Pumpkin patches & fall farm days near the South Bay

Pumpkin season around the South Bay runs from late September through Halloween. These are the patches and farms we'd actually drive a toddler to: small enough to wander, with pumpkins little hands can carry, and extras like hay rides, mini trains and ponies that turn a quick photo stop into a whole morning.

Spina Farms in south San Jose is free to enter and has a mini train, hay rides and a sunflower field. Webb Ranch in Portola Valley is the closest to the Peninsula, about 20 minutes from Sunnyvale, with pony rides and a hay-bale maze. Lemos Farm in Half Moon Bay bundles pony rides, a petting zoo and a little train into one admission. For a fall day that isn't only pumpkins, Gizdich Ranch has u-pick apples into October, and Ardenwood's historic farm in Fremont hosts a harvest festival.

• 5 places
• 5 stroller-friendly
• closest is 20 min away