Agritourism & Farm Experiences near Elgin, IL

Dundee

All Grass Farms, formerly Barrington Natural Farms, is a diversified regenerative farm on IL Route 31 in Dundee, inside the Brunner Family Forest Preserve. They sell grass-fed beef, lamb, pastured pork and poultry, raw Guernsey milk, pasture-raised eggs, and run a vegetable CSA, with a farm store open daily.

Saint Charles

Norton's Produce farms a stretch of Illinois Route 64 in Saint Charles, best known regionally for its fall corn maze alongside u-pick produce. It shows up on Chicago-area corn maze guides as one of the longer-running mazes in the Fox Valley, with the produce stand running through the growing season before the maze takes over each autumn. Confirm hours before driving out, since small roadside farms shift with the harvest.

St. Charles

The Greater St. Charles Convention & Visitors Bureau markets St. Charles as a destination along the Fox River, one of the first 21 tourism bureaus certified by the state of Illinois back in 1983. It coordinates visitor information on the riverwalk, paddlewheel boat cruises, Scarecrow Weekend, and area farm and orchard visits rather than growing anything itself. Offices sit at 2 Main Street downtown.

St. Charles

Downtown St. Charles has hosted this scarecrow tradition since 1985, drawing 85 to 100-plus handmade entries each year across mechanical, club, individual, and business categories. The 2025 event runs October 10 through 12 with live entertainment and public voting on favorite scarecrows.

Barrington

This Old Sutton Road address in Barrington was once listed as a pumpkin patch, but current records tie the property to a construction business rather than an active farm stand. Whether pumpkin picking still happens here couldn't be confirmed.

Huntley

A Huntley farm market that's sold locally grown pumpkins and fall produce for more than 40 years across two nearby locations, with the u-pick patch three miles west of the market. Every pumpkin is $8 regardless of size, admission and parking are free, and weekends bring hayrides and cider donuts.

Geneva

Windy Acres operates in Geneva, part of the Fox River Valley's cluster of small agritourism stops. No current web listing was found describing what's currently open. Call ahead to confirm before visiting, since small operations like this often run seasonally.

Huntley

M&M Christmas Tree Farm is a choose-and-cut operation in Huntley started by Paul McConnell in 1983, growing Colorado spruce, Fraser fir, balsam fir, Douglas fir, and Scotch pine. It opens the Friday after Thanksgiving and runs weekends through the season, with weekday visits available by calling ahead. Pines run about $20 each.

Elburn

Shady Hill Gardens built a national reputation over more than 30 years as a specialist grower of geraniums and pelargoniums, shipping mail-order plants out of the Chicago area. The operation relocated to Elburn in 2007 under new family ownership and now runs alongside a broader nursery business — bedding plants, herbs, hanging baskets — with geraniums still the specialty that built the name.

Aurora

Abbey Farms runs three seasons out of the same Butterfield Road property: summer produce, a fall Pumpkin Daze with what it calls the biggest corn maze in Kane County, and a winter Christmas tree lot where visitors can cut their own or buy pre-cut. Weekend fall nights add craft beer and outdoor movies. It's a working farm built around three distinct reasons to visit rather than one.

Aurora

An agritourism farm on Hart Road in Aurora overlooking the Fox River Valley, running a pumpkin patch and Christmas tree farm alongside a 6,000-square-foot farm store stocked with specialty foods. The Nagel Emporium is the farm's event space — 8,000 square feet with reclaimed barn wood, chandeliers, and an outdoor stone fireplace, booked mainly for weddings.

Sugar Grove

Spring Bluff Nursery has served Kane County since 1979, running a retail garden center alongside a full landscaping arm that handles design, installation, hardscaping, and water features. Beyond trees, shrubs, and perennials, they grow heirloom vegetables and herbs on-site and run a CSA program, a produce operation layered onto what's primarily a plant nursery.

Woodstock

Woodstock

All Seasons Orchard grows 16,000 apple trees outside Woodstock, Honeycrisp among the headliners, alongside a three-quarter-acre pumpkin and gourd patch. Cider donuts and caramel apples come hand-dipped on-site daily, and the grounds add a corn maze, zip line, and apple cannon on top of straightforward u-pick. The season runs late August through early November, open daily except Tuesdays, with barnyard access starting around $9.

Sugar Grove

Sugar Grove Pumpkin Farm opened in 2015 just off the I-88 interchange on Route 47, and the pumpkin count alone sets it apart, more than 60 varieties spanning carving, heirloom, and mini types. The farm stand runs from mid-July through pumpkin season with sweet corn, tomatoes, peppers, squash, and farm-fresh eggs, then shifts fully to fall with a corn maze, mums, and gourds. Admission and parking are free.

Palatine

Ethels Place runs a fall pumpkin patch in Palatine, one of the seasonal stops northwest Cook County families use for pumpkin picking each October. It operates on a short autumn calendar rather than a year-round schedule, so the visit window is narrower than at a working farm. Check current-year dates before heading out.

Aurora

Basement of the Dead is a Halloween-season haunted house attraction at a downtown Aurora address. Independent detail beyond the listing itself is limited online — confirm current operating dates and ticket info directly before planning a visit.

Aurora

The Aurora Area Convention & Visitors Bureau is the nonprofit tourism office for Aurora and the surrounding Fox River Valley, covering Batavia, North Aurora, Oswego, and six other communities. It promotes the region's farms, orchards, and pumpkin patches through its visitor guides rather than growing or selling anything itself. Based at 43 W Galena Blvd in downtown Aurora.

Maple Park

Kuipers Family Farm spans 230 acres in Maple Park, split between an apple orchard with u-pick and a bakery on one side of Watson Road, and a tulip festival, sunflower festival, dinosaur adventure, and Pumpkin FunFarm on the other. The farm has run these seasonal events for 25 years.

Sugar Grove

Blackberry Creek Honey Farm keeps hives on Bliss Road outside Sugar Grove, an area the local historical society traces back to farmland use since the 1850s. The farm sells honey and runs pick-your-own hours alongside its beekeeping, drawing regulars from the Sugar Grove area who stop by for both.

Wauconda

The Wauconda Area Chamber of Commerce represents more than 300 businesses across Wauconda, Island Lake, Lakemoor, and Volo, working on local economic development rather than farming itself. It's the group residents contact for area business directories and community event coordination. Offices are at 118 S. Main Street, Suite 4, in downtown Wauconda.

Wheaton

Wheaton Landscape and Garden Center — now operating as Wheaton Nurseries — sells trees, shrubs, annuals, mulch, and garden statuary out of its Roosevelt Road location, along with full landscape design and installation services. Staff work with customers directly on planning outdoor spaces, from picking plants to sketching the layout. It's a garden center built for people doing the work themselves as much as those hiring it out.

Woodstock

Heider's Berry Farm has grown strawberries and raspberries on Queen Anne Road in Woodstock since 1972, now in its sixth generation of family ownership. Visitors pick their own or buy prepicked berries, plus homemade jam, seasonal vegetables, and handcrafted wood items from the on-site gift shop.

Aurora

A small petting-zoo farm on Lindenwood in Aurora where visitors walk among ducks, horses, pigs, chickens, and a llama, then pick up seasonal produce and pumpkins on the way out. It's a low-key stop, more animal encounter than attraction park.

Marengo

Grizzy's Pumpkins sells pumpkins from a farm at the corner of Route 20 and Coral Road outside Marengo, in Coral Township. It turns up in local farm directories and a scattering of social posts from visitors, but runs without a dedicated website. Worth a call ahead to check what's picked and ready.

Union

Prairie Sky Orchard has been growing apples on Union Road since 1991, when the current owners turned five empty acres into what's now roughly 2,800 dwarf trees across 14 varieties. Pick your own or buy pre-packaged, then stop at the barn store for cider donuts, jams, salsas, and u-bake pies. Asian pears and raspberries round out the harvest, and a weekend food kiosk adds hot dogs and pulled pork.

Woodstock

Meadowmoor Orchard keeps things simple — no admission fee, no frills, just u-pick apples plus a few early pumpkins and gourds each September and October. It's only open weekends, Saturday 10 to 5 and Sunday 11 to 4, closed the rest of the week. Woodstock's other orchards lean bigger; this one stays a straightforward family farm.

Sycamore

Plank Rd Orchard grows 16 apple varieties, from early Gala to late-season Honeycrisp, and lets visitors pick their own during harvest. The farm store fills in around the apples with baked goods, honey, and small-batch jams and jellies. It's a straightforward u-pick operation on Plank Road outside Sycamore, doing what an orchard does well without much else attached.

Woodstock

Grace Farm Studios is listed on Franklinville Road in Woodstock, McHenry County. No verifiable website or business listing was found to confirm what the studio offers.

Maple Park

An on-farm market near Maple Park selling locally grown produce direct from the farm rather than through a store. It's run under Troxel Ag, a small corn-farming operation that added the farm shop as a side outlet.

Woodstock

Woodstock Country Orchard's old web domain has since been resold and no longer reflects the business, a sign this Garden Valley Road orchard may not be operating the way it once did. Anyone planning a visit should call ahead or check current McHenry County orchard listings before making the drive.

Montgomery

Massacre Haunted House is a seasonal Halloween attraction in Montgomery, a Kane County village along the Fox River. Little independent detail is published beyond the listing itself, so confirm dates, hours, and ticket pricing directly before visiting.

Volo

A family-owned greenhouse in Volo that grows its own annuals on-site and sells them alongside general gardening supplies. It's a straightforward neighborhood plant shop, not an event destination.

Woodstock

Lang's Orchard runs u-pick apples on Secor Road outside Woodstock, weather permitting — a cold snap during spring flowering has forced the orchard to sit out entire seasons rather than sell an off crop. The farm posts real-time picking updates on Facebook and keeps a small on-site store running when the trees cooperate.

Lakemoor

Woodstock

Sun Berry Orchard Farm sits outside Woodstock in McHenry County, part of a cluster of small orchards along the Fox River Valley's fall picking circuit. No current web listing turned up describing specific crops or hours. Call ahead to confirm what's in season before making the drive.

Sycamore Pumpkin Patch ran u-pick pumpkins on Quigley Road for about a decade before closing in 2004. The 41-acre property has since gone back to farmland, and pumpkin seekers in DeKalb County now head to the Sycamore Pumpkin Festival downtown or nearby farms like Sugar Grove Pumpkin Farm instead.

Mundelein

SunBerry Orchard grows roughly 150 apple varieties on its Mundelein property, with u-pick apple season running September through October alongside fresh cider, baked goods, and a petting zoo. The family behind it traces its farming roots to Ukraine and opened this location in 2018, building a full farm store and market around the fall apple harvest.

Woodstock

Homestead Orchard grows 23 apple varieties on land that's been farmed since 1839, plus pie cherries, pears, apricots, and plums. The farm store operates out of a converted 1880s horse barn and stocks honey, jams, jellies, salsas, and beeswax candles from local Amish suppliers alongside the fruit. Open Monday through Saturday 10 to 4, Sunday noon to 4.

Woodstock

SunBerry Orchard grows apples, peaches, cherries, strawberries and raspberries on Greenwood Road outside Woodstock, one of three McHenry County locations the Ukrainian-American farm family runs alongside a pasture-raised meat operation. Fall brings u-pick weekends with a smokehouse turning out more than 40 kinds of sausage. The farm also runs markets in Mundelein, Lake Zurich, and Skokie, so the produce travels even when you don't.

Woodstock

McCann Berry Farm closed permanently after the 2026 season, ending 41 years of pick-your-own blueberries northeast of Woodstock. Bob and Mary McCann planted their first strawberry crop in 1982 and later shifted the farm's focus to blueberries, picked Wednesdays and Saturdays each July. The McCanns have retired; this listing remains for the record.

Genoa

Go-Ro Fresh grows more than 30 crops across 1,300 acres near Genoa, including herbs, leafy greens, root vegetables, organic beets, and pumpkins. The fifth-generation farm runs a U-Pick field and an on-site farm market alongside its wholesale produce operation.

Grayslake

Mini Earth Greenhouses grows plants on Peterson Road outside Grayslake, in Lake County. No public website or hours turned up online, so it's worth calling ahead before a visit.

Downers Grove

Lyman Woods Center in Downers Grove is a nature preserve and interpretive center, not a working farm — worth flagging for anyone browsing this list for u-pick crops or a farm stand. It sits within DuPage County's forest and prairie network. Check with the Downers Grove Park District directly for current trail and program hours.

McHnery

Stade's Farm & Market works 2,200 acres of corn, soybeans, strawberries, and raspberries in McHenry County, about 50 miles northwest of Chicago. The market stays open daily from May through Halloween with pick-your-own produce, a bakery known for apple cider donuts, and Townsend Meats & Eggs. A 30-acre pumpkin patch and 11,000-tree apple orchard round out the fall season.

Marengo

Cody's Farm & Orchard grows sweet corn, green beans, peppers, zucchini, cucumbers, beets, onions, and potatoes on River Road in Marengo, and stocks Wisconsin dairy alongside the produce. The farm market runs daily 10am-6pm, with school tours and seasonal strawberry, sweet corn, apple, and pumpkin picking through the year.

Woodstock

Knoll's Apple Orchard and Vegetable Farm grows apples and produce on Saint Patrick Road outside Woodstock, one of several small orchards in McHenry County's fall picking circuit. No current web listing was found. Call ahead to confirm what's in season.

A roadside pumpkin stand run by Dean and Charlene Johnson at Route 64 and West Motel Road, a mile west of Sycamore. Pumpkins start at $2, gourds at 50 cents, and there are two corn mazes — a 2-acre and an 8-acre — plus evening campfires. Cash or check only.

Bolingbrook

Johansen Farms runs a seasonal pumpkin patch stocked with roughly 25,000 pumpkins each fall, plus a pie house serving fresh apple cider donuts. Next door, the 7-acre Children's Zoo houses more than 500 animals, with baby chicks to hold, pony and train rides, hayrides, and petting areas. The zoo and patch open for the fall season only; the attached nursery and garden center run daily year-round.

Camelot Farm is listed at a residential address on Chippewa Drive in Oswego. No public website, social page, or business listing could be verified, so details on activities or visiting are unconfirmed.

Elmhurst

Sunny Day's Honey is a small beekeeping operation working hives around Elmhurst. The farm sells comb honey directly and posts updates on the bees through the seasons — swarms, splits, and whatever the hive is doing that week. There's no storefront; check their Facebook page for what's currently available.

Oswego

Keller's Farmstand has run in Oswego since 1991, now in its fifth generation of the same family. Spring brings hanging baskets and vegetable starts, summer brings sweet corn, and fall turns the property into a U-pick apple and pumpkin operation with a 10-acre corn maze, wagon rides, and cider doughnuts. Open seasonally — May, then mid-July through October 31.

Big Rock

Bruce Phillips runs this produce stand on Chicago Road, opening for asparagus each May and switching over to sweet corn by July, with other vegetables filling the stand as they come into season. The farm also sells mulch, gravel, and sand — a sideline that keeps the operation going once the growing season slows. Reviewers point to fresh quality and to keeping their grocery money in the local economy instead of a chain store.

Spring Grove

Richardson Adventure Farm is home to what it bills as the world's largest corn maze — 28 acres and 10.4 miles of trails cut into a cornfield outside Spring Grove. Beyond the maze, the farm runs a 50-foot tube slide, an observation tower, a train, a carousel, and a zip line, plus group picnic areas that hold up to 100 people. It's less a farm stand than a full day-trip destination.

Kingston

UP Berries grows raspberries on Lanan Road outside Kingston as a pick-your-own operation, with visitors picking straight from the canes and paying by the pound. The farm recommends bringing reusable bags rather than plastic. It's a straightforward, single-crop farm — no frills, just raspberry rows and a scale.

Harvard

Davidson's Giant Pumpkins has grown genuine oversized pumpkins outside Harvard for more than 45 seasons, alongside regular jack-o'-lanterns and oddly shaped squash. Admission and parking are free, with pricing running roughly $1 to $15 depending on size. It's a bare-bones, pick-your-own field — no rides, no maze, just pumpkins in every shape the season produces.

Harvard

Spears To You grows seven acres of asparagus, Jersey Supreme and Millennial varieties, and picks daily through a season that runs roughly early May to early June. Loose asparagus runs $6 a pound, dropping to $5 for two pounds or more, or buy a pre-packed 10-pound box for $45. U-pick hours are Saturdays and Sundays, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Lake Villa

Hop & Hen Farm raises poultry on Petite Lake Road outside Lake Villa, in Lake County. No independent website or listing turned up online, so current offerings and visiting policy are best confirmed directly with the farm.

Garden Prairie

Susie's Garden Patch runs a produce stand on US Highway 20 in Garden Prairie, selling what's in season straight off the farm. It's a small, family-run operation without much of a web presence — the kind of stand you find by driving past it, not by searching for it online.

Green Oaks

Heinz Orchard has run a no-frills, self-service apple picking operation in Green Oaks for more than 70 years — no hayrides, no petting zoo, no admission fee, just trees. A half-peck bag runs about $10, a full peck about $20, cash or card. The family calls it Chicagoland's closest orchard, and the crop-update line moves faster than email replies during picking season.