It's Pumpkin Patch Time

Posted

 

Lewis County’s pumpkin patches opened to the public this week. From down home family fun to sights filled with frights, local patches have something to offer anyone looking for some Halloween fun and the perfect jack-o-lantern fodder.

The Huntting’s Pumpkin Patch & Haunted Forest

600 Cinebar Rd., Cinebar

(360) 388-7920, facebook.com/hunttings, @hunttingspumpkinpatch

Open daily now through Oct. 31, 10 a.m. to dusk Monday-Thursday and Sundays and 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.

Haunted forest, pumpkin patch, photo props and corn maze. Pumpkins and gourds for sale, haunted forest $13 per person, corn maze $7 per person, maze/forest combo $18 per person. Goblin egg shot $4-$25. Run to Survive zombie run Oct. 26.

Landon Huntting had the idea to grow pumpkins on part of his family’s property seven years ago. His first crop of pumpkins was sold all over Lewis County out of the back of a pickup truck. The next year, the family decided to open their pumpkin patch to the public.

Huntting’s offers a family friendly pumpkin patch complete with photo props, a corn maze, pumpkin slingshot and horseshoe pit open every day of the week. 

“It’s a place to come out, pick a pumpkin, take some pictures and have a good time,” Huntting said.

Huntting’s also hosts a haunted forest that is geared toward a bit older crowd. Huntting said he recommends the haunted forest for ages 8 and older. The one-third mile trail features both actors and props guaranteed to give you frights.

“The actors jump out and chase you, maybe with a chainsaw, who knows,” he said with a laugh.

 

Parkerosa Farms Pumpkin Patch

292 Chilvers Road, Chehalis

(360) 748-0833 

9 a.m. to 6p.m. daily through Oct. 31.

Pumpkin patch, refreshments and games. Hay rides and petting zoo on weekends. Extra charge for hay rides and games.

Parkerosa Farms Pumpkin Patch began simply when Rick Parker’s uncle grew too many pumpkins in 2007. The family set up a small lean-to on their property on Chilvers Road, which they have owned for 48 years, and sold those pumpkins. The next year, they decided to grow their own crop.

Parkerosa Farms is owned by Rick Parker, his brothers Ronald Parker and Ryan Parker and their mother Gloria Parker but the entire family gets into the fun during the month of October.

“The kids really enjoy it,” Rick Parker said. “My kids are grown and they come out every weekend and face paint and things like that and the grandkids love it, too.”

The pumpkin patch is open daily, offering the chance for pumpkins and pictures. On weekends, a wagon ride through the family’s 30 acres is offered, as well as a chance to visit with the resident animals in the petting zoo.



“It’s fun to see all the kids come out and have a great time,” Rick Parker said about what keeps his family opening year after year.

 

The Pumpkin Patch

518 Goodrich Rd., Centralia

Facebook.com/The-Pumpkin-Patch-207173096017386/, (360) 269-173

Open daily 10 a.m.-dusk now through Oct. 31

Free small corn maze, photo props, pumpkins, old tractors to look at and sit on, hayrides ($2 per kid) and straw pit. Hayrides with group reservation during week otherwise hayrides on weekends. Pumpkin canon on weekends. Pumpkins and winter squash and fall décor.

Tim Crockett and his wife, Linda, began the simply named pumpkin patch off Harrison Avenue in Centralia in 1983.

“We were really just trying something,” Crockett said. “There weren’t any out here at the time.”

Over the years The Pumpkin Patch has become a favorite among families for their outrageous hay bale sculptures, rows of tractors for kids to play on and homey feel. Crockett said their target audience is mostly young families, with a corn maze that isn’t too big or scary, friendly farm animals to see and a straw pit to jump into. And you have the option of picking your pumpkin from the farm stand near the parking lot (where you can also buy gourds, squash and other fall foods and décor items) or in the fields.

“This was a good season for us,” Crockett said of the selection this year. “Normally, I’m the one saying ‘these are great pumpkins this year’ but my wife says these are some of the nicest ones she’s seen. We have lots of different sizes.”

 

WillyTee’s Pumpkin Patch

3415 Jackson Hwy., Chehalis

(360) 880-5411, facebook.com/WillyTees-Pumpkin-Patch-113551025356280/, mrwillytee@gmail.com,

3 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Friday-Sunday now through Oct. 31

Pumpkins and squash for sale, crafts and caricatures for the children.

The Teitzel family has been in the pumpkin business somewhere around 22 years, though Bill Teitzel can’t recall exactly how many years. Teitzel’s children are the seventh generation of their family to live on the property off Jackson Highway south of Chehalis and they wanted to do something that connected them to the property’s roots.

“I have a full-time job. I work every day. But it’s been in our family for a long time and this has brought me closer to my heritage,” Teitzel said.

Though WillyTee’s Pumpkin Patch has grown since its first years, Teitzel said the family has purposefully kept it small. Teitzel personally draws caricatures of kids at the farm on evenings and weekends and visitors can buy pumpkins, squash, craft items and home décor. The setting is also a perfect backdrop for photo opps, as the site boasts original late 1800s and early 1900s barns and structures. Teitzel said it is this small town feel that he believes brings customers back year after year.

“I’ve seen people who used to be kids coming here bring their own kids back here,” he said.