Fall Activities, Upstate New York - "Pick a Pumpkin" Pumpkin Patch, Esperance, NY

With the Fall season in full swing and Halloween rapidly approaching, you may be looking for Fall or Halloween activities to do with your family. One place in upstate New York that fits the bill is the "Pick a Pumpkin" Pumpkin Patch in picturesque Schoharie County. Just 35 miles southwest of Albany, NY, the Pumpkin Patch is located just a couple miles off Exit 23 on I-88. The Pumpkin Patch offers a myriad of activities for children of all ages, which can take at least 4-5 hours to experience everything.

Upon arrival, the parking lot is a wide open field with ample parking places as well as several clearly marked handicapped accessible spots. Alongside the farmhouse, built in the late 1800's, is Storybook Land where, upon entering you and your child can try to identify nursery rhyme and storybook characters created with pumpkin heads, scarecrow bodies and other miscellaneous items. Some rhymes are easily identified, like Humpty Dumpty and the Three Bears, while others will have you scratching your heads well after going home. There is also an "igloo" type structure with a witch face for an opening which is a cute place to take a break.

There is a picnic area near the house as well, with several picnic tables and a small play area offering a tire swing handing from one of the very old trees lining the driveway, adorned with smiling faces, a spinning seesaw and a sandbox type area filled with dump trucks, toy cars, and heavy machinery.

Behind the old farmhouse are the restrooms, essentially port-a-potties. While they were clean and stocked with toilet paper, they quickly ran out of the hand sanitizer that was provided. There are no places to wash hands, so bring wet wipes, if you have them, and hand sanitizer. A short walk from the restrooms is "Jack and Jills Hill." This hill boasts a sign stating "please roll down me." What child can resist that? At the bottom of the hill lies a small playground littered haphazardly with old rusty farm machinery and tractors with steps built around them making it easy for children to climb on and "drive." This can make a cute photo opportunity, but I would be concerned with all the rusty equipment being a safety hazard. There is also a "walk the walk" area with wooden boards and tires designed in a fun path for kids to try walking.

Across a small wooden bridge near the playground lies the corn maze. Children will have fun running between the tall stalks of corn. Staying on the path is a must. It is very easy to become disoriented while inside, even for adults. This area is not handicapped or wheel chair accessible due to the stairs on the bridge and the narrow pathways inside the maze.

On the other side of the playground is a very large red barn. Inside visitors will find two levels. The upper level houses the snack bar and gift shop. Enter on one side of the barn for cold cider and donuts and enter on the other side for hot apple cider as well as other cooked food items. A small windowed seating area with picnic tables connects the two food areas at the back and overlooks the playground and corn maze. In the center of the upper level is the gift shop featuring items ranging from toys, dress-up items and books to an array of Halloween decorations and fragile knick-knacks. The prices were pretty reasonable.

Just outside the entrance to the lower level is a large "cow" that kids can "milk." Pulling the tail causes the head to move up and down. Inside the lower area of the barn you will find a few farm animals in cages, mostly some sheep and pigs, a turkey and some other fowl. There is a wooden maze with ladders to climb allowing visitors to stick their heads through openings to become different animals like a cow or a pig. There is also a tunnel built out of hay for the kids to climb through. Just off this section is an area called "Through the Looking Glass" which is a play on the whole Alice in Wonderland thing. Visitors walk through a hallway peering though head sized openings at various levels. Inside you see your reflection in a mirror and see yourself as someone else, like Harry Potter or a fisherman. This is a cool concept, but the areas within were very poorly lit and it was often very hard to see what was inside. Around the other side of the barn, just off the playground was a small movie theater. Unfortunately, I missed the movie, but do know it plays every hour.

One of the main reason you would visit a pumpkin patch would be to pick pumpkins. Have no fear; the "Pick a Pumpkin" Pumpkin Patch has pumpkins. In the field below the barn lies and expanse of field filled with pumpkins of all size as well as gourds, squash and decorative corn. A tractor pulling a hay wagon is available, for free, to take visitors on a hay ride around the field and drops you off right in the pumpkin patch. Once you've selected your items you can either wait for the tractor to return for another ride or you can walk up the short hill back to the farmhouse to pay for your items.

As the pumpkins vary in sizes, so do the prices The pumpkins are sized visually by employees using special "sizing pumpkins" and a price is given based on the size. Prices range from $0.50 for the smallest pumpkins to $30 for the largest.

Are you tired yet? Did you think the fun was over? Well, you are in for more treats because there is still more fun to be had! Off from the picnic area is a pen housing some goats. For a quarter, you can get a small handful of food pellets to place in a cup which is then pulled upward on a belt. It then dumps into a food trough for the goats to nibble on. It is an ingenious contraption that is both entertaining as well as sanitary. There is no need to touch the goats or their mouths.

Beyond the goats and up a big hill, is a "cemetery" with wooden tombstones with humorous epitaphs inscribed. It's a cute little area to stop and take a break before continuing on up the hill. Nestled in the tree line just past the cemetery is a three-story tree house, constructed around a real tree. It is a great place to let the kids run free and have fun. Kids can climb up the tree in the center as well as the stairs leading to each level. Most areas are large enough for an adult to maneuver through while some of the more claustrophobic areas can easily fit a small to medium sized adult for those who have a toddler who is not yet ready to venture in alone. The tree house also offers a chalkboard, a horse constructed from a tire and a fireman's pole. Out behind the tree house is a "shaky" suspension bridge that leads to a path in the woods. Following this path you find yourself in a wide open field. An area at the far end offers pedal cars for $2 a ride. There are cars of various sizes for different aged children.

Overall, I would say the "Pick a Pumpkin" Pumpkin Patch is a worthwhile Fall event that should not be missed. You don't have to spend any money there to have a good time. Bring your own lunch and have a picnic and just let the children play while you enjoy the changing leaves on the hill sides. Don't forget to bring your camera to capture all those fun Fall moments!

For the 2008 season, The "Pick a Pumpkin" Pumpkin Patch is open from September 27^th through October 31 from 3-8pm, Monday through Friday, 10am-8pm on Saturday as well as Columbus Day, and closed on Sundays. School trips can also be arranged for students in Nursery School, Kindergarten and First grade. During the summer reservations can be made to have picnics for groups of 50-500 and do activities such as volleyball, horseshoes and pumpkin ball.