FORDYCE FARM HAS LOADS OF FREE FAMILY ACTIVITIES
If you’re looking for a harvest festival that won’t put a dent in your wallet, this is it. Several of the activities at Salem’s Fordyce Farm Pumpkin Patch are free. Enjoy the hay fort, hay maze, hayrides, and coloring stations at no cost and then hit the pumpkin patch and apple orchard and start picking for your next apple crisp or pie. On weekends, food trucks serve up tasty local fare and the Travelin' Taphouse pours cold local pints.

APPLE-CIDER DONUTS, FACE PAINTING AND FARM GAMES AT E.Z. ORCHARDS
Salem’s E.Z. Orchards attracts thousands of visitors to its HarvestFest every October. The pumpkin patch, steer-roping ring toss, tractor pull, and corn maze check all the boxes for family fun. This year’s event also features a new “farmer’s basketball” game — a basketball hoop set up in the back of an old grain wagon so your kids can shoot and have the ball bounce back to them. Refuel with slow-smoked ribs and donuts, washed down with orchard-fresh apple cider.

PICK PUMPKINS, APPLES AND DAHLIAS AT BEILKE FAMILY FARM
It feels like summer in October at Beilke Family Farm in Brooks, about 10 miles northeast of Salem. Grab one of the farm’s 5-gallon buckets and head into the apple orchards to pick Galas, Honeycrisps, Ruby Macs, and more varieties to make into applesauce — or eat in the car on the way back to your hotel. While you pick baking pumpkins and dahlias, the kids can hunt for the biggest pumpkin in the patch and wrestle it into a wagon.

PIG RACES AND TRACTOR-WAGON RIDES AT FRENCH PRAIRIE GARDENS
About 20 miles north of Salem, the 500-acre French Prairie Gardens throws a Fall Festival that’s jam-packed with family fun. Get lost in the kid’s corn maze — there’s a larger and harder one for adults — watch corn cobs get shot out of a cannon, post photos from the sunflower fields, and root for your favorite pig at the Pigtucky Derby. The kiddos can also ride the inflatable mega-slide on repeat as you enjoy the pulled-pork nachos and cider at the Farm Bar.

FIR POINT FARMS HAS A SIX-ACRE CORN MAZE AND PAINTBALL GALLERY
Aurora’s Fir Point Farms doesn’t hold back when it comes to its Harvest Festival. In addition to a sprawling corn maze, the kids can flop around in the bounce house, ride John Deere trikes, challenge their siblings at paintball, and ride the Polka Dot Express, a brightly painted tractor that’s towed by real-life cows. Give some love to the cute pigs at the petting zoo, try your hand at mini-pumpkin painting, fill up with a hearty sandwich, and don’t miss the pumpkins with painted profiles of each US president on display in the Country Market.

GIANT SWINGS, A HAZELNUT PIT, AND HARD CIDER AT BAUMAN'S FARMS Consistently voted the #1 pumpkin patch in the Willamette Valley, Bauman's Farms in Gervais throws a Harvest Festival that thrill-seekers of all ages will love. In addition to giant pumpkin contests, a pumpkin drop, explosive apple cannons, and a dark corn maze, the kids can ride on The Bug Train and jump into the Nut House — a giant pit filled with hazelnuts instead of plastic balls. Live music, delicious food, and Bauman’s famous hard cider cinch the deal.

ON THE EDGE FARM IS FOR ANIMAL LOVERS
Located about 12 miles west of Salem in Dallas, On the Edge Farm is one of the area’s newest additions, but its Pumpkin Patch already feels like a generational farm event. There are bounce houses, pumpkins, and pop-up events aplenty, but it’s the farm animals that will really warm your heart. Feed the chickens, ducks, turkeys, and mini donkeys, and then meet Tootsie and Lucy, two of several shaggy Scottish Highland heifers that love to eat pumpkins. Grab an elephant ear, a dirty pumpkin chai, or a cocktail from the food trucks and enjoy the farm vibes.

AFFORDABLE FAMILY ACTIVITIES AT GREENS BRIDGE GARDENS
Located about 20 miles south of Salem in the cute town of Jefferson, Greens Bridge Gardens’ Harvestfest offers a bounty of budget-friendly fun. The hay maze, petting zoo, and duck races are all free and there are also giant slides, hayrides, a corn maze, kid-sized hamster wheels, and more, all reasonably priced. The pumpkin patch is affordable and the perfect place to score a big one to carve up with the kids. Hit the weekend food trucks and make a day of it.