Our pumpkin patch is a field, not a display. You take the hayride out, walk the rows, and carry back the one you picked. Sugar pumpkins for baking, classic carvers for the porch, warty and white specialty varieties, and gourds by the bin, on a working farm in Cambridge, Iowa.
Buy TicketsThe patch sits out in the West Field, planted with everything from small sugar pumpkins to porch-ready giants. There is no single right pumpkin, which is most of the fun. People come out looking for a carver and leave with three gourds and a white one nobody planned on.
Sugar pumpkins are the ones you want for baking, small enough to handle and dense enough to hold up. Classic orange carvers are what most people are after in October. The warty and white specialty varieties are for people who want something that doesn't look like everyone else's porch, and the gourd bins are worth a look even if you came for one pumpkin.
Hauling a big one back across the farm is the part nobody thinks about in advance. That's what the Pumpkin Valet is for. Leave your pumpkin at the field and we'll bring it up front while you keep exploring.
Pumpkins ripen on their own schedule and the field changes week to week. Check what's ready before you drive out.
How Pick Your Own Works
If you've never done a pick-your-own patch before, it's simpler than it sounds. Admission gets you onto the farm and into the field. Take the hayride out to the patch, walk the rows, and pick whatever you want. Pumpkins are priced separately from admission and you pay for them on the way out.
Wear closed-toe shoes. The field is dirt and it gets soft after rain, so boots are not a bad idea in late October. Parking is in a field too, so the same applies. Sunscreen matters more in September than people expect.
If you find a pumpkin bigger than you want to carry, leave it at the field and use the Pumpkin Valet. We'll bring it up front.
We open and stay open in rainy weather. A few attractions close for safety when it's wet, the Jumping Pillows and Super Slide among them, but the patch itself stays open. Refunds and date transfers aren't available for weather.
The hayride out to the patch is wheelchair accessible, and so is picking pumpkins. Leave the dog at home, though trained service animals are always welcome.
Most people looking for an Iowa corn maze are also looking for a pumpkin patch, and the two rarely sit on the same farm. Ours do. The corn maze is cut fresh every season and it's a real maze, not a loop with a couple of turns, which is why it takes most groups a while.
It's included with admission, so there's no separate ticket and no reason to choose between the maze and the patch. Same trip, same day, and the hayride runs between them.
If a corn maze is the main thing you're after, we have a full page on it.
See the Corn Maze
There's something on most weekends from late August through early November. Iowa's fall festival season is short, so if there's an event you want to catch, check the dates before you plan the drive.
Pumpkin games, the Pumpkin Princess, and the busiest weekends of our season.
The farm after dark, with photo ops, games, and campfire sites you can reserve ahead.
Come in costume. The kids do, most of the adults do, and nobody feels silly.
Pumpkins fly, splatter, and crumble. Exactly as good as it sounds, and it closes the season.
Our fall pumpkin tour takes groups out to the field and walks through how a pumpkin crop actually grows, from planting through harvest. It's the part most people never see, and it turns a trip to the patch into something the kids remember for a reason other than the hayride.
We've been hosting Central Iowa school groups for over thirty years. Book early: fall dates fill fast.
We've been hosting Central Iowa school groups for over thirty years. Book early: fall dates fill fast.
The pumpkin field is one stop out of forty-plus. There's a corn pool, jumping pillows, giant slides, a train that runs the property, and a farmyard full of animals. Most families who come out for pumpkins end up staying the better part of a day.
Fall means apples too. There are 34 varieties across the orchard and what's ripe changes week to week. On the way out, the bakery is not optional. The cider donuts are the reason a lot of people come back more than once a season.
Ours opens August 29 and runs through November 8, or until the field is picked clean. Most Iowa patches run late August into early November.
Center Grove Orchard is at 32835 610th Avenue in Cambridge, Iowa, five miles east of I-35 at Exit 102, between Ames and Ankeny.
Yes. It's a field, not a display. Take the hayride out, walk the rows, and pick your own. Admission is required for ages three and up.
Admission is per person for ages three and up, with weekdays priced lower than weekends. You-Pick is charged separately. If you're coming more than twice, look at the Farm'All Pass first.
Yes. The corn maze, the pumpkin patch, and all 40-plus attractions are included. Only You-Pick produce and a few bookable experiences are charged separately.
Closed-toe shoes, sunscreen, and a wagon if you have one. Boots are worth it after rain. We have wagons here as well.
Early October for the fullest field. Early September if you want it quiet. Weekdays are always calmer and cheaper than weekends.
Yes, and the hayride runs out to the pumpkin field. It's included with admission.
Our pumpkin patch is open daily through the fall season in Cambridge, Iowa, five miles east of I-35 at Exit 102.
Center Grove Orchard
32835 610th Avenue
Cambridge, IA 50046
515-383-4354
Fall season runs August 29 through November 8. Check our calendar for current hours and field conditions before you drive out.
