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By Laura Stec

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About this blog: I've been attracted to food for good and bad reasons for many years. From eating disorder to east coast culinary school, food has been my passion, profession & nemesis. I've been a sugar addict, a 17-year vegetarian, a food and en...  (More)

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Buy Your Pumpkins On The Coast

Uploaded: Oct 1, 2018

It’s an annual outing at the Stec house to head to the coast and buy pumpkins for the season. Half Moon Bay and the San Mateo coast look great right now as the farms become dotted with orange orbs of many shapes and sizes. Steer clear of Pumpkin Festival weekend (Oct 13/14) when the crowds take over, and head out instead on a Friday night, or a weekday afternoon. Here’s some places to shop and support our local farmers.



San Mateo County

Arata's Pumpkin Patch
185 Verde Rd., Half Moon Bay, CA.
Pumpkin Patch, pony rides, petting zoo, hay maze, hay rides and maze. Open: September 8-October 31st, Monday - Friday from 9am - 7pm; Saturday - Sunday from 9am - 8pm. Admission: Pumpkin patch free; fee per attraction. .Arata's Pumpkin Patch is the oldest working pumpkin farm in San Mateo County.

Blue House Farm
950 La Honda Rd, San Gregorio, CA 94074.
Pumpkins, pumpkins for sale in the shop or farmstand, pumpkin patch-pick in the field where they grow, pumpkin patch- harvested and laid out on the ground or lawn, Fall festival, child-sized haybale maze, tractor-pulled hay rides, porta-potties, picnic area (bring your own food), farm animals

Farmer John's Pumpkin Farm
850 N. Cabrillo Highway (PO Box 218), Half Moon Bay, CA 94019.
Open: Monday through Friday 9:30 am to 5:30 pm; Saturday and Sunday, 9:00 am to 6:00 pm, through October. We have an authentic Native American Ti Pi, Hay Pyramid, Antique John Deere Tractor, Apple Trees for viewing, over 50 varieties of Pumpkins and Gourds.

4-C's Pumpkin Patch
12371 San Mateo Rd., (Hwy 92), Half Moon Bay, CA.
Open: October 1-31, 9 am-6 pm. No admission charge.

G. Berta's Pumpkin Patch
12599 San Mateo Rd. (Hwy. 92), Half Moon Bay, CA.
Open: October 1-31, 9 am-6 pm. No admission charge.

Lemos Farm Pumpkin Patch
12320 San Mateo Rd. (Hwy. 92), Half Moon Bay, CA.
Pumpkin Patch, Christmas trees, pony rides, petting zoo, Scare Zone haunted house, kiddie rides/playground, hay ride, train ride. Open: October Everyday 9am-5pm. Admission: Pumpkin patch free; attraction prices vary. We specialize in Pony Rides, Train Rides and playing for the kids, including a Petting Zoo and the OK Play Corral.

Pastorino Farms
12391 San Mateo Road (Highway 92), Half Moon Bay, CA 94019.
Pumpkins, train rides, hay rides. Open: 9:30 am to 5:30pm. Every Halloween, the farm is transformed into a themed wonderland for children and their families. There are hayrides, trackless train rides, pony rides, slides, a haunted house, miniature buildings and a miniature windmill, lots of pumpkins, and a miniature (18” gauge) train ride.

Pumpkin Depot - Pumpkin Patch
2710 Cabrillo Hwy., Half Moon Bay, CA.
Open: 9 am-6 pm. No admission charge.

Tunitas Creek Family Farm
333 Tunitas Creek Rd., Half Moon Bay, CA.
Pumpkin Patch, tractor hayrides on select weekends, Farm animals
Many traditional and unique varieties of pumpkins squash and gourds, including orange pumpkins of all shapes and sizes, Hubbard, Banana, Turk's Turban, and Butternut squashes and miniature gourds and pumpkins. They also have a picnic area in the middle of the corn patch.

Local Journalism.
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Comments

Posted by Laura Stec, a resident of Portola Valley: Westridge,
on Oct 1, 2018 at 8:29 am

And while you are there - go have a picnic on Martin's Beach. Supreme Court denies Khosla of his coastal takeover efforts! California wins! Web Link


Posted by Options without the commercialism, a resident of Another Mountain View Neighborhood,
on Oct 5, 2018 at 11:05 am

The Pumpkin Festival is great. It's a wonderful HUGE celebration attracting throngs of people from all over, in a sort of crowded county fair type atmosphere. There's lots of extra fee based things like pony rides and mazes and tractor rides as well. With the amount of people who attend it's obviously something many people enjoy.

If you're like me though, you prefer a more quiet intimate coastal pumpkin patch experience. If you want to seemingly go back in time, ignore Hwy 92 and HMB and head over one of the back-roads to the coast. It will be essentially traffic free and with a promise of spectacular scenery. Once there check out the small family farms in the area from Pescadero to Tunitas, and beyond really. They dot the area and many have farm animals to check out as well as other less commercial and more "Farmy" activities of interest. It may take a bit of exploring to find your perfect farm patch, but that's 1/2 the fun. What's not to love about exploring uncrowded coastal back-roads?
You'll have a great day on the coast in an uncrowded and stunningly picturesque area where you can take a deep breath and smile as you stroll through the peaceful settings.

By the time you get back home you won't feel like you've done battle, you'll feel like a local who's got it all figured out.


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