Where the North Shore Goes for Pumpkins: A 2026 Farm Stand and Orchard Guide
Crates of gourds start appearing on North Shore porches every September, usually before anyone’s actually decided where the pumpkins came from. Long Island’s fall farm season runs from mid-September through early November, and while the North Fork gets most of the postcard attention with its sprawling vineyards-turned-corn-mazes, several working farms closer to the North Shore’s own towns are worth the shorter drive.
Elwood Pumpkin Farm — Huntington
At 1500 Jericho Turnpike, Elwood Pumpkin Farm keeps it simple: weekends only, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with a straightforward pumpkin patch that doesn’t try to be a theme park. It’s the closest full pumpkin-picking experience for anyone living in Huntington, Cold Spring Harbor, or Northport who doesn’t want to make a day trip out of it. Call ahead at 631-368-8626 to confirm the weekend’s hours before heading over, since farm-stand schedules shift with the weather and the calendar.
Glover Farms — Brookhaven
Glover Farms, at 641 Victory Avenue, runs a full seven-day schedule from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., which makes it the more flexible option for families who can’t limit a farm trip to a Saturday. Full details and any seasonal specials are posted at gloverfarmsbrookhaven.org, and the farm can be reached directly at 631-286-7876.
Fort Salonga Farm — Northport Area
Fort Salonga Farm, tucked at 30 Meadow Glen Road, sits closest to the Sound of any farm on this list — a genuine North Shore address rather than a mid-island one. It’s a smaller, quieter operation, and calling ahead at 631-269-9666 is the reliable way to confirm pumpkin availability before making the drive, particularly late in the season when a farm’s best stock tends to move fast.
Worth the Longer Drive: The North Fork Farms
For North Shore families willing to treat pumpkin picking as a full afternoon rather than an errand, the farms clustered along Sound Avenue on the North Fork remain the region’s most complete fall operations. Lewin Farms in Calverton — often cited as the first pick-your-own farm on Long Island — runs a farm stand daily except Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with pick-your-own fields open until 4:30 p.m., and can be reached at 631-929-4327. Harbes Family Farm, with locations in both Mattituck and Jamesport, adds corn mazes, hayrides, and cider donuts to the apple-and-pumpkin lineup, typically running mid-September through the end of October. Neither is technically North Shore, but both sit close enough to Riverhead to make a loop with a North Fork wine stop on the way home.
What to Bring, and When to Go
Farm stands on Long Island run almost entirely on cash for the smaller, family-run operations — Fritz Lewin Farms and Lewin Farms both post cash-only policies — while the larger operations like Harbes accept cards. Bringing small bills avoids an awkward moment at a folding table with no card reader in sight. Weekday mornings, before the weekend crowds arrive, tend to offer the best selection and the shortest wait for a hayride or a wagon. By late October, the largest and most photogenic pumpkins are usually gone; anyone shopping specifically for a jack-o’-lantern centerpiece rather than a handful of small gourds should aim for the first two weekends of the season.
A fall farm visit is also, unofficially, a decent way to see a neighborhood at a different time of year than an open house ever allows. Huntington Village’s walkability and Mount Sinai’s quieter hamlet feel both read differently in October light than they do at a summer showing, and both are within easy range of at least one farm on this list.
Before the List Runs Out
Farm stand hours and pumpkin stock change week to week depending on weather and turnout, and the details above reflect what each farm has published as its current or most recent seasonal schedule. Calling ahead — a two-minute habit — beats a wasted drive, especially heading into the last weekends of October when the popular fields empty out fast.
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