Floridians go all out to enjoy the fall festivities. I think it might be something about pretending the weather will eventually turn chilly, or trying to ensure that you get into the fall spirit even without the leave on the trees changing. But no matter what the reason is, there are so many different fall actives near Tampa that are not to be missed.
Fall Activities near Tampa
Gallagher’s Pumpkin Patch
Gallagher’s Pumpkin Patch is located off 4th street N in St. Petersburg. This small lot hosts pumpkins in the fall and Christmas trees in the winter. The lot had been family run, by the Gallaghers of course, for the last 30 years.
There is no admission to visit the pumpkin patch, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make a whole afternoon of it! Typically they have food trucks on site, and a petting zoo, and all the best photo spots!
Pick up your pumpkins here for carving, decorating and any other spooky thing you can think of!
Admission: Free
Address: 7401 4th St N, St. Petersburg, FL 33704
Florida Railroad Museum Pumpkin Patch
Ride the train out to the pumpkin patch and pick up your very own Florida pumpkin! The Florida Railroad Museum hosts multiple weekend events the last two weeks of October and offers train rides out to their pumpkin patch.
The train leaves at 11am and 2pm and offers a round trip ride with a stop at the fall festival pumpkin patch. You can go for a hay ride, get your face painted, check out the petting zoo, and pick up your very own pumpkin, all included in the price of admission!
The most unique part of this experience is the train ride itself. The trains at the Florida Railroad Museum are all restored from historic trains, and the crew wear classic railroad uniforms. Choose between seats in first class, or the open air coach car, or even book the caboose for you and your 15 closest friends.
Admission: Ticket price ranges from $17-$40 depending on the seats booked
Address: 12210 83rd St E, Parrish, FL 34219
Sweetfields Farm
North of Tampa, in the heart of Pasco County, you’ll find Sweetfields Farm. This adorable family farm specializes in seasonal fresh produce throughout the year, sunflowers and zinnias during the spring, and fall festivities in September and October.
One of the biggest attractions at Sweetfields Farm is the corn maze. Carefully crafted to be not too hard, but not too easy, it is an adventure to find your way from start to finish. A couple of dead ends and forks in the road can really get your turned around. Once you emerge from the corn maze, its time to get crafty in the art barn or head out to the u-pick field.
Admission: $10.75 in advance, $13.00 at the door
Address: 17250 Benes Roush Rd, Brooksville, FL 34604
The Pickin’ Patch
Unfortionaly we have learned that the Pickin’ Patch is not able to open for the 2022 season, this is still a place you should put on your radar for years to come! This is one of the only patches in Florida that offers a u-pick option for pumpkins! Grab a pair of garden shears and head out into the field to pick out the best pumpkin for your Halloween display.
The pumpkins range in price from $4-$30 depending on the size, so bring your wagon and pick up a couple. The best part is the wide range of varieties they have. Classic orange pumpkin? Yup. White heritage pumpkin? You got it. Those really cool looking ugly ones with all the brown spots? They’ve got them!
The Pickin Patch also offers sunflowers, and last year they had a really unique gourd tunnel with different gourds and squashes to walk through. They also set up a few fall scenes perfect to snap your family fall photos. We hope to visit again next year when they reopen!
Admission: Check back next year for admission costs
Address: 11000 Rolling Hills Rd, Dunnellon, FL 34431
Southern Hill Farms
This one is worth making a day trip for! Southern Hill Farms is located in Clermont, and is one of our favorite fall festivals in Central Florida! Not only is Southern Hill Farms perfect for grabbing your family pumpkin patch photos, it’s also a picturesque spot with rolling hills in the distance, and even has a sunflower field to explore.
The farm is also wildly popular for the fall treats they offer. Top of the list is the incredible apple cider doughnuts, and apple cider drinks, including a frozen one that is a must. They also regularly host food trucks at their market barn, so bring your appetite.
They also offer a tractor ride through the blueberry fields, and a corn maze out by their sunflower field so you will really feel like you’ve experienced the best of fall festivals all in one day.
Admission: $20 per person
Address: 16651 Schofield Rd, Clermont, FL 34714
Raprager Family Farms
Pretty new to the game, Raprager is preparing for their second season in 2022. They took over the farm from a previous citrus farm and have expanded the land to include more locally sustainable vegetables and fruit trees.
This fall festival offers some more unique activities found in the Tampa area, including a 40′ hay chute slide, and a corn pit. They are also offer axe throwing this year. And a few haunting activites, including a haunted barn and haunted hay rides in the evenings.
The farm is also the perfect spot to pick up local sweets from the Raprager Sweet Spot. And they know how to keep the good times going with a wide selection of adult beverages available. I’m sure we will see Raprager Family Farm around for many years to come.
Admission: depending on date $15.25-$16.95 per person
Address: 16907 Boy Scout Rd, Odessa, FL 33556
Hunsader Farms
Head down to Bradenton for the last pumpkin festival on our list. Perfect for anyone living south of Tampa, this is one of the longest running festivals on our list, celebrating 31 years this year. Hunsader Farms is a real working farm with seasonal u-pick produce, and another corn maze worth exploring.
The farms also has a Pioneer village to explore along with pony rides, hay rides, and a petting zoo.
But the real show stopper at Hunsader Farms is the pumpkin cannon. With the ability to chuck a pumpkin over half a mile, this pumpkin cannon puts on quite the show. Check out the times for this and their other scheduled entertainment this year on their website.
Admission: $15 per person, bring cash
Address: 5500 C.R. 675 Bradenton, Fl 34211
Leave us a comment with your favorite fall festival, and let us know if we missed anything worth adding to the list!
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