Pick Your Own Farms Around NYC050

The fact that you live in a city doesn't mean you're on your honor to stay in town at all times. Getting the kids out into the countryside isn't as overwhelming as you might think, and opportunities abound to bond with nature just outside the city limits.

We've got some great spots for apple picking, pumpkin picking, strawberry picking, and more - and we can tell you how to get there, too!

Easy commuting options include Decker Farm on Staten Island (the free ferry ride is an additional enticement), and Queens County Farm in, well, Queens. Both host annual pumpkin patches with fun fall activities.

Long Island:
Hicks Nursery, in Westbury, is perfect for pumpkin hunts in the fall - it has wagon rides on a decorated trail and live animals to visit, all themed around the story of Otto the Ghost.

Calverton's Fritz Lewin Farms' pick-your-own panoply includes strawberries, peaches, plums, corn, tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, cranberry beans, string beans, peas, and pumpkins. Options vary by season, of course.

Head to Melville's White Post Farms to commune with goats, lambs, pigs, deer, alpacas, and a famous talking parrot named Corky - and pick up some pumpkins (in season). White Post is almost more amusement park than farm, with indoor pony rides in winter, enormous ostrich Easter Egg decorating in the spring, and inflatables, performances, and crafts year 'round.

Schmitt's Family Farm, also in Melville, offers pumpkin picking (in season), as well as hay rides, hay climbing, a corn maze, and a pirate-themed playground.

Harbes Family Farm, located in Mattituck, offers pumpkin picking and blueberry picking (in season), as well as hay rides, pony rides, a petting zoo, and a corn maze.

About halfway between Water Mill and Bridgehampton, Milk Pail Farm has pumpkin and apple picking programs in the fall.

Or try Fink's Family Farm in Wading River, which hosts a glorious Fall Festival each year in October. In addition to pumpkin picking, kids can explore the seven-acre corn maze, watch pig races, shoot down the combine slide, and try the corn cannon and pumpkin slingshot!

Westchester:
Head to Granite Springs for a visit to Stuart's Farm, with over 200 acres of apple orchards, pumpkin fields, and vegetable crops.

Hilltop Hanover Farm, in Yorktown Heights, is organic and uses sustainable practices (no pesticides!). Pumpkin picking and vegetable picking must be done under the supervision of a farmer or intern.

New Jersey:
Abma's Farm, in Wyckoff, has a petting zoo (bring carrots and apples to feed the critters) and a seasonal pumpkin patch where kids can pick their own. Wagons leave approximately every 15 minutes from the parking lot across the street.

Connecticut:
In Easton, Silverman's Farm is home to an animal farm petting zoo where kids can pet and feed all sorts of unusual animals - including buffalo, llamas, sheep, goats, fallow deer, emus, long-horn cattle, pigs, and exotic birds. Pick-your-own seasonal options range from peaches to apples, plums, and pumpkins.

Bishop's Orchard in Guilford offers opportunities to pick your own strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, peaches, pears, apples, and pumpkins - in season.

Upstate New York:
Applewood Orchards, in Warwick, offers seasonal apple picking and pumpkin picking, and boasts herb and rose gardens, several ponds with ducks honking for kids to feed them, and a small petting barn with horses, bunnies, and sheep. Music, hay rides, puppet shows, and a variety of foods are offered on weekends during the high season.

In Yorktown Heights, Wilkens Fruit and Fir Farm sells a wide variety of apples and pumpkins, both pre-picked and "pick-your-own," as well as Choose-n-Cut Christmas trees.

Hodgson's Farm, located in Walden, hosts an annual Fall Festival that includes a Straw Maze, a Barnyard Petting Zoo, and weekend magic shows. Hayrides to a 20 acre pumpkin patch give kids a chance to pick their own gourds. In season, visitors can also pick their own strawberries (mid-June), blueberries (mid-July), raspberries, tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants. U-Pick hours are Wed-Sat, 9am-4pm, and Sun, 9am-2pm (weather permitting).

Are we missing one of your favorites? Leave us a comment below, email ny@parentsconnect.com, or visit our "add something" page!