NOTE: This Post was written in 2016. As such, the content and exhibits in the review below may be outdated. Please look out for updated content on this location in the near future!
It’s pumpkin season! And while I don’t jump on the whole pumpkin spice bandwagon, I do love pumpkins! Picking them, decorating with them, painting them. Just don’t put it in my food.
We normally get our pumpkins at Johnny Appleseed’s in Ellington but since we apple picked early this year, we decided to get our pumpkins elsewhere. It’s good to branch out once in a while! Plus, we wanted to actually pick pumpkins straight from the vine, since we’ve never done that before. So, we ended up checking out McCray’s Farm in South Hadley! And I’m so glad we did, because it was such a great experience!
We went on a Monday afternoon since the husband was on vacation. It was pretty quiet that day, but as I understand it, weekends are usually their busy time.
The farm is located on Alvord Road. It’s pretty out-of-the-way from the highway and main roads, so there is no easy way to point you there, but your GPS should have no issue finding their address. If you know the area, it’s kind of near Mt. Holyoke College.
When you come down the road, you’ll see the sign for McCray’s. It’s pretty hard to miss.
The place is huge. There is a large building with food and ice cream for sale, as well as other desserts. You can also purchase your hayride tickets inside, and buy food for the petting zoo animals. There is mini golf, a petting zoo, pumpkins for sale from a display, and of course, there are hayrides down to the pumpkin patch.
They have a large gravel parking lot. Again, we visited on a Monday, so it was not busy at all but they are popular on weekends so this lot probably gets full.
We drove a good distance to McCray’s so before I did anything, I found the restrooms! There are two single stall restrooms towards the petting zoo, as well as a port-a-potty. One of the bathrooms did have a changing table as well. The restrooms also came in handy after the petting zoo- because my boy’s hands were filthy!!
We decided to check out the petting zoo first. They had quite an assortment of animals! Peacocks, rabbits, chickens, ducks and geese, goats. mini burros, and young calves.
The ducks and geese had a nice little pond to call home!
I think those are alpacas living with the goats, burros and calves.
This little guy clearly thought I had food… sorry bud. 
We didn’t even think of it, but you can bring bread to feed the animals. They also sell little snacks for the animals inside the store. I honestly didn’t think my two year old would be able to feed the animals. But another visitor offered to share her bread with my boy, and well, he proved me wrong!
We saw some chickens and peacocks as well! Look at the colors on that peacock!
The little bunnies were resting, and so was (what I think was) the pig.
Right outside the petting zoo, they had this fun photo-op. My boy posed for multiple photos!
We had planned to go on the hayride after the petting zoo, but we planned that poorly and as we walked out of the restrooms (for some much needed handwashing!), we saw the tractor drive off. We confirmed that it would be another 20 to 30 minutes before the next ride so we decided to go into the store and check out the ice cream menu!
Inside, they have a huge seating area, as well as coolers full of farm fresh milk, ice cream, homemade desserts and cakes. They also have a snack bar menu with sandwiches and such, as well as a full ice cream menu.
Their food menu sounded good- except we had already eaten lunch. The prices seemed pretty reasonable too!
Like I mentioned, we opted for some of their homemade ice cream! Someone wanted a chocolate dipped cone!
It was hard to choose a flavor of ice cream… I counted over 40 options!
In the end, we tried banana, rocky road and mint chocolate chip!
While inside the store, we also purchased our hayride tickets. These cost $3 a person (my boy was free). You can also pay the driver for the hayride if you prefer, but since we were waiting anyway, we figured we’d get it done then.
While we continued to wait for the tractor, we decided to check out the miniature golf. It did not appear to be open when we visited, but we didn’t plan to golf anyway (since my boy would not be able to play). But it was a pretty nice course. I have heard this is a newer addition to the farm and it looks to be in great shape!
The costs were also posted: Adults were $6, kids and seniors were $5 and children under 4 were $3.
We saw the tractor coming back from the farm, which meant it was our turn!
We were very excited to ride the tractor!
We had to wait a few minutes before taking off, since they were waiting for more people… but no one ever came, so we pretty much got a private ride on the tractor!
The views from the farm were gorgeous! I can only imagine how it looks when the foliage starts turning!!
The ride out to the patch takes a few minutes but it is really quite enjoyable. Once we finally reached the area we would be picking from, we all unloaded and headed into the field.
They had a huge variety of pumpkins and gourds– from orange to white to dark green. We found so many different shapes and sizes!
I had to search for the perfect pumpkin!
Since we were the only ones on the wagon, the tractor driver told us we could leave whenever we were ready. So we spent a little bit of time picking, but after I found the 20th “perfect” pumpkin, my husband decided to cut me off. Otherwise, we’d have a lot more than this… That was just half of what I picked.
We paid the driver for the pumpkins before we drove back to the farm. I don’t know the cost breakdown but I think we ended spending 30 bucks.
If you are not a picking type of person, they have a huge display of pre-picked pumpkins for purchase.
In addition to all the activities we participated in, as well as the mini golf, McCrays also is home to the Monster Mash Scream Farm with a haunted hayride during the month of October. They also have a less scary Munchkin Mash for little kids that takes place the hour before the Scream Fest starts. It is a pretty popular and well liked event, so if you are into scary hayrides, this would be the thing for you!
We had a great time at this pumpkin patch. As I said above, it was our first time picking pumpkins straight from the vine, and that was actually really fun to do! Although there are a lot of pumpkin patches throughout Connecticut, and this is a little drive, it is a fun place to check out, especially when you add in the petting zoo, ice cream shop and hayride. So, if you want to take a drive, check out McCray’s this fall!
This about sums it up…
55 Alvord St – South Hadley MA
Hours: Open Daily – 9:30 am to 8 pm (Seasonal)
Cost:
- Petting Zoo is free
- Hayrides: $3 person, children under 3 are free
- Mini Golf: $6 for adults, $5 for kids and seniors, $3 for kids under 4
- Pumpkins: For purchase, vary in price by size
- See their website for prices on their special events, including the Monster Mash Scream Farm and Munchkin Mash.
Features:
- Stroller friendly overall
- Large parking lot with plenty of available spaces
- Bathroom facilities & Port a potty
- Changing Table available
- Cash and Credit accepted
- Food for purchase, including ice cream
- Miniature Golf
- Special Events – see their website for details
