Thirty-five minutes north of downtown Des Moines, off I-35 at Exit 102, there is a 20-acre working farm with a pumpkin field you walk out into and pick from yourself. Not a pallet of pumpkins in a parking lot. An actual field, with a hayride out to it and a corn maze on the way back.
Buy TicketsAbout 35 minutes from downtown. Take I-35 north to Exit 102, then five miles east on Highway 210. There are no complicated turns and traffic thins out as soon as you clear Ankeny.
From the north metro it's quicker. Ankeny is 25 minutes, Johnston and Grimes about 35. From the west side, Urbandale and West Des Moines run closer to 40 and Waukee about 45, since you're crossing the metro before the drive even starts.
Our honest advice for anyone coming from Des Moines: don't treat this as a quick errand. Plan on two to three hours here and the drive stops feeling like a drive. Most families who make the trip end up staying most of the day.
Pick Your Own Pumpkins
The patch is out in the West Field. Take the hayride out, walk the rows, and find the one you want. There is no single right pumpkin, which is the fun of it: sugar pumpkins for baking, classic carvers for the porch, warty and white specialty varieties for people who want something odd, and gourds by the bin.
Hauling a big one back across the farm is the part nobody plans for. 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, so check our Facebook or Instagram for field conditions before you make the drive.
The pumpkin field is one stop out of forty-plus. There's a corn maze, a corn pool, jumping pillows, giant slides, a train that runs the property, and a farmyard full of animals. The four-to-ten-year-olds tend to disappear into it for an hour, which is generally when the adults sit down.
Fall means apples too. There are 34 varieties across the orchard and what's ripe changes week to week, so it's worth asking when you arrive. On the way out, the bakery is not optional. Cider donuts are the reason a good share of our Des Moines regulars come back more than once a season.
There's something on most weekends from late August through early November. If you're driving up from Des Moines, an event weekend is worth building the day around.
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.
Go on a weekday if you possibly can. Weekend admission costs more and the difference in crowd size is not subtle. A Thursday in early October is a genuinely relaxed afternoon. The same day on the second Saturday of October is a parking lot situation.
If a weekend is your only option, come at opening rather than after lunch. The first two hours are calmer, the food lines are short, and you're driving home before the meltdown window.
Worth knowing before you drive out: the Farmyard, food venues, and Country Store are closed on Tuesdays.
About 35 minutes from downtown. I-35 north to Exit 102, then five miles east on Highway 210. It's 25 minutes from Ankeny, 35 from Johnston, and 40 to 45 from the west metro.
There are smaller operations inside the metro. We're a 20-acre working farm with a pick-your-own field, a corn maze, an orchard, a bakery, and 40-plus attractions, which is why families drive out rather than stopping at the closest option.
Fall season opens August 29 and runs into early November, or until the field is picked clean.
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.
Two to three hours minimum. Most families coming from Des Moines end up staying most of the day once they're here.
Yes, and there's plenty of it. Accessible parking is at the front of the main lot.
Our pumpkin patch is open daily through the fall season, 35 minutes north of downtown Des Moines off I-35 Exit 102.
Center Grove Orchard
32835 610th Avenue
Cambridge, IA 50046
515-383-4354
Fall season runs August 29 through early November. Check our calendar for current hours and field conditions before you drive out.
