Best Farms with Family Entertainment Near DC

Ride the cow train at Great Country Farms. Photo courtesy of the farm
Ride the cow train at Great Country Farms. Photo courtesy of the farm

Visiting a farm is the perfect way to spend a beautiful day outdoors with kids. That's why many families head to farms to pick pumpkins and other fruit or to pet and feed animals.

But while those activities are fun on their own, some farms near DC really step it up when it comes to family entertainment. We're talking giant slides, hayrides, corn mazes, games, pony rides, and loads more. Some of these farms only offer these activities during fall festivals and other special times of year, while others bring the fun nearly year-round.

Here are the 12 best farms with family entertainment near DC, located in Virginia and Maryland. Find even more farm fun in our Guide to Farms in Washington, DC, from animal farms and petting zoos to apple-picking orchards.

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Best Farms with Family Entertainment Near DC in Virginia

1. Cox Farms — Centreville

Families flock to the wildly popular Cox Farms Fall Festival for its loads of activities. A 20-minute hayride brings riders through an Old West town, an enchanted barn, a jungle, and more. There are tons of slides, a goat village, a tractor museum, cow-milking demos, a kiddie zone, a nature trail, and a surprise-filled corn maze. Choose a pumpkin from the makeshift pumpkin patch, which includes pumpkins brought in from other farms. On weekend nights, Cox Farms transforms into the spooky Fields of Fear.

2. Great Country Farms — Bluemont

This farm has a 12-acre play area that includes several mazes, jumping pillows, a ninja obstacle course, mini golf, slides, play structures, and more. There's also a barnyard area where families can feed goats and meet pot-bellied pigs, chickens, turkeys, ducks, and geese.

During the farm's Apple Harvest and Fall Pumpkin Harvest Festival, take a wagon ride to pick apples and pumpkins. On weekends, enjoy live music, pig races, pumpkin cannons, a cow train, and a show featuring P. Rex, the Pumpkin-Eating Dino.

But the fun at Great Country Farms isn't limited to fall. Little ones can hunt for colorful eggs during spring Easter egg hunts. In the summer, families can pick strawberries and peaches at the Strawberry Jubilee Fest and Peach Fuzztival, or dig up potatoes at the Big Dig Potato Harvest.

3. Belvedere Plantation — Fredericksburg

Belvedere Plantation offers families over 25 attractions each fall. These include slides, a zip line, a hay barn full of rope swings, pedal carts and trikes, games, a petting zoo, a low ropes course, a giant maze, and other fun activities. Families can also take a wagon ride to the pumpkin patch to pick pumpkins and take those coveted fall photos. Enjoy fireworks every Saturday night in October.

4. Wayside Farm — Berryville

Fall fun at Wayside Farm includes an eight-acre pick-your-own pumpkin patch, a 10-acre corn maze with a different theme each year, a playground, giant slides, a hayride, pig races, and lots more. Kids can also try their hand at football, baseball, and basketball in the Barnyard Ball Zone or use their skill to solve fun mind puzzles on the Farm Game Boards.

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Goats, cows, and other friendly farm animals are waiting to meet you at Clark's Elioak Farm. Petting zoo photo courtesy of the farm

Best Farms with Family Entertainment Near DC in Maryland

5. Clark's Elioak Farm — Ellicott City

This farm is truly magical for young kids, with a fairy garden, an enchanted forest, pony rides, train and wagon rides, and more. There's also a petting zoo with goats, cows, pigs, sheep, and other friendly farm animals. Admission is under $10, but some activities cost an additional fee. The farm is open spring through fall, with a pumpkin patch available in the fall.

6. Butler's Orchard — Germantown

Admission to the Butler's Orchard's Pumpkin Festival includes a visit to the pick-your-own-pumpkin patch and a slew of other activities, including hayrides, a corn maze, jump pads, farm animals, giant slides, pedal tractors, a corn pool, and more. Pony rides, face painting, and other activities are also available for an additional fee. Most of these attractions are also open at other times of year, including during Bunnyland in the spring and the Sunflower Spectacular in the summer.

7. Montpelier Farms — Upper Marlboro

Head over to Montpelier Farms for its annual Fall Festival, which is chock full of activities like corn mazes, hayrides, pumpkin bowling, a petting zoo, slides, a trike track, and evening bonfires. When you’re all tapped out, head to the pumpkin patch to pick your own pumpkin. All of the activities are also available during the farm's Sunflower Festival in August.

8. Green Meadows Petting Farm — Ijamsville

At Green Meadows, visitors can get hands-on with over 150 animals. Unlike at most petting zoos, the farm provides the food for free, so little ones can feed to their hearts' content. Other activities include pig races, hayrides, slides, a large play area, and more. The farm is open on various dates from early April through mid November. Special events throughout the year include a pumpkin patch and the Trail of Jack-O'-Lanterns in the fall, Santa's Farm Fest in winter, and Easter egg hunts in the spring.

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A corn bin is just one of 60 fun attractions at Gaver Farm's Fall Fun Fest. Photo courtesy of Gaver Farm

9. Gaver Farm — Mount Airy

At the Gaver Farm Fall Fun Fest, kids can cruise down giant slides, pet and feed barnyard animals, wind their way through the corn maze, hit the playgrounds, and enjoy roughly 60 other attractions. Festival admission also includes a hayride to the pick-your-own pumpkin patch. Gaver Farm also hosts special events at other time of the year, including a Sunflower Festival in September and cut-your-own Christmas trees in late November and December.

10. Summers Farm — Middletown

Families can enjoy over 45 fun activities at the Summers Farm Fall Festival, including wagon rides to the pumpkin patch, corn pits, mini golf, a pumpkin train, and lots more. The farm is also known for its interactive corn maze, which includes 2.5 miles of trails and a hidden scenic bridge. Most of the activities are also available during the farm's Sunflower Festival in August through September

11. Weber's Cider Mill Farm — Glen Arm, MD

Weber's Cider Mill Farm hosts Fall Harvest Days each autumn and an annual Strawberry Festival in early June. Both festivals feature loads of fun activities for kids, including barnyard animals, a barrel train ride, slides, play structures, live music, and more. Of course, families can also enjoy delicious strawberry treats at the Strawberry Festival and pick pumpkins during Fall Harvest Days.

12. Magnolia Meadow Farms — Thurmont

With over five miles of trails, the maze at Magnolia Meadow Farms claims to be Maryland's largest corn maze. Families can visit it during the farm's Fall Festival, which includes over 20 activities like hayrides, slides, mini zip lines, pedal karts, and farm animal interactions. Magnolia is also well known for its Moonlit Maze nights on two Saturdays.

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