No region does autumn like New England. Not only is the foliage picture-perfect, you’ll find every fall activity you can dream of in towns throughout the region. Whether you want to go apple picking, pumpkin picking, leaf-peeping or all of the above, you’ll find it all in the Boston suburbs.
As you’re exploring towns this autumn, experience what life in New England is really like at one (or more!) of these fall festivals and events.
North of Boston
Boston Hill Farm (North Andover)
If a drive through the colorful countryside outside of North Andover hasn’t already put you in the mood for fall, the display of pumpkins and mums outside Boston Hill Farm’s barn-red farm stand surely will. Stop by to pick your own apples and pumpkins and feed the resident sheep, goats, chickens, and rabbits, then head into the farm stand to treat yourself to fresh-baked pies and doughnuts, ice cream, honey, and more. The farm is open seven days a week, so stop by whenever you need a break from your town tours.
Smolak Farms (North Andover)
Apple picking? Check! Hay rides? Check! Kids activities? Check! Smolak Farms offers all this and more! Come experience for yourself why visitors from all over the Boston area come to Smolak’s to pick fruit, shop at the farm stand and bakery, take a ride through the cow fields, meet the animals, and make memories at this 300-year-old working farm. There’s a new activity every weekend in October: check out the full calendar of events here. (And PS, if you decide to call the Andover area home, take note of their CSA program.)
Brooksby Farm (Peabody)
Pick your own apples, then swing by the pumpkin yard for some more fall fun at Brooksby Farm—there are hay rides, a kids’ play yard, barnyard animals, and a fall fairytale trail for the kiddos. On crisp fall nights, they offer campfires and smores.
Northwest of Boston
Verrill Farm (Concord)
Find the perfect pumpkin at Verrill Farms, a fourth-generation sustainable farm selling seasonal produce, fresh flowers, gifts, prepared foods to go, and homemade baked goods. If you’re lucky enough to be in town on a Thursday, place your order for some of their mouth-watering house-smoked barbecue—you won’t be sorry!
Honey Pot Hill (Stow)
Make some sweet memories at Honey Pot Hill, where you can wander through three extensive corn mazes, hop on a hayride, and visit with miniature ponies, goats, rabbits, pigs, and chickens after picking your own crisp, farm-fresh apples.
Shelburne Farm (Stow)
It’s just 20 miles from Boston, but Shelburne Farm feels like it’s a world away. Take a scenic tour of the orchard on a hayride, then choose from 90 varieties of pick-your-own apples and pumpkins in all shapes and sizes. There’s endless fun for little ones, including an orchard story walk, a John Deere playground, and giant hay steps.
Drew Farm (Westford)
Want a more laid-back experience? Perched on a beautiful hill with stunning views and lots of stone walls for the kids to climb, Drew Farm offers a traditional New England fall experience. For a relaxing afternoon, bring a picnic lunch, grab some fresh-picked apples and an old-fashioned root beer or apple cider from the road-side stand, and gather ‘round one of the orchard-side picnic tables. Before you leave, snap a family pic in the charming pumpkin patch.
West of Boston
Berlin Orchards (Berlin)
“Life is short—get out and pick some apples,” say Berlin Orchards’s owners Gerard and Sheila Beirne. Hay wagons ride apple pickers into and out of the orchards at this family-run farm in central Mass. On your way out, don’t miss the cider donuts, cider slushies, and local honey available in the farm store.
Hanson’s Farm (Framingham)
If corn mazes are your thing, drop by Hanson’s Farm to get lost in Tom and Matt’s Excellent Adventure Corn Maze. A working farm since 1715, today you can pick your own pumpkins and flowers, buy fruits and vegetables from the farm’s roadside stand, and even take a haunted hay ride throughout the month of October at this fifth-generation family farm.
Tougas Family Farm (Northborough)
Fresh fruit, fresh air, and family fun. You’ll find them all at Tougas Family Farm, where you can pick your own apples and pumpkins, enjoy farm-fresh homemade baked goods, apple cider donuts, and ice cream, and visit the barnyard to watch goats climb a mountain of stone.
Dowse Orchards (Sherborn)
Dowse Orchards’s roadside stand—selling apples, vegetables, greenhouse crops, and flowers—has been a Sherborn fixture for more than 60 years. During October, you can stop by the 200-year-old farm to pick your own apples in the orchard or pick up a jug of maple syrup, fruit preserves, and sweet apple cider from the farm stand. And if you put down roots in the Sherborn area, you can stop by the stand to pick up your Christmas tree this holiday season!
Lookout Farm (South Natick)
Lots of farms let you come and pick apples. Looking for something a little different? How about a farm-to-table restaurant that’s totally outdoors? The Lookout at Lookout Farm is an all-outdoor dining experience with picnic tables spread throughout this working farm’s spacious acreage. Sip locally brewed beer and Lookout Farm’s very own hard cider while noshing on Detroit-style deep-dish pizza, cold mayo lobster rolls, and smashed Wagyu burgers topped with porcini-bacon jam and Dijonnaise. Book your reservation here.
South/Southwest of Boston
Nihtila Farm (Holbrook)
Enjoy a picture-perfect New England fall day at family-owned and -run Nihtila Farm, where you can head into the field and pick your own pumpkin right off the vine. Afterwards, go on a hayride, play in the playground, and visit with some adorable farm animals.
Sauchuk’s Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch (Plympton)
Don’t let the name fool you. There’s a lot more than a corn maze and pumpkin patch at Sauchuk’s! With more than 40 activities, you can take an entire afternoon off touring to have some fall fun on the farm. Let your kids play games, try their luck in the arcade, test themselves on the low-rope course, dive into the corn box, and so much more. And of course, check out the corn maze and pumpkin patch too.
Ward’s Berry Farm (Sharon)
If you’ve never climbed a giant hay pile, can you really say you’ve truly experienced fall? Ward’s Berry Farm stacks the hay bales high to create an eight-layer pile for kids (and their parents—admit it, you want to try it too!) to scale. Afterwards, jump on a giant bouncy pillow, take a hayride to the corn maze, and visit the farm’s pigs. You can pick your own pumpkins, too.
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