PM on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
PUMPKIN. CANNON. When you’ve exhausted your pumpkin-pirate pretending, feed the baby cows and then cool down with freshly made fall-flavored ice cream, including apple cinnamon and maple vanilla flavors.
Stribling Orchard
11587 Poverty Hollow Ln., Markham, Virginia; (540) 364-3040
Distance from DC: About 64 miles.
Pumpkins: $3 per pie pumpkin, $0.59 per pound for large pumpkins, $1.00 per pound of heirloom pumpkins.
Apples: Golden Delicious, Stayman, Granny Smith, York. $1.50 per pound.
Hours: 9 AM to 5 PM from Tuesday through Sunday.
Leave the kids behind and drop by the orchard for a Chateau O’Brien wine tasting between 11 AM to 5 PM during October. Or, pull together a picnic spread from the bakery and listen to live music every weekend. Pick up a loaf of cinnamon-apple-raisin bread and slather on the bakery’s pumpkin butter, or try some of the local cheese with apples for a peak-autumn grilled cheese.
Daniella Byck joined Washingtonian in 2022. She was previously with Outside Magazine and lives in Northeast DC.
