Five Favorite Arizona Farms to Bring in Fall

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Enjoying Freeman Farms

Did you know it was October? I know, right? That was fast. I swear we were just in the middle of summer fun and back to school.

Despite what the thermometer says outside, it is in fact, fall. Fall is one of my favorite seasons for many reasons.  Like spring, it means cool nights and warm days. It means jeans and boots. It means fall colors and changes in the home decor. AND, it means fall festivities!

One of my favorite things to do with my kids every fall is visit a farm. We love to wander through mazes, eat fresh grilled corn on the cob, and wander a pumpkin patch finding just the right one. Not to mention petting zoos, fresh produce and hay rides. For the last four years, we’ve taken our kids to visit a different Arizona farm that boasted many of these fine fall festivities. All offer different things but all promise a fun-filled fall day!

1. MacDonalds Ranch – Located right off Scottsdale Rd in North Scottsdale it’s practically in your own backyard. And if you were lucky enough to grab a Groupon for this one last week, it makes the trip to this farm even sweeter!

2. Tolmachoff Farms – Located in central Glendale, this is a great farm, especially if one doesn’t want to drive very far! It offers a wide variety of activities for kids of all ages.

3. Schnepf Farms – Located in Queen Creek, is one of the premier farms in the valley. Listed as one of Phoenix’s Best, a trip to Schnepf farms is sure to be a lot of fun.

4. Mortimer Family Farms – If you’re a valley native, you probably remember Young’s Farm in Prescott Valley. You might also remember them moving away (or at least know it was gone). Well, the Mortimer Family has since purchased the land and turned it into Mortimer Farms. This farm is where we are heading this year, this Saturday to be exact. And I must say, I’m super excited to check it out!

5. Freeman Farms – Located a little further, Freeman Farms is outside Prescott in Chino Valley. We hit this one up with the kids a few years ago. We LOVED it. It provided the perfect day trip for our family and my girls still talk about it.

While these are just some of my favorites, Arizona offers MANY more farms and pumpkin patches this time of year. You can check out this link which provides a full listing of Arizona fall fun for your family.

What’s your favorite fall festivity?  Have you ever visited a farm with your family or do you plan to this year?  Which one is your favorite?

9 COMMENTS

  1. Great list, Abbi! We’ve been to the first three, but not the last two. Love hearing about new ones. One tip for moms of really young kids and babies: we went to Schnepf when the kids were 2.5 and an infant … at that time I would say the drive (from N. Scottsdale) was too far to make it worth it – not because Schnepf wasn’t awesome, but some of the activities were too old for the really little ones, and the cost of admission and the short time we were able to be there before babies needed naps and got cranky made it kind of too far. I would absolutely try it again when we could spend a leisurely day. Just one thought for others!

    • Thanks for the tip Sarah! I totally agree – it’s hard with super littles to make a day of the farm. In the picture above, my girls are 2 and 4 (and I’m prego with #3). We went at opening and stayed in time to get home for afternoon naps and that schedule worked perfect for the ages they were at 🙂

  2. This list is great!! Thank you! I agree with Sarah that Schnepf is probably better when the kids are just a bit older. I took my 2 year old and 8 month old there last weekend and look forward to bringing them back when they can enjoy more of the rides and “get” it. I’d also wait until it cools down a bit more – we were all really hot, so I would give it a couple weeks or until it’s in the 80’s. Is Freeman Farms worth the drive with kids of younger ages? The cooler temps alone are appealing, but will it be a similar situation to Schnepf?

    • Aww thanks Jessica! I’m really glad you found it helpful!

      Freeman Farms is a bit of a drive and makes a great day trip if your family is up for it. The picture above was actually taken at Freeman Farms a few years ago when my girls were 2 and 4 and baby 3 was in my belly (they are now 5 and 7). They loved it. I actually think this farm is geared towards littler ones as the rides are fairly simple and the maze was fantastic for their ages. That said, maybe next year it would fit your kids ages a little better?

      We’re headed to Mortimer family farms this weekend – I’m taking my 3 and 5 year old so I can let you know how that one compares after this weekend 😉 I’m hoping the weather is cooler in Prescott Valley as well! It’s only about an hour drive from us so I consider it about the same distance as Schenpf! I will be sure to post back and let you know!

  3. We just visited Mother Nature’s Farm in Gilbert (Baseline/ Stapley area) yesterday. Fun, smaller than Schnepf Farms and cheaper too. Bounce houses, animals to feed, maze, hay ride, pick/ decorate a pumpkin, and enjoy a picnic lunch. Schnepf Farms has a little more to offer but is pretty pricey, even with the coupons.

  4. We go to Mortimer every year…i think as more of a tradition type of thing because I can remember going to Young’s Farm as a child.
    However, with the prices and fees these days it is becoming increasingly expensive to go there.

    I started looking at alternative options, how would you compare Freeman Farms to Mortimer? Are they fairly similar in size and fun atmosphere? is either one less crowded than the other?

    The other option is Macdonalds ranch in scottsdale, it looks promising, but we love a good excuse to get out of the valley for a day

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