AHHH…Fall in Wisconsin; there is nothing quite like it! Pumpkin patches and apple orchards around every corner, Wisconsin farmers working hard in their fields harvesting for the season, the smell of fresh-cut hey in the air, scenic Wisconsin picturesque fall views, snuggling near an open fire, and you can’t forget pumpkin spice lattes, or pumpkin spice everything for that matter, am I right?
My favorite thing about fall is the feeling of nostalgia the minute that fresh, warm apple cider hits my taste buds, and there is no better way to recreate your own apple orchard childhood memories than with your own family. Throw on you favorite boots, chunky sweater, pack a day bag, a picnic basket and hit the scenic Wisconsin country route with your family!
Here, I have complied a list of a few of my families favorite apple orchard and pumpkin patches, just minutes from Madison. And I always prefer the scenic route!
If only we could visit them all before old man winter comes baring his frigid breath! Here is our amazing list of 2019 Farms, pumpkin patches and apple orchards!
BURES BERRY PATCH: At Bures Berry Patch they encourage you to bring a picnic basket and a blanket, stay awhile and enjoy the countryside. Energetic kids on your hands? Then Bures Berry Patch is just the place to wear them out with wide-open spaces, large pumpkin patches, a corn maze, a large selection of pumpkins, squash, and gourds, fresh produce including corn and potatoes. On the weekends, enjoy a wagon ride with farmer Ed.
Bures Berry Patch is just 30 miles west of Madison. Take the easy scenic highway of 18-151 or take the many choices off the beaten path there is nothing quite like the variety of Wisconsin country roads; either way, they all offer glorious fall foliage views. Make it a day trip, visit the highest point in Southern Wisconsin at 1,719 ft at Blue Mound State Park, Blue Mounds WI or Govenor Dodge State Park, Dodgeville, WI.
Visit the many eclectic shops in Mt, Horeb, Dodgeville, Spring Green and Mineral Point, on the weekends shop all of your outdoor fall favorites and porch decor at Jadas Garden and GreenHouse, Blue Mounds, WI – Shop all things Wisconsin with local art, unique gifts and apparel at KELLA, stop next door at Icki Sticki and grab the endless choices of Joe or a Madison Wisconsin made Chocolate shop ice cream cone with over 20 flavors, what ever you crave you are sure to find it on the “trollway” of Mount Horeb. Enjoy the FALL ART TOUR LOOP, Lands’ End Inlet in Dodgeville, Driftless Kids Toy Store in Mineral Point… too many wonderful shops to mention for a great and unique shopping experience, feel free to ask me for recommendations!
SUTTER’S RIDGE APPLE ORCHARD AND PUMPKIN PATCH: If picking your apples is what you prefer, then Sutter’s Ridge Apple Orchard and Pumpkin Patch is the place for you! Show your little ones where apples grow and let them pick their own. There are several wagons available for your use that you can pull your children through the endless rows of apple trees! Bring a blanket, your camera, read the book Johnny Appleseed! There is something pretty magical about hanging out in the middle of an apple orchard! The fun doesn’t stop there! This place is definitely worth the drive with so much to do – children’s pedal tractors, tractor-pulled wagon rides to and from the large hilltop pumpkin patch, a giant sandpit with trucks and toys, mounds of hay bales for climbing, goats to feed, a child-size maze, shoot hoops, sling apples… do I dare continue?
Last but not least…. THE BEST hot and fresh apple cider donuts along with other special treats! Pre-bagged apples, apple cider, mums, and pumpkins are also available for purchase.
PECKS FARM EAST: Get into the H-A-L-L-O-W-E-E-N spirit at Pecks Farm. A great place to visit all year-round, although extraordinary throughout fall and Halloween with several little haunted houses, scary realistic witches, goblins and hidden noisemakers! Trust me, whoever decorates these little haunted houses has SPOOK-tacular talent! But beware, my littles stay away with a watchful eye, and some we avoid from afar, but that doesn’t stop them from begging to visit each year. And if that lacks your interest, Pecks is an excellent place for the entire family featuring a large deer farm, pot-bellied pigs, fish, pheasants, swans, ducks, pygmy goats, llamas, bunnies, buffalo and elk! Enjoy horse-drawn wagon rides, a brat stand on the weekends, craft and gift shop, and plenty of fresh local produce including corn, squash, tomatoes, a large variety of pumpkins and baked goods, local honey and syrup for purchase! Definitely, include Pecks on your spring, summer, and fall bucket list!
APPLEBERRY APPLE ORCHARD: Fun for the whole family at Appleberry Apple Orchard! Every treat to satisfy your taste buds including apple cider brats in a beautiful country setting! If you’re like me and enjoy a Wisconsin ice cream cone no matter the chilly temps, then you can enjoy an ice cream cone on the front porch of the Appleberry Apple Orchard Farm Store. At Appleberry Apple Orchard Farm Store, you can purchase unique and “applelicious” items such as applewood for your BBQ smoker (how neat is that!), as well as fresh apple cider donuts, hot apple cider, and for the hard to buy giftee and the holidays right around the corner, Hard Apple Cider for the adults to warm their toes! Appleberry Apple Orchard is one of my favorites to visit with so much to do and it is the perfect way to relax and enjoy a fall day with fantastic photo opps with its large pine trees and beautiful country setting.
GAYS MILLS – The Apple Capital of Wisconsin: If a long scenic drive with incredible bluffs and picturesque views are what you’re after then Gays Mills- The Apple Capital of Wisconsin is just the place for you! Gays Mills offers several unique apple orchards within a few miles of each other such as Sunrise Orchard, Kickapoo Orchard, West Ridge Orchard, and Fleming Orchard. It’s not just the beauty that still brings me back to Gays Mills yearly, it’s a one-stop shop for fresh produce, endless baked goods, including my favorites like the fresh and warm apple donuts you can enjoy inside overlooking the everlasting hills, and the kids love the petting zoo with ponies at Fleming Orchard!
Whatever it is you choose to do, you will leave these orchards and patches with a full tummy and even fuller heart!
