Agritourism & Farm Experiences near Northfield, MN

Northfield

Fossum Family Farm raises suri and huacaya alpacas alongside Scottish Highland cattle and Boer goats south of Northfield. The alpaca fleece becomes yarn and finished goods like sweaters and hats, sold through the farm store. Tours and fiber demonstrations show visitors how raw fleece turns into a sweater. A mixed-livestock operation with fiber at its center.

Northfield

This 320th Street address in rural Northfield is home to Little Hill Berry Farm, a certified-organic grower. It sells pre-picked strawberries from August into early October and opens pick-your-own organic raspberries from mid-August through mid-September at $8 a pound. The late strawberry season comes from day-neutral varieties rather than the usual June crop. The farm sits in Rice County, south of the Twin Cities.

Northfield

Bridgewater Produce Farm has grown fruits and vegetables two miles from downtown Northfield for more than 50 years. Fall brings a 6-acre corn maze, billed as the largest south of the river, plus a u-pick pumpkin patch with more than 30 varieties of pumpkins, gourds, and squash, hayrides, yard games, and a corn box.

Northfield

Cherry Leaf Farm grew an unusual crop for Minnesota: 650 bushes of cold-hardy tart cherries, planted by owner John Porterfield after two years of research into varieties that survive the climate. The farm also offered u-pick raspberries and strawberries at its Decker Avenue site outside Northfield. It has since closed permanently. The cherry bushes were chosen to yield a sweeter tart fruit than standard orchard trees.

Dundas

Grace and Paul Silkey run this pick-your-own farm outside Dundas on land their family has held since 1952. Roughly three acres of strawberries lead the season, followed by raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, cherries, and about an acre of apples. They provide containers and offer pre-picked fruit when labor allows. Beyond the farm, their berries reach the Wedge and Linden Hills co-ops and markets in Dundas, Dennison, and Faribault.

Northfield

Little Hill Berry Farm is one of the few certified-organic pick-your-own berry farms in Minnesota, on 320th Street West outside Northfield, about 45 minutes south of the Twin Cities. Aaron Wills and Molly McGovern Wills grow blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, and currants. The season opens with a plant sale in May, moves to u-pick blueberries and currants in July, and finishes with pre-picked strawberries and raspberries in August and September.

Farmington

Castle Rock Orchard grows more than 1,350 dwarf apple trees on a trellis system across two acres, three miles south of Farmington and Lakeville on Highway 3. Pick-your-own varieties include Zestar, SweeTango, SnowSweet, Chestnut Crab, and Honeycrisp. The farm also sells pumpkins, squash, gourds, cucumbers, and tomatoes, plus homemade apple butter, jams, and preserves. Reach them at (651) 463-7387.

Farmington

Highview Pastures raises grass-fed Angus beef and free-range pasture turkeys and chickens on a small Dakota County operation outside Farmington. No hormones or antibiotics are used, and the farm sells 100% grass-fed beef direct to nearby households. It's the kind of pasture-based setup that trades scale for closer control over how the animals are raised.

Dundas

Auntie Annie's Fields raises meat chickens, laying hens, and a few hogs each year on organic feed and pasture, about 45 minutes south of Minneapolis. Owner Elizabeth O'Sullivan named the farm for her great-aunt Anne. The hens are a slower-growing breed suited to pasture life. Eggs reach Twin Cities homes through TC Farms and turn up as a CSA add-on at nearby Open Hands Farm, plus on the menus at Martha's Eats and Treats and Raven's Nest Cafe.

Fireside Orchard & Gardens grows 27 apple varieties across more than 50 acres east of Northfield on Highway 19, from Honeycrisp and SweeTango to Haralson, Fireside, First Kiss, and Keepsake. Robert Harvey founded the orchard in 1980; the Winfield family bought it in 2022. The retail store sells apples, cheese, and donuts made fresh daily, and the grounds include a rose garden and a picnic gazebo. It's open daily from mid-August through New Year's Eve.

Lakeville

Sixteen apple varieties grow across this 32-acre orchard south of Lakeville, including Honeycrisp, Zestar! and SweeTango, alongside a pick-your-own pumpkin patch. Apple picking, weekend hayrides, a hedge maze and a corn pit are free; a jumping pillow, sunflower field and corn maze carry an admission fee. The shop stocks apples, local honey and baked goods. Planted in 1991, the orchard recently changed hands and reopened with revamped fall activities. Reach them at [email protected].

Webster

Ross Nelson has grown apples here since 1974, running a veteran-owned, pick-your-own orchard with more than 25 varieties across 15 acres in Rice County. The farm adds pumpkin, squash, and gourd fields, a barnyard of animals, weekend wagon rides in September and October, and a kitchen known for its trademarked Apple Dandies. Pre-cut Christmas trees go on sale the day after Thanksgiving.

Webster

Nelson's Apple Farm has grown apples in northern Rice County since 1974, with 25-plus varieties for pick-your-own or pre-picked across 15 acres near Webster. Fall brings three fields of pumpkins, squash, and gourds, a barnyard of animals, weekend wagon rides, and the kitchen's trademarked Apple Dandies. Owner Ross Nelson is an Air Force veteran. The farm also sells pre-cut Christmas trees starting the day after Thanksgiving.

Faribault

Now permanently closed. Bill and Maggie Hein farmed strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and apples here for more than two decades southeast of Faribault, growing varieties like Honeycrisp, SweeTango, and Zestar and selling pick-your-own fruit each summer. The family retired after a final season, and the land is passing to River Bend Nature Center. Anyone searching for u-pick berries at this Rice County address should plan elsewhere.

Farmington

Brand Farms started as a dairy farm near Farmington when German immigrants Anton and Marie Brand bought the land in 1957, and four generations later Aaron Brand farms it with his father, John. The farm sells free-range eggs year-round and runs a u-pick apple orchard, with a store carrying apples, meats, butter, jams, salsas, and pickled goods. Fall adds hayrides, u-pick pumpkins, apple cider donuts, and school tours.

Rosemount

The Bohn Farm, on Clayton Avenue East in Rosemount, offers strawberry picking and shows up in local guides for fall pumpkin picking too. It's also associated with Bohnland Farm & Service Center, which handles agricultural equipment and services out of the same area. No verified phone, email, or website turned up in research — call ahead before visiting.

Cannon Falls

Cannon River Winery handcrafts its wine on-site in a former Chevrolet dealership in downtown Cannon Falls, a building on the National Register of Historic Places. The grapes come from more than 9,000 vines across 40 acres in Minnesota's Sogn Valley. The tasting room and kitchen serves sandwiches, flatbreads, and charcuterie, and the winery hosts live music, seasonal festivals, and vineyard weddings. It opened in 2004, midway between St. Paul and Rochester.

Veseli

The Havlicek family began planting apples in 1984 at this Veseli orchard, whose Czech name Veseli Vrsek means Happy Hill. They now grow 23 apple varieties that ripen August through October, offered pick-your-own or pre-picked on weekends without big-orchard crowds. The farm also sells basswood honey, plums, grapes, pumpkins, squash, tomatoes, garlic, and onions, and controls pests with insect traps and a weather monitor rather than heavy spraying.

Cedar Lake

Thompsons' Hillcrest Orchard, founded in 1996, grows more than 1,800 trees and 13 apple varieties, including Honeycrisp, SweeTango, and First Kiss, along 250th Street East in the Cedar Lake/Elko area of Scott County. Beyond pick-your-own and pre-picked apples, it runs a corn maze and sells pumpkins and gourds plus apple pies, jams, jellies, and caramel apples. It's a family operation south of the Twin Cities.

Burnsville

A small Minnesota beekeeping operation selling raw and crystallized honey from its own hives, plus swarm removal and hive tours. The bees aren't treated with chemicals or given antibiotics, and forage on unsprayed ground. Listings place the apiary in Webster, southeast of the Twin Cities, rather than Burnsville. Call ahead to arrange honey pickup or a visit.

Webster

Mike and Gretchen Perbix took over this Webster orchard in 2010 and grow 99 apple varieties, from Honeycrisp to Golden Russet and Northern Spy. They press fresh cider on site and run a cidery making nine hard ciders that range from dry to sweet, including a single-varietal Northern Spy and a Cherry Rhubarb Scrumpy. The orchard opens weekends in September and October with apples, baked goods, and cidery and orchard tours.

Rosemount

Emery Acres is a u-pick flower farm about 25 miles south of the Twin Cities, where Connie and Alicia Merriman grow more than 100 flower varieties. Visitors get a pitcher and shears and cut their own bouquet, roughly $25 with a take-home container. Self-service and full-service days both run through the season, and the farm books private events like showers and photo sessions. A bouquet subscription delivers within 15 miles.

Wyatt's Strawberries has run pick-your-own since 1975 at its farm on 180th Street East in Hastings, selling u-pick strawberries by the pound and pre-picked by the quart, cash or check only. Asparagus rounds out the spring lineup. The strawberry season lands mid-June to early July, and you can bring your own containers. Call ahead to check patch conditions and place pre-pick orders. The farm is in Dakota County.

Hastings

Alexis Bailly Vineyard planted Minnesota's first commercial vineyard in Hastings in 1973 and in 1978 released the first wines made entirely from Minnesota-grown grapes. Nan Bailly, daughter of the founder, now runs the winery. Visitors taste wines, walk the vines, play bocce, and picnic on the grounds, with a deli and a gift shop stocked with local food and crafts. It's about 30 miles from Minneapolis.

Prior Lake

Harvest Gardens rents community garden plots and opens pick-your-own patches, including pumpkins and strawberries, on land between Prior Lake and Lakeville. A community-outreach mission runs underneath it: growing space for people who lack their own, plus seasonal produce for visitors. Vehicle access loops the perimeter of the plots.

Hastings

Ripe Radish Farm offers pesticide-free, members-only pick-your-own on 191st Street East near Hastings in Dakota County. CSA members pick berries, tree fruit, vegetables, gourmet garlic, and cut flowers across the season, from strawberries and honeyberries early to apples and grapes later, plus free-range eggs. The farm is now managed under Hope Farm.

New Prague

Roman and Fran Barten have run Barten Pumpkins for more than 30 years, about 45 minutes southwest of the Twin Cities in New Prague. The patch grows more than 45 varieties of pumpkins, squash, and gourds, plus broom corn and straw bales for fall decorating. Admission is free, with photo spots, games, and live music on select weekends.

Owatonna

The Minnesota Alpaca Expo is an annual show, not a farm, filling the Four Seasons Centre in Owatonna the second weekend of April. Breeders bring more than 500 alpacas to compete in halter and fleece classes, and the event runs education sessions for anyone weighing alpacas as livestock or a business. Open to the public both days.

West Concord

Broody Hen Farm sells fertile hatching eggs and heritage chicken breeds from West Concord in southern Minnesota. The focus is small-flock poultry: rare and heritage birds bred for hatching rather than commercial egg volume. The farm also hosts farm-to-table gatherings and hands-on visits through the season.

Montgomery

Scott Wardell planted the first apples on an overgrown pasture here in 1999, and the orchard now runs about 2,000 trees across 12 acres with varieties like Honeycrisp, SweeTango, First Kiss and Haralson. It doubles as a licensed Minnesota farm winery, pouring five hard ciders and six wines. Fall weekends add a six-acre corn maze, two miles of hiking trails, hayrides and live music. Open September and October, about 45 minutes south of the Twin Cities.

Cottage Grove

Run by Zywiec's Landscape and Garden Center just south of Cottage Grove, the Haunting Experience has staged Halloween scares since 1986, billed as the Twin Cities area's longest-running haunted hayride. The daytime corn maze plays it straight for families, hiding five themed items to photograph for a prize at the exit. After dark comes a swampy maze, haunted house, bonfires, a Lions Club beer tent and horror films screened in the greenhouse. More at zywiecs.com.

Hastings

Croix Farm Orchard offers pick-your-own apples, a pumpkin patch, and a corn maze on St. Croix Trail south of Hastings, run by John and Kay Leadholm. Weekend wagon rides carry visitors out to the pumpkins, and a small barnyard of goats, rabbits, and chickens is open for petting and photos. A food truck sells fried treats and apple cider. Admission is free; picking bags and the corn maze cost extra.

Prescott

Welch

Rainbow Ridge Blueberry Farm grows u-pick blueberries near Welch, in the Cannon River area southeast of the Twin Cities. Picking opens in mid-to-late summer when the berries ripen, and hours track the crop, so call before heading out. A single-crop patch built around blueberry season.

Hastings

Gary McDougall opened this apple stop near Hastings in 1987, known for apple treats plus gadgets, books, teas, and candles. Some current listings mark it closed while others still show hours, so call 651-480-4701 before visiting. The shop sits on 110th Street South.

Shakopee

First cut in 1997, Sever's was the first corn maze in Minnesota and still the largest, carved fresh each year on 100 acres in Shakopee. Past designs have included a sinking Titanic, a map of the world and safari scenes. It has grown into Sever's Fall Festival with more than 30 attractions: an obstacle course, corn pits holding 10,000 bushels each, a straw-bale maze, a giant slide and a pick-your-own pumpkin field, plus food, beer and wine.

Shakopee

The roadside stand opens daily from July into October with sweet corn, pumpkins, watermelon, berries and a wide range of vegetables. Peter grew up in a local farming family; Carmen came from Peru to teach Spanish, and the two started this Shakopee farm in 1999. October brings daily U-pick pumpkins and a corn maze, with free hayrides and U-pick apples on weekends. Call (952) 906-0247 or order through peterspumpkins.com.

Fischer's Croix Farm Orchard sits above the scenic Lower St. Croix River near Hastings, a mile north of Highway 10. It grows a long list of apples, including University of Minnesota varieties like Honeycrisp, Zestar, Sweet Sixteen, and Keepsake, sold pick-your-own and pre-picked. Fall adds a pumpkin patch, corn maze, weekend wagon rides, and farm animals, plus a straw mountain and the Apple Express ride. Open Tuesday through Sunday, September into November. Call (651) 437-7126.

Hastings

The Johnson family planted the first apple trees here in 1980, and the farm now opens each fall from Labor Day weekend through Halloween with no admission charge. The country store sells apples, pumpkins and baked goods, while kids get a climbing area and petting zoo. Toss a coin in the whistling well and the farm matches it as a donation to Minnesota Masonic Children's Hospital. It sits on St. Croix Trail south of Hastings.

Hastings

Afton Apple Orchard, run by Cenco Farms, is one of the larger pick-your-own operations in the Twin Cities metro, at 14421 90th Street South near Hastings in Washington County. It opens for u-pick apples and pumpkins in fall alongside a corn maze and hayrides, and picks strawberries and raspberries earlier in summer. The orchard's website carries current picking conditions and hours.

Jordan

Over 100 apple varieties grow across roughly 30,000 trees here, a Sponsel family orchard since 1971 between Jordan and Belle Plaine. Pick your own in October or buy fresh-picked at the Apple Lodge through November. The farm runs a bakery and kitchen, a petting farm, hiking trails, and wagon rides with bonfires from mid-May into December. It also hosts weddings, birthday parties, and day camps.

Hastings

The Femling family has run Afton Apple Orchards in Hastings since 1989, growing apples, raspberries, strawberries, and pumpkins across 250 acres in the St. Croix Valley. Pick your own or buy fruit already harvested at peak ripeness. Fall brings a 15-acre corn maze, hayrides, and a petting farm, making it one of the larger u-pick operations in the south metro.