June 1, 2020
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Looking forward to temperate fall weather, foliage and starting family traditions this autumn? Look no further than this list of the top petting zoos, apple orchards and pumpkin patches to visit this fall.
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Blue Bird Gap Farm is ranked fourth among the 10 best petting zoos in the U.S. by Newsweek in 2025. The writer of this article agrees wholeheartedly with this accolade and is a little biased. I grew up going to this petting zoo and have enjoyed watching it continue to expand over the years!
Blue Bird Gap offers free admission to its 60-acre farm that is home to more than 100 mostly domestic animals. Kids will love feeding sheep and goats, petting horses and more. The site also includes the Azalea Nature Trail through wetlands, a giant playground, the Hampton Master Gardeners' Display Garden and Arboretum and a kayak launch on New Market Creek.
Taking the top spot on Newsweek’s list of the best petting zoos, Animal World & Snake Zoo gives families the rare opportunity to hold and pet many diverse exotic animals. “You can feed the cutest capybaras in Texas, hold a fennec fox and of course, feel the scales of corn snakes and Burmese pythons,” writes Newsweek.
First opened as The Snake Farm in 1967, the “Snake Farm” quickly became known for its menagerie of snakes, reptiles and other wild animals. In 2007, the zoo was expanded and renamed and is home to animals from more than 500 species.
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Perched on Carter Mountain in Virginia’s picturesque Blue Ridge, Carter Mountain Orchard has been tended by the Chiles family for more than a century. “Beginning with a card table, cigar box, and a roadside stand, the first generation of the Chiles family farmers sold the fruit of their labors to neighbors and folks passing through,” writes Carter Mountain Orchard.
Over the decades, the grounds have grown to acres of pick-your-own apple, peach, and cherry orchards that draw thousands of visitors annually. Since becoming parents several years ago, my husband and I look forward to taking our son to Carter Mountain every October to pick the best sweet winesaps, pink ladies and tart golden delicious to make pies and apple butter.
Make sure you don’t leave without picking up a dozen of the Chiles family’s delicious apple cider donuts. Carter Mountain Orchard made Newsweek’s 2024 list of the 10 best Apple Orchards in the U.S.
Holding the number one spot on Newsweek’s 2024 list of the best apple orchards in the U.S., Located outside of Boston, Parlee Farms is another family-owned gem. You can pick at least 20 varieties of apples in Parlee’s orchards.
During the weekend, families can hop on a hayride to the best trees depending on the time of the fall harvest season. Newsweek writes that Parlee also bakes a mean apple cider donut. You could easily take a full weekend to explore all of the farm including the onsite goat and sheep petting zoo, and a play area complete with a gargantuan sandbox.
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Lehner’s Pumpkin Farm takes the number one spot on USA Today’s ranking of the best pumpkin patches in the nation. Choose the best pie or carving pumpkin from the farm’s 15-acre pumpkin patch.
Lehner’s is also a great pick (get it) for all-day fun. Go pumpkin bowling, take a barrel ride or get lost in a corn maze. Visit farm animals, ascend a climbing wall and race tractors. The farm also has a fall calendar full of special events including Highland Cow Petting, vendor and market days and live music.
Pick your own pumpkins from more than eight miles of pumpkin rows at Trewogy, another USA Today pick for one of the best pumpkin patches. Once you’ve picked the perfect pumpkin, grab a cider or coffee and head to the farm’s petting zoo to love on the goats and rabbits.
Try to find your way out of the farm’s four-acre, award-winning corn maze made from more than 60,000 corn stalks. Once you complete the maze, head to the cafe for a free ice cream cone reward. Trewogy changes the maze design annually, so you can keep coming back to solve a new puzzle.
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