Which pumpkin patch near Tacoma is actually worth it with kids?

The first few years of our family’s annual pumpkin patch adventure are a blur at this point. We’ve got the pictures to prove we were there, and from all our smiles it looked like we had a wonderful day. That might be the rose-colored glasses, or just my faulty memory. But from the toddler years I 100% remember lots of rookie mistakes, and they’re why we’ve gone to the same patch for the last ten years straight.

Mistake 1: Shoes. Sure, it had rained for the previous four days straight, but this particular Saturday it was beautiful outside, so I made the sensible (or lazy) decision and put the kids in their sneakers. We lasted twenty-five minutes before they refused to move because their feet were wet.

Mistake 2: I cared about the wrong things. The “best” farm usually meant a much longer drive, an hour waiting to park, crazy anxiety-ridden crowds, and then another hour waiting to pay. It might have been fun for the kids, but for us parents there was very little fun.

So what do I care about now? How bad the parking is, how long the lines are and how long the kids will last before somebody has to be carried back to the car.

Also boots. Everyone in boots, every year, even if it’s sunny when you leave the house. Most of the farms are out in the valley toward Puyallup and Orting, and in October the fields are mud whether or not it’s raining when you get there.

The one we keep going back to: Picha Farms

Picha is about fifteen minutes from downtown, and it’s small. That first year I assumed small meant boring. It turns out small means you can see your kid from anywhere in the field, which, with young kids who wander, matters more than the most epic corn maze.

We go on a weekday, right when it opens at 3. We park on the gravel about fifty feet from the field and have hardly ever stood in a line. The bathrooms are porta-potties by the lot, clean enough that my daughter was going in by herself by five. When they were little, an hour and change was the limit, most of it spent pushing them around in a wheelbarrow. These days nobody has to be carried.

There’s no admission fee at Picha. They have nine acres of pumpkins and a five-acre maze. The maze is $8 and free for 3 and under. The hayride is $5 and free for 2 and under. The kiddie train is $2. Open through October 30, weekends 10am to 6pm and weekdays 3pm to 6pm. The maze stops letting people in at 5:30pm. Bluegrass on weekends, noon to 4pm, with kettle corn, hot dogs and cider. 6502 52nd St. E., Puyallup. 253-841-4443.

If Picha’s lot is full

Two more farms sit within a few blocks, about 6 to 7 miles from downtown Tacoma. The next one is a two-minute drive.

Sterino Farms. The cheapest maze for a small kid, since it’s free for 5 and under. $10 for everyone else, hayride $5. The maze runs daily 9am to 5pm, hayrides Fridays 2pm to 6pm and weekends 10am to 6pm. The produce stand next door is open daily 8am to 6pm. The events page doesn’t name a year, so call before you plan around it. Main farm 6116 52nd St. E., produce stand 6006 52nd St. E. 253-922-8945.

Double R Farms. Third-generation farm, five-acre maze, slingshots, and tractor hayrides on weekends when the weather allows. It doesn’t post 2026 hours or prices, so phone first. 5820 44th St. E., Puyallup. 253-227-5385.

Ten more on everybody’s list

Looking for something a bit further out? I’ve never been, but these are the ones that end up on many people’s roundups.

Sidhu Farms, Puyallup. Free to walk in, with homemade Indian food at the counter. One wristband covers the maze, hayrides, bouncy house and slingshots: $18 adults and $16 kids on weekends, a dollar less on weekdays, 3 and under free. The website still shows the 2025 season, so check their Facebook before you go.

Carpinito Brothers, Kent. $7 to get into the patch, and you get it back off your pumpkin. More than 20 acres, with Mount Rainier behind it on a clear day. The maze is $12 for 13 and up, $9 for ages 5 to 12, and free for 4 and under. No pets.

Mosby Farms, Auburn. No general admission, just pay for the maze if you want it. Dogs are welcome on a leash, “no pets with bad attitudes.” Daily 10am to 5:30pm, October 1 to 30, though the page doesn’t say which year. 3104 Auburn-Black Diamond Road.

Harbor Farms, Gig Harbor. Booked two-hour sessions only, $10 a head, weekends through Sunday, October 25. Nothing to eat for sale, so pack lunch. Pumpkin-only shopping Friday, October 23, 4pm to 7pm, no booking needed.

Rutledge Family Farm, Tumwater. The patch is free and pumpkins are 58 cents a pound. Fall on the Farm, with the corn maze, cow train and play areas, is $10 on weekdays and $13 on weekends for 5 and up, free for 4 and under. Kids trick-or-treat around the farm on Halloween, 10am to 5pm.

Schilter Family Farm, Olympia. Weekdays you can walk into the patch without a ticket. Weekends everyone needs a bracelet, $20 online and $4 more at the gate. Closed Tuesdays. Cider donuts. 141 Nisqually Cutoff Rd. SE.

Lattin’s Country Cider Mill & Farm, Olympia. The pumpkin patch is a weekends-in-October thing here, with bounce houses and farm animals. Go for the cider. 9402 Rich Road SE.

Briscot Farm, Kent. A small U-pick patch with animals to feed and pet. ParentMap lists a $10 day pass, Wednesday to Sunday. There’s no website, only Facebook. 27329 78th Ave., Kent.

McMillin Farm Collective, Puyallup. A patch, a corn maze and a brewery at 12517 WA-162. ParentMap says it’s closed for 2026, while the farm’s own page still advertises the patch, so call before you drive.

Old McDebbie’s Farm, Spanaway. Not a pumpkin patch, but it keeps showing up on the lists. It’s an animal farm with a fishing pond. $14 adults, $12 ages 3 to 17, Friday to Sunday 10am to 6pm. No pets.

If it’s pouring and nobody wants boots, use the rainy-day plan instead.