Pumpkin patches and the State Fair with kids around Dallas
When the weather finally drops back into the 80s in late September, fall in Dallas means pumpkins and the State Fair. The patches here are ones we've actually taken kids to: not too big, with hay bales and old tractors for photos, a kid-sized corn maze, and ideally some animals.
Start with the free-admission patches: Flower Mound Pumpkin Patch is the most photogenic in DFW, and Hall's Pumpkin Farm in Grapevine is small and sweet. Forty minutes north in Gunter, Preston Trail Farms turns into Big Orange Pumpkin Farm every October, with hayrides and a yard full of goats, pigs and donkeys. Autumn at the Arboretum builds an entire village out of 90,000 pumpkins and is the most stroller-friendly place for a family photo. And from late September to mid October, don't miss the State Fair of Texas at Fair Park: Big Tex, the pig races and the free Little Hands on the Farm game for little kids.
- 5 places
- 3 free
- 5 stroller-friendly
- closest is 30 min away
5 places
Drive times from Plano
Flower Mound Pumpkin Patch
5.0Flower Mound · 35 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free lot, lines to get in on weekend afternoons
Hall's Pumpkin Farm
5.0Grapevine · 35 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Free grass parking next to the farm, lines on weekend afternoons
Preston Trail Farms (Big Orange Pumpkin Farm)
5.0Gunter · 40 min drive
1.5 h · stroller-friendly
Free · Parking: Big free farm lot along Preston Rd
Autumn at the Arboretum pumpkin village
5.0Dallas · 30 min drive
3 h · stroller-friendly
$$ · Parking: On-site lot about $11–15, prepay online; long lines after 10am on October weekends
State Fair of Texas
3.0Dallas · 35 min drive
5 h · stroller-friendly
$$$ · Parking: Fair Park parking about $20–30 and very congested; strongly recommend taking the DART Green Line to Fair Park station
💡 Good to know
- October weekend afternoons at the patches are packed, with lines just to park; go before 10am or on a weekday evening. Many rides and pumpkins are cash only.
- Early October still hits 90°F and the patches have almost no shade: hats, water and sunscreen, and mornings for toddlers.
- State Fair parking is expensive and gridlocked; take the DART Green Line to Fair Park station. Weekdays are quieter. Bring a stroller and cash.