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Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦

Pumpkin patches and corn mazes in San Diego 2026: prices, hours and which are free

5 min read Checked October 20, 2026Best for Through October 31, 2026 Report a correction

Free to get in: Bates Nut Farm, all four Pumpkin Station lots, Goff's at Liberty Station and Mr. Jack O'Lanterns. For a real corn maze, Carlsbad Strawberry Co. has a 1.5-mile one ($10 plus entry). Most patches close October 31.

Free entry
4 patches

Bates, Pumpkin Station, Goff's, Mr. Jack O'Lanterns

Best corn maze
1.5 miles

Carlsbad Strawberry Co., $10

Most close
Oct 31

Carlsbad runs to Nov 8

Weekend parking
$10 at Bates

Free on weekdays

The short version

  • Bates Nut Farm in Valley Center is free to enter; parking is free on weekdays and $10 on weekends, through October 31.
  • Pumpkin Station runs four lots including the Del Mar Fairgrounds, all with free admission and parking; attractions cost $5 a ticket.
  • Carlsbad Strawberry Co. charges $20 entry Monday–Thursday and $25 Friday–Sunday, plus $10 for its 1.5-mile corn maze; open through November 8.
  • Goff's Liberty Station patch (free) and Mr. Jack O'Lanterns in Clairemont (free, with a haunted house) are the easy in-city picks.
  • Bates, Oma's and Family Christmas Tree Farm have hay or straw mazes, not corn.

San Diego's pumpkin patches range from a parking-lot pop-up in Clairemont to a working nut farm in the hills of Valley Center. The good news: several are free to enter. The catch is that almost everything else, from hayrides to bounce houses, is priced by the ticket. Here's the 2026 lineup, checked October 20.

The patches compared

PatchWhereEntryMazeOpen through
Bates Nut FarmValley CenterFree; parking $10 weekendsStraw mazeOct 31
Pumpkin Station (Del Mar Fairgrounds)Del MarFree entry and parking—Oct 31
Pumpkin Station farmBonitaFree entry and parkingCorn mazeOct 31
Pumpkin Station farmRancho Bernardo area (Highland Valley Rd)Free entry and parkingCorn mazeOct 31
Goff Family Pumpkin PatchLiberty StationFree—Oct 31
Mr. Jack O'LanternsClairemontFree entry and parkingHaunted houseNov 1
Carlsbad Strawberry Co.Carlsbad$20 Mon–Thu, $25 Fri–Sun1.5-mile corn maze, $10Nov 8
Oma's Family FarmLakesideFrom $19.60Hay mazeOct 31 (Thu–Sat)
Family Christmas Tree FarmEl Cajon$6–$7Hay mazeOct 31
Mellano FarmstandOceansideParking $5—Nov 1 (weekends)

Organizer pages (Bates Nut Farm, Del Mar Fairgrounds, Carlsbad Strawberry Co.) plus Axios San Diego (Oct 2, 2026), San Diego Moms and SD Family listings. Family Christmas Tree Farm's price differs between listings.

Pumpkin patches around the county
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Leaflet © OpenStreetMap contributors

Free entry

Paid entry

Pins geocoded from street addresses via OpenStreetMap.

See these on the full San Diego map

The free ones

Bates Nut Farm is the classic: a real farm off Woods Valley Road with a hayride, straw maze and pony rides. Entry is free; activity tickets are $2.50 and pony rides $14. In October it's open weekdays 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and weekends 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Pumpkin Station runs four lots with free admission and parking; rides and games cost $5 a ticket, with packages from $52. Its Bonita and Highland Valley farms have corn mazes. In the city, Goff's at Liberty Station and Mr. Jack O'Lanterns in Clairemont are quick, free stops.

Worth paying for: the Carlsbad corn maze

Carlsbad Strawberry Co. on Cannon Road is the closest thing to a Midwestern harvest festival: a 1.5-mile corn maze ($10) and tractor rides ($10) on top of $20 entry Monday through Thursday or $25 Friday through Sunday. It stays open through November 8, later than almost everyone else. On Friday and Saturday nights in October, the maze turns into a haunted maze for teens and adults ($25 plus entry).

Making a day of it? Pair a patch with Halloween events or plan where to trick-or-treat.

Is this still right?

We last checked this tip against its sources on October 20, 2026, and we re-research every tip on a schedule. Things in San Diego change, sometimes overnight.

Event dates, times and prices are set by the organizers and can change or sell out. Confirm with the organizer's own page before you plan around them.

This is general information, not legal, financial, tax, medical or safety advice.

SOURCES

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