Pumpkin Patch Adventures – 2 Great Ones Near St. Cloud

Going to find that perfect pumpkin to carve an awesome jack-o-lantern can be a lot of fun for the whole family. It's the search to find just the right one for what you'd like to do, maybe just painting the pumpkin, or maybe you do want to carve it into a fun design.

To be honest, I usually kind of "cheat" and get a kit with the awesome  looking patterns for pumpkins.  Some of them are pretty intricate, and require some delicate carving.  Or you can just do the traditional squares and triangles.  Either way, you need  a pumpkin.

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Sure, you can just go to your local grocery store and buy one.  That's convenient, and those are generally very nice.  And they usually have several different sizes to choose from so you can get the best one for your carving... or just for decoration.

However, there is something more satisfying and fun about going and picking out the perfect pumpkin at an actual pumpkin patch.   And there are a few here in Minnesota, and a couple of the top ones are just a short drive from St. Cloud

• COLLEGEVILLE ORCHARDS- ST. JOSEPH. Not only do they have a wide variety of pumpkins to choose from, they also have lots of activities for the whole family, This includes wagon rides, pumpkin painting and a petting zoo.

• NELSON FARM- LITCHFIELD. Again, you can find the perfect pumpkin, but also, they have a pumpkin launcher.  This is a crowd favorite.  They also have some Agricultural Olympics.  Not sure what exactly that is, but it sounds fun!  Plus, a huge corn maze, as well as a tricycle race and a scarecrow making contest.  Fun, right?  Nelson Farm will be open weekends beginning on September 28th through the 27th of October.  They will also be open the weekend of MEA which is October 17th and 18th.

There are a few others around the state as well.  A couple toward the twin cities and also near Moorhead.  Whichever way you decide to go, you will have a ton of Fall fun in the area.