Pumpkins, Apples & Hayrides

The one to pick if you only pick one. Corn maze, 45-minute pumpkin-patch hayride, pig races, the 150-foot Landslide, a bounce pillow, farm animals, and the cider donuts everyone talks about. We go every year, and I wrote a whole guide on it.

The newest patch in our area, right on Main Street in Monteagle on a working grass-fed beef farm. Big indoor play barn (great for a rainy Saturday), petting zoo, hay wagon rides, a giant pirate ship and castle, and a 27-foot slide. Smaller and calmer than Grandaddy's, a good fit for the preschool crowd.

Our state park's annual fall festival: craft and food vendors, a chili cook-off, a pie-baking contest, kids' activities, and the lake in October.

Forty acres of pumpkins you actually pick off the vine, a corn maze, hay maze, petting zoos, and family bonfires with hot dogs and marshmallows. Feels more "farm" than "theme park." Friday and Saturday nights they stay open till 8. Go for the bonfire.

The big one to the south: a 15-acre pick-your-own pumpkin field with 50+ varieties, 7-acre corn maze, pumpkin slingshot, cow train, monster slide, petting zoo, pig races, and fireworks on Friday nights in October.

"Tennessee's largest corn maze": 18 acres split into three mazes off one entrance, on a fourth-generation dairy with an ice-cream shop. This is a maze-and-ice-cream trip, not a full pumpkin-patch day, and that's exactly why we like it.

Fifty-plus attractions: petting farm, wagon and pony rides, corn maze, mega slides, pig and pumpkin races, and a four-acre fall sunflower bloom. Timed tickets with a daily cap, so buy ahead.

An old-school favorite with a smart setup: walking in is free. You only pay for the activity wristband, so grandparents and the stroller-nap crowd can shop the pumpkins and country store without a ticket.

The closest orchard to Tullahoma, and the closest place you can actually pick apples. U-pick runs Thursday–Sunday in September and October; the store has cider, fried pies and donuts.

U-pick apples (14 varieties) on the Cumberland Plateau, cold fresh cider, and goats, mules and chickens to feed. Best variety in August–September; the last apples hang on toward Christmas.

Fourth-generation u-pick orchard with the clearest pricing of the bunch, plus pumpkins, apple donuts and cider slushies.

The legendary one. Not u-pick, but the fried pies, apple dumplings, cider slushies and the Orchard Café (fried chicken, steak and gravy) are the reason people drive from three states. Picnic pavilion overlooks the orchard. Open through the day before Thanksgiving.