Heather C Heather C is a married, mom of three: big sis Lily and identical twins Natalie and Sophia. She has been guest blogging for Mumbling Mommy since February of 2012 and began working as a Social Media Editor in 2014. After nearly a decade in banking, she now works part time at a doctor's office specializing in breastfeeding medicine and spends the rest of her days in her Midwest home as zookeeper/stay-at-home-mom. Heather C is also a runner, hiker, yogi, bike rider and more. She reads when she finds more than a few minutes to herself and she hosts a lot of pajama dance parties in her kitchen. In her spare time, she's the co-leader for her daughter's Girl Scout troop and an active member of the school's Parent-Teacher Committee as well as a certified postpartum doula.

Fall in the Midwest … Guys, it is spectacular; cooler temperatures, vibrant colors, and vast opportunities for some quality family time!Here in the St. Louis and St. Charles, Missouri, areas, we have an abundance of pumpkin patches. In fact, this very short list of farms in St. Louis doesn’t even come close to reviewing them all. It does however give you my experienced opinion on favorites (and least favorites). And while, yes, it is a bit past pumpkin and apple picking season now, you can save this list for next year because let’s face it; fall will be back again for the farms in St. Louis before we know it.

Farms in St. Louis

  • Centennial Farms – Located in Augusta, Missouri, this adorable farm in St. Louis was a new find for our family this year. We visited about mid-September to do our apple picking. It was perfect. Not only is it free admission, but there is a nice wagon ride and a simple farm playground included. The drive to the farm is gorgeous, too. We didn’t make it back for the farm’s Pumpkin Fantasyland, but it is on our list for next year. Centennial Farms is exactly where you want to be if you are looking for a quiet, low-key fall outing.
  • Eckert’s Farm – In the past we have visited this farm located in Millstadt, Ilinois. The admission fee isn’t cheap, especially when you’re paying for a family of five, but what you get for the fee does seem to be worth it.
    Included are plenty of carnival-type rides, magic shows, piglet races, and more. There is a huge variety of treats available for purchase like funnel cakes, caramel apples, and succotash. We are big fans of Eckert’s Farm, but we normally make this an every few years type event instead of annual fun unless we can find coupons. It is definitely more crowded than most pumpkin patches and to be honest, I normally forget to pick pumpkins when I’m there because there is SO much else to do. Eckert’s also has locations in Belleville, Illinois, and Grafton, Illinois, all with different things to do, but we have not been to those locations.
  • Daniel’s Farm – I really like this farm, located in the heart of St. Peters, Missouri. First, it is literally a couple miles from my house so it is extremely convenient. Second, the price is just right for a big family and still includes a ton of activities. Daniel’s Farm offers giant corn boxes for kids to dig and play in, plus some great slides, tire swings, and a maze fort. This farm is big enough to have a lot of fun but not so big that you’ll fear
    losing your child in the chaos. Another of my favorite features this farm offers is the creative face cutouts like minions and Disney princesses.
  • Rombach Farms – Growing up, we went to this pumpkin patch often to celebrate my birthday. It’s not a bad farm by any means but it isn’t as good as the others if you ask me. In fact, the traffic alone getting to this
    Chesterfield farm is enough to make me stay away. Obviously it is well loved based on just how many visitors show up year after year, but it isn’t going to get a lot of love from me. We tried to go about 4 years ago and it took nearly an hour just to park. No, thank you.
  • Thies Farm – This farm has two St. Louis area locations and I have been to both. I have no complaints whatsoever about the North Hanley location, but this review will be about the Maryland Heights location simply because I have been there more often. We love Pumpkinland. Similar to Daniel’s Farm, it is small enough to not get overwhelmed but big enough to spend a few hours having some good family fun. This farm offers a fun zipline and obstacle course of sorts that the kids really love, as well as a pirate ship. The tower
    of terror is truly terrifying in my opinion and not for the little ones. Just ask my 6’0” husband who has had to crawl through to find a lost, screaming child in pitch black. Pumpkinland also has a great corn maze with a short and long version depending on your likes. Thies Farm is probably my number one pick for pumpkin patches in our area.

Does your family visit apple orchards or pumpkin patches annually? What activities do you look for? Are any of these farms in St. Louis on your favorite list?

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Category: Family Free Time

Tags: apple orchards