Pumpkin patches near Palo Alto

Palo Alto has no pumpkin patch of its own. What it has is easy access to three very different pumpkin scenes. Webb Ranch sits on Stanford land 10 minutes away. The farm belt along Highway 92 and Highway 1 near Half Moon Bay is the Bay Area's biggest. Inland, Saratoga and Brentwood add patches with corn mazes and rides. The city adds its own twist each September, when the Palo Alto Art Center lawn fills with handblown glass pumpkins.

This page was updated on Halloween 2026, the last day for most patches. Below you will find the farms that are still open into November, how the season normally runs and a plan for next year. We list dates and hours only where a farm has posted them. Pumpkin farms change hours with the weather and the crowds, so check each farm's own site before you drive.

Still open after Halloween 2026

If you missed October, two coastal farms give you a little more time.

• Arata's Pumpkin Farm, 185 Verde Road, Half Moon Bay. The farm's site lists a final weekend of Friday, October 30 through Sunday, November 1, 2026. Halloween hours run from 9 a.m. into the evening and Sunday runs from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Tickets for the last weekend are sold only in person at the farm. Arata's is known for its two-acre hay bale maze, the Minotaur's Labyrinth, plus a corn field, a haunted barn, hay rides, a train, pony rides and a petting zoo. Leashed, well-behaved dogs are allowed. Outside food is not.
• Lemos Farm, 12320 San Mateo Road (Highway 92), Half Moon Bay. Lemos runs the longest season of any farm near Palo Alto. Its 2026 patch opened on September 5 and closes on November 15. In October it opens daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. In November it opens only on Saturdays and Sundays, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The farm sells timed tickets online for its rides and play areas, which include pony rides (70-pound limit), a train, a haunted house, hay rides, gem mining and a petting zoo. Walk-in tickets are limited.

Expect a thinner crop of pumpkins in November. The fields have been picked over for weeks, so the giant and heirloom varieties may be gone. The upside is far less traffic on Highway 92.

Webb Ranch, the closest patch

Webb Ranch at 2718 Alpine Road in Portola Valley is the patch most Palo Alto families use. The Webb family has farmed this land under lease from Stanford since 1922, so it is genuinely a working farm and not a pop-up lot. It is a short drive up Alpine Road from Interstate 280 or a pleasant bike ride from campus.

The ranch's pumpkin page lists the patch as open daily from September 25 to October 31. The store and patch run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and the activity area from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. On Halloween the activities close at 4 p.m. and the store at 5 p.m. The activity area has bounce houses for kids 12 and under, a haunted house, a farm obstacle course, pony rides and tractor hay rides. Pumpkins are priced by size. Parking is free but tight on weekend mornings and the ranch gives priority to activity reservations. Outside food is allowed. Dogs are not.

Webb Ranch also runs a summer berry patch, covered in our guide to u-pick farms.

The Half Moon Bay farm belt

The coast is where pumpkin season gets serious. Half Moon Bay calls itself the pumpkin capital of the world and the fields along Highway 92 turn orange from late September. The town's Art and Pumpkin Festival, the 54th edition, ran on Main Street on October 17 and 18, 2026. The giant pumpkin weigh-off was held earlier that week, on October 12. Our Half Moon Bay day trip covers the beaches and harbor if you want to make a day of it.

Besides Arata's and Lemos, Farmer John's Pumpkin Farm at 850 North Cabrillo Highway posts daily hours from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on its site, though it does not give 2026 dates. It is a simpler farm stand style patch with hay rides and a vintage tractor for photos. Other Highway 92 farms appear in press roundups every fall. We list only the ones whose own sites we could check.

Beating the Highway 92 traffic

• Leave before 9 a.m. on weekends. By late morning the line of cars over the hill can add an hour.
• Go on a weekday afternoon if you can. School groups clear out by early afternoon.
• Come back by Highway 1 south and Highway 84 through La Honda if 92 is jammed. It is longer but moving.
• Bring cash and cards. Most farms take both, but card readers can be slow on busy days.

If you would rather skip the drive, you can browse guided Bay Area day tours, some of which include the coast.

Saratoga, Brentwood and other inland patches

Queen's Pumpkin Patch at 12985 Saratoga Avenue in Saratoga is the main South Bay option, about 25 minutes from Palo Alto. Its site lists hours from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., later than most farms. Attractions include a corn maze, pony rides, a petting zoo, tractor rides and a pumpkin slingshot. The site had not posted 2026 closing dates when we checked, so treat it as a late September through October patch.

Farther afield, the farms of Brentwood in eastern Contra Costa County run pumpkin patches and a large corn maze each fall. Harvest Time in Brentwood, the farmers' association, publishes a fall map of participating farms. It is a 75-minute drive from Palo Alto without traffic and pairs well with the area's spring cherry season.

On the coast north of Santa Cruz, the Swanton Berry Farm stand in Davenport lists pumpkins among its seasonal produce. It is open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and makes an easy stop on a Santa Cruz day trip.

How the season usually runs

For the widest choice and the shortest lines, aim for a weekday in the first two weeks of October. If you want carving pumpkins that last, buy them no more than a week or so before Halloween. A carved pumpkin softens within days in a warm October.

The Great Glass Pumpkin Patch

Palo Alto's own pumpkin event has nothing to do with farms. Each September the Great Glass Pumpkin Patch spreads more than 10,000 handblown glass pumpkins across the lawn of the Palo Alto Art Center at 1313 Newell Road. The 2026 sale, the 31st, ran on September 26 and 27. Entry is free and the pumpkins are for sale, with proceeds going to the Bay Area Glass Institute and the Art Center Foundation. It comes well before the farm season peaks, so mark it on next year's calendar.

Pumpkin season in town

Around the patches, Palo Alto's venues add their own October events. In 2026 the Junior Museum and Zoo held a members-only Halloween Zoo Night on October 29 and the Museum of American Heritage scheduled a Halloween Night on October 31. Our Halloween guide has the full rundown, trick-or-treat tips and safety notes. Note that the Junior Museum and Zoo switches to a 4:30 p.m. closing time from November 1.

Many families also buy pumpkins without leaving town. Grocery stores and the downtown and California Avenue farmers markets sell them through October. Our farmers markets guide has times for both markets, which run year-round.

Planning for fall 2027

Halloween 2027 falls on a Sunday, so expect the busiest patch weekend to be October 23 and 24, 2027. Farms usually post their season dates in August or early September. Book timed tickets early for the last two weekends of October. If you are coming from out of town for a fall weekend, you can compare Palo Alto hotels and split the trip between the coast and the city. Our October guide covers the weather and the rest of the month's events.

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