The good, the bad, and the dusty: My family Spina Farms Pumpkin Patch visit

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Spina Farms Pumpkin Patch appeared on my Instagram feed in early October. It's the perfect pumpkin patch for a child whose current favourites are dinosaur toys, pumpkins, and trains. Anna and Daddy wanted to see it, too, so we visited it on Indigenous People's Day.

Just as the reviews promised, this pumpkin patch was packed! Students on a field trip, families on an excursion (like us), and friends on a day off trooped to what has become an annual tradition in the Morgan Hill region. It was an enjoyable trip: I wrote about what I liked about Spina Farms and what I didn't.

The good

Spina Farms has perfected the combination of interests that attracts children of all ages (and their parents or teachers) to visit annually; for example, it has animatronic dinosaurs, flying pumpkins, confusing corn mazes, colourful flowers, and sculptures of giant insects. 


Godzilla was on hand to welcome guests of all ages, too!


The parking area is well-organised and can accommodate many visitors on any given day during the pumpkin season. Moreover, Spina Farms does not charge an entrance fee on weekdays.

The bad

On the downside (and maybe I'm nitpicking), I do not remember seeing information about the different dinosaur animatronics on display in the pumpkin patch. The visit would have been more educational if there had been information about each dinosaur. Fortunately, Donan is so into dinosaurs that he could explain each animatronic to us while running around the exhibit.

Though visiting the farm was free, entering each attraction was not. I thought we had chosen the better deal by purchasing the season pass rather than individual ride tickets. On our first visit, however, I learned that the queues for the more popular attractions had at least a 60-ish-minute wait time. We visited a second time so we could use all of our tickets.

The dusty

Spina Farms was so dusty that I thought I would have an asthma attack while we were there. When we parked our car, dust stuck to its surface, turning it powdery brown. The rides and the corn stalks in the maze were all covered in dust. 

Don't get me wrong, though. The dust completed our experience at Spina Farms. If it were not as dusty as it was, I would have thought we were in a theme park rather than a farm.

After two visits to Spina Farms this autumn, we have seen enough dinosaurs and pumpkins. If Donan is up for another visit next year, we might incorporate it into our annual pumpkin patch weekend adventure. 

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