Hill Ridge Farms Fall Pumpkin Festival

Hill Ridge Farms in Youngsville, minutes from Raleigh, Wake Forest, and Durham, includes a pumpkin with every fall admission. Train rides, carousel rides, and wagon tours of the farm come with the ticket, along with a barnyard of goats, pigs, sheep, chickens, and Tom the Turkey, plus fish and ducks at the dock. Gem panning at the gem mine is on the superpass. Food stands run on open days: a Coney Island food truck, Crystal Coast funnel cakes and kettle corn, and Granny's Shack apple cider donuts and cider, with Pointers BBQ on Saturdays and Sundays. Tickets are sold at the booth.

Our take: Eat the homemade apple cider donuts at Granny's Shack, and use the included wagon and train rides.