Poolesville, MD; 301-977-3761 (for a recorded message of picking conditions)
Miles from downtown Washington: 25
Pumpkins: Pick-your-own pumpkins are available for 59 cents per pound.
Apples: A wide variety of apples are prime for picking right now, including Enterprise and Aztec Fuji. All apples are $1.79 per pound.
Added fun: Public hayrides to the pumpkin patches are offered Saturday and Sunday from 9:30 to 4:30 ($3 per person). Look for squash and fall mums in the on-site market, open 9 to 6.
Hours: Picking fields are open daily from 9 to 5.
Brookeville, MD; 410-489-2572
Miles from downtown Washington: 26
Apples: For sale in the farm’s market.
Pumpkins: After a scenic and free hayride, visitors will have more than seven acres of patch to choose from. 59 cents a pound.
Added fun: Sharp’s has a slew of activities for all ages such as pick-your-own popcorn, an educational corn maze, and JZ’s Brick Oven Pizza truck (for additional fees).
Hours: Pick-your-own pumpkins and the farm market are available Saturday and Sunday 10 to 5.
Waldorf, MD; 240-216-4065
Miles from downtown Washington: 32
Apples: A new variety arrives each week, available by the pound, half bushel, and bushel.
Pumpkins: Zekiah offers pre-picked pumpkins from its patch through November.
Added fun: The farm hosts an annual fall festival, featuring a ten-acre maze, face painting, farm animals, and more. Admission is $8 per person.
Hours: Pumpkins are available at the on-site store daily 10 to 6; festival and maze hours are 10 AM to dark on Saturday and Sunday.
Germantown, MD; 301-972-3299
Miles from downtown Washington: 33
Pumpkins: Pick your own admission is $7
Apples: All of their apples have been harvested this season.
Added fun: Admission for the Pumpkin Festival is $11 per person.
Hours: Pick-your-own fields open Tuesday through Sunday 9:30 to 5:30.
Woodbine, MD; 301-854-6110 (for a recorded message of picking conditions)
Miles from downtown Washington: 40
Pumpkins: Pumpkin conditions are excellent and are expected to stay so through October—pick some here for 59 cents per pound.
Apples: Several varieties are ripe and ready to pick: Golden Delicious, Mutsu, Magnolia Gold, and Ida Red. Check back in late October for more choices, including Granny Smith, Pink Lady, and Fuji. Apples are $1.49 per pound.
Added fun: Pumpkins and apples may be this season’s main attraction, but there is also an abundance of greens, raspberries, and flowers available to pick and cut. A spooky Boo Barn and a child-friendly straw maze will be open every day for an additional fee.
Hours: Tuesday through Friday 9 to 6, and Saturday and Sunday 9 to 5.
Mount Airy, MD; 301-865-3515
Miles from downtown Washington: 47
Apples: Fuji and Cameo apples are currently available after the purchase of either a $20 peck bag or a $35 half bushel bag. Be sure to call ahead before visiting the orchard, as it is only open when apples are available.
Pumpkins: Catch a free hayride to the patch on the weekends to score a pumpkin for 49 cents per pound. Fifteen acres of designated pick-your-own land guarantees there will be plenty of pumpkins to go around through the month of October.
Added fun: As part of the farm’s Fall Fun Nights, guests can reserve their own campfire site for $60 and enjoy more than 40 different activities including slides, trains, and an obstacle course.
Hours: Daily 10 to 6, and Saturday and Sunday 6 to 9.
Bluemont, VA; 540-554-2073
Miles from downtown Washington: 58
Pumpkins: Multiple varieties are ready to be picked, including Cinderella. 59 cents per pound.
Apples: Going fast, call ahead.
Added fun: Take a wagon ride out to the pumpkin patch for $8 for children and $10 for adults, $10 for children and $12 for adults on weekends. Weekends include live music and pig races; for the price of admission, adults can also taste three wines at Bluemont Vineyard across the way.
Hours: Daily 9 to 6.
Markham, VA (in the Shenandoah Valley); 540-364-3040
Miles from downtown Washington: 59
Pumpkins: Not available
Apples: The orchard currently carries an assortment of pick-your-own fruit on its 30 acres of apple trees, including McIntosh, Jonathan, and Golden and Red Delicious. Rome and Ida are also available pre-picked.
Added fun: The on-site bakery offers treats such as apple pie and apple-cinnamon raisin bread.
Hours: Picking fields and harvest house open Tuesday through Sunday 9 to 4:30.
Westminster, MD; 410-848-5541
Miles from downtown Washington: 63
Pumpkins: Head over to this 100-year-old farm for gourds priced at 49 cents a pound.
Apples: The apple supply is going fast. Currently a limited supply of Red and Gold Delicious, and Shizuka apples can still be found in the orchard. It’s best to call ahead. $1.49 per pound.
Added fun: Hayrides to the pumpkin patch and orchard (just $1) offer visitors a scenic view of the surrounding countryside. Farm visitors can stop by the petting zoo to visit lambs, pigs, ponies, calves, rabbits, and sometimes kittens.
Hours: Picking hours for October are Saturday and Sunday 10 to 5.
A version of this post appeared online in 2013.
