Picture this. You’re driving south on I-35 near Gardner, and suddenly, just past a bridge, you see a giant Jack-O-Lantern come into view.
It’s huge. Massive, even.
No, it’s not the Great Pumpkin here to give you Halloween goodies, Charlie Brown. It IS a great pumpkin that will lead you to lots of family fun, however.
This giant pumpkin, attached to a slide, is one of the first signs that you’ve reached the Kansas City Pumpkin Patch, one of the larger, more exciting patches in the Kansas City area. Just outside of Gardner, it’s pretty local to most of the city, and provides for a ton of activities that you can do with your family, including the big pumpkin slide.
We started off on the tricycle race track. Complete with plenty of tricycles, both vintage and new, the little ones in the family can race around the track and have fun beating each other’s speed, or just enjoy a leisurely ride with the help of a loved one. Zach had a blast going around with Jeffrey giving him a push!
Near the tricycle track are a fun Gyro Ball, which is new this year, a pumpkin launcher, and a kid-friendly zip line. Unfortunately, these attractions appeared to be closed during our weekday visit. It’s one trade-off that you have to decide what is best for your family. For Zach, there was plenty to do without having the additional attractions open– slides, trikes, and dino digs! In that situation, going on a weekday is perfect because the patch isn’t as crowded, and you’re able to do the perfect kid-friendly activities. However, if you’ve got older kids interested in the Gyro Ball and launching pumpkins, a weekend visit may suit you better. Even though it will be more crowded, these activities are most likely open and running, so you can get the full effect of the patch. We’ll likely keep checking out the less crowded weekdays, because there was still a TON to do.
I couldn’t resist getting Zach’s photo in one of the cutouts on the farm. He was dying to be a kitty cat! With several of these stationed around the farm, from 1 person to multi-people, you’ll have no problem snapping a cute souvenir photo with your camera or to share on Instagram (#kcpumpkinpatch, for those curious) to share with your loved ones easily. Even Jeffrey was a good sport and let me snap his photo in the Kitty Cat cutout!
It was also fun seeing how much both boys had grown this year. Zach is almost up to 3 feet tall!
Jeffrey is thrilled to have passed mom and finally made it over the 5 feet mark.
We ventured into the barn, which is set up with some smaller, kid-friendly slides, a fun area to play in some corn, and a big sandbox with diggers!
The boys even worked together to fill up some toys.
Zach’s favorite part was easily the wooden train, which he had a blast running the length of, climbing through the tunnels, and sitting on the seats. It was so much fun, and gave him an opportunity to use some imaginary play. There were also a bunch of cars set up with steering wheels so kids could pretend to go for a drive!
Inside the barn near the big Mining Sluice is a great batch of educational opportunities like wood puzzles, trivia, a dino dig, and signs like this pumpkin life cycle. This would be perfect for a scavenger hunt or worksheet to turn a fun field trip to the pumpkin patch into a perfect educational opportunity. You can also have a good discussion about how pumpkins work, then use your newfound knowledge to try to grow your own pumpkin at home, or lead to a discussion about how much work it takes to make the pumpkin you’re getting ready to carve into! As you carve your pumpkins, you can go over how the seeds inside become vines and flowers that create green pumpkins that turn orange!
You can also quiz yourself on some Bee Facts while you’re in the barn!
Outside of the barn, the boys loved this big spider web! It was nearly impossible to walk on, forcing you to crawl it like giant spooky spiders! After a lot of playing, not even getting to see every single thing they offered (like a jump pillow and other kid attractions), it was time for the main event.
We hopped on the tractor-pulled wagon to a drive out to the patch! The corn maze is also accessed by this ride, with 10 acres in a military-themed design this year.
Zach and Jeffrey grabbed a big cart for us to load up our pumpkins!
This is just one of many sections of pumpkins, with more pumpkins closer to the slides and stuff (for those who would rather walk to the patch than ride the wagon), and even more pumpkins and gourds right at the front gate (in case you decide to swap out your patch pumpkins for other pumpkins, or realized you forgot a pumpkin, or you just don’t want to go out to the patches).
Zach was a fan of the small white gourds.
And Jeffrey was seeking out the biggest pumpkins in the patch!
Both boys searched and scoured for the perfect pumpkins to paint and carve, and wandered the patch for the pumpkins they wanted to buy.
After loading them all up in the wagon, it was time to pay and go home for a long nap.
The patch is really a great place for all ages, with tons of activities, so many that we didn’t even get to do them all (including life-sized Lincoln Logs, games, and more slides!) To me, it’s worth the admission cost. If you go on a weekday, not all areas are open, but the admission is $8.00. Weekends are $9.00 online,$10.00 at the gate, with all of the areas open. Anyone 2 and under is free, and military with valid ID get in for $5.00. (Tax isn’t included, nor are some of the activities like the mining sluice, which cost a little extra. Pumpkins are $0.60/lb, with varying prices for giant pumpkins, gourds, and other decor). They’re open through October 31!
It’s a really great family-friendly location for all ages, and the kids will get a kick out of trying the different slides, visiting the barns for more activities, and picking their own pumpkins from the patch.
Check out their website at kcpumpkinpatch.com.
If you have older kids (tweens and teens), you might also want to check out the Kansas City Fear Farm, at the same location as the KC Pumpkin Patch, which operates on weekends, and is a great haunted event with 5 spooky attractions, plus the Zombie Apocalypse Paintball adventure.
One last thing… if you’re hoping to visit the KC Pumpkin Patch, be sure to do it quick, because this is their very last year at this location! They’re currently looking for a new home to move to after this year, but for now, you can find them in Gardener, address on their website.
You can also check out my Facebook page for more photos of our fun trip! The link is over to the right in the sidebar.
Is going to a pumpkin patch a tradition in your family? Tell me all about it in the comments below!
Disclosure: I received tickets to the KCPP in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own, and not altered by this compensation in any way.
