Visiting Sally Gap Pumpkin Patch is like the best kind of trip back into time. It is a beautiful, authentic farm that will feel totally different from your other fall festivities.
Fall is full of traditions, and one of them is heading to a pumpkin patch. We can all agree on why pumpkin patches are so great: supporting small local farms, buying pumpkins and mums raised onsite, and helping our children understand all of the hard work behind producing the food we see on store shelves. In the era of Covid, outdoor recreation is far less risky, and farms often have plenty of space to socially distance. All that, plus a hayride? Yep, we are in!
This season, we have a place that gets special recommendation. Back in February, right before the Coronavirus pandemic changed everyone’s life on our planet, Eastern Kentucky was hit with some serious floods. One of the most heartbreaking stories that came out of it was the story of Sally Gap Pumpkin Patch, a small family-run farm that is just south of Williamsburg, Kentucky, near the Tennessee line. The farm is built beside the banks of the Cumberland River, but if you have visited there in person (as we had, in 2019), you could clearly see that the bank was high. It did not seem to be built in a flood plain, but that did not protect them when the river rose to historic heights.
In a beautiful, gut-wrenching video, the farmer, Rich Meadors, explained what it was like to watch as the farm his family had built, including all of the attractions for their pumpkin patch, wash away. He is searingly honest about the challenges of being a farmer. And, through it all, he shows the resilience and grit that was sure to get him through. I have embedded the video, and it is really worth the watch.
Just as they predicted, the overcame this obstacle and pulled right through. Sally Gap reopened this September, even through Covid. And they didn’t just reopen, they totally redid the the entire experience. There are now entirely new barns full of activities and concessions, each on part of it’s own hayride. Along with a big slide, there are animals to feed, games to play, a house full of corn, and all kinds of fun. When I say there is concessions, this is a huge understatement. Think hotdogs and nachos, candy apples and cotton candy the size of your head. There is even a kid’s-sized zipline. When I went with my children, it was all we could do to get through in 3 hours, it is such a full experience. And we skipped the corn maze!
Because I couldn’t resist a cute picture from our 2019 visit!
But Sally Gap also has a different feel from a typical pumpkin patch. It is very authentic and homey. You have the option to ride on a covered wagon pulled by horses, and you are surrounded by farmland that has been cared for across generation. The staff are clearly family, each knowledgeable and invested. The setting is breathtaking, and there is an amazing variety of gourds and pumpkins you can purchase. In fact, I would say it is the best place I have gone for decorative fall items. They even had adorable mini haybales.
Downtown Williamsburg is only 10 or 15 minutes away, and it has experienced an incredible renaissance. You could make quite a day out of going to Sally Gap, eating a light lunch there in the barn, and then stopping by downtown afterward for dinner. I would recommend getting pizza at the Brick Oven, then heading over to Marketplace on Main & 3rd to get some coffee and ice cream for dessert. Moonbow Mercantile is serving up several Halloween and fall-themed flavors.
I feel so grateful to have something like Sally Gap Pumpkin Patch in our community. The Meadors family is an inspiration to many, and give us all insight into small farms. Take a look at more pictures from our visit below, and make your own plans. It will be a day you remember for years to come.
