Daycation to Smith Family Farm in Knightsen
Journey to Knightsen and enjoy everything that Smith Family Farm has to offer your family, including the pumpkin patch, hay rides, produce stand and more. Photo: thequales/Flickr
KNIGHTSEN – There are a lot of different fall traditions out there: cable knits, plaids and the ever-polarizing all things pumpkin flavored. But whether you’re a member of Team Pumpkin Spice Latte or Team Enough With the Pumpkin Baked Goods Already, there is one fall tradition that most of us can agree on: a trip to the pumpkin patch.
Smith Family Farm is a working family farm that has been operating in Knightsen for over 30 years. The many reasons to visit include a produce stand and a harvest pumpkin patch. During the holidays, Santa Claus frequents the Christmas tree lot.
Photo: daniel/Flickr
The offerings at the farm stand vary by season. In the spring you’ll find cherries and stone fruits. From July until the end of October, it doesn’t matter if you say tomato or tomahto, the farm stand will have it. The stand sells numerous varieties of heirloom tomatoes, including Brandywine and San Marzano, not to mention zucchini, peppers and other fruits and vegetables. You’ll find apples, persimmons, winter squash and cruciferous greens, like broccoli and kale, that are picked daily during fall and winter.
If hollering “Come on kids, pile in the car, we’re going to the farm stand to get butternut squash,” doesn’t exactly get your kids to put away their electronics and head for the door, all isn’t lost. There’s still the pumpkin patch to pique their interest. The price of admission includes a mile-long hay ride through the patch where each guest can choose their own pumpkin. There are also farm animals, including a peacock and an observation beehive. On the weekends, enjoy live music, food trucks and special events like cooking demonstrations and cornhole tournaments.
The pumpkin patch is open 7 days a week. If you’re like Henry David Thoreau and you “would rather sit on a pumpkin, and have it all to [your]self, than be crowded on a velvet cushion,” then know that the farm is often less busy on weekdays. Fair warning though; you may run into a school group on a field trip to pick pumpkins and learn the lost art of corn cracking.
In addition to the pumpkin patch, during October you can pick your own persimmons and pomegranates. (Pumpkins, persimmons and pomegranates. Try saying that three times fast.)
Regardless of what draws you to the farm, be sure to bring a camera and hard currency with you. Both the farm and produce stand adhere to the traditions of yesteryear and only accept cash or check. The reason for the camera should be self-explanatory.
If you go: Smith Family Farm is located at 4350 Sellers Avenue in Knightsen. The farm stand and the pumpkin patch are open daily from 8am to 6pm. U-pick is open from 9am to 4pm but those hours are subject to change due to weather, availability and orchard maintenance. For more information, visit SmithFamilyFarm.com or 925.625.5966. Admission to the pumpkin patch is $12 for adults and $10 for children 12 and under.
Your Town Daycations is a series featured in the print edition of Your Town Monthly. This article was originally published in the October 2018 editions.
