Hill Ridge Farms' pumpkin festival runs Wednesday to Sunday through Nov. 1, then Nov. 4-6 until 2 p.m. Rolesville's free Fall FunFest is Saturday, Nov. 14.

Last checked Oct. 25, 2026. Updated each year: the dates and the year in the title are refreshed in place every September. Every listing links to its organizer; hours and dates are as the organizer publishes them.

The biggest pumpkin patch near Wake Forest is Hill Ridge Farms, 703 Tarboro Road in Youngsville, open Wednesday through Sunday, 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Every admission includes a free pumpkin you pick in the patch, according to the farm’s fall festival page. Call 919-556-1771. In town, the last week of October means ghost walks and a church harvest festival.

Updated Oct. 25: both Hill Ridge late nights have passed; the farm’s dated schedule now ends the pumpkin festival Friday, Nov. 6, at 2 p.m.; two ghost walk nights left.

Who to call

  • Hill Ridge Farms: 919-556-1771
  • Wake Forest Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources: Flaherty Park Community Center, 919-554-6726
  • Rolesville Parks and Recreation: 919-554-6582

Pumpkin patch: Hill Ridge Farms, Youngsville

Hill Ridge Farms sits in Youngsville, in Franklin County north of Wake Forest. Its home page opened the season Sept. 19. Its dated schedule, checked Oct. 25, runs to Friday, Nov. 6, though the intro text on the same page still says Nov. 1, so call before a November visit. The farm is then closed until its Festival of Lights opens on Thanksgiving night.

  • Hours: Wednesday to Sunday, 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., through Sunday, Nov. 1, including Saturday, Oct. 31; closed Mondays and Tuesdays. Last admission is an hour before closing.
  • Final days: Wednesday to Friday, Nov. 4-6, 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
  • Quieter visits: school field trips fill weekday mornings until 1 p.m., the farm says.
  • Included with admission: a covered wagon tour of the farm and the pumpkin patch, train and carousel rides, a jump pillow, a giant slide, a corn house and family trike races. A Superpass adds a gem-mining bag.
  • Tickets: no online tickets and no online fees. Pay at the ticket booth or Country Store by cash, card, Apple Pay or tap. The farm says it does not sell out.
  • Food: food trucks, apple cider doughnuts, kettle corn and funnel cakes. Picnic coolers and outside food are welcome.
  • No pets.
  • Weather: the farm posts weather closures on its home page. It showed no closure notice when we checked on Oct. 25.

Fall festivals and Halloween in Wake Forest

  • Covenant Hope Church Harvest Festival: 4 to 7 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 25, at 4038 Graham Sherron Road. Free, with food and family activities and a trunk-or-treat from 6 p.m., according to the church’s festival page.
  • Spirits of Wake Forest ghost walks: the last two nights are Thursday, Oct. 29, and Friday, Oct. 30, presented by Wake Forest Downtown, Inc., with Firebox Theatre Company storytellers. Tickets are sold through the town’s event page until they sell out. Our ghost walk page has the tour times.
  • Wake Forest Farmers Market: Saturdays on South Taylor Street behind Town Hall, 8 a.m. to noon through October and 9 a.m. to noon from November, for fall produce. See our farmers markets guide.

Already past this year: the town’s Good Neighbor Day on Sept. 19 and its second Diwali Festival on Oct. 3, both at E. Carroll Joyner Park, and the downtown Halloween Boo Bash on Oct. 17.

Nearby: Rolesville Fall FunFest

Rolesville, about four miles southeast, holds its Fall FunFest from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 14, on Redford Place Drive and in Redford Place Park, with inflatables, yard games, music, a photo booth and a fire truck for fall photos, according to the Town of Rolesville. Food trucks and beer and wine vendors are still to be announced, and the town posts a detour map before the event.

What this means for you

  • Pumpkins: go to Hill Ridge Farms Wednesday through Sunday; there is no need to book.
  • Last chance: the patch closes for the season Friday, Nov. 6, at 2 p.m.
  • Free and in town: Covenant Hope’s Harvest Festival, Sunday, Oct. 25.
  • Next up: trick-or-treat hours for Halloween night.

Frequently asked questions

Where is the closest pumpkin patch to Wake Forest?

Hill Ridge Farms, 703 Tarboro Road in Youngsville, runs a fall pumpkin festival Wednesday through Sunday, 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., and every admission includes a free pumpkin.

Do I need tickets in advance for Hill Ridge Farms?

No. The farm sells no online tickets; you buy admission at the ticket booth with cash, card or tap, and it says it does not sell out.

What fall festivals are in Wake Forest in 2026?

The last Spirits of Wake Forest ghost walks run downtown Oct. 29 and 30, Covenant Hope Church holds a free Harvest Festival Sunday, Oct. 25, and Rolesville’s Fall FunFest is Saturday, Nov. 14. The downtown Boo Bash was Oct. 17.

When does the Hill Ridge Farms pumpkin festival end?

The farm’s dated schedule runs Wednesday to Sunday, 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., through Sunday, Nov. 1, including Halloween, then Wednesday to Friday, Nov. 4-6, from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Both October late nights have passed.