The Farms

The Festival of Pumpkins was built by family farms, and they’re still the reason to come out here.

Below you’ll find each farm with its address, website and a short description of what makes it worth a stop. Hours, ticket prices and activities change from year to year, so think of this as a starting point. Confirm the details on the farm’s own site before you load up the car.

Bob’s Corn & Pumpkin Farm

10917 Elliott Rd, Snohomish, WA 98296 · bobscorn.com

Bob Ricci’s farm used to be a dairy. He started growing pumpkins on about three acres and never really stopped. These days Bob plants more than 60 varieties over roughly 40 acres: big orange carvers, tall skinny ones, ghostly white pumpkins, the bumpy kind people call witch’s warts, minis for the windowsill and pie pumpkins for the kitchen. The biggest ones push 200 pounds.

The corn maze is the other big draw, and there’s a free hayride out to the field. Bob was one of the founding members of the festival, so in a way this is where the whole thing started. Maze tickets have been sold online in recent years, so look before you go.

Craven Farm

13817 Shorts School Rd, Snohomish, WA 98290 · cravenfarm.com

Families have been coming to Craven Farm for more than 35 years. They raise over 50 kinds of pumpkins and squash right on the farm and fuss over them all season, chasing good shapes and good stems. You can pick your own in the 30-acre patch, grab one off the pumpkin trailer, or shop the Harvest Market.

Admission is free. You pay for your pumpkins and whichever activities you choose, which makes Craven an easy stop with toddlers who might be done after twenty minutes. Wheelbarrows and wagons are on hand for hauling.

Carleton Farm

630 Sunnyside Blvd SE, Lake Stevens, WA 98258 · carletonfarm.com

Carleton sits on the Lake Stevens side of the valley and leans into the fun side of fall. They grow more than 40 varieties of pumpkins, and around them you’ll find a corn maze, hayrides, apple and pumpkin cannons, and a giant pumpkin jumping pad.

The pumpkin patch and farm market have been free to walk into, with the bigger activity area ticketed. It’s a good pick if your kids are old enough to want something louder than a hayride.

Stocker Farms

The Big Red Barn, 8705 Marsh Rd, Snohomish, WA 98296 · stockerfarms.com

Look for the big red barn on Marsh Road. Stocker’s 10-acre pumpkin patch grows a wide mix of shapes, sizes and colors, so you can pick one straight off the vine that suits you. The farm’s corn maze has a long history of ambitious designs. Back in 2006 they cut it in the shape of Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner.

Most activities need a ticket. Later in the season Stocker runs a haunted attraction that’s meant for teens and adults, not little ones.

Swans Trail Farms

7301 Rivershore Rd, Snohomish, WA 98290 · thefarm1.com

Long-time visitors may know it as The Farm at Swan’s Trail. The pumpkin patch here covers around 50 acres and some 30 varieties of pumpkins and gourds, and the corn maze is famous for being cut in the shape of Washington State. See if you can find your hometown.

Kids get a petting farm, slides, swings, pedal carts and the cow train. There’s plenty of room to wander, wheelbarrows for the patch, and u-pick apples in the fall.

Thomas Family Farm

9010 Marsh Rd, Snohomish, WA 98296 · thomasfamilyfarm.com

Thomas Family Farm’s patch spreads over about 14 acres, with around 30 varieties running from little gourds to giant pumpkins. They’ve long backed their pumpkins with a Pumpkin Guarantee: if yours goes soft or moldy before Halloween, bring it back and swap it. Ask about it when you buy.

This farm really wakes up after dark. Fall weekends bring a night corn maze, a haunted trail and fire pits. The daytime patch is relaxed and family-friendly, and the evening attractions skew older.

Bailey Family Farm

12711 Springhetti Rd, Snohomish, WA 98296 · baileyveg.com

The Baileys have farmed this ground since 1913, and it still feels like a working farm, not an attraction. That’s the appeal. It’s quieter than some of its neighbors, the prices are good, and there are acres of pumpkins, gourds and other fall produce to pick through.

Younger kids love the play barn, with rope swings, hay bales to climb and tractor trikes. On October weekends there’s usually a wagon ride around the patch, kettle corn and hot cider.