The Ankeny Brief
Center Grove Orchard is the big one, and the closest full-day fall farm to Ankeny, about 20 minutes north up I-35 near Cambridge. It has a 25-acre pumpkin patch and a 20-acre apple orchard, plus a corn maze, jumping pillows, a sunflower meadow, goat feeding, and nine food stands known for cider donuts and farmhouse pies. It is a make-a-day-of-it place, and it gets busy on October weekends. 32835 610th Ave, Cambridge.
Iowa Orchard (Urbandale, about 20 minutes southwest) is the one to know for pies, with a pumpkin patch, a strawberry patch, and a Family Fun Zone of corn boxes, a jumping pillow, and hay slides. 9875 Meredith Dr, Urbandale.
Howell's Pumpkin Patch (Cumming, about 30 minutes south) is a metro classic: a pumpkin cannon, a corn maze, a cow slide, tractor rides, and a big greenhouse. 3145 Howell Court, Cumming.
Wilson's Orchard & Farm (Cumming) is a 125-acre farm for picking apples, pumpkins, and berries, with a Ciderhouse restaurant serving wood-fired pizza and cider donuts. 3201 15th Ave, Cumming.
Pumpkinville (Mitchellville, about 20 minutes east) is a smaller, free-admission patch that is easy on the wallet for a quick pumpkin run. Mitchellville.
Apples ripen from late August through October; pumpkins and the big activity season peak from late September through the end of October. Weekends in October are the busiest, so a weekday visit means shorter lines. Most of the larger farms charge admission for the activity areas (Howell's and Iowa Orchard among them) and often sell tickets cheaper online, while some, like Pumpkinville, are free to walk in. Hours and prices change every year, so check each farm's website before you drive. Dress for mud and bring cash for the food stands.
Corn mazes: Center Grove Orchard in Cambridge has a corn maze, and Howell's Greenhouse & Pumpkin Patch in Cumming has an 8-acre maze. Howell's lists fall admission from Sept. 12 through Nov. 1 in 2026, 10 am to 6 pm, at $18 per person ages 2 and up at the gate ($14 bought online), and the maze is inside that admission area. Center Grove's Pumpkin Fest runs through Nov. 6. Fall dates end soon, so check each farm's site before you drive.
Apple orchards: Center Grove Orchard says its 20-acre orchard grows 34 apple varieties for picking. Iowa Orchard in Urbandale runs u-pick apples from early September to mid-October, so u-pick is over for 2026, but its farm market (open Tuesday through Sunday, 9 am to 6 pm) still sells more than 20 varieties, and its pumpkin patch is open through Halloween. Both are on the list above, and both post current hours on their own sites: Center Grove, Iowa Orchard, Howell's.
Yes, you do not always have to leave town: the Uptown Farmers Market stocks local pumpkins and gourds as the season turns, and grocery and hardware stores around Ankeny set up pumpkin displays in October. For a full fall weekend, pair a patch with a walk on the local trails or a stop at Jester Park. And once the kids outgrow the patch, the metro's Halloween in Ankeny 2026 · haunted houses are the teen version of fall.
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Center Grove Orchard in Cambridge, about 20 minutes north, is the closest full-size patch and orchard, with a 25-acre pumpkin patch and a corn maze.
Center Grove Orchard in Cambridge and Wilson's Orchard & Farm in Cumming offer apple picking; Iowa Orchard in Urbandale is known for pies. Apples ripen late August through October.
Late September through the end of October is peak, with October weekends busiest. Apples start earlier, in late August. Weekdays are less crowded.
Yes, Pumpkinville in Mitchellville has free admission. Bigger farms like Howell's and Iowa Orchard charge for activities but are cheaper if you buy online.
The nearest corn mazes are at Center Grove Orchard in Cambridge, about 20 minutes north, and Howell's Greenhouse & Pumpkin Patch in Cumming, about 30 minutes south, which has an 8-acre maze. Howell's lists fall admission through Nov. 1 in 2026 and Center Grove's Pumpkin Fest runs through Nov. 6, so check their sites for current hours.
Yes. Center Grove Orchard in Cambridge has a 20-acre apple orchard with 34 varieties, and Iowa Orchard in Urbandale has u-pick apples from early September to mid-October plus a farm market with more than 20 varieties, open Tuesday through Sunday. Check each orchard's site for what is open now.
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