USA Today's 2026 10Best Readers' Choice Awards have crowned the country's best pumpkin patches, and the East Coast cleaned up. Six farms from Maine to South Carolina made the national ranking, and they've turned pumpkin picking into a full day out — hayrides, corn mazes, cider donuts, pig races, even fireworks.
The overall winner is Treworgy Family Orchards in Levant, Maine, a 42-acre property growing more than 60 varieties of gourds. Hayrides shuttle visitors across the farm, which also offers apple picking, ice cream and goats to entertain kids. Its elaborately shaped corn mazes — past designs have included a whale, a tractor and Winnie the Pooh — have now won a five-year streak of Best Corn Maze awards, with a Statue of Liberty maze for 2026.
Down in New York's Hudson Valley, Kelder's Farm ranked third nationally and runs its Fall Festival from September 12 to November 1. There's pick-your-own pumpkin, a corn maze, farm animals and over 35 attractions, plus a taproom pouring local beer, wine and hard cider. Unlike pop-up Halloween patches, this is a working farm growing more than 50 kinds of produce.
Virginia scores twice. Sinkland Farms near Christiansburg, ranked fifth, pairs its 10-acre pumpkin patch with Blue Ridge Mountain views, live music and a terrace for grown-ups; its 35th annual Pumpkin Festival runs through November 1. Further north, Great Country Farms in Loudoun County came eighth, with wagon rides, pumpkin cannons, cider donuts and the cheerfully daft Oinkintucky pig races. Its Fall Pumpkin Harvest runs through October 31, and certain October nights bring an adults-only corn maze with hard cider and bonfires.
South Carolina's Denver Downs Farm near Anderson, a fourth-generation operation ranked seventh, keeps the party going after dark on Fridays and Saturdays, with fireworks every Saturday in October, bonfires, weekend live entertainment and fair snacks like funnel cakes and s'mores. It also picked up a 2025 Tripadvisor Travelers' Choice award.
Rounding out the list is Secor Farms in Mahwah, New Jersey, in tenth place — the traditionalist of the bunch. A hayride past a pond leads to the pumpkin field and two corn mazes, with goats and bunnies to meet, plus fresh cider and homemade apple cider donuts for the road. One catch: weekend visitors need to book general-admission tickets in advance.
For anyone planning an autumn escape, these farms work best as the anchor of a weekend rather than a quick stop. Each sits within easy reach of a city break — Portland and Boston for Maine, New York City for the Hudson Valley and northern New Jersey, Washington DC for Virginia, and Atlanta or Greenville for upstate South Carolina — so you can pair crisp-weather farm time with good food and lodging nearby. Weekends get busy everywhere; go early, book ahead where required, and check each farm's festival dates before driving out. (Source: Islands)
