Pumpkin Season Arrives in North Atlanta, With $7.99 Grocery-Store Carvers and Farm Weekends Ahead

Pumpkin season is getting underway across North Atlanta, bringing the familiar September shift from summer produce to pumpkin patches, corn mazes, hayrides and fall weekends on the farm.

For families in Forsyth, North Fulton and northeast Gwinnett, the season offers several different ways to make the annual pumpkin run. A pumpkin can be picked up during a regular grocery trip, while nearby farms increasingly turn the tradition into a larger fall outing built around mazes, animals, hayrides and other activities.

The Georgia Department of Agriculture is also putting a new emphasis on the season this year with its Georgia Grown Fall Agritourism Map, designed to help families find pumpkin patches, corn mazes, U-pick farms and other fall destinations around the state.

Grocery Store or Pumpkin Patch?

The choice increasingly comes down to what families want from the day. Grocery stores offer the straightforward option for anyone who simply needs a pumpkin for the porch, decorating or carving. Farms, meanwhile, have built pumpkin season into an experience that can occupy much of an afternoon.

That distinction is worth keeping in mind when comparing prices. At many fall attractions, the admission charge is not the price of a pumpkin. It pays for activities such as corn mazes, hayrides, play areas and farm attractions, while pumpkins may be sold separately.

Fall Farms Around North Atlanta

In Forsyth County, Warbington Farms in Cumming is scheduled to open its 2026 fall season Sept. 19. The farm’s fall attractions include a corn maze, hayride, barnyard animals, jumping pillow and pumpkin picking, with pumpkins purchased separately from admission.

For families on the Gwinnett side of the region, Buford Corn Maze is another established fall destination. General admission is $18.52 before tax and includes the corn maze, Kids’ CORNer activities and unlimited hayrides. Children age 2 and younger are admitted free.

Farther north in Dawsonville, Burt’s Pumpkin Farm offers a different model. The farm is open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and there is no general admission charge. Visitors can shop for pumpkins without buying an attraction ticket, while hayrides cost $10 per person plus tax. Children younger than 2 ride free.

Burt’s also has a new addition for the 2026 season. Autumn & Gordy’s Harvest House, described by the farm as the world’s largest drive-through pumpkin, has been incorporated into the hayride experience.

The Fall Outing Can Cost More Than the Pumpkin

The growth of farm attractions has changed the economics of pumpkin season. A family visiting a ticketed attraction may spend considerably more than someone making a quick stop for pumpkins, but the two purchases are not really equivalent.

For example, general admission for a family of four at Buford Corn Maze would total $74.08 before tax if all four require tickets. That covers the maze, hayrides and other included activities rather than simply the purchase of four pumpkins.

Families looking for a lower-cost farm visit can also seek out destinations without a general admission charge, then decide separately whether to buy pumpkins, food, hayrides or other activities.

For North Atlanta families, that leaves plenty of room to choose what pumpkin season means this year: a pumpkin on the porch, an afternoon in a corn maze or a full fall day on the farm.