Pumpkin Patch Review: Bishop Family Farms

October is my absolute favorite month of the year. The crisp air, falling leaves that I go out of my way to step on, pulling out cooler weather clothes – I love all of it. October is also the month I was born in, so it makes it even more special to me. My daughter was also born in October, and I’m so excited to start traditions with our family so our kids will grow up loving the month as much as I do.

This past weekend, we headed to Wheatland, California to go to the best pumpkin patch I’ve ever been to – Bishop Family Farms. This is a place where family memories are made, and I can already envision us going back year after year. A true working farm, Bishop Family Farms has everything an Autumn lover would want or need: corn maze, hayride, passenger train, apple everything, petting zoo, pig racing, pumpkin picking, pony ride, zipline, slides and play structures… everything is in one spot! They even have a carousel on the property, which was introduced this year.

The logistics: Wheatland, CA is not in our backyard. It’s about 2.5 hours away on the outskirts of Sacramento. That said, it’s definitely worth the drive. Admission is free, but each attraction costs a number of tickets. For our family of four, we bought 50 tickets for $47, and ended up riding the carousel three times to burn the last few tickets we had.

Parking is free during the weekdays, $10 on less busy weekends, and $15 on peak days. We went on a Sunday, and while it was very, very busy, it was never frustratingly so. There are many places to choose from on the property for lunch – from turkey legs to taco salad and huge ice cream cones, and the price range was $7 – $15.

While on the hayride, we overheard some adults talking about how they had been coming to Bishop since they were wee ones. I can see that being my kids in 30+ years.