Roaming Roanoke: Jeter Farm

October 7, 2020 | Angela Evans | Blog, Roaming Roanoke

This week’s Roaming Roanoke destination is a fall favorite – Jeter Farm!

It is October! That means pumpkins and fall festivals! Pumpkin spice drinks, food, and products abound this time of year but going to a pumpkin patch and enjoying fall activities really make it feel like autumn!

This past weekend, the weather was PERFECT for being outside. As soon as I said pumpkin patch, my 6-year-old and 4-year-old practically loaded themselves into the car because they were so excited!

Jeter Farm, in the Bonsack area of Roanoke, and offers much more than just pumpkins for your weekend enjoyment! This can be an all-day event (and it was with my kids!). The annual fall festival runs through November 1st. It is open to the public on weekends. It costs $10 for admission. Age 2 and under is free. The $10 admission fee includes SO MUCH! A pumpkin, hay rides, corn maze, slides, children’s train ride, and the barnyard zoo!

My kids could not pick their favorite part of the Jeter Farm Fall Festival because they loved it all! The activities are all geared towards young children – my one-year-old baby LOVED going down the slide on the sunflower hill – but the activities are also fun for older kids to enjoy too. I think the sunflower hill slides had just as many teenagers as toddlers going down when we were there.

The pumpkin train is also very popular. All three of my kids rode it several times. It goes slow enough for babies and toddlers and enjoyable for the older kids as well.

Farm animals are available to view. My kids had many questions about a new addition – a peacock! The barn is set-up to walk-through and see old farm equipment and has many newspaper clippings about the farm or other documents. It is cool to learn about the Jeter Farm history.

The Country store is open with food for sale and toys, books, and other items are also for sale. Different vendors are also set-up. There are also more pumpkins for sale if you want more or larger ones than the pumpkin included with admission.

I know everyone wants a perfect fall picture and Jeter Farm has several photo ops set-up, including a tractor, pumpkins, and a LOVE sign in the field in front of sunflowers.

The Fall Festival is mostly outdoors so there is room for social distancing but it can get crowded. Mask wearing is encouraged but not required because it is outdoors. The hayride takes people between the ticket area, country store, and barn area to the activity field and corn maze. However, this year there is a walking path open between the two areas if you do not feel comfortable riding the hayride sitting close to others.

Jeter Farm is located at 181 Blue Ridge Boulevard. It is easy to drive to from any direction. There is plenty of parking in the fields. All of the bathrooms are port-a-potties. There are hand sanitizer stations set-up on the farm. I used my stroller for most of the event but keep in mind it is over grass and gravel and you will have to fold it up on the hayride.

The Fall Festival is open on Saturdays 9:00-6:00 and Sundays 12:00-6:00.

Overall, my kids loved Jeter Farm! I had to drag them off the play area when it closed for the day. They did not want to leave the slides! They were happy to bring home their pumpkins from the field. This momma also got a lot of pictures with fall backgrounds!

Do you have a suggestion for where Roaming Roanoke should visit this fall? Let me know!

More Roaming Roanoke

Angela Evans

Angela Evans is a former tv reporter turned stay-at-home mom. She and her husband Cody have three children. They moved to Virginia in 2018. When she’s not Roaming Roanoke, she is probably drinking sweet tea, reading a book or dancing.