Every year, we're on the hunt for the perfect pumpkin and the most exciting fall events in Western North Carolina. This fall season, discover WNC pumpkin patches, corn mazes, and farm stores throughout the Blue Ridge Mountains.
(Feature Image: Jeter Mountain Farm; Credit: Corrine Elaine Photography)
Are you looking for the best pumpkin patches and corn mazes in the Western North Carolina mountains near Asheville? Check out our comprehensive pumpkin patch and corn maze guide below for family-friendly fall fun!
On the hunt for apples and apple picking? We've got an apple farm orchard guide for Western NC too!
Pumpkins are usually abundant across the Asheville area and Western NC mountains from mid-September through Thanksgiving, with many pumpkin patches, corn mazes, and family farms open daily for fall activities. Whether you're searching for the ideal jack-o'-lantern pumpkin, getting lost in a corn maze adventure, or enjoying hayrides and fall festivals, our Western North Carolina farms offer the complete autumn experience.
Darnell Farms
2300 Governors Island Rd., Bryson City, NC 28713
(828) 488-2376
Along the banks of the Tuckasegee River in Bryson City, North Carolina, you’ll find a gorgeous second-generation, 100-acre family farm that produces strawberries, pole beans, sweet corn, pumpkins, squash, a variety of tomatoes, and much more. Darnell Farms offers families and friends hayrides, corn mazes, and even a Spook 5K run to celebrate Halloween every fall season.
Learn more and check availability.
Eliada’s Fall Festival Annual Corn Maze
2 Compton Dr., Asheville, NC 28806
(828) 653-1926
Get lost for a good cause! Eliada's 8-Acre Corn Maze is a beloved, long-time Asheville tradition. It features family-friendly fun including tractor rides, pumpkins, apple slushies, corn cannons, spider climber, lawn games, food trucks, and more! For 2026, enjoy an all-new music series: Music at the Maze, featuring local Asheville musicians. Every ticket purchase benefits the children and youth of Eliada through their programs including Foster Care, Child Development, Residential Day Treatment, ESTA (Eliada Students Transitioning to Adulthood), and an Outpatient Counseling Center.
Learn more and purchase tickets.
Credit: Balsam Business Photography
Stepp's Hillcrest Orchard
221 Stepp Orchard Dr., Hendersonville, NC, 28792
(828) 685-9083
Open mid-August through early November, Stepp's is a fourth-generation, 70-acre working farm with mountain views, just 5.5 miles from I-26 (and a mile off US Highway 64). Pick your own pumpkins on their 6-acre pumpkin field of orange and specialty pumpkins, and shop in their Country Market with apples, pumpkins, cider, apple butter, and gifts. On weekends, ride on the farm wagon through acres of orchard and Farmer Stepp’s pumpkin patch. Enjoy fresh apple cider with a doughnut in the picnic area. Kids of all ages love the apple cannons!
Learn more and check availability.
Grandad's Apples ‘N Such
2951 Chimney Rock Rd., Hendersonville, NC, 28792
(828) 685-1685
Open August through mid-November, Grandad's Apples ‘N Such is just two miles from I-26 on US Highway 64. Find a massive selection of pre-picked pumpkins which arrive on the farm in late September or early October. Grandad’s Barn and Country Store has a great selection of fall harvest decorations, local honey, carving utensils, and more. Enjoy apple turnovers, fried pies, apple bread, caramel apples, ice cream, apple slushies, cider, and many other treats! Stroll through the orchards or explore the corn maze.
Learn more and check availability.
Justus Orchard
187 Garren Rd., Hendersonville, NC 28792
(828) 974-1232
For over four generations, the family at Justus Orchard has been growing delicious pumpkins, NC apples, pears, and blackberries. Whether U-Pick or they pick, you can sample, mix, and match your produce to walk away with a whole bushel and a peck. Besides apple picking and pumpkin picking from mid-September through October, there are many activities for the entire family. Tour the orchard, let the kids ride the Cow Train on the weekends, visit some farm animals, and take home sweet treats from their on-site bakery.
Learn more and check availability.
Hickory Nut Gap Farm
57 Sugar Hollow Rd., Fairview, NC 28730
(828) 628-1027
From mid-September through mid-November, come out to Hickory Nut Gap Farm—a local producer of some of the finest meats around Asheville—for fall activities unlike any other. After grabbing a pumpkin from their farm store that is perfect for jack-o-lantern making, find a spot on a hayride or let the kiddos take a pony ride. Hayrides and pony rides on weekends.
Learn more and check availability.
Credit: Corrine Elaine Photography
Jeter Mountain Farm
1126 Jeter Mountain Rd., Hendersonville, NC, 28739
(828) 513-0404
Open July through October, this farm offers many varieties of apples available in their U-Pick orchards in addition to pumpkins, sunflowers, peaches, blueberries, and Christmas Trees. Their U-Pick pumpkin patch is open in early October—check their website for accurate dates before you go! They also feature apple cider donuts, a play area, apple butter, garden salsas, hand-made soaps, and wagon rides. Enjoy hard ciders at Flat Rock Cider Co. Taproom on the farm, serving six hard ciders on tap, including a special Jeter Mountain Farm original blend.
Learn more and check availability.
The Nix Pumpkin Patch
3726 Chimney Rock Rd., Hendersonville, NC 28792
(828) 808-7346
The Nix Pumpkin Patch is a one-of-a-kind farm stand that offers U-pick pumpkins and winter squashes and gourds, as well as a wide variety of local produce, local meats and dairy, handcrafted gift items, coffee, baked goods, and more available for purchase. Open seven days per week from July through the end of fall. Nix is the perfect place to celebrate an early start to Autumn.
Call for availability: 828-808-7346
Packa’s Place
4210 Brevard Rd., Horse Shoe, NC 28742
(623) 221-3164
A sixth-generation, family-owned farm just 20 miles south of Asheville, Packa’s Place specializes in Blue Ridge Beefalo—an animal containing 3/8 American Buffalo and 5/8 domestic cattle—and it also houses an on-site beer garden called THE BARn. Enjoy their pumpkin patch and fall market. Open Wednesday through Sunday in September and October, Packa’s Place lets you pick your new jack-o-lantern while waving at the roaming beefalo around the farm.
Learn more and check availability.
Sky Top Orchards
1193 Pinnacle Mtn Rd., Zirconia, NC 28731
(828) 692-7930
If you’re in the Flat Rock area, don’t miss the incredible apple orchards and fall festivities at Sky Top Orchards. The area’s warm days and cool summer nights create conditions perfect for over 22 varieties of apples, and you can also grab a great pumpkin from their fruit stand in late September up until Thanksgiving. Don’t forget to take a ride on their bee train and hayride.
Learn more and check availability.
