It sounds like this week will be pretty nice considering the season, anyway… A few chances for rain but highs in the 60s until Thursday. So, before it turns too cold, you should definitely take time to visit a pumpkin patch!
The one my family usually goes to is Williamson’s Pumpkin Paradise, 4012 NE 62nd Ave., Ankeny. It’s actually SE of Ankeny. If you’re heading north on I-35 from Des Moines, turn off at the Corporate Woods exit and go east. You’ll go over the train tracks, through an intersection and past a cemetery before you see it on the left. They open every day at 10 a.m. and close at sundown.
You can pick your pumpkins in the field or from an assortment of already picked. They also have gourds and squash for sale, a petting zoo, pumpkin cannon, hay bale maze & mini scare house for kids. They don’t have a website yet (it’s a real working farm run by the family that’s lived there for years) but you can ask questions by calling them at 515-967-3065. It’s free to get in; prices of pumpkins, hayvales, gourds & all vary.
Also not too far away is Center Grove Orchard in Cambridge (this one does charge admission), Geisler Farms in Bondurant or Pumpkinville in Mitchellville.
Does your family have a favorite place to pick punkins? Do you carve cute (or scary) faves or just display them in their natural beauty? Maybe you’re ambitious and boil them down to cook with. If so, what’s your favorite pumpkin recipe?
