Pumpkin Patches (Colorado Springs, Louisville, Erie: credit card, how much, restaurant)

[chilicheesefries]

I thought it would be informative to start a post about Pumpkin Patches in the area because there's a lot of us with little kids who want to pick pumpkins for the field!

I've noticed a lot of the area 'pumpkin patches' are really parking lots full of pumpkins so you don't get the field feel. I wanted to share my experience we had the last weekend and solicit other people's thoughts of where they like to go!

We went to the festival at the Chatfield Botanical Gardens Arboretum. It was pretty cool! It wasn't too busy and they had some booths and a mini-carnival. The main thing we wanted to go was get some pumpkins for the twins and get some pictures of them in the field. It was $5 per adult to get in but there were lots of pumpkins to choose from and the price wasn't too bad - it went by size and the average sized pumpkin was about $5 (this was what would be selling for $5 at King Soopers right now) and the experience was priceless. Weather was good and parking was plentiful although the parking lot was a little rough. Also got some pictures on hay bales, etc.

Where do other people like to go? I've heard great things about Rock Creek farms but it is quite far away and they had a news special last year about how it took 2 hours to get a parking spot!

[jkcoop]

Rock Creek Farms has become a circus really. We went last weekend and turned around a left. Not to mention, the majority of the pumpkins in the field froze due to the temps from the previous weekend.

I suppose if we spent tons of time poking around we might have been able to find some that were okay. But all the ones we came across in the field we were in had soft spots. The problem is, with the warmer temps, they would become gross pretty quick, not to mention not good for carving. And their prices went up! I might have considered some with a tiny soft spot for reduced prices, but they weren't offering that.

I will say that finding an enjoyable pumpkin patch place where you can pick from the field when you have little ones is a wonderful thing to do (our son is 16 now - not the event is used to be).

As they get older, corn mazes are a ton of fun as well.

[mczabe]

We visited Anderson Farm in Erie, CO and it was fabulous!

We didn't do the maze, since our kids are still pretty little...but the mazes did really look neat. They have lots of fun activities, nice food (baked sweet potatoes for lunch - YUM!) and my husband's favorite - the pumpkin shooter. It sends them into the stratosphere!!!

They do charge a fee to enter, but it was well worth it IMO.

[Katiana]

We went to Rock Creek Farm last Sunday as a group of 8. The youngest was 8, the oldest 61, everyone else besides the spouse of the 61 year old were in their 20s and 30s (mostly 20s). We had a blast! The 20 somethings took the 8 year old through the corn maze, and we did find some decent pumpkins (7). Yes, it was crowded due to good weather (and bad weather the previous w/e), but the traffic did flow pretty smoothly and it was a nice "harvest" activity. Our 8 yr old grand-niece enjoyed the petting zoo.

I don't know where the 2 hrs to get a parking spot comes from; there are a few lots and mostly you drive to the field and pick out your pumpkins.

We've gone to Chatfield several times, as a sort of central area for us from Louisville and our Colorado Springs relatives. I felt the admission fee was steep (Rock Creek has none), and the pumpkins expensive, and it was just as crowded as Rock Creek. I did like riding on the hay wagons.

[chilicheesefries]

Originally Posted by Katiana

We've gone to Chatfield several times, as a sort of central area for us from Louisville and our Colorado Springs relatives. I felt the admission fee was steep (Rock Creek has none), and the pumpkins expensive, and it was just as crowded as Rock Creek. I did like riding on the hay wagons.

That was something I contemplated. The admission fee for my wife and I was $10 total at Chatfield. Gas to Rock Creek Farms would be about $12. So that was a wash.

How much are the pumpkins at Rock Creek Farms? Their website says the 1st one is $7, 2nd is $5, 3rd is $5, 4th is $3 and then each additional is $5. I got 4 pumpkins at Chatfield for $4, $4, $5, $6. Sounds similar - I paid $20/4, Rock Creek would have been $20/4 (according to website).

Anyways I got scared away from the news story last year on 9news that showed the huge crowds. Maybe it was the last weekend before Halloweeen? That coupled with distance made me choose Chatfield.

[chilicheesefries]

Originally Posted by mczabe

We visited Anderson Farm in Erie, CO and it was fabulous!

We didn't do the maze, since our kids are still pretty little...but the mazes did really look neat. They have lots of fun activities, nice food (baked sweet potatoes for lunch - YUM!) and my husband's favorite - the pumpkin shooter. It sends them into the stratosphere!!!

They do charge a fee to enter, but it was well worth it IMO.

Looks like a blast! Maybe will take a visit their next year.

[Katiana]

Here is the information straight from the horse's mouth (the Rock Creek information sheet they give you when you arrive).

Prices for Field Pumpkins:

1 for $7
2 for $12
3 for $17
4 for $20
$5 for each for 5 or more.

They do not take debit/credit cards, but they do "conveniently" have an ATM so you can get cash.

I imagine next weekend will be nuts!

[NickMan7]

We've gone to Anderson Farms in Erie for the past 5 years and absolutely love it. No kids - we're all in our 20s and 30s and we really have a great time. Their corn mazes are incredible - this year's theme is the Wild West - and quite long. If you were to walk each stretch of each maze (there are 3), they would total about 9 miles. You get a small map that shows a real birds-eye view of the mazes (photo provided below). The point of the mazes is to reach each of the [8-10] punch stations and punch the corresponding number on the card.. the map details where each punch station is. Each maze has 2 or 3 entry points so we break into even groups and start at different points for our own competition. You can submit completed punch cards in a box they have and then they randomly draw cards at the end of the season and pass out prizes. I don't know how valuable they are, as we generally don't enter. We just go for the sheer fun of it!

Additionally, they do have a petting zoo for the little ones, a kid's maze, carriage rides to the pumpkin fields to pick your own pumpkins (pulled by steer), a haunted house, a restaurant/gift shop and small rides for the kids. Pumpkins range in price from $5 to $10 (pretty standard, I think) depending on size.

If you're interested at all in going, it is off of Highway 52 a couple miles west of I-25. Turn north (right if coming from I-25) on County Road 3¼ and it's about ½-mile up on the right side - you obviously can't miss it.



We actually got lost in the "d" in the word Anderson!!! So confusing sometimes!