Apple Picking & Pumpkin Patches Near Philadelphia: A Local's Fall Day Trip Guide

There is no better way to spend a crisp late-September weekend in Philadelphia than piling into the car and heading to the countryside for a day of apple picking and pumpkin patches. Within about an hour of Center City you'll find orchards where you can fill a bag with Honeycrisps straight off the branch, farms with corn mazes and hayrides, and cider donuts warm enough to make you forget the drive. Here is my local guide to the best of them for the 2026 season.

Why an Orchard Day Trip Is the Perfect Fall Escape

Philadelphia sits at the edge of some of the best farmland on the East Coast. Drive any direction from Center City, and within half an hour the rowhouses give way to rolling fields, roadside farm stands, and orchards that have been family-run for generations. That proximity is one of the quiet joys of living here: you get the big-city energy of neighborhoods like Fishtown or Manayunk all week, and then a bucolic country escape by noon on Saturday.

A good orchard visit is also wonderfully simple. You pick your apples or pumpkins, grab a bag of cider and some donuts, wander the corn maze, and head home with the car smelling like fall. It's an easy, affordable tradition for families, couples, and friend groups alike, and it kicks off the whole autumn season in the best way.

Linvilla Orchards, Media

If you only go to one place, make it Linvilla Orchards at 137 W. Knowlton Road in Media, about 30 minutes southwest of Center City. It's the region's biggest and most beloved pick-your-own destination, and its famous Pumpkinland runs from early September through October 31 each year. In 2026 that means September 6 through Halloween.

Beyond the acres of u-pick apple trees, Pumpkinland brings a pumpkin patch, a corn and straw bale maze, hayrides, barnyard animals, an apple slingshot, and a pumpkin toss. On fall evenings they add moonlight hayrides out to the Witch's House. Between the picking and the pumpkin patch, you can easily spend a full afternoon here, and the farm market on the way out is stocked with fresh cider, produce, and those famous baked goods.

Shady Brook Farm, Yardley

Up in Bucks County, Shady Brook Farm at 931 Stony Hill Road in Yardley runs a big, cheerful FallFest every autumn. For 2026 that runs from September 11 through October 30. You'll find wagon rides out to the pumpkin patch, u-pick apples, sprawling sunflower fields, a roughly four-acre corn maze, a jumping pillow, a giant slide, and pedal carts that kids never want to leave.

Shady Brook is especially well set up for a full day with kids, with plenty of food, seating, and activities packed into one tidy farmstead. It's about 20 miles north of the city, an easy drive from Center City or from neighborhoods on the northeast side. Admission runs roughly $15 to $30 depending on what you want to do, so it's worth a quick look at their calendar before you head out.

Highland Orchards, West Chester

For a more classic, low-key farm feel, head to Highland Orchards at 1000 Marshallton-Thorndale Road in West Chester, in Chester County. This 200-acre family farm has been around since 1941, and it leans into the simple pleasures: hayrides, u-pick apples and pumpkins, and some of the best apple-cider donuts in the region. It's the kind of place where you can wander at your own pace, chat with the folks working the fields, and leave with a trunk full of crisp apples and a warm paper bag of donuts.

Johnson's Corner Farm, Medford, NJ

Across the river in South Jersey, Johnson's Corner Farm at 133 Church Road in Medford is about 30 to 40 minutes from Center City and a favorite of families on both sides of the Delaware. Their Fall Harvest Festivals run every weekend through October, with hayrides to a pick-your-own patch of pumpkins, apples, gourds, and even sweet potatoes. The corn maze is open Fridays through Sundays, and the weekend festival adds live music, gem mining, and duck races.

Johnson's is a great pick if you want a true farm festival with more than just picking, and being in Burlington County makes it handy for anyone living in South Philly, Northeast Philly, or the nearby Jersey suburbs.

Grim's Orchard & Family Farms, Breinigsville

If you're willing to make the drive, Grim's Orchard & Family Farms in Breinigsville, about an hour northwest in Lehigh County, is one of the biggest fall festivals around. Its 2026 Fall Festival runs from September 5 through November 1 and includes a hayride to a pumpkin patch with more than 10,000 pumpkins, apple picking with two dozen-plus varieties, an eight-acre corn maze, apple cannons, and potato digging. It's a full-production farm festival, and the hour-long drive is worth it for the scale alone.

A Few More Worth a Detour

Beyond the big names, a few smaller spots round out the list. Solebury Orchards at 3325 Creamery Road in New Hope offers pick-your-own apples and pumpkins with a picture-perfect Bucks County backdrop, perfect for pairing with a stroll through New Hope's shops and galleries. Closer in, Indian Orchards Farm in Media and Barnard's Orchard offer more intimate picking experiences if you want to avoid the crowds.

And don't forget that fall in the city has its own rhythm too. Local farmers markets fill up with the season's apples, squash, and mums, and my guide to the best farmers markets in Philadelphia is a great way to bring that harvest energy home every week.

Plan the Perfect Fall Farm Day: Local Tips

A little planning makes these trips smooth. Go early, ideally right when a farm opens on a weekday or before 10am on a weekend, to beat the biggest crowds and get the best apples and pumpkins. Bring cash as well as a card, since some farm stands are still cash-only. Dress in layers and wear shoes you don't mind getting dusty, and bring your own bags or boxes for hauling your haul home.

Most of all, check each farm's website before you go. Harvest dates, festival hours, and ticket pricing shift with the season and the weather, and nothing is more disappointing than arriving to find the orchard closed for the day. The dates I've listed here reflect the current 2026 season guides, but the farms themselves are always the final word.

A Day Trip Worth Planning

Whether you load up at Linvilla in Media, catch a wagon ride at Shady Brook in Yardley, or cross the bridge to Johnson's in Medford, an apple-picking day trip is one of the easiest, happiest ways to welcome fall in the Philadelphia area. It's a reminder that you get the best of both worlds here: a world-class city and a countryside of farms and orchards just down the road.

For more seasonal ideas across the whole city, my guide to fall in Philadelphia rounds up foliage, festivals, and everything else autumn has to offer. And if a weekend in the country is nudging you to think about where you'd actually like to live around here, from a Center City rowhouse to a leafy suburban lot, my Moving to Philadelphia guide walks through the neighborhoods and the practicalities. I'm Andre Richardson, a local real estate agent with 26 years in the Philly market, and I'm happy to help you find the right fit, city or suburbs. For now, though, grab your flannel, grab a bag, and go pick some apples. It's the season.