Florida doesn’t do fall the way the rest of the country does. There’s no foliage, it’s still eighty-five degrees in October, and nearly every pumpkin is trucked in from out of state.
But that hasn’t stopped a genuinely good crop of pumpkin patches from taking root around Sarasota. From a $5-parking farm stand fifteen minutes up Fruitville Road to a working dairy in Myakka City that fires a pumpkin cannon.
Below is every pumpkin patch, corn maze, and fall festival within about an hour of Sarasota. They’re grouped by area, so you can start with the ones closest to home. Each listing has dates, hours, and what it actually costs to get in.
Quick comparison
| Where | Cost | Corn maze |
|---|---|---|
| Fruitville Grove, Sarasota | Free + $5 parking | No |
| Hunsader Farms, Bradenton | $15 / $5 · cash only | Yes ($2) |
| Ananda Farm, Terra Ceia | $17.99+ | Flower maze |
| Sertoma Club patch, Bradenton | Free entry | No |
| Great Pumpkin Patch, Palmetto | Free entry | No |
| Pumpkin Patch Express, Parrish | $35 / $31 | No |
| Dakin Dairy Farms, Myakka City | $20 | Yes |
| Prana Farms, Punta Gorda | $10 | No |
| Fox Squirrel, Plant City | $15 | Yes |
Sarasota
Fruitville Grove Pumpkin Festival
The closest thing Sarasota has to a hometown fall tradition, now in its 38th year. And the best part is you won’t have to leave the city.
Every October weekend the grove opens up for a petting zoo, hayrides, pony rides, live music, and a haunted house. They also have free circus performances at noon and 3pm, and costume contests on Saturdays. Rides and some activities cost extra, and most vendors are cash only.
If you’re strictly looking to pick a pumpkin, the farm market is open from 10am-5pm. So you can walk in on a weekday, pick a pumpkin, and avoid paid parking and the festival entirely.
Bradenton & Manatee County
Hunsader Farms Pumpkin Festival
This is the big one. Hunsader has been at it since 1992, and it’s the reason half the region drives to Bradenton every October.
Three weekends of hayrides, pony rides, a petting zoo, barnyard playground, pedal carts, scarecrow displays, and a Pioneer Trades Village with live demonstrations. The arena runs monster trucks, motorcycle stunt shows, and bluegrass.
There’s also a craft show, homemade ice cream, and farm-roasted sweet corn. The final Sunday, October 25, features kids and dog costume contests plus trick-or-treating through the grounds.
Two things to know before you go. Admission and parking are cash only, and there’s no ATM worth counting on, so bring more than you think you need. Several attractions also cost extra on top of admission. The corn maze is $2, the children’s train is $2, and the big train is $3.
With everything going on, you’ll want to budget plenty of time.
Ananda Farm
One of the most photogenic patches in the area, sitting just south of the Skyway in north Manatee County.
The kids will disappear into the jumping pillows, treehouses, hay castle, and corn pit while you cut yourself a bouquet in the u-pick flower fields. Instead of a corn maze, theirs is cut through a standing field of sun hemp, six feet tall in places and in full yellow flower. It’s included with admission.
Between the slides, gem mining, the trike track, and live music and food vendors on the weekends, it’s less a pumpkin stop than a full day out.
The 2026 season opens September 25 and runs through Halloween weekend. Tickets are on sale now, starting at $17.99 and climbing a bit for peak days.
The Great Pumpkin Patch of Palmetto
Palmetto’s free one, and it doesn’t feel like a compromise.
Forward Community Church sets out over 1,500 pumpkins with photo booths, kids’ games, hayrides, and themed weekends like costume parties and family movie nights on the lawn. Proceeds go to local schools, charities, and a medical mission in Kenya.
The best value on the list if you have young kids and no interest in paying admission to look at pumpkins.
The 2026 patch opens October 6 and runs daily from there, with weekday evening hours that make it an easy after-dinner pumpkin run.
Sertoma Club of Bradenton Pumpkin Patch
The community-lot patch Bradenton has been shopping for nearly half a century, run by the local Sertoma service club on the school lawn two miles west of downtown.
The formula hasn’t changed in decades, because it doesn’t need to. Rows of pumpkins on the grass, evening hours all week, and every dollar going to local charities and scholarships.
2026 dates and details haven’t been posted yet. But after 49 straight annual patches, the 50th is about as safe as bets come. We’ll update this guide when the dates land.
Pumpkin Patch Express
The most genuinely different thing on this list, and in 2026 it only runs two weekends.
You board a vintage train at the Florida Railroad Museum and ride out to the museum’s own pumpkin patch, where there are hayrides, arts and crafts, Lincoln logs, and games. Every kid picks a pumpkin to bring home too.
Food and drink are available on board and at the patch. Coach and open-air cars are the entry point, with first-class and a private caboose costing more.
If this sounds like your jam, make sure to book well in advance. Tickets went on sale in July and this sells out every year.
Myakka City & Inland
Dakin Dairy Farms Harvest Festival
Dakin is an actual working dairy, and that changes the whole day.
You’re not just wandering a pumpkin lot. You’re hand-feeding cows from the back of a hayride, cuddling calves, and catching a real milking demonstration between activities.
The rest of the lineup leans delightfully weird with lawn mower races, a Moo Train, and a pumpkin cannon you can fire yourself. Add a corn maze, food trucks, and live music, and the $20 admission starts to feel like a bargain.
Worth the Drive
Everything below is a real haul from Sarasota. But if you’ve picked the local patches clean and you’re still craving more, these two deliver.
Prana Farms
Prana is the only farm festival in this guide you can hit on a weekday. Now in its fourth year, it runs Thursday through Sunday every week of October, out in the country east of Punta Gorda.
It’s a proper little festival. The kids bounce and pet their way through the afternoon, the butterfly exhibit earns you a quiet moment, and the Treat Barn keeps everyone stocked with ice cream and cider. Pony rides and hayrides run at select times rather than all day.
Fridays add a movie night at dark, and after sunset there’s a Haunted Walk with a “No-Scare Fairy” option for the little ones.
Fox Squirrel Corn Maze
The serious corn maze within reach, open from the last weekend of September.
Admission covers unlimited runs at the maze plus a hayride, jump pad, and games, with food vendors and pumpkins for sale on site.
Credit cards work here but carry a 3% fee and there’s no ATM, so cash is still the best option. It’s a real drive from Sarasota, but worth it if corn mazes are your thing.
Wrapping up
Fall in Florida is never going to look like the postcard version.
But between a festival in its 35th year with a corn maze and stunt shows, a dairy farm that lets you fire a pumpkin cannon, and free community lots you can hit on a weeknight, there’s a lot more here than a few pumpkins on a church lawn.
You could visit a different patch every weekend of October and still not get to all of them.
Before you head out though, here’s a few things to remember:
Bring cash. Hunsader is cash-only for admission and parking, and several of the smaller patches prefer it.
Go early in October if you care about the pumpkin. The free community lots sell down through the month, and by the last weekend you’re picking from what’s left.
However you plan it, the season is only five weekends long. Pick a patch, load up the car, and go get your pumpkin.