Howells was a hoot!! What a super cute pumpkin farm. I had…read moreno idea what to expect of this farm. This pumpkin was picturesque. Perfect time to come out here is definitely on a warm October day. During COVID19: visited on a Tuesday afternoon. Hardly any families were out here. I counted about 5 families. Including mine and my friend and her kids. Nicely spaced out farm for patrons to social distance. Driving in, looks like a private home but you get a mini tour of the farm when you drive to park. Admission barn easy to locate. Flower green house near there. Pumpkins are picked for you and are gathered in large wagons, central to the activities. Activities are not too far of a walk from each other. Stroller friendly. Bunny land. 2 Snack shops. Inflatable outdoor jumping area. Even a small zip line! Hay bale climbing and mini corn pit. (Most pumpkin farms took this out this year!) and more It was a great experience. $11.00 per ticket for ages 2 and up. Pricey when you have a family of 5!!! Wow We spent $14.50 for 4 slushees and candy. I saw they make their own kettle corn? But we never bought. Overall it was lovely and I look forward to going back! Social distancing was great and I like going on a weekday afternoon. Pro tip: plan to spend 4 hours here if you have more than one kid ages 5 and up to get your full experience!!

Extremely expensive. Pretty shocked how much everything was. Parking was full and super muddy. It…read moreused to be fun place but I'll never go back.

My absolute favorite pumpkin farm since I've been a kid. In recent years, they've done away with…read morepicking your own out in the field but they have tons of sizes and gourds to choose from inside the shed. Dick and Letha DeMoss are the sweetest people and honestly, the reason I make the drive up from DSM. Letha bakes all of the bread and makes most of the jam, you must grab at least one of each! Dick is great for cooking advice; he'll tell in great detail how to prepare anything you buy. They have other seasonal produce: tomatoes, green beans, onions, etc. Find them at Ames Farmer's Market and their veggie stand in town! Lots of good photo opportunities as well-- antiques, tractors, fields, outbuildings. The cutest!

Well this place is fun. Think family farm with lots of…read morepumpkins for sale (good prices), and a huge space for fall fun.. Think bon fires, and yard games! I dig that they have a pop corn machine ready for snacking and hot chocolate and coffee for ordering! The corn maze is huge and fun. They have one for the little ones and one for big kids too! It's not just a maze you find poles with hole punches on them and it's perfect for getting a little competitive in the corn maze! Fun spot to make the treck from Des Moines... Good for families, or a Halloween date!

Got to check this place out during a Yelp event. Without Yelp I would never heard of this place. No…read moregeneral admission unless you want to do the maze prices are very reasonable $8 for anyone over 6, age 4-5 $1, and under is free, great for the whole. It's not a grand big pumpkin patch like the other ones around town that are pretty popular, they do have activities. They have a mini corn maze and the big one is shaped like the Super Mario characters and it's a scavenger hunt that will keep you busy. There is also a campfire. I will say this place is a little run-down, when I pulled into the parking lot I wasn't so sure, don't try to be cute or where cute shoes or dress up it's pretty muddy out there. The staff was nice and they have a kitchen where u can order snacks and some warm to drink when it's chill outside.

Had a great experience here! Went with my family and the kids really enjoyed all the activities and…read morewe picked apples. You must get some of their apple cider donuts- made fresh and so good!

I am from California, moved to Minnesota in 2016 and Waukee the end of 2016 - needless to say, I've…read morebeen around and visited many pumpkin farm/apple orchard places. Wills Family Orchard is, by FAR, the best I've EVER been to. The lady in the shop, the gentleman leading the hayride and the young man overseeing the pumpkin patch were all very friendly and helpful! They went above and beyond to ensure my two young daughters and I had an amazing time. Every step of the way they were informative, friendly and engaging. The apple picking was amazing - petting the goats was unforgettable and the play area for the children was so much fun. We highly recommend this place!!

Great little patch out on highway 17. I've passed it a few times over the years and said going…read morethere next year for our pumpkins. Well I finally followed thru. You can grab a wagon and wander the patch choosing your own or grab one from the piles they have brought up to the barn. The have just about every size you can think of from tiny to huge. "How are we going to carve this?" was spoken when we loaded one into the Jeep. They also have lot of other decorative gourds, multi colored corn, and a variety of squash. It's a Mom and Pop operation and I always love those way better then spending my money at the huge stores in the city.

Just cannot say enough good things about the Center Grove Orchard. If you go to their website at…read morecentergroveorchard.com you'll see that there is MUCH more than a store on site. All sorts of activities for families, including a corn maze, Jumping Pillows, Pedal Carts, Super Slides, Goat Walk, and unlimited CGO Express Train rides. (Sorry ... I copied that from their website.) But, now I wanna talk about what's offered in the store. APPLES. And more apples. Pies, jams, salsa (best I've had in the area), dressings, dips, they have it all. The website claims 11 venues around the farm to enjoy. I haven't found all of them. But, inside the store they have the best dang coffee around, and awesome pies (with ice cream of course if you're interested.) Oh yeah, take home a couple frozen chicken pot pies. THE BEST Yep, you knew this was coming. If you follow me, you know I check out the restroom at places we visit, since I feel the condition of these facilities are as important as the food. On this busy afternoon, after what I'm sure were many men and young men in and out of the men's room, I can report the restroom was tidy with just a few areas of water dripped on the floor. Good job Center Grove! So, make the journey, you'll be glad you did.

Center Grove Orchard was such a fun place to be this past fall, and in years past. There is so much…read moreto do, you really can make a full day visit. Lost of farm animals to check out, tons of kids activities, a huge pumpkin patch, an apple grove where you can pick your own apples, a train to ride, a corn maze, and a market where there are farm made jams, jellies, peanut butter, honey, baked goods and more. There were also signs up saying there will be strawberry picking in the summer, and they also have fields of flowers in the appropriate seasons. They are striving to make their farm a year-round destination.

Excellent our selection - wow! This is the place for pies and fresh apples. Friendly and helpful…read morestaff. Easy parking.

Located in town. I didn't do any of the rides, but only entered market area for baked goods…read more Front of the house pumpkins for sale by weight. Plenty of pies, donuts, caramel apples and etc for purchase. 6 pack of apple cinnamon donuts will run you $7. I also picked up single serving baked apple oatmeal. Not very large facility, but enough parking spots.

This was the highlight of our trip. If you're in the area please visit this alpaca farm. There is…read moreno cost to visit, but they do accept donations and they have a shop that they sell alpaca related goods. My family loved visiting and petting and feeding all the alpacas. The owner is very responsive on Ig so if you have any questions feel free to shoot him a message.

Such a neat place to get out in nature and get to hang out with some amazing animals. The…read moreowners/staff make you feel welcome and answer any and all questions you may have and give you a great history of the animals. The gift store is quaint and affordable. Absolutely a must visit if you're near the Des Moines area

Pumpkins were very expensive and most of them were mushy in the field. We found a few that weren't…read moreand some pre picked specialty pumpkins- all were thrown away before it right after Halloween bc they were rotten and mushy.

There was stuff for all ages to do. the children had a blast and Kaelynn at the jump pillow was so…read morenice and helpful with the children!! what a wonderful experience!!