This Is Minnesota's Best Pumpkin Patch To Visit

MINNESOTA — It’s that magical time of year again when kids unglue themselves from their tablets and smartphones for just a couple precious hours to join their parents in a jaunt to the local pumpkin patch. Few things excite our youth more than picking out gargantuan gourds, and for parents, it’s the perfect excuse to throw on that new fall sweater, round up the squad and have a stranger snap the perfect Christmas card photo for grandma and grandpa.

Haunted houses get all the attention, but pumpkin patches are the soul of the season. And if you’re looking for the cream of the crop, consider heading over to Waldoch Farm in Lino Lakes, ranked the best pumpkin patch in Minnesota by the folks at the women's magazine Good Housekeeping. The patch is open until Oct. 31.

Here’s what the magazine had to say about the pumpkin peddlers:

This year’s corn maze is in the shape of a big green tractor, but the real tradition at Waldoch Farm is the pumpkin patch. For four generations, the Waldoch family has been growing pumpkins and welcoming people to the farm. You can feed the animals (and yourself) at this historic farm, located just 20 minutes from the Twin Cities. Children 2 and under are free, and day passes are $12. If you simply can’t get enough, season passes are also available for $30.

If that doesn’t suit your fancy — or, more likely, the drive is simply too far — you can also try one of the following places. Whether you’re looking for haunted hayrides and spooky corn mazes, or simply family-friendly bounce houses, petting zoos and pony rides, one of these should do the trick:

Hennepin County:

• Minnetonka Orchards, LLC, Minnetrista
• Scherer's pick your own pumpkin patch, Medina
• Wheel Fun Rentals Pumpkin Patch at Veterans Memorial Park, Richfield
• Twin Cities Corn Maze and Harvest Festival, Brooklyn Park
• Apple Jack Orchards, Delano
• Dehn's Pumpkins, Dayton
• Dream Acres Farm, Rogers
• Jim's Produce, Independence
• Knapton's Raspberries, Pumpkins and Orchard, Greenfield

Anoka County:

• Anoka County Farms, Hame Lake
• Berry Hill Farm, Anoka
• Bunker Park Stable, Andover
• Eveland Family Farm, Andover
• Exotic Pumpkins, Andover
• Minnesota Fresh Farm, East Bethel
• Packer Family Farms, Andover
• Pearson Family Farm, Ramsey
• Remicks, Ochard, Anoka,
• Roselawn Stables, Saint Francis
• Waldoch Farm, Lino Lakes

Ramsey County:

• Crypticon, Roseville
• Pearson Family Farm, Ramsey
• Wheel Fun Rentals Pumpkin Patch at Lake Como, Saint Paul
• Pine Tree Apple Orchard, White Bear Lake

Washington County

• Aamodt's Apple Farm, Inc., Stillwater
• Axdahl's Garden Farm, Stillwater
• Bergmann's Greenhouses & Farm Market, Inc., Stillwater
• Country Sun Farm and Greenhouses, Stillwater
• Zywiec's Haunting Experience and Corn Maze, Cottage Grove
• Gilbertson Farms, Scandia
• Hugo Animal Farm, Inc., Hugo
• Schiltgen Farms, Afton
• Ziertman's Pumpkin Farm, Lake Elmo

Rice County

• Thorn Crest Farm's CSA, Dundas
• Nelson's Apple Farm, Webster

Dakota County

• Fischer's Croix Farm Orchard, Hastings
• Whistling Well Farm, Hastings
• McDougall's Apple Junction, Hastings
• Afton Apple Orchards, Hastings
• Applewood Orchard, Lakeville
• Castle Rock Orchard, Farmington
• Highview Pastures, Farmington
• Seubert's Pumpkins, Hastings
• White Barn Orchard, Northfield

If you’re hoping to find locally grown pumpkins, consider this — while technically grown throughout the country, there’s a 50-50 chance your pumpkin was grown in one of just six states, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. There’s a good chance that state was Illinois, the nation’s largest producer, which harvests up to five times as many pumpkin acres as any other top state at more than 600 million pounds.

Your turn: Send your best and — more importantly — worst pumpkin carvings to william.bornhoft@patch.com

Here’s one to give you an idea:

When picking your perfect pumpkin, here are a few tips to keep in mind, according to the folks at Kitchn.

1. Know the difference between pumpkins best used for pies and those best for carving. Workers will sometimes label their pumpkins to help you identify which is better for eating and which is better for carving. But if they don’t, remember smaller, thicker and rounder pumpkins are generally better for eating. They have more guts on the inside and are more difficult to saw.
2. Tap on your pumpkin. By tapping on your prospective pumpkins, you’ll be able to compare which feel sturdy and sound hollow. The sturdier, the better, and it should sound hollow.
3. Flip it upside down and apply pressure. It might sound odd, but trust us, this is key. Turn your pumpkin upside down and press on it with both thumbs. If it’s not sturdy, chances are it’ll rot.
4. Always carry it from the bottom. Do not carry your pumpkin by its stem, that’s the easiest way to test whether your pumpkin can defy gravity. So far, gravity remains undefeated.
5. Wait to carve your pumpkin. Ask anyone what happens if you carve too early and you’ll hear one of two answers, neither of them good. Either the pumpkin rots before Halloween or it simply becomes dinner for a family of hungry animals.

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Patch national staffer Dan Hampton contributed to this report.

Photo credit: Rick Uldricks/Patch