Picking the perfect pumpkin is hungry work. And when you’re driving anywhere from 45 minutes up to an hour and a half to find that gourd, you want to be sure the food is up to snuff. From classics like apple fritters and cider slushies to smoked barbecue nachos, turkey legs, and deep-fried PB&Js, these nine farms are serving up bites worth the drive from Atlanta.
Burt’s Pumpkin Farm
Johnny and Kathy Burt began growing pumpkins near Amicalola Falls in 1972, and the farm has become an annual tradition for decades of Atlantans. Today, food is a highlight thanks to family recipes ranging from Johnny’s barbecue sandwiches and nachos piled high with meat smoked on-site to a scratch-made pumpkin roll. It’s roughly an hour and a half from Atlanta with some traffic, and the $10 hayride through the new 45-foot drive-through pumpkin (supposedly the world’s largest) makes the trip. 5 Burts Pumpkin Farm Rd, Dawsonville, burtspumpkinfarmgeorgia.com
Southern Belle Farms
A working dairy until 1986, the Carter family’s McDonough farm now pours its energy into fall. About 45 minutes south of Atlanta, Mimi’s Bakery turns out fried pies, apple cider donuts, and funnel cake fries, best washed down with unfiltered apple or muscadine cider from the market. Wander the free pumpkin patch, then take home the farm’s pickled peaches. Visit on a weekend to enjoy the corn maze and famous pig races. 1658 Turner Church Rd., McDonough, southernbellefarm.com
Scottsdale Farms
Brunch with a side of pumpkin? Say less. The Cafe at Scottsdale Farms in Milton is a draw in itself with hearty fall fare like a bacon jam McBrekkie sandwich or a chicken salad bowl with apples and pecans. Sip on an A-Fall-Gato (butternut gingersnap ice cream with a double espresso shot) or a spiced chai apple cider while you browse the free-to-enter pumpkin patch and garden center. The kitchen is open Tuesday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., so be sure to plan around the roughly 45-minute drive from the city. 15639 Birmingham Hwy., Milton, scottsdalefarms.com
Jaemor Farms
This historic family-owned Alto farm is beloved year-round, but really shines in the fall with a Harvest Celebration that packs in a pumpkin patch, a corn maze (this year’s theme: Dolly Parton), and apple cannons. Between activities, refuel at The Eatery with pulled pork nachos, loaded mac n’ cheese, an apple cider float topped with an apple cider donut, or a pumpkin spice milkshake. Head inside to the bakery to grab fried apple pies or fritters for the roughly hour-long drive home. 5340 Cornelia Hwy, Alto, jaemorfarms.com
Uncle Shuck’s
Best known for its 15-acre corn maze, Uncle Shuck’s is where locals go for a fall festival feel, all the way down to the refreshments. The menu spans turkey legs, funnel cakes, and twisted chips, and just about anything fried you can imagine—think PB&Js, Oreos, and even strawberries. Walk it off with a stroll through the pumpkin patch before grabbing a few extra goodies for the hour drive home. 125 Bannister Rd., Dawsonville, uncleshucks.com
Hillcrest Orchards
New this fall at Hillcrest Orchards: apple pie nachos, with fried cinnamon-sugar chips, warm apple pie filling, vanilla soft serve, and caramel. Apples are the star here, but the farm market about an hour and a half north of Atlanta sells pumpkins and gourds, too, so you can pick up fall decor along with cider by the gallon and the orchard’s famous apple fritters. Cider doughnuts and apple pies are made from scratch, and on weekends five food stands serve steak tacos, smoked turkey legs, grilled corn, and, of course, boiled peanuts. 9696 Hwy. 52 E., Ellijay, hillcrestorchards.net
Washington Farms
A strawberry farm first, Washington Farms still scoops homemade strawberry ice cream even in the fall, alongside apple cider donuts (best enjoyed atop a slushie) and fresh-squeezed lemonade. Stop by the Barnyard Grill on weekends for BBQ sandwiches and burgers, grab a pizza from the Pizza Barn, and snack on the farm’s kettle corn while you peruse the free pumpkin patch. Family activities like a mega slide and corn maze make this one worth the roughly hour-and-15-minute drive from Atlanta. 5691 Hog Mountain Rd., Bogart, washingtonfarms.net
Red Apple Barn
In the Pritchett family since 1927, this Ellijay apple farm about an hour and a half north of Atlanta adds a pumpkin patch to the fall mix, with about a dozen novelty varieties alongside the classic jack-o’-lanterns. Stop by the market for fried apple and peach pies, apple-cinnamon bread, caramel apples, and apple slushies, and don’t leave without a gallon of cider (muscadine and blackberry are on the shelf, too). 3379 Tails Creek Rd., Ellijay, redapplebarn.com
R&A Orchards
This Ellijay orchard is best known for its U-pick apples, but a new pumpkin display and patch make it a top stop for all things fall. The mini, pumpkin-shaped hand pies are the autumnal highlight, as is the apple cider float and caramel apple frosted slushy. Pumpkin cream cheese rolls, caramel apple soft serve, and fried pies in more than a dozen flavors round out the seasonal treats, and make R&A Orchards worth the hour-and-a-half drive from Atlanta. 5505 Hwy. 52 East, Ellijay, randorchards.com
